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<H1 class=heading>Manly teen captain picked off by Parramatta in massive deal
</H1>13 Jun 11 @ 05:44pm by Jon Geddes rugby league
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Manly recruitment officer Noel Cleal (maroon hat) believes Parramatta are seeking revenge by targeting Sea Eagles junior Joey Lussick.
SEA Eagles recruitment guru Noel Cleal has accused rivals Parramatta of seeking revenge on the club by throwing big bucks at the 16-year-old captain of Manly’s Harold Matthews team.
Halfback Joey Lussick, a Beacon Hill junior and younger brother of rising Manly forward Darcy, received a massive deal from the Eels that was just too good to refuse.
“I think it is an attempt to try and get something back at us,” Cleal said.
“They are responding to the success we have had with Parramatta juniors.”
What do you think about the Eels picking up Joey Lussick ? Have your say below.
Six players who were in the Eels’ nursery are now members of Manly’s NRL squad after seeing an opportunity on the peninsula - Jamie Buhrer, Tim Robinson, Tony Williams, David Williams, Jamie Lyon and Joe Galuvao.
“At least I wait until they have turned 20, now they are poaching them at 16,” Cleal said.
At the same time Parramatta, who have the second biggest nursery in the NRL behind Penrith, have come under heavy fire for their recruitment policy.
“Joey is a good young player and we just got beaten by the size of the offer,” Cleal said.
“They threw five times the money that we had and they have five times the amount to spend on their second-tier budget than we do. “So we weren’t even in a bull’s roar of matching their offer.”
Cleal said the same thing happened when the Sea Eagles lost forwards Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Lama Tasi to the Roosters.
“That is the nature of the beast, we have a limited budget that we have to stick to.”
While the Sea Eagles have lost Joey, his 22-year-old brother will be at the club for the next couple of years and is one of a number of rising stars who will take the club into the future.
The forward made his NRL debut on Saturday night in the impressive 24-4 win over the Cowboys at Brookvale Oval. “He was always going to be a late developer because of where he plays,” Cleal said.
Lussick is another of the players to have graduated from the Sea Eagles under-20 Toyota Cup side along with the likes of Kieran Foran, Jamie Buhrer, Daly Cherry-Evans, Will Hopoate and Michael Oldfield.
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.a...ain-picked-off-by-parramatta-in-massive-deal/