Lote

[westie]

So why did weststigers stop talks ?.. Guess u will say folks , I doubt he'd be in any position at the club to call shots..... Anyway i admit its only hear say , but from media outlets and not pubs Ill be the first to bump this thread tho if something comes of it ok westie lol

I'm 99% sure it's Folkes. Sure, Mason has poor form off the field, but he also does some very good things off the field too.

 

[Bricey]

Currently on the Foxsports website

Former NRL and rugby union star Wendell Sailor says fellow dual international Lote Tuqiri is unlikely to stay with English rugby club Leicester.
Tuqiri has recently been reported to be contemplating extending his stay in English rugby union rather than return to play rugby league with Wests Tigers.

But Sailor, a former Queensland State of Origin, Kangaroos, Wallabies and NSW Waratahs teammate of Tuqiri, can't see the 30-year-old staying with the English Premiership-leading Tigers.

"The last time I chatted with him he'd just played in the snow and he wasn't real keen on the winter conditions," Sailor said.

"I asked him if NRL was an option and he said it's definitely an option especially after seeing what myself and Mat Rogers have done the past couple of years."

"But he doesn't give too much away Lote."

"I think for him and his family it (England) is a nice place to go to for a little bit of a, I wouldn't say vacation, but a change."

"If he's going to go anywhere I think he'd look to come home or France. I don't know for sure but I don't think the cold conditions and big Fijians mix."

Regardless of Tuqiri's decision, Tigers coach Tim Sheens told Sky Sports Radio on Wednesday he's hoping to know what his target's intentions are within the next two or three days.

And Sailor, for his part, feels returning to the competition where Tuqiri originally made his name with the Brisbane Broncos makes the most sense for his good mate.

"He'll be fresh and just wanting to prove something you know?" Sailor said.

"I just think if the Tigers get him or any other club gets him, it's a great opportunity for him and a great opportunity for the club."

"We're in good shape - rugby league - at the moment, and I just think with Lote Tuqiri it would get even better."

Still looks like it could happen

 

[Eddie.]

My man at the Tiges has been saying right through that baring any calamity (long term injury) its been a done deal for a while. Just waiting on the all clear to announce it.

Anyway, i would be surprised if by this time next week we don't know either way.

 

[DanOz]

Wasting money on this guy pisses me off - save it and go all out for Inu next year.

 

[macnaz]

The roosters board released willie and the storm board voted NO to willie and the Tiger board also stopped further talks with willie ... The word is that something BIG in the way of bagage surrounds him and clubs wont touch him with a barge pole . It is something offfield and not game perfomance based it seems.

Add manly to the above list now,
look at all the other idiots that have done far worse than mason and still have NRL contracts, im still thinking willie has a big skeleton in the closet waiting to come out.

 

[westie]

My man at the Tiges has been saying right through that baring any calamity (long term injury) its been a done deal for a while. Just waiting on the all clear to announce it.

Anyway, i would be surprised if by this time next week we don't know either way.

It's been a very poorly kept secret... strangely enough, everyone except the media have been clued in. I'm not sure it's gone 100% to plan - in fact, I think Sheens may have expected him to have arrived by now. But I'm still expecting him to be here shortly and the media today is confirming what we've all been saying for a while.

 

[westie]

Add manly to the above list now,
look at all the other idiots that have done far worse than mason and still have NRL contracts, im still thinking willie has a big skeleton in the closet waiting to come out.

I still think it comes down to money. If clubs had money he'd have been signed months ago.

 

[macnaz]

I still think it comes down to money. If clubs had money he'd have been signed months ago.

Im sure months ago many clubs had money. I think his asking price is bugger all as welll ... 200k a season i think, does anyone know ?

 

[westie]

He's only really come onto the market once most clubs had sorted their salary cap. The only way he'll get a gig is if Politis gives him a break and pays some of his contract.

 

[nyx]

I'm really loving this Lote will-he-or-won't-he saga. No really I am.

