PARRAMATTA superstar Kieran Foran will meet with club officials as early as Monday to determine how best he moves forward with ongoing treatment for a range of off-field issues.
Still immobilised after undergoing shoulder surgery, Foran could choose to stay in Sydney for treatment with the Eels medical team, return to a Queensland rehabilitation centre or even continue his recovery overseas — as happened with close friend, Roosters halfback Mitchell Pearce.
Only weeks after being admitted to a Brisbane clinic for personal issues, which followed a relationship breakdown, the Parramatta captain was then at the centre of allegations $75,000 had been punted from his TAB account.
In recent days, there has been further revelations about the New Zealand Test star’s friendship with former brothel owner Eddie Hayson, who is denying any involvement in the current NRL match fixing scandal.
There is no suggestion Foran or Hayson have done anything wrong in respect to these claims.
There are, however, concerns about the welfare of a player who is one of the most respected, and liked, footballers in the game.
Speaking with The Daily Telegraph, an Eels spokesman said the club would meet with both Foran and his management early this week to determine his ongoing treatment.
“This club’s number one priority is the welfare of Kieran,’’ the official said.
“And we will provide all the support and resources necessary to ensure he returns to full health.
“We will work with all the key stakeholders to map out the best plan possible moving forward.”
Elsewhere, Manly official Peter Peters threw his support behind Foran and other members of the 2015 Manly Sea Eagles during on interview on Sky Sports Radio.
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“I’m still in a state of shock as to where Kieran Foran is at in his life at the moment. I love that boy,” Peters said.
“I’ve sat in the TAB with him and bet on racehorses but I didn’t know he punted to the extent allegedly being said.
“I hate to see some of the players whose names are being dragged through the mud now,” Peters said of the alleged match fixing scandal.
“I have laughed with some of those blokes, I have cried with some of them after games. I know what they are like.
“Some of those players who have been mentioned … they would knock you out if you even suggested they throw a game. Such is their will to win.
“To get five or six of them — it’s just ridiculous. I cannot see it going anywhere.
“I don’t know how we’re looking at something like this when a bet of that magnitude has to be registered. You cannot pull a million dollars out of the air with a bookmaker or betting agency.”
Asked if hand on heart, he could say no Manly players had bet against the club, Peters replied: “I can’t do that because I don’t know.
“But these guys, you would not get them for $50,000. Not when they’re on contracts of $600,000.
“There are circumstances in people’s lives where they do stupid things. I don’t know whether anyone has been put in that position but I do know, collectively, there is no way you would get them.
“No way, in the world.”
Peters also questioned if rugby league had become the “ham in the sandwich” of an underworld dispute.
