Paul Crawley From: The Daily Telegraph February 11, 2011 12:00AM
THIS all started when Timana Tahu went to Andrew Johns for help.
This was late last year, when Tahu was on leave from Parramatta for "personal reasons".
He'd asked the club for an extended break over summer - and in the wake of all the drama in his life at the time, the Eels were happy to accommodate him.
But a February return wasn't exactly in new coach Stephen Kearney's plans. Kearney was looking to instil discipline at the club and it's fair to say giving Tahu almost the entire pre-season off wasn't the right look.
This was the NRL, not Club Med.
Not that Tahu appeared too bothered, given he was back living at Newcastle and wanting his own fresh start with the Knights.
So Tahu contacted Joey to call in a favour. Now, it's worth recalling for those who spent last year on Pluto that Tahu and Johns were embroiled in a racial row during State of Origin.
It resulted in Tahu walking out on the Blues.
While Tahu was widely praised for his courageous stand against racism, Johns was forced to issue a public apology and quit the Origin team.
So anyway, here they were, six months down the track plotting Tahu's return to the Knights.
So Johns called his mates at the Knights and pleaded Tahu's case.
This is a chance to pick up a quality State of Origin player cheap, is along the lines of what he said.
But the Knights had their concerns.
At one point former Newcastle player and close friend Ashley Gordon visited Tahu. Gordon told The Daily Telegraph yesterday he wasn't acting on behalf of the Knights.
"It was two days after Christmas, just a Christmas catch-up," Gordon said. "There'd been a lot of talk about his supposed mental state, so I was concerned about him. But he assured me he was fine. He just wanted to get away from all the negative media and get himself out of the spotlight."
Johns also called Knights coach Rick Stone. For one reason or another, Newcastle closed the door on the offer.
All the while, Parramatta boss Paul Osborne was doing everything he could to make sure Tahu was OK in his life.
But with Kearney wanting a fresh start, and Tahu wanting to live in Newcastle, this relationship wasn't heading for a happy ending. Then yesterday, after months of speculation, Osborne finally conceded Tahu was almost free.
Almost.
The problem now is agreeing on a payout, which could prove tricky given the circumstances.
Osborne says he wants Tahu to play in the NRL, and he won't stand in his way if he finds a new club.
"I'm sitting down with his management next week to finalise a deal with us," Osborne said.
"It's very unlikely he will be playing at Parramatta. I want him to play this year."
The trick now is convincing other NRL clubs he's right to return.
The Daily Telegraph can confirm a third party has been contacting NRL clubs to gauge interest.
It is understood the Wests Tigers, Sydney Roosters and Cronulla were on Tahu's radar.
Yesterday, Roosters coach Brian Smith said his club was not interested, as previously rumoured.
"No interest, our books are full," Smith said.
**Tigers boss Stephen Humphreys also gave Tahu the thumbs down.\
\
"No disrespect to Timana, we're done for 2011," Humphreys said.**
But Sharks coach Shane Flanagan remains open.
"If he ends up cutting ties with Parramatta, I will consider it," Flanagan said. "But Timana would have to prove to us he is doing it for the right reasons."
It's understood the Sharks have $200,000 available in their salary cap but Flanagan said his priority was to sign a forward, not a back.
"We'd consider it if it was a good option for us," Flanagan said. "It has to be for the right reasons."
So what is Tahu's mental and physical state?
It all depends on who you talk to.
Tahu's childhood troubles have been well documented.
"Had a terrible upbringing," a source confided. "But there's no nastiness, he's just naive."
But is he ready for the NRL?
As well as the Origin race row last year, Tahu also had to contend with allegations of racism against him - which he vehemently denied - at an Aboriginal knockout in October. The matter remains unresolved and is currently with the Human Rights Commission.
NRL boss David Gallop said he would want that issue cleared up before Tahu returned to playing. Which could be sooner rather than later after Tahu's manager yesterday broke his silence, giving the first indication that the troubled star wants in on NRL 2011.
"He hasn't told me retirement," manager Warwick Wright said.
"He has done a fair bit of training, he'll be ready.
"There is no problem [with his mental state] at all. All that talk that he was a man on the edge and he doesn't know where he wants to go … look, it would make it a hell of a lot easier if he wanted to talk to you. But at the same time, until he knows where he's going, he doesn't want to say anything. He does want to play."The NRL's salary cap auditor Ian Schubert could prove the final stumbling block, though.
It's unlikely any club will be prepared to sign Tahu on big money given all that happened last year.
But because Tahu played Origin last year, the issue now will be getting a green light from Schubert.
The way it works in the NRL is that representative players are usually registered on at least $150,000 contracts. If a club attempts to sign them for less, questions are asked.
On top of that, if a club signs Tahu for anything longer than a one-year deal on a contract propped up by match payments, all money over $3000 a game will go on their cap for the following season.
It basically means Tahu has a problem - and he needs the NRL's understanding to resolve it.
And it appears Tahu is fast running out of favours.
Gallop said yesterday: "Any payout Parramatta provides has to go in the Parramatta cap. Any new contract will need to be assessed in terms of his value as a State of Origin and Australian player."
But Gallop conceded that Tahu's case might present exceptional circumstances.
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Thank God Humpreys isn't getting his fingerprints on that train wreck. I'm getting pretty sick of hearing about all his childhood issues and how terrible his upbringing was. He has been extremely privledged to play first grade football and has had the perfect opportunity to make a better person of himself and lead by example and has fluffed it every step of the way. He is carrying on like a petulant child with a sense of entitlement and maybe he needs the NRL to walk for a reality check. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if he went the other way either.
Interesting that Joey was helping Tahu out also. Wonder if thats out of the kindness of his heart, or a publicity stunt?
