EXCLUSIVE
Wests Tigers have held secret talks with Leeds about the prospect of a player swap involving Robbie Farah and reigning Man of Steel Zak Hardaker.
Fairfax Media can reveal the Tigers, Leeds and Farah's management have been in discussions about a trade that could potentially bring closure to the long-running impasse between Farah and coach Jason Taylor.
Farah, in camp with the NSW squad in Coffs Harbour, is contracted to the Tigers for 2017 and stands to earn the best part of $1 million in what is a heavily back-ended deal. The 32-year-old is well within his rights to see it out, but it is becoming increasingly clear that it will result in another year of tension at the club should Taylor also see out the final year of his contract.
While Blues coach Laurie Daley considers Farah the best hooker in the state, the veteran dummy half can't crack it for a starting spot at the Tigers.
Leeds have been eagerly pursuing a marquee rake and Farah tops their wish list, although out-of-favour Panther James Segeyaro and off-contract Dragon Mitch Rein have also been approached.
Hardaker, meanwhile, is also under contract, but the Rhinos are prepared to release him to pursue his NRL dream if an Australian club is prepared to foot a £300,000 ($582,554) transfer fee.
The Tigers and Leeds have been in discussions about a Farah-Hardaker player swap, but the move is reliant on Farah walking away from the NRL a season early.
The Rhinos are one of the Super League's heavyweight clubs, winning the treble last season under coach Brian McDermott. However, they have endured a nightmare title defence in 2016, are sitting in last spot and face the prospect of relegation.
Unless performances improve immediately, it's unlikely the Rhinos will be a palatable option for Farah, given he would also be effectively giving up his beloved Origin jersey in making the move.
The Tigers have little room in their salary cap for next year and their best chance of recruiting a big-name such as Hardaker is by getting Farah off the books. But after more than a year of speculation about his future, reignited by Taylor's preference to start Dene Halatau at hooker, Farah may consider a fresh start.
Hardaker's transfer fee may scare off some NRL clubs, with most believing the Warriors didn't get bang for their buck from fellow English fullback Sam Tomkins after shelling out a record £700,000 ($1.35 million) for his release from Wigan.
However, Hardaker's manager, Craig Harrison, of the Show Me the Money UK agency, is hopeful his client will fulfil his ambition if Leeds and Australian clubs come to the negotiating table.
"There's more than one way to do a deal at that level," Harrison told Fairfax Media.
"There are different ways to do a deal, there's also player exchanges. I'm sure Leeds are looking for players in different areas, so that could be of interest. It could be that 'I've got this player'.
"You could look defer payments, take a bit less on the first year and put that into a pot as part of a fee.
"If you get around the table, I'm confident and Leeds are confident it could work for other clubs. If you look at it as 300 [pounds], yes, I'm sure it will have an effect. The guys at your end are more experienced at this. There's always a deal."
Harrison likened Hardaker to St George Illawarra star Josh Dugan in playing style and because of his ability to play at fullback and centre.
"Zach's biggest asset, without a doubt, is defence, he's massive on defence," Harrison said.
The Tigers, who have a superior winning record without Farah in recent times, have a proud history of attracting the best of British. Garry Schofield, Ellery Hanley and Gareth Ellis have all starred in the black, white and gold after making their names in England.
Unlike that trio, Hardaker has courted controversy during a colourful career. The England international was stood down from the Rugby League World Cup squad in 2013 for a breach of team discipline, forced to publicly apologise for directing a homophobic slur at Michael Monaghan during a club match and was disciplined over an alleged assault of a 22-year-old student in an off-field incident that also created headlines.
Harrison believes the Featherstone product has learnt from those experiences and won't bring any baggage to Australia.
"If you meet Zak and look into his eyes, he's definitely a character," Harrison said.
"Zak was playing semi-professional rugby when I got him at 17. So Zak suddenly came into the first team at 18. He used to play a game of rugby and have six or seven pints on the drink.
"That's how he came to Leeds and people would say, 'my God!' But Zak used to work while playing rugby, he didn't have the same grounding as others coming through at Leeds.
"You've got to be a character to make it over there."
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...layer-swap-20160618-gpmafk.html#ixzz4By8AaHUa
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