:|

 

[hybrid_tiger]

Hopefully he comes - with Tuiaki out for a while, he will be very handy.

 

[851]

Hopefully he comes - with Tuiaki out for a while, he will be very handy.

He will,if he plays on the wing,not at fullback like most want.

 

[westie]

Imagine having no full back and no winger.

 

[blackandwhite]

Imagine having no full back and no winger.

and no halfback and only one hooker and 16 five-eight's

 

[westie]

1 centre ;-)

 

[scottie b]

The defector who came in from the cold: Tuqiri's return imminent
GLENN JACKSON

January 28, 2010
THE saga of Lote Tuqiri and Wests Tigers is all but over. The club is set to finalise the signature of the dual international within days - and he might turn out for them sooner than expected.

The Herald understands Tigers chief executive Stephen Humphreys left the country last night for Britain, where he is expecting to confirm the signing of the 30-year-old.

Negotiations between the NRL club and Tuqiri, who is playing rugby union in England with Leicester, have been ongoing since midway through last year, and it appears the Tigers will finally net their man, who was sacked by the Australian Rugby Union controversially last year.

Club chiefs have been attempting to have the deal cleared by the NRL's salary cap auditor Ian Schubert for several months, but it is understood the Tigers are now in a position to officially sign Tuqiri, in what would be a significant boost for the code. He would join other high-profile defectors Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers in returning to league after extended stints playing rugby.

Tuqiri has enjoyed success with Leicester, with speculation emerging last week he might extend his deal with the club, but that now appears unlikely. Wests Tigers had initially hoped to unveil Tuqiri after the conclusion of Leicester's season in May, but there are now suggestions he could be available much earlier. Leicester Tigers head coach Richard Cockerill last week revealed Tuqiri's contract with his club runs out at the end of March, opening the door for Wests Tigers to lure him home just a few weeks after the club's season-opening game against Manly.

Confirmation of Tuqiri's signing would be a significant boost to the Tigers on the eve of the new NRL season. The club has not reached the finals since winning the premiership in 2005, and many have felt they are one strike weapon away from being in a position to repeat those feats. Tuqiri would fill that void.

Sailor, Tuqiri's former Brisbane and Wallabies teammate, certainly believes Tuqiri will be in the NRL this season.

''The last time I chatted with him he'd just played in the snow, and he wasn't real keen on the winter conditions,'' Sailor told AAP.

''I asked him if NRL was an option, and he said it's definitely an option, especially after seeing what myself and Mat Rogers have done the past couple of years.''

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ld-tuqiris-return-imminent-20100127-mz0d.html

May've been the combination of the salary cap clearance, that sounds like has been going on for awhile, and the ridiculous NRL requirement that he had to do his union deal before he could sign an NRL contract may've been behind the length of time. Seems like we are fairly close one way or the other

 

[westie]

Spot on mate. Sure there "may" have been hiccups, but the reason he isn't here is because he's playing a rival sport to catch up on money he missed out on when he lost his job. The reason he's not signed an NRL contract and announced his plans publicly is because he's simply not allowed to under the NRL rules, which is fair enough.

He agreed to play for us, but with no contract, we run a reasonable risk of him getting cold feet/changing his mind etc. That's fine - but I hardly think it's fair for him to be persecuted on here for things that basically aren't true.

 

[Estoboy]

but I hardly think it's fair for him to be persecuted on here for things that basically aren't true.

but persecuted by people who have no idea what they are talking about and base their arguments on hearsay in random newspaper articles from halfway around the world

:sarcasm:

 

[westie]

The English union media is hilarious at the moment. I was astounded at one of their lead writers advocating Leicester change their entire style of play to revolve around him (they are adverse to attempting to score trys at the moment) with no idea that the dude doesn't even plan to be there.

 

[gronkathon]

I just do not understand the hubbub.

The NRL has made this far to complex an issue. The club has been as coy as this as they were about the playing return of Skandalis last season