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Dragons make huge offer to keep local talent Trent Merrin
ST GEORGE Illawarra has tabled an offer to Trent Merrin which would make him the highest paid forward in the club’s history.
The offer is believed to be worth $1.8 million over three years and will keep Merrin, 25, at the club until the end of 2018. The NSW forward still has another year to run on his contract at the Dragons and has already indicated he could test his value on the open market.
There has been speculation he could command $800,000 a season from rival clubs — better than the Dragons’ offer — and that Brisbane and the Sydney Roosters are already circling.
St George Illawarra would be loath to lose another high-profile player after winger Brett Morris cut short his time at the club to take up an offer from Canterbury.
The club is hopeful that his ties to the area — he is a local junior and his girlfriend and professional surfer Sally Fitzgibbons also hails from the south coast — will work in their favour.
Merrin wasn’t at the club’s golf day at Kogarah yesterday having recently had a pin removed from a shoulder after post-season surgery. Dragons captain Ben Creagh said Merrin would attract plenty of interest from rival clubs but it was important for all parties that he remained at the Dragons.
“I suppose to have a player of that talent, a State of Origin player and hopefully Australian player soon when he’s fit, is certainly important to have around here,” Creagh said.
“Hopefully he and the club come to an agreement sooner rather than later and hopefully he can stay a long time and finish his career here.
“He’s a Shellharbour junior, he’s an Illawarra Steelers junior, and the more players of that talent we can keep at the club and can keep here for a long time the better.”
If the Dragons miss out on Merrin, it is understood they have formed a contingency plan to target Warriors prop Ben Matulino. The Dragons have already been linked with another former Warriors prop, Russell Packer, who is eligible for parole in January after being convicted of assault last year.
Even if Packer is released there is no guarantee he will be fast-tracked back into the game as the NRL is expected to place strict conditions on his registration.
The Dragons are optimistic that if they are successful in signing Packer he could play a role in helping lure Matulino over from Auckland. Dragons halfback Benji Marshall, who knows Packer through Marshall’s best friend, said he hoped the NRL gives the big man a second chance.
“Look at all the people who have had second chances,’’ Marshall said. “They’ve done misdemeanours off the field as well. I think it’s probably fair to give him a crack.
“He put himself in a situation that he will regret and I’m pretty sure that won’t happen again.
“We’d be happy to have him and he’s just one of those players who you hate playing against, but when he’s in your team you love him.
“He’s a grub. He’s one of the most unhygienic humans I’ve met but that’s what you need in the team.’’
Marshall also said yesterday he felt like he was the fittest he had been in six years after only a month of pre-season training. This time last year Marshall was training with Super Rugby franchise Auckland Blues in the lead-up to his failed stint after switching codes. He returned to the NRL in May after signing a 2½-year deal with the Dragons and admitted yesterday the transition back to the NRL had been initially difficult.
“At the Tigers I was just playing to play with my mates and now I’ve come back to have to prove myself again. I want to be the best again,’’ Marshall said.
“All my life growing up I wanted to be the best and I lost that for a couple of years and I’ve found that again by going away and coming back.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...ent-trent-merrin/story-fnca0von-1227131258757
“I’ve got a lot to prove still.’’
ST GEORGE Illawarra has tabled an offer to Trent Merrin which would make him the highest paid forward in the club’s history.
The offer is believed to be worth $1.8 million over three years and will keep Merrin, 25, at the club until the end of 2018. The NSW forward still has another year to run on his contract at the Dragons and has already indicated he could test his value on the open market.
There has been speculation he could command $800,000 a season from rival clubs — better than the Dragons’ offer — and that Brisbane and the Sydney Roosters are already circling.
St George Illawarra would be loath to lose another high-profile player after winger Brett Morris cut short his time at the club to take up an offer from Canterbury.
The club is hopeful that his ties to the area — he is a local junior and his girlfriend and professional surfer Sally Fitzgibbons also hails from the south coast — will work in their favour.
Merrin wasn’t at the club’s golf day at Kogarah yesterday having recently had a pin removed from a shoulder after post-season surgery. Dragons captain Ben Creagh said Merrin would attract plenty of interest from rival clubs but it was important for all parties that he remained at the Dragons.
“I suppose to have a player of that talent, a State of Origin player and hopefully Australian player soon when he’s fit, is certainly important to have around here,” Creagh said.
“Hopefully he and the club come to an agreement sooner rather than later and hopefully he can stay a long time and finish his career here.
“He’s a Shellharbour junior, he’s an Illawarra Steelers junior, and the more players of that talent we can keep at the club and can keep here for a long time the better.”
If the Dragons miss out on Merrin, it is understood they have formed a contingency plan to target Warriors prop Ben Matulino. The Dragons have already been linked with another former Warriors prop, Russell Packer, who is eligible for parole in January after being convicted of assault last year.
Even if Packer is released there is no guarantee he will be fast-tracked back into the game as the NRL is expected to place strict conditions on his registration.
The Dragons are optimistic that if they are successful in signing Packer he could play a role in helping lure Matulino over from Auckland. Dragons halfback Benji Marshall, who knows Packer through Marshall’s best friend, said he hoped the NRL gives the big man a second chance.
“Look at all the people who have had second chances,’’ Marshall said. “They’ve done misdemeanours off the field as well. I think it’s probably fair to give him a crack.
“He put himself in a situation that he will regret and I’m pretty sure that won’t happen again.
“We’d be happy to have him and he’s just one of those players who you hate playing against, but when he’s in your team you love him.
“He’s a grub. He’s one of the most unhygienic humans I’ve met but that’s what you need in the team.’’
Marshall also said yesterday he felt like he was the fittest he had been in six years after only a month of pre-season training. This time last year Marshall was training with Super Rugby franchise Auckland Blues in the lead-up to his failed stint after switching codes. He returned to the NRL in May after signing a 2½-year deal with the Dragons and admitted yesterday the transition back to the NRL had been initially difficult.
“At the Tigers I was just playing to play with my mates and now I’ve come back to have to prove myself again. I want to be the best again,’’ Marshall said.
“All my life growing up I wanted to be the best and I lost that for a couple of years and I’ve found that again by going away and coming back.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...ent-trent-merrin/story-fnca0von-1227131258757
“I’ve got a lot to prove still.’’