THIS all started when Timana Tahu went to Andrew Johns for help.
This was late last year, when Tahu was on leave from Parramatta for "personal reasons".
He'd asked the club for an extended break over summer - and in the wake of all the drama in his life at the time, the Eels were happy to accommodate him.
But a February return wasn't exactly in new coach Stephen Kearney's plans. Kearney was looking to instil discipline at the club and it's fair to say giving Tahu almost the entire pre-season off wasn't the right look.
This was the NRL, not Club Med.
Not that Tahu appeared too bothered, given he was back living at Newcastle and wanting his own fresh start with the Knights.
So Tahu contacted Joey to call in a favour. Now, it's worth recalling for those who spent last year on Pluto that Tahu and Johns were embroiled in a racial row during State of Origin.
It resulted in Tahu walking out on the Blues.
While Tahu was widely praised for his courageous stand against racism, Johns was forced to issue a public apology and quit the Origin team.
So anyway, here they were, six months down the track plotting Tahu's return to the Knights.
So Johns called his mates at the Knights and pleaded Tahu's case.
This is a chance to pick up a quality State of Origin player cheap, is along the lines of what he said.
But the Knights had their concerns.
At one point former Newcastle player and close friend Ashley Gordon visited Tahu. Gordon told The Daily Telegraph yesterday he wasn't acting on behalf of the Knights.
"It was two days after Christmas, just a Christmas catch-up," Gordon said. "There'd been a lot of talk about his supposed mental state, so I was concerned about him. But he assured me he was fine. He just wanted to get away from all the negative media and get himself out of the spotlight."
Johns also called Knights coach Rick Stone. For one reason or another, Newcastle closed the door on the offer.
All the while, Parramatta boss Paul Osborne was doing everything he could to make sure Tahu was OK in his life.
But with Kearney wanting a fresh start, and Tahu wanting to live in Newcastle, this relationship wasn't heading for a happy ending. Then yesterday, after months of speculation, Osborne finally conceded Tahu was almost free.
Almost.
The problem now is agreeing on a payout, which could prove tricky given the circumstances.
Osborne says he wants Tahu to play in the NRL, and he won't stand in his way if he finds a new club.
"I'm sitting down with his management next week to finalise a deal with us," Osborne said.
"It's very unlikely he will be playing at Parramatta. I want him to play this year."
The trick now is convincing other NRL clubs he's right to return.
The Daily Telegraph can confirm a third party has been contacting NRL clubs to gauge interest.
It is understood the Wests Tigers, Sydney Roosters and Cronulla were on Tahu's radar.
Yesterday, Roosters coach Brian Smith said his club was not interested, as previously rumoured.
"No interest, our books are full," Smith said.
**Tigers boss Stephen Humphreys also gave Tahu the thumbs down.\
\
"No disrespect to Timana, we're done for 2011," Humphreys said.**
But Sharks coach Shane Flanagan remains open.
"If he ends up cutting ties with Parramatta, I will consider it," Flanagan said. "But Timana would have to prove to us he is doing it for the right reasons."
It's understood the Sharks have $200,000 available in their salary cap but Flanagan said his priority was to sign a forward, not a back.
"We'd consider it if it was a good option for us," Flanagan said. "It has to be for the right reasons."
So what is Tahu's mental and physical state?
It all depends on who you talk to.
Tahu's childhood troubles have been well documented.
"Had a terrible upbringing," a source confided. "But there's no nastiness, he's just naive."
But is he ready for the NRL?
As well as the Origin race row last year, Tahu also had to contend with allegations of racism against him - which he vehemently denied - at an Aboriginal knockout in October. The matter remains unresolved and is currently with the Human Rights Commission.
NRL boss David Gallop said he would want that issue cleared up before Tahu returned to playing. Which could be sooner rather than later after Tahu's manager yesterday broke his silence, giving the first indication that the troubled star wants in on NRL 2011.
"He hasn't told me retirement," manager Warwick Wright said.
"He has done a fair bit of training, he'll be ready.
"There is no problem [with his mental state] at all. All that talk that he was a man on the edge and he doesn't know where he wants to go … look, it would make it a hell of a lot easier if he wanted to talk to you. But at the same time, until he knows where he's going, he doesn't want to say anything. He does want to play."The NRL's salary cap auditor Ian Schubert could prove the final stumbling block, though.
It's unlikely any club will be prepared to sign Tahu on big money given all that happened last year.
But because Tahu played Origin last year, the issue now will be getting a green light from Schubert.
The way it works in the NRL is that representative players are usually registered on at least $150,000 contracts. If a club attempts to sign them for less, questions are asked.
On top of that, if a club signs Tahu for anything longer than a one-year deal on a contract propped up by match payments, all money over $3000 a game will go on their cap for the following season.
It basically means Tahu has a problem - and he needs the NRL's understanding to resolve it.
And it appears Tahu is fast running out of favours.
Gallop said yesterday: "Any payout Parramatta provides has to go in the Parramatta cap. Any new contract will need to be assessed in terms of his value as a State of Origin and Australian player."
But Gallop conceded that Tahu's case might present exceptional circumstances.
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Thank God Humpreys isn't getting his fingerprints on that train wreck. I'm getting pretty sick of hearing about all his childhood issues and how terrible his upbringing was. He has been extremely privledged to play first grade football and has had the perfect opportunity to make a better person of himself and lead by example and has fluffed it every step of the way. He is carrying on like a petulant child with a sense of entitlement and maybe he needs the NRL to walk for a reality check. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if he went the other way either.
Interesting that Joey was helping Tahu out also. Wonder if thats out of the kindness of his heart, or a publicity stunt?
