http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...t/news-story/982a8271485859dc3377fea535c64be0
Parramatta Eels release troubled star recruit Kieran Foran from remainder of contract
Nick Tabakoff, The Daily Telegraph
an hour ago
THE Kieran Foran era at Parramatta officially ended at 5.15pm on Friday with a low-key statement containing just 27 words, as ex-teammates rallied to defend the departed star from Eels fans’ anger over his premature departure.
Parramatta centre Clint Gutherson was among the players to strongly back the star amid the criticism, saying on Twitter: “The foz will be back.”
In a boost for the club, Foran’s $150,000 termination payment is understood to have been ruled exempt from the NRL’s salary cap — allowing the club to improve its cap position for 2017.
But in another development, sources said the club’s cap expert, Ian Schubert, has privately told people he will not continue with the club, amid suggestions he has fallen out with the current administration.
At the start of the season, Foran was hyped as the club’s new Peter Sterling, and the final answer to the club’s famed “No. 7” curse.
But after just nine games with the club, the dream is over, with the Eels saying it has granted him “a release from the remainder of his contract with the club”.
The club added in its statement: “The Eels wish him well for the future.”
Fans have not been so forgiving this week. They have rounded on Foran over
The Telegraph’s revelations he was seeking a $200,000 termination payout to gain a release from the club — despite the fact it was Foran who asked to walk away due to his well-chronicled issues off the field.
It is believed the club finally offered Foran $150,000, and that deal was accepted by his management on Friday. That amount is expected to be cap-exempt.
The finalisation of Foran’s golden goodbye clears the club to start to negotiate the signings of players like Jarryd Hayne and Corey Norman for 2017, a year in which it will have the NRL’s full $7.1 million salary cap at its disposal.
Apart from the termination payment, Eels fans felt the club did not get good value for the $1m or so he made from the club for the year, and were also worried he could show up rapidly at other clubs like the Bulldogs.
But on Friday night, Gutherson took it upon himself to defend Foran from the attacks on Twitter. “Everyone spraying foz,” he wrote. “There’s more to life than footy, he’s gotta take the time for himself and his family. The foz will be back.”
The NRL has made it clear that Foran will only allowed to join another club when he is deemed ready by the code, given his array of off-field dramas this year. An NRL spokesman said this week that he would need to be “fit and proper to be part of the game again”, and that the code would require to have “medical clearances” before a contract “could be registered”.
The NRL is understood to be concerned that Foran has not properly undergone rehabilitation from his issues.
Meanwhile, the Eels held a meeting of its interim board on Friday, in which senior executives at the club were also invited to attend. The club is understood to be awaiting a final answer from the NRL on how much space can be cleared in the 2016 cap. One negotiation point with the NRL has been how much of the under-the-table third party agreements promised for this season _ but not paid _ can be excluded from this year’s cap.
This point could prove crucial, as it may allow Parramatta the flexibility to bring some player salaries for next year forward into this year’s cap.
