Riddell in demand as Parra put in bid
By Greg Prichard
June 6, 2004
Hooker Mark Riddell could be lost to St George Illawarra this week as Parramatta and Cronulla battle for his signature with deals worth at least $1 million if he gets the four-year contract he wants.
The Sun-Herald understands that Parramatta's offer for Riddell is worth $270,000 a season :shock: and Cronulla are offering $250,000. And there is obviously the potential for those offers to rise, depending on how keen the Eels and the Sharks are to get him.
St George Illawarra chief executive Peter Doust is expected to meet Riddell and his manager, Daryl Mather, on Wednesday, and the Dragons will need to make a competitive offer or risk losing him.
That won't be easy for the club, which is also attempting to re-sign a number of other players and is having huge problems trying to fit them all in under the $3.25 million salary cap.
Riddell and Mather met Parramatta coach Brian Smith and Eels officials on Friday and told The Sun-Herald he was impressed by what he saw and heard.
"The interest from Parramatta came out of nowhere and I wasn't really thinking that I might end up there next year when I went out to meet them," Riddell said yesterday. "But it was all good.
"The set-up at Parramatta Stadium is great and Brian Smith seemed like a really good bloke with good ideas." :shock: He said they were fair dinkum about buying some top players 
and I like what they've offered me.
"I'd sort of settled on being at either the Dragons or the Sharks next year, but now there are three clubs in the picture and I'm having trouble separating them.
"I love it at the Dragons, but they've got a lot of players to try to re-sign and I don't know what they're going to offer me. I guess I'll find out when Daryl and I meet with Doustie on Wednesday."
Riddell is having his best season for the Dragons and broke into representative football last month when he played for City in the Origin game against Country.
He said he was hoping to make a decision on his future before next weekend.
"I don't want it to drag on," Riddell said. "I want to make a decision and get on with my footy. I'd like to think the Dragons will make a fairly competitive offer but I'll just have to wait and see.
"Cronulla and Parramatta have both offered three-year deals, but I'd like a four-year deal whatever I do and I think Cronulla and Parramatta are flexible on that. I won't know what the Dragons think about the four years until I talk to them."
Cronulla football manager Greg Pierce said the Sharks saw Riddell as a player who had the ability to add a real spark in attack.
"He's definitely a guy who can bring something to our club," Pierce said yesterday. "He's an impact player and he's a clever player and hooker is a position we're keen to buy in.
"We've been using Matt Hilder at hooker but he's really a back-rower, and Michael Sullivan has been coming off the bench as back-up hooker but he's really more suited to half or five-eighth."
Parramatta are understood to be impressed by Riddell's ability to use his size and strength to crack a game open.
They also like his growing maturity as an on-field leader.
Doust said he was optimistic about keeping Riddell and the other big-name player the Dragons had permitted to negotiate with other clubs - prop Brent Kite - before coming back to St George Illawarra for final talks.
"Mark and Brent are pretty well sought after, but we'll sit down and talk and put our best offer to Mark and do the same with Brent," Doust said. "I think players who have been at a club for a long time and have established themselves playing for that club are usually prepared to accept a bit less than they can get elsewhere to stay.
"I'm not sure how our offers for those two players will shape up, but we'll be doing our best."
Kite, who broke into State of Origin football with NSW this year, has been linked with Melbourne and Canberra.
