Eels, Dogs fight over Keating
THE RIVALRY ADRIAN PROSZENKO
February 7, 2010
EELS chief executive Paul Osborne claims the Bulldogs have ''problems in their recruitment and development'' as a new tug of war emerges over a Parramatta playmaker.
The Sun-Herald can reveal that the Bulldogs have earmarked Kris Keating as a potential long-term replacement for Brett Kimmorley should they miss out on another Eels target, five-eighth Daniel Mortimer.
Mortimer and Keating are off contract at the end of the season and the Eels will struggle to retain them both, particularly given the Bulldogs' interest.
The Mortimer name is synonymous with the Bulldogs following the exploits of Steve, Chris and Peter, who is Daniel's father.
Bulldogs chief Todd Greenberg has made no secret of his desire to poach Daniel from his arch rivals, but the latest development has raised tensions between the camps.
It comes on the back of the Bulldogs' recently expressing interest in Parramatta players Feleti Mateo and Krisnan Inu.
''They clearly have some problems in their recruitment and development that they need to sort out,'' Osborne said.
''I suspected they'd be interested in Kris - I'm not surprised.
''I'm not too worried about the Bulldogs circling. It just reaffirms what a good system we've got here. It fills me with a lot of pride that we're doing such a good job.
''They probably need to spend more money on their junior programs instead of trying to sign our kids.
''I like to help Toddy out as much as I can, but that might be stretching the friendship.''
Mortimer is one of the game's most promising young stars after an outstanding rookie season. The 20-year-old helped to steer Parramatta to an unlikely grand final appearance and will be one of the most sought-after players on the open market.
Local junior Keating, meanwhile, was one of the Eels' best players during a horrible start to 2009. However, the Australian Schoolboys half broke his jaw in round 10 against Manly, which brought his season to a premature end.
''We've got a list of players that are in an interest section of a spreadsheet and [Keating's] name is on it,'' Greenberg confirmed.
''We haven't made any approaches or offers to him, but we've identified him as a player of interest.''
Told of Osborne's comments about the Bulldogs' development policy, Greenberg said: ''We'll let Paul run the Eels and we'll do our best to run the Bulldogs.''
Osborne said he hoped to retain both his home-grown products.
''Obviously the salary cap makes it hard to keep everyone, but we've got a really good group of players here, there's a good buzz around the place,'' he said.
''It would be difficult for anyone who's been here for a long time to pack up and leave.
''Kris Keating is a great kid, he's a Parra junior and he's here. We're hopeful that he'll stay. We've already had some preliminary discussions with his manager.''
