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South Sydney have launched a raid on their cross-town rivals by tabling an offer for the Roosters' Kiwi Test forward Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
Rabbitohs insiders have confirmed coach Michael Maguire has identified Waerea-Hargreaves as the club's priority target for next season.
The Sunday Telegraph can also reveal that Newcastle Knights super-coach Wayne Bennett and Wests Tigers four-time premiership winner Tim Sheens will submit formal offers for Waerea-Hargreaves.
Under a new policy instituted at the Rabbitohs since Maguire's arrival as coach, South Sydney chief executive Shane Richardson refuses to comment on recruitment and retention issues.
Maguire also refused to comment when approached about South Sydney's interest in the Roosters prop.
Roosters recruitment guru Peter O'Sullivan could see the funny side of it, making a tongue-in-cheek offer to trade Waerea-Hargreaves for South Sydney's English international Sam Burgess.
"Tell them we'll meet at the border and swap them for Sam Burgess, then we'll be even," O'Sullivan said.
"It doesn't surprise me that other clubs are interested, I'm sure they're not the only ones.
"From our point of view, we want to keep Jared and he wants to stay so we're confident of keeping him.
"We understand this next contract's going to take him into the peak of his career so we've just got to make sure that it's a sound deal for him and the club.
"We've got to keep it within our (salary) cap and our budget so that it's financially viable for both parties.
"We're building a young squad and Jared's a very important part of that. All things being equal, we're confident he'll remain loyal."
The Rabbitohs are cashed-up and in the market for a damaging forward following Maguire's decision to withdraw an offer to Queensland Origin player David Taylor a fortnight ago.
And South Sydney aren't the only club who have targeted Waerea-Hargreaves, with Bennett also understood to be a big fan of the Kiwi front-rower after working with him during the All Stars camp in February.
After pulling an offer to Bulldogs prop Sam Kasiano, the Knights are now focused on Waerea-Hargreaves.
Wests Tigers coach Sheens is also in the hunt after the Tigers' poor start to the season has exposed some major deficiencies in the club's front-row stocks.
Rookie Aaron Woods has more than held his own but is in urgent need of a more experienced front-row partner, with Matt Groat struggling to adjust to the speed of the NRL.
When The Sunday Telegraph contacted Waerea-Hargreaves' agent Mike Newton, he also refused to confirm the clubs' interest in the Kiwi Test prop.
"I'm not going to comment on confidential contract negotiations," Newton said.
The Roosters went out on a limb with Waerea-Hargreaves by signing him to a lucrative three-year deal in 2009 when the Kiwi was an emerging star in Manly's Toyota Cup team.
After three years on the interchange bench, the Test prop has taken his game to the next level since coach Brian Smith's decision to start him.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1226315281315