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Just found this on foxsports
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23214,00.html
Eels bid to deny Tahu poachers
By Stuart Honeysett and Wayne Smith
February 15, 2007
PARRAMATTA has opened talks with Test wing Timana Tahu as it looks to ward off poaching attempts from western Sydney rival Penrith and the Australian Rugby Union.
Tahu's contract with the Eels expires at the end of 2008 but the 26 year old has an option to leave the club at the end of this year.
"We're obviously very keen for him to stay and we'd like to get it done sooner rather than later," Eels coach Michael Hagan said yesterday.
"We're not naive enough to think there wouldn't be some interest there for him."
Parramatta's attempts to keep its centre under lock and key have been hampered by the fact that Tahu appears to be in the midst of changing management teams.
Penrith has made Tahu its priority signing for next season.
The biggest hurdle the Panthers face is the type of contract he signed with the Eels.
The deal was structured incrementally, meaning Tahu stands to earn much more in the final year of his four-year contract than he did in his first.
However, money would not be a problem for the ARU.
Super 14 team the Waratahs expressed interest in the State of Origin representative when he was off contract with his former club, Newcastle, at the end of 2004.
Wallabies coach John Connolly confirmed that Tahu had been mentioned as a possible cross-code recruit.
"His name has crossed my desk but there's a heap of (rugby league) blokes who've been mentioned," Connolly said.
"There's an interest there but we haven't spoken to him."
ARU chief negotiator Pat Wilson said: "On the face of it, he might have the skills that's adaptable to rugby, but we haven't entered into anything yet."
Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie said he first heard Tahu wasinterested in rugby several years ago.
"It was back in the Brumbies days," said McKenzie, who was assistant coach of the ACT side in 1999-2000.
"I haven't spoken to him but I'd be happy to. I never not speak to anyone. You have to speak to people to work out if there is an interest.
"I speak to a lot of rugby league players, more than anyone would know. He (Tahu) is a good player but there's lot of good players out there."
A player of Tahu's stature would almost certainly require top-up funding from the ARU, which opens up the prospect ofthe three other Australian Super 14 teams bidding for his services.
Certainly if the Queensland Reds are unsuccessful with their bid to lure Lote Tuqiri back to Brisbane, Tahu would loom large in coach Eddie Jones' sights.
The timing for a league centre making the switch to rugby could not be better.
Such is the dearth of quality centres in Australian rugby that unless some exciting new talent is unearthed during the Super 14 campaign, Connolly will be forced to abandon all thoughts of using Matt Giteau as a halfback during the World Cup and play him instead at inside centre.
Tahu is battling a minor hand injury and wasn't named in the squad to face the Sharks at Parkes on Saturday night for the Eels' opening trial of the season.
"He had a plate inserted in his hand about four or five weeks ago," Hagan said.
"He had it done a couple of years ago and that needed to be replaced. He's trained well but he hasn't done much with the team. He would be every chance to play in the last trial."
Hagan, who coached Tahu at Newcastle, has confirmed several times he has no intention of switching the Eels centre to his former position on the wing.
That could make Tahu's representative ambitions in his preferred position tough, given that Justin Hodges, Brent Tate, Mark Gasnier, Matt Cooper and Matt King could all vie for Australian honours.
It could also make the switch to rugby a far more attractive option.
"He had a pretty good go at it (centre) in 2005 but last year he only played nine games," Hagan said. "I still think he needs to play a fair amount of time there to establish himself as a representative centre."
In other news, the Sharks have granted Richard Villasanti a release to join English Super League club Harlequins.
Villasanti, who toured with the Kangaroos in 2003, joined the Sharks midway through last season after spending five years at the New Zealand Warriors.
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http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23214,00.html
Eels bid to deny Tahu poachers
By Stuart Honeysett and Wayne Smith
February 15, 2007
PARRAMATTA has opened talks with Test wing Timana Tahu as it looks to ward off poaching attempts from western Sydney rival Penrith and the Australian Rugby Union.
Tahu's contract with the Eels expires at the end of 2008 but the 26 year old has an option to leave the club at the end of this year.
"We're obviously very keen for him to stay and we'd like to get it done sooner rather than later," Eels coach Michael Hagan said yesterday.
"We're not naive enough to think there wouldn't be some interest there for him."
Parramatta's attempts to keep its centre under lock and key have been hampered by the fact that Tahu appears to be in the midst of changing management teams.
Penrith has made Tahu its priority signing for next season.
The biggest hurdle the Panthers face is the type of contract he signed with the Eels.
The deal was structured incrementally, meaning Tahu stands to earn much more in the final year of his four-year contract than he did in his first.
However, money would not be a problem for the ARU.
Super 14 team the Waratahs expressed interest in the State of Origin representative when he was off contract with his former club, Newcastle, at the end of 2004.
Wallabies coach John Connolly confirmed that Tahu had been mentioned as a possible cross-code recruit.
"His name has crossed my desk but there's a heap of (rugby league) blokes who've been mentioned," Connolly said.
"There's an interest there but we haven't spoken to him."
ARU chief negotiator Pat Wilson said: "On the face of it, he might have the skills that's adaptable to rugby, but we haven't entered into anything yet."
Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie said he first heard Tahu wasinterested in rugby several years ago.
"It was back in the Brumbies days," said McKenzie, who was assistant coach of the ACT side in 1999-2000.
"I haven't spoken to him but I'd be happy to. I never not speak to anyone. You have to speak to people to work out if there is an interest.
"I speak to a lot of rugby league players, more than anyone would know. He (Tahu) is a good player but there's lot of good players out there."
A player of Tahu's stature would almost certainly require top-up funding from the ARU, which opens up the prospect ofthe three other Australian Super 14 teams bidding for his services.
Certainly if the Queensland Reds are unsuccessful with their bid to lure Lote Tuqiri back to Brisbane, Tahu would loom large in coach Eddie Jones' sights.
The timing for a league centre making the switch to rugby could not be better.
Such is the dearth of quality centres in Australian rugby that unless some exciting new talent is unearthed during the Super 14 campaign, Connolly will be forced to abandon all thoughts of using Matt Giteau as a halfback during the World Cup and play him instead at inside centre.
Tahu is battling a minor hand injury and wasn't named in the squad to face the Sharks at Parkes on Saturday night for the Eels' opening trial of the season.
"He had a plate inserted in his hand about four or five weeks ago," Hagan said.
"He had it done a couple of years ago and that needed to be replaced. He's trained well but he hasn't done much with the team. He would be every chance to play in the last trial."
Hagan, who coached Tahu at Newcastle, has confirmed several times he has no intention of switching the Eels centre to his former position on the wing.
That could make Tahu's representative ambitions in his preferred position tough, given that Justin Hodges, Brent Tate, Mark Gasnier, Matt Cooper and Matt King could all vie for Australian honours.
It could also make the switch to rugby a far more attractive option.
"He had a pretty good go at it (centre) in 2005 but last year he only played nine games," Hagan said. "I still think he needs to play a fair amount of time there to establish himself as a representative centre."
In other news, the Sharks have granted Richard Villasanti a release to join English Super League club Harlequins.
Villasanti, who toured with the Kangaroos in 2003, joined the Sharks midway through last season after spending five years at the New Zealand Warriors.
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