Farah to stay a Tiger for love not money
IN-DEMAND hooker Robbie Farah says he is prepared to knock back more money to stay at the Wests Tigers and is expected to re-sign with the club until the end of 2010.
Talks between the Tigers and Farah's management continued yesterday, with both parties expecting he would this week agree to a three-year extension of his current deal, which ends at the end of next season.
"There's a few more little issues there but it's looking positive," Farah said. "My first choice is to re-sign - I love the club. I've never wanted to leave all along. As long as both parties sort things out, I'll be staying."
Asked if he would be knocking back more money to stay with the Tigers, the 22-year-old said: "You could say that. But the terms that we're talking about, I'm happy with. I'm not about money anyway.
"As long as I'm happy with the club, there's no need to move. Dollars aren't everything. I've had great times at the club. I won a comp last year, and that brought us all a bit closer. I've been under [coach] Tim Sheens all my first-grade career, and I see myself developing under his guidance. It'd be very hard to leave the club."
Farah, who played in the Prime Minister's XIII against Papua New Guinea last Saturday, is planning to leave for a holiday in Hawaii with some of his Tigers teammates next Tuesday and wants to have his future decided well before then.
The Tigers, who yesterday re-signed centre Dean Collis until the end of 2009, hope an announcement may be made as early as today.
Farah had been linked to a $1.2 million switch to the Bulldogs, with his manager, Sam Ayoub, saying two NRL clubs had shown significant interest.
Gold Coast managing director Michael Searle, meanwhile, said there were still "lots of factors" to be addressed before former Dragons lock Shaun Timmins could be signed by the club.
Searle met Timmins yesterday in Wollongong; however, any decision from either party is still at least three weeks away.
Searle also hinted he would not consider a move by Melbourne to offer the Titans financial compensation in exchange for allowing winger Steve Turner to remain with the Storm.
Australia's injury-hit Tri-Nations campaign met another snag yesterday, with Melbourne's medical staff informing ARL officials that hooker Cameron Smith was unlikely to be fit for the crucial first game, leaving Shaun Berrigan to fill the role.
Smith suffered bruising to the ribs and a badly corked thigh in the Storm's grand final loss to Brisbane on Sunday that are expected to rule him out of the October 14 clash with New Zealand.
Smith, who last night won Melbourne's player-of-the-year award, will be assessed again by Storm officials today before he travels to Sydney for the Kangaroos' medical tomorrow.
The Kangaroos have been hit by a host of injury withdrawals in recent weeks, including Luke Bailey Jason Ryles, Matt Cooper Steve Simpson and Eric Grothe.
Danny Buderus pulled out of the squad because of the impending birth of his baby.
