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Anthony Griffin wins powerplay: Peter Wallace bound for England
Handed a rare second chance to prove his worth at the helm of an NRL club, new Penrith coach Anthony Griffin would be understandably reticent to ask for too much more this Christmas.
However, the former Brisbane mentor may well get a bonus, with speculation rife that veteran halfback Peter Wallace is close to securing a deal to play in the English Super League in 2016.
Normally, rumours of a club captain and State of Origin representative preparing to leave just two months into the tenure of a new head coach would be considered something of a disaster, but not for Griffin. He and Wallace had a very public and ugly falling-out at Brisbane in 2013, with Wallace unceremoniously dumped from the first-grade squad by the then Broncos coach.
The ever pragmatic Griffin insisted he harboured “no hard feelings” towards Wallace, who has been diligently working with the Panthers’ rehab staff after undergoing a knee reconstruction in April.
Despite this, Panther boss Phil Gould admitted the captaincy of the club was “up for grabs”.
“With a new head coach, all those things come under review,” Gould said. “(Griffin) will make the call on who will be captain in 2016 once we get a bit closer to the season proper.”
Wallace is in the final year of his deal with Penrith and had already indicated a desire to finish his career in England. However, with a view to avoiding anything that could destabilise the young, but talented group next year, that timeline has been moved forward with a deal likely to be done well before the NRL season kicks off.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...d/news-story/18a6fd4b1f01942bff85671697eabc28
Handed a rare second chance to prove his worth at the helm of an NRL club, new Penrith coach Anthony Griffin would be understandably reticent to ask for too much more this Christmas.
However, the former Brisbane mentor may well get a bonus, with speculation rife that veteran halfback Peter Wallace is close to securing a deal to play in the English Super League in 2016.
Normally, rumours of a club captain and State of Origin representative preparing to leave just two months into the tenure of a new head coach would be considered something of a disaster, but not for Griffin. He and Wallace had a very public and ugly falling-out at Brisbane in 2013, with Wallace unceremoniously dumped from the first-grade squad by the then Broncos coach.
The ever pragmatic Griffin insisted he harboured “no hard feelings” towards Wallace, who has been diligently working with the Panthers’ rehab staff after undergoing a knee reconstruction in April.
Despite this, Panther boss Phil Gould admitted the captaincy of the club was “up for grabs”.
“With a new head coach, all those things come under review,” Gould said. “(Griffin) will make the call on who will be captain in 2016 once we get a bit closer to the season proper.”
Wallace is in the final year of his deal with Penrith and had already indicated a desire to finish his career in England. However, with a view to avoiding anything that could destabilise the young, but talented group next year, that timeline has been moved forward with a deal likely to be done well before the NRL season kicks off.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...d/news-story/18a6fd4b1f01942bff85671697eabc28