Kieran Foran left fuming after his $4.7m four-year deal with Parramatta is leaked
Paul Crawley
The Daily Telegraph
March 11, 2015 10:07PM
A stunned and angry Kieran Foran surrendered months of careful planning surrounding his exit strategy from Manly on Wednesday night, when it was revealed he had agreed to join Parramatta on a four-year deal worth a stunning $4.7 million.
While the deal has not been formally signed off on, it is understood Foran has told Parramatta coach Brad Arthur that he wants to be coached by him.
It is expected a formal announcement will come this week before Manly’s first home game of the season on Saturday night against Melbourne.
Only a last-minute backflip is now likely to change Foran’s decision.
As Eels fans celebrated their most prized recruitment since the Super League war split the game, shocked Manly officials and coach Geoff Toovey claimed they had no idea Foran had made his final decision.
Although the announcement had been mooted for weeks, it is understood Foran desperately wanted to tell his teammates and coach Toovey before any deal was made public.
But that opportunity was stripped from him when a clearly surprised Toovey was left exposed when he appeared live on Fox Sports’ NRL360 shortly after the news of the deal broke.
Toovey could not believe Foran had signed with Parramatta.
“I saw Kieran today and he is the type of guy that would tell me what is going on but I have no official news that that is the case,” Toovey said.
“I am unaware of it.
“The man involved would come up and tell me if that was the case.”
Even Manly owner Scott Penn was not informed that Foran was leaving, while chief executive Joe Kelly said the club had met with Foran’s management on Wednesday and no deal was confirmed either way.
“At this point in time we have had no formal confirmation one way or the other regarding Kieran’s playing future beyond 2015 from either Kieran or his management,” Kelly said.
“I have been in contact with them as late as this afternoon and once again there has been no confirmation.”
While Manly were attempting to get in contact with Foran and his management, Parramatta also denied the deal was done.
“As I stand right here right now there is nothing to announce,” Parramatta chief executive Scott Seward said.
Asked if there could be an announcement before the end of the week, Seward added: “You never know, it could. But right now we have nothing to say on the matter.
“We are really frustrated with what happened tonight because it is not the way our footy club works.
“It may of in the past but it doesn’t anymore.”
“I think any football club, with a player of Kieran’s ability, if he was coming to our club I can guarantee we would be announcing it but there is nothing to announce.”
Asked if he was aware of a conversation Foran had with Arthur that apparently sealed the deal, Seward said: “Mate, I am not aware of that.”
“I have not spoken to Kieran once as part of any of this process.
“Have I spoken to his management, yes. But I have not spoken to Kieran.
“Tonight I have not spoken to either of them.”
While the deal is yet to be signed off on, the figure of $4.7 million over four years is not being disputed.
Sources close to Foran told The Daily Telegraph that he was filthy he had not had the chance to reveal his news to teammates and Toovey before they found out last night through the breaking news.
Manly were not scheduled to train on Thursday, which only added to Foran’s dilemma about when he could tell his teammates as a group.
It is understood for months he had been agonising over his desire to take his football to a higher level up against his close bond to his Manly teammates, many of whom he has been playing alongside since he came into first grade as a teenager in 2009.
The latest news will come as a major shock to Manly and their fans in the wake of Daly
Cherry-Evans’s decision to quit the club at the end of the season.
Manly would shed no further light on whether they would still consider releasing Cherry-Evans this year if they could work out a suitable exit deal with Gold Coast.
Foran is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury and won’t be playing for several weeks.
The loss of Foran and Cherry-Evans follows the departure of stars forwards Glenn Stewart and Anthony Watmough at the end of last year on top of the retirement of former co-captain Jason King that has taken tremendous experience out of the Manly pack.
Danny Weidler ‏@Danny_Weidler https://twitter.com/Danny_Weidler/status/575586582930948096
