Raiders want Eels to release Junior Paulo immediately
an hour ago
CHRISTIAN NICOLUSSIEXCLUSIVEThe Daily Telegraph
RAIDERS boss Don Furner has urged Parramatta to grant Junior Paulo an immediate release to join Canberra after he was warned by NSW Police for consorting with convicted criminals.
Paulo’s manager Sam Ayoub is expected to seek a release for the 22-year-old as soon as Thursday over the Eels’ star’s wellbeing as the Parramatta’s season from hell goes from bad to worse.
On the same day Eels playmaker Corey Norman was charged with drug possession, Furner declared to The Daily Telegraph: “The sooner Junior gets here the better it will be for his welfare.’’
Furner was aware of the Instagram post of Paulo posing with a former bikie boss and a convicted criminal on Friday night — the same image that led to the police warning — and said the best thing for the prop was a fresh start in the nation’s capital.
Paulo will move to Canberra on a lucrative two-year deal from 2017, but the Raiders are well aware they have until June 30 to sign him for the remainder of this season.
Even Ayoub said the best thing for Paulo would be to leave Sydney.
“The purpose behind the madness in signing with Canberra when we did was to get Junior away from some distractions and elements, and I believe it would be in his best interests to make the move to Canberra now rather than wait until next year,’’ Ayoub said.
The Eels face a near-impossible task of reaching the finals, while Canberra can sit as high as sixth on the NRL ladder should they win at home against Canterbury on Sunday.
Paulo, Eels teammate Norman and Penrith rake James Segeyaro were all issued police warnings yesterday for allegedly consorting with convicted criminals, including Rafat Alameddine and former Nomad Paulie Younan on Friday night.
While Furner did not want to be “seen as dancing on Parramatta’s grave’’, he said Paulo had more to gain by making the move to a new club.
“Sometimes players need to get away from certain elements, and a change can do them the world of good,” Furner said.
“It’s going to be a tough four or five months for Parramatta, especially with the club unlikely to be playing finals football. It will be tough to keep players motivated.
“(Coach) Brad Arthur has done a tremendous job with his players, but it will be hard trying to keep the players focused and not finding trouble.
“That’s why we believe our environment will be better for Junior - we have absolutely no problems bringing him here to this environment.’’
A shot uploaded to Junior Paulo’s Instagram account from the infamous night out.
The Raiders have been forced to shed some young stars because of off-field dramas over the years, including Todd Carney, Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson and even Joel Monaghan.
Furner, however, said those unpopular but necessary decisions had helped create the healthy culture there was at the club now. There were also no shortage of young families, something Paulo has, and the area “was the best place to raise children’’.
When Parramatta needed to shed $570,000 worth of talent so they could become salary cap compliant and eligible for competition points earlier this month, Paulo was one player they did not want to lose.
