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NRL: St George Illawarra Dragons eye unwanted Wests Tigers hooker Robbie Farah
Adrian Proszenko
Published: July 21, 2016 - 6:26PM
St George Illawarra have re-emerged as a potential destination for Robbie Farah in a development that could save the NSW hooker's NRL career.
The Dragons will take on Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium on Sunday, but Farah won't get a chance to impress against the club pursuing him. Instead he will run out for the Tigers' reserve grade side against Newtown at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday, less than two weeks after leading the Blues to victory in third State of Origin fixture.
The Dragons made enquiries about Farah last August when Tigers coach Jason Taylor first threatened the veteran hooker with the prospect of finishing his career in the Intrust Super Premiership. Now that Taylor has followed through and axed his marquee man, the Dragons' interest has been rekindled.
Dragons hooker Mitch Rein is off contract at the end of the season and his management have been in negotiations for months about an extension. The sticking point remains Rein's asking price and the parties are yet to come to terms. If the impasse can't be resolved, the Dragons will look to make a play for Farah in a move that could result in the 32-year-old swapping one joint-venture outfit for another.
The Red V has made Parramatta playmaker Corey Norman their priority, tabling a lucrative three-year offer in the hope of making him the long-term halves partner of Gareth Widdop. But they are also seeking to secure a quality dummy half capable of providing them with good service and there are few options on the open market. The situation could result in the clubs discussing a player swap of Rein for Farah.
Farah has one year to go on a deal worth the best part of a $1 million. It's understood the Tigers are prepared to pay at least half that amount in order to get him off the books. Farah is entitled to dig in and see out the final year of his contract but he will likely be languishing in reggies if he chooses to do so.
While the Tigers have been diplomatic in their public statements – they insist Farah will be afforded a chance to get back into first grade – it's clear they want him gone as soon as possible. Officials had tried to trade him to Leeds as part of a player swap for Zak Hardaker, but Farah had no interest in joining an English club facing the prospect of relegation from the Super League. Hardaker instead did a deal that involved a swap for another unwanted hooker, former Panther James Segeyaro.
Farah had hoped to celebrate his 250th NRL game at Leichhardt Oval against the Cowboys in round 22, but it's now unlikely the milestone will be celebrated at the Tigers.
Taylor outlined his reasons for sacking Farah on Thursday, explaining his presence detracted from the cohesion of a spine containing playmakers Mitchell Moses, Luke Brooks and James Tedesco.
"We've got too many cooks spoiling the broth," Taylor said. "It's purely based on that. Robbie Farah is the NSW State of Origin hooker, he's a Wests Tigers great, he's a great player but it's just not working for us at the moment in regards to the cohesion of our team.
"I'm still not comfortable with where we are on the ladder.
"In my opinion we should be further up with the squad we've got and I've been brought here to get this team going in the right direction and tough decisions need to be made."
In recent times, the Tigers' record is superior when Farah isn't in the side.
"We had a good discussion, we went through some games and some examples of what we're talking about," Taylor said.
"Robbie's very disappointed and I've had a chat to him this morning and his attitude is he's going to get on with it and he's going to do it with a smile on his face."
With AAP
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...gers-hooker-robbie-farah-20160721-gqann2.html
Adrian Proszenko
Published: July 21, 2016 - 6:26PM
St George Illawarra have re-emerged as a potential destination for Robbie Farah in a development that could save the NSW hooker's NRL career.
The Dragons will take on Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium on Sunday, but Farah won't get a chance to impress against the club pursuing him. Instead he will run out for the Tigers' reserve grade side against Newtown at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday, less than two weeks after leading the Blues to victory in third State of Origin fixture.
The Dragons made enquiries about Farah last August when Tigers coach Jason Taylor first threatened the veteran hooker with the prospect of finishing his career in the Intrust Super Premiership. Now that Taylor has followed through and axed his marquee man, the Dragons' interest has been rekindled.
Dragons hooker Mitch Rein is off contract at the end of the season and his management have been in negotiations for months about an extension. The sticking point remains Rein's asking price and the parties are yet to come to terms. If the impasse can't be resolved, the Dragons will look to make a play for Farah in a move that could result in the 32-year-old swapping one joint-venture outfit for another.
The Red V has made Parramatta playmaker Corey Norman their priority, tabling a lucrative three-year offer in the hope of making him the long-term halves partner of Gareth Widdop. But they are also seeking to secure a quality dummy half capable of providing them with good service and there are few options on the open market. The situation could result in the clubs discussing a player swap of Rein for Farah.
Farah has one year to go on a deal worth the best part of a $1 million. It's understood the Tigers are prepared to pay at least half that amount in order to get him off the books. Farah is entitled to dig in and see out the final year of his contract but he will likely be languishing in reggies if he chooses to do so.
While the Tigers have been diplomatic in their public statements – they insist Farah will be afforded a chance to get back into first grade – it's clear they want him gone as soon as possible. Officials had tried to trade him to Leeds as part of a player swap for Zak Hardaker, but Farah had no interest in joining an English club facing the prospect of relegation from the Super League. Hardaker instead did a deal that involved a swap for another unwanted hooker, former Panther James Segeyaro.
Farah had hoped to celebrate his 250th NRL game at Leichhardt Oval against the Cowboys in round 22, but it's now unlikely the milestone will be celebrated at the Tigers.
Taylor outlined his reasons for sacking Farah on Thursday, explaining his presence detracted from the cohesion of a spine containing playmakers Mitchell Moses, Luke Brooks and James Tedesco.
"We've got too many cooks spoiling the broth," Taylor said. "It's purely based on that. Robbie Farah is the NSW State of Origin hooker, he's a Wests Tigers great, he's a great player but it's just not working for us at the moment in regards to the cohesion of our team.
"I'm still not comfortable with where we are on the ladder.
"In my opinion we should be further up with the squad we've got and I've been brought here to get this team going in the right direction and tough decisions need to be made."
In recent times, the Tigers' record is superior when Farah isn't in the side.
"We had a good discussion, we went through some games and some examples of what we're talking about," Taylor said.
"Robbie's very disappointed and I've had a chat to him this morning and his attitude is he's going to get on with it and he's going to do it with a smile on his face."
With AAP
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...gers-hooker-robbie-farah-20160721-gqann2.html
