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http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/...-pull-pin-on-dragons/1513625.aspx?storypage=1
Justin Poore ready to pull pin on Dragons
BY MICHAEL COX PICTURE: ROBERT PEET
15/05/2009 9:26:00 AM
On the eve of St George Illawarra's biggest game this season, star forward Justin Poore has revealed he is ready to walk away from the club.
Poore's manager Todd Buckingham said the Dragons were highly unlikely to match big-money offers for the in-demand prop and he was almost certain to leave at the end of the year.
While the Dragons celebrated the re-signing of back-rower Ben Creagh yesterday, the news was tempered by the prospect of losing Poore.
Buckingham said negotiations with his client had broken down.
"It's at a standstill - they've put an offer in and we're not happy with that," Buckingham said.
"They've (the Dragons) had an offer on the table for a couple of weeks now and we've met them on Tuesday and they haven't budged."
Cronulla and Parramatta are vying for the 24 year-old's signature, with Brisbane also an outside chance of snaring Poore's services.
The Sharks have room under their salary cap and are in the market for a front-rower after Ben Ross suffered a potentially career-ending neck injury earlier this season.
Ross, off-contract at the end of this season, was one of the highest paid props in the game and it has allowed the Sharks to make a considerable offer to Poore - and it appears the Dragons aren't willing to compete.
"Without going into depth with the other offers, the offer from St George is substantially lower than his market value and we won't be accepting the offer. We've explained that to them," Buckingham said.
"It's a big difference. We've explained at those levels that we won't be staying at the Dragons."
Meanwhile, Dragons captain Ben Hornby has urged his side's off-contract players to focus on the job at hand in tonight's top-of-the-table clash against the Bulldogs at WIN Jubilee Stadium.
Eight of the Dragons 17-man squad named for tonight's game are off contract, including Poore and in-form outside backs Brett Morris and Beau Scott.
"That's just something we've got to deal with and obviously for those blokes they've just got to put it off the field. On the field they've got a job to do and we're expecting them to do it," Hornby said.
St George Illawarra are equal premiership favourites after nine rounds and Hornby believes his team's good form has brought with it extra attention from opposing clubs.
"It's just a case of when you're winning games and the team is going well, other teams are looking at your players," he said. "It's something you've got to deal with. If they're local juniors we'd like to keep as many as we can."
Bulldogs skipper Andrew Ryan says the match is the biggest in the club's recent history.
"We've played a few tough teams this year, but St George is in great form and obviously a packed house at Kogarah is very exciting for us.
Justin Poore ready to pull pin on Dragons
BY MICHAEL COX PICTURE: ROBERT PEET
15/05/2009 9:26:00 AM
On the eve of St George Illawarra's biggest game this season, star forward Justin Poore has revealed he is ready to walk away from the club.
Poore's manager Todd Buckingham said the Dragons were highly unlikely to match big-money offers for the in-demand prop and he was almost certain to leave at the end of the year.
While the Dragons celebrated the re-signing of back-rower Ben Creagh yesterday, the news was tempered by the prospect of losing Poore.
Buckingham said negotiations with his client had broken down.
"It's at a standstill - they've put an offer in and we're not happy with that," Buckingham said.
"They've (the Dragons) had an offer on the table for a couple of weeks now and we've met them on Tuesday and they haven't budged."
Cronulla and Parramatta are vying for the 24 year-old's signature, with Brisbane also an outside chance of snaring Poore's services.
The Sharks have room under their salary cap and are in the market for a front-rower after Ben Ross suffered a potentially career-ending neck injury earlier this season.
Ross, off-contract at the end of this season, was one of the highest paid props in the game and it has allowed the Sharks to make a considerable offer to Poore - and it appears the Dragons aren't willing to compete.
"Without going into depth with the other offers, the offer from St George is substantially lower than his market value and we won't be accepting the offer. We've explained that to them," Buckingham said.
"It's a big difference. We've explained at those levels that we won't be staying at the Dragons."
Meanwhile, Dragons captain Ben Hornby has urged his side's off-contract players to focus on the job at hand in tonight's top-of-the-table clash against the Bulldogs at WIN Jubilee Stadium.
Eight of the Dragons 17-man squad named for tonight's game are off contract, including Poore and in-form outside backs Brett Morris and Beau Scott.
"That's just something we've got to deal with and obviously for those blokes they've just got to put it off the field. On the field they've got a job to do and we're expecting them to do it," Hornby said.
St George Illawarra are equal premiership favourites after nine rounds and Hornby believes his team's good form has brought with it extra attention from opposing clubs.
"It's just a case of when you're winning games and the team is going well, other teams are looking at your players," he said. "It's something you've got to deal with. If they're local juniors we'd like to keep as many as we can."
Bulldogs skipper Andrew Ryan says the match is the biggest in the club's recent history.
"We've played a few tough teams this year, but St George is in great form and obviously a packed house at Kogarah is very exciting for us.
