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Tahu?

meercat

meercat

Juniors
Messages
810
But in ominous signs the person most of his anger was aimed at isnt even involved with the club anymore...
 
Serc

Serc

First Grade
Messages
6,902
Restless Tahu 'always welcome' at Knights ... but not right now
Robert Dillon and Greg Prichard
December 3, 2010

NEWCASTLE have dismissed speculation they have been in contact with Timana Tahu, and have ruled out making a play for the troubled Parramatta centre.
Tahu's future with the Eels is under a cloud after the dual international was granted leave from pre-season training to deal with personal issues. The 30-year-old is understood to have been spending time with his family in Newcastle, and was reported to have been seen in the company of two Knights players last week.
Knights chief executive Steve Burraston said his club had no need to bolster its outside backs by signing Tahu, who was raised in Newcastle and spent six years with his hometown club before joining Parramatta in 2005. ''We haven't spoken to him at all, nor are we in the market for a centre at the moment,'' Burraston said yesterday. ''I've had a lot to do with Timana, and I respect the bloke and I respect his ability. I thought he played some good footy when he came back from rugby union. He's always welcome at our place, but it's got to be under the right circumstances. Right at the moment, there's not a position for him or enough room for us to fit him under the salary cap.''
Burraston pointed out that Tahu remained aligned with Parramatta, and the club had not indicated it would be willing to release him. Eels chief executive Paul Osborne said last weekend he had told Tahu the player needed to meet the club's coach, Stephen Kearney, this week to agree to a date to return to training. Asked last night if there had been any developments on that front, Osborne replied: ''Nothing today.''
Had the Knights been able to go after Tahu six months ago, they might have tried to entice him back to the club.
Newcastle made a concerted bid to sign Mark Gasnier when he returned from French rugby, but the former Test star rejoined his original club, St George Illawarra. The Knights also expressed interest in Greg Inglis when it became apparent he would leave Melbourne because of salary cap pressure.
Tahu, who played 97 NRL games for Newcastle from 1999 to 2004, scoring 82 tries, including one in the 2001 grand final victory, would have been a high-quality addition to the club's back line. After their fruitless bids to sign Gasnier and Inglis, Newcastle settled on retaining veteran Adam MacDougall, and recruiting highly rated rookie Siuatonga Likiliki, who starred for the Warriors in their National Youth Cup grand final win.
Burraston said Newcastle would ''probably look at signing a forward if someone comes up'', after the recent departure of former NSW prop Ben Cross to Leeds. Meanwhile, Burraston said the Knights were yet to reopen privatisation talks with multi-millionaire Nathan Tinkler after knocking back an offer from Tinkler to buy the club three weeks ago.
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http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...nights--but-not-right-now-20101202-18i9b.html

Just as an aside...Dillon works for the Herald which (i think) is News Ltd, but also writes for the SMH which is Fairfax? I don't get it...once they get to this level, journos don't 'freelance' between papers do they?
 
RABK

RABK

Referee
Messages
20,694
Serc said:
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...nights--but-not-right-now-20101202-18i9b.html

Just as an aside...Dillon works for the Herald which (i think) is News Ltd, but also writes for the SMH which is Fairfax? I don't get it...once they get to this level, journos don't 'freelance' between papers do they?
Click to expand...


"Right at the moment, there's not a position for him or enough room for us to fit him under the salary cap.''
Click to expand...

I hope that reads as "We don't want to use what room we have under the salary cap to sign a centre."

After releasing cross it is impossible for us NOT to have room under the cap unless we were over it in the first place.
 
B

big boppa eel

Juniors
Messages
1,967
roopy said:
A fantastic pick up if we can get him for a good price.

He has a bit of baggage, but I wouldn't care if he was Ivan Milat as long as he can play and isn't going to do a lot of damage to others in our squad - and all his issues only hurt him - it's not like he is a druggie who will lead kids astray - he is just bitter after a pretty ordinary upbringing.

We aren't in danger of being trampled by a stampede of rep standard players wanting a run, so we can't afford to turn one down because he is a bit of a wanker.

Scot Dureau is the nicest guy you could meet - not a great player.
Tahu is not a guy you would want at your birthday party - the guy can play.

That's all that really matters.
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Please take him he is a walking talking nightmare, I feel sorry for his family.
 
Frederick

Frederick

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
27,660
God-King Dean

God-King Dean

Immortal
Messages
46,614
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...twist-for-timana/story-e6frexnr-1225965682250

TIMANA Tahu's future at Parramatta is virtually untenable with revelations the star centre's wife has moved to Newcastle to be closer to her family.
The decision by Tahu's wife, Kasey, to leave Sydney adds more doubt over the former Test centre's already clouded future at the Eels.
The Sunday Telegraph has learned that Tahu has spoken of plans to remain in Sydney and commute back and forth to Newcastle.
But Eels team-mates and officials believe it's virtually impossible for Tahu - a devoted family man - to focus on his football without his wife and two kids nearby.
Tahu's decision to quit rugby union coincided with his struggles to spend lengthy periods away from his family.
Newcastle chief executive Steve Burraston says he hasn't spoken to Tahu, but speculation is widespread in rugby league circles that he is manouevring for a return to the Knights.


