EELS ON KIMMORLEY WATCH
WATCH for Parramatta to make a play for Brett Kimmorley if Canterbury set him free. There is no doubt the Bulldogs had Johnathan Thurston on their wish list - a meeting with his manager on Wednesday night confirmed that. The Dogs have been keen to give ''Noddy'' another year so they can blood another half under his guidance, although the inquiries about Thurston indicate they think they can do better than Kimmorley. The Dogs were keen to talk dollars to Thurston, but his manager Sam Ayoub stopped them in their tracks. ''We are not trying to get clubs to make offers to us to try and leverage this deal,'' Ayoub said. ''There has been interest from clubs to put proposals to us, but unless something changes in a hurry, this is going to be a matter between the Cowboys and French rugby. I don't want clubs to feel like we are using them to boost Johnathan's price. To say that we put him out of the Bulldogs' price range is wrong
we are not looking for a concrete offer at this point. If that changes in the near future I will go back to the clubs who have shown interest.'' So far, the Bulldogs have had at least three conversations with Kimmorley and a decision about his future is likely to be made around round nine. Kimmorley has a media career in front of him and would have potential as a coach, but that is all ahead of him. He could find a new home at the Eels, who are looking for a steady head in the halves who could teach Daniel Mortimer some more tricks.
