Smith to commit to Eels
Greg Prichard | April 19, 2007
Tim Smith is set to re-sign with Parramatta in a deal that will tie the halfback to the club until the end of 2009.
Eels management forwarded the terms of a contract offer to Smith's manager, David Riolo, at a meeting on Tuesday and Smith said last night he would meet with Riolo in the next few days.
"I want to sort something out with Parra as soon as possible," Smith said. "I've been in the system at the club for five years now, since I was 17, and it's my preference to stay.
"I don't like this contract negotiation stuff dragging on, either, if I can avoid it. When I feel sure about what I want to do in these situations I like to go ahead and do it."
Parramatta are keen to finalise an arrangement with Smith soon, so that rival clubs trying to find answers amid a shortage of quality halfbacks coming off contract at the end of this season don't get a decent crack at him.
There is talk in league circles that Brisbane were planning to make a play for the Queensland-born 22-year-old. Newcastle, coached by ex-Parramatta coach Brian Smith, were also rumoured to be interested.
But it looks like the Eels have what it takes to keep Smith happy - particularly since he is a big fan of Michael Hagan's coaching.
Smith said he didn't know what to expect when Hagan took over at the end of last season but was delighted with how it was turning out.
"'Hages' has been awesome," Smith said. "He's been a really good influence on me. You never know what's going to happen when a new coach arrives, but the best thing about the club for me at the moment is how much Hages is helping me.
"I'm really happy that I've had a couple of half-decent games in the last couple of weeks. That doesn't make a season, but the important thing is that I'm getting my confidence back. I'm improving. If you look at Parramatta and see the young players coming through, you've got to be excited about the future. I played junior footy with guys like Josh Cordoba, Feleti Mateo, Krisnan Inu and Blake Green, so it's even more exciting for me to see them hit first grade."
Riolo said there was every chance a contract between Parramatta and Smith would be finalised soon.
"There are a few things we're apart on, but a lot of things we're similar on," Riolo said. "And Tim seems pretty keen to stay, so I can't see it dragging on for too long. He's got a couple of other options if he wants to consider them, but it doesn't look like there are any big snags that will get in the way of doing a deal with Parramatta."
Asked about the progress of his partnership in the halves with five-eighth Brett Finch, Smith said Finch had been unfairly treated by critics.
"'Finchy' is getting hard done by," Smith said. "He's doing good things that don't get a mention. His defence has been terrific. Getting used to each other on the field is something we both have to work on and we're doing that. It's getting better all the time."