Tahu, was born and raised in Newcastle and spent six seasons at the Knights before joining Parramatta in 2005.
It was also reported he was spotted late last week in the Newcastle area with two Knights players.
Burraston, a former Newcastle lower-grade coach, mentored Tahu through his junior years, but he said last week that Tahu wasn't in the club's sights for next season.
"We haven't spoken to him at all, nor are we in the market for a centre at the moment," Burraston said.
"I've had a lot to do with Timana, and I respect the bloke and I respect his ability.
"I thought he played some good footy when he came back from rugby union.
"He's always welcome at our place, but it's got to be under the right circumstances.
"Right at the moment, there's not a position for him or enough room for us to fit him under the salary cap."
The Knights last made a play for Tahu's services in 2009 before he signed to return to the Eels from rugby union.
Parramatta coach Stephen Kearney is yet to meet with Tahu after he was granted leave from training to confront some personal issues.
Kearney is refusing to get caught up in the drama, with his focus on rebuilding the Eels after they missed the finals last year.
Tahu's wife Kasey said last weekend that she hoped Parramatta would not push her husband back to training until after Christmas.
Eels management are tempted to wait until then before making a decision on Tahu's future.
 
R

roopy

Referee
Messages
27,980
A back line that included Gidley, Uate, Sau and Tahu, with Doogs and McManus as well, would be as good as any in the comp.

It really looks like we will get him cheap for one year at least.
 
Noname36

Noname36

First Grade
Messages
7,067
NO! Jesus, do.not.want! I understand that if Tahu could somehow recapture some of his past form we would have a pretty fantastic backline...but really, too much baggage.

+ He seems to really hate us. I'm sure (hoping) this is all just a media beat-up.
 
R

rnb11

Juniors
Messages
820
If we did sign Tahu would anyone be open to the idea of playing Sau on the wing? He doesn't look like your everyday winger but when you think of guys like Tuiaki, Vatuvei, Tony Williams I personally don't think it seems that crazy. He's not as tall as these guys but I have no doubt he's just as powerful and just as fast (not that they're that fast) and if Kearney is comfortable playing him on the wing at the highest level, we should surely at least consider it. Plus imagine the ball returns! Wow.

The only thing he'd need to work on is his jump which shouldn't be too difficult. He would then have Tahu inside of him which means noone would get through that side and would also mean our left side attack would be just as lethal as our right. I know its only speculation at this time and I may deserved to be locked up for saying all this but when you think of the potential backline, its almost too good not to wonder. It also may be easier to just put Tahu on the wing but I think those days are over. His defence is his best attribute but he's still one of the most powerful runners, two qualities that we would need to make the most of by playing him at centre.


1. Kurt Gidley
2. Akuila Uate
3. Timana Tahu
4. Adam MacDougall
5. Junior Sau

If any injuries occur, we have some awesome players ready to go in Likiliki, McManus & Kev. Sau could also be easily moved back into the centres. Great depth.
 
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perverse

perverse

Referee
Messages
26,764
if he came super cheap then we'd be dumb not to have him, i suppose. we don't need him, i don't particular want him and if we were to chase him on the market actively i would bang my head against the wall... but by the sounds of it he's coming to us and asking us to give him a run. at his best he is very good, and if his head is right in Newcastle then i think we can get some good years out of him yet.

if Likiliki turns out as good as his wraps suggest it will leave us in a bit of a pickle regarding Sau, though. funnily enough, Sau is off contract next season. is trading Tahu for Sau worth it? only if we can wind Tahu's clock back 3 years or so.

i don't know if Sau works as a winger. too short, can't contest the high ball. that would be exposed pretty early on. Tahu might still work as a winger, but he'd probably chuck another hissy fit... and i'm not sure he has the toe for it anymore, either.
 
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R

rnb11

Juniors
Messages
820
Yeah I was thinking about Sau's height when writing my last post which kind of made me second guess the whole idea.

I agree the only way Tahu would be even accepted at the Knights is if he slashed his asking price and turned his attitude around. He may want to finish his career at the place where it all started which could actually be all the motivation he needs to get back in form. I don't like the guy one bit right now but if he could prove his commitment to the club and somehow turn his negatives into positives then I'd happily accept him. All of this seems a bit far-fetched though.
 
perverse

perverse

Referee
Messages
26,764
rnb11 said:
Yeah I was thinking about Sau's height when writing my last post which kind of made me second guess the whole idea.

I agree the only way Tahu would be even accepted at the Knights is if he slashed his asking price and turned his attitude around. He may want to finish his career at the place where it all started which could actually be all the motivation he needs to get back in form. I don't like the guy one bit right now but if he could prove his commitment to the club and somehow turn his negatives into positives then I'd happily accept him. All of this seems a bit far-fetched though.
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i don't think it's overly far-fetched. being away from home this long may have put significant strain on his marriage, or something like that. it would certainly fit the circumstances. i'm thinking life for Timana back home could be a lot better for him for a lot of reasons. but i'm joining a lot of imaginary dots to get to that put. he seems like a bloke who has had dramas behind the scenes for a while now, though. this could easily be a part of that showing through. i find it hard to believe all of his latest dramas are unrelated and coincidental.
 
S

Spot On

Coach
Messages
13,903
Hmmm, this may be a little far fetched but would the club's decision two weeks ago to pass on paying Johns to "coach" the halves have anything to do with the possible return of one T. Tahu and not just the dollars Johns was asking for???
 
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