Brisbane Broncos deny talking to league bad-boy Arana Taumata
July 22, 2009
Stunned Brisbane coach Ivan Henjak has denied clandestine talks aimed at snaring rugby league bad boy Arana Taumata as Darren Lockyer's five-eighth replacement for 2011.
Reports linked Brisbane to a secret tug of war with the Wests Tigers for Taumata's signature with speculation Lockyer would hang up his boots next year.
The report quoted an unnamed Tigers official saying the club was "livid" Brisbane were looking at Taumata.
Lockyer is believed to be close to signing a two-year deal which would keep him at the club until the end of 2011.
Henjak rubbished reports of any approach for Taumata, a player they sacked in 2006 who has since been axed by three other NRL clubs for disciplinary breaches.
Taumata, currently playing for Easts Tigers in the Queensland Cup, flies to Melbourne every week to perform community service after being found guilty of assault in May which led to the Storm tearing up his NRL contract.
"If Lockyer signs it will be for two years," said a disappointed Henjak.
"Arana is playing for our affiliate club (Easts) and we haven't even spoken to him about a contract.
"Something like that would have to be approved by our board because he has been let go from our club before because of disciplinary reasons."
Henjak, who brought Taumata over from New Zealand as a 15-year-old, said he'd had recently had coffee with him and the family he was staying with.
"They're really nice people. I put Arana with them when I first brought him over from New Zealand.
"They're a lovely family. They really care about the kid, probably one of the few people who do and I think they're really good for him.
"They asked me to come over and have a chat with him and we talked about life.
"Are we in a tug of war? No we're not.
"Have we talked to him about a contract? No we haven't.
Henjak has no doubts Taumata, who carved Brisbane up for the Bulldogs last year, could play.
"He can play footy but the rest of his life has to be in order," he said.
"Whether I want him back is not the issue, it's whether the board would take him back and I haven't broached that with them."
Taumata is living with former Easts committeeman and ex-Tigers coach Chris Tanzer, who took him in when he was just 15.
"Arana is very, very remorseful for the disappointment he's caused all the clubs involved, his parents and coaches," said Tanzer, a former Queensland junior team selector who's been involved with the likes of Karmichael Hunt and Greg Inglis.
"He's more mature and has a good understanding of why it all happened.
"He's off the grog, he recognises that was the catalyst to putting him in bad situations.
Source:
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25818020-5018866,00.html
