APRIL 7 2017 - 7:11PM
Wests Tigers want Shaun Johnson or Gareth Widdop as Mitchell Moses replacement
Michael Chammas
The Wests Tigers will approach Shaun Johnson and Gareth Widdop in the coming days after identifying the two international playmakers as their priority targets to replace the Parramatta-bound Mitchell Moses.
It comes as coach Ivan Cleary has vowed to revisit Moses' request for a release to join the Eels this season, admitting the five-eighth's short-term future at the club would depend on the way he conducted himself.
The Tigers will wait until after this weekend's round of football to begin their pursuit of Moses' replacement, but have already held discussions around who they will reach out to next week.
As reported by Fairfax Media on Wednesday, Luke Brooks has signed a two-year $1.1 million deal, and as of late Friday afternoon, the Tigers were in discussions with Moses' manager in Townsville about a release to join the Eels this season.
Isaac Moses (Mitchell's manager and relative) met with Cleary and football manager Kelly Egan after the team's captain's run in Townsville, however it is understood no agreement has been reached.
There appeared to be no tension between the coach and five-eighth during the session, but Cleary has previously stated he didn't want a player that had no desire to be "on the bus".
"If he doesn't want to be here now, then we'll have to revisit it," Cleary told Fairfax Media.
"But I certainly haven't seen that in his attitude the last couple of days. I think most players would want to play well for their current team. He's got a contract here. At the end of the day Mitchell will decide through his actions where that goes. Straight up, I was just shocked that a release was even suggested. The offer was withdrawn from Mitchell purely for monetary reasons and trying to get three of them at once. You can imagine that's hard to deal with.
"It wasn't working so at some point we had to decide that: a) if we make some priorities we can try and get the ball rolling. And b), the cap forecast had changed in terms of managing risks for the club. We certainly hadn't closed the door on Mitchell Moses. So to have a release request an hour later, I wasn't really ready for that. We wanted to revisit it. Those offers had been on the table for some time then all of a sudden the cap moves. If they got accepted, we would have been scrambling. Most clubs don't have the amount of money we do sitting in limbo."
Moses is unlikely to be released to play for Parramatta against the Tigers next week, however there's a possibility he could be in the blue and gold the following week when Brooks is hopeful of returning from a hamstring injury.
The Tigers aren't hiding their desire to be active in the player market after Moses decided to sign with Parramatta next season.
Widdop, who is off contract at the end of this year at the Dragons, is believed to be their No.1 target, with Johnson a close second.
It's likely Johnson will demand close to a million dollars a season, therefore any contract offer will depend on the future of James Tedesco and Aaron Woods.
However Johnson does have a strong relationship with Cleary, who handed the lively playmaker his debut back at the Warriors in 2011.
"We're in a situation where we aren't waiting," Egan said.
"We have to get out and discuss options and make sure we're planning for contingencies. Every club is doing the same thing, despite what they might or may not say. We plan to be successful at this club, and that means having conversations with players across the park. We've started that already but we're going to be a lot more aggressive with it now. Respectfully to Teddy and Woodsy, they've always been a priority for us. The offers are there and we're very positive about how those offers look and what they reflect. But we've got to keep moving as a club too.
"They are proud blokes, they are good blokes. They are local juniors and people that represent some good traits. It would be unreal if they said they want to stay. We'd love that to happen. I feel very confident there's a really stable coaching group and football group around them. I hope they see that as really good evidence. And a couple of wins can change things too. Wins can mask a lot of things but they can also assist a lot of things. We just need to try and make that happen."
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/wests-tigers-want-shaun-johnson-or-gareth-widdop-as-mitchell-moses-replacement-20170407-gvfx2k.html
Wests Tigers want Shaun Johnson or Gareth Widdop as Mitchell Moses replacement
Michael Chammas
The Wests Tigers will approach Shaun Johnson and Gareth Widdop in the coming days after identifying the two international playmakers as their priority targets to replace the Parramatta-bound Mitchell Moses.
It comes as coach Ivan Cleary has vowed to revisit Moses' request for a release to join the Eels this season, admitting the five-eighth's short-term future at the club would depend on the way he conducted himself.
The Tigers will wait until after this weekend's round of football to begin their pursuit of Moses' replacement, but have already held discussions around who they will reach out to next week.
As reported by Fairfax Media on Wednesday, Luke Brooks has signed a two-year $1.1 million deal, and as of late Friday afternoon, the Tigers were in discussions with Moses' manager in Townsville about a release to join the Eels this season.
Isaac Moses (Mitchell's manager and relative) met with Cleary and football manager Kelly Egan after the team's captain's run in Townsville, however it is understood no agreement has been reached.
There appeared to be no tension between the coach and five-eighth during the session, but Cleary has previously stated he didn't want a player that had no desire to be "on the bus".
"If he doesn't want to be here now, then we'll have to revisit it," Cleary told Fairfax Media.
"But I certainly haven't seen that in his attitude the last couple of days. I think most players would want to play well for their current team. He's got a contract here. At the end of the day Mitchell will decide through his actions where that goes. Straight up, I was just shocked that a release was even suggested. The offer was withdrawn from Mitchell purely for monetary reasons and trying to get three of them at once. You can imagine that's hard to deal with.
"It wasn't working so at some point we had to decide that: a) if we make some priorities we can try and get the ball rolling. And b), the cap forecast had changed in terms of managing risks for the club. We certainly hadn't closed the door on Mitchell Moses. So to have a release request an hour later, I wasn't really ready for that. We wanted to revisit it. Those offers had been on the table for some time then all of a sudden the cap moves. If they got accepted, we would have been scrambling. Most clubs don't have the amount of money we do sitting in limbo."
Moses is unlikely to be released to play for Parramatta against the Tigers next week, however there's a possibility he could be in the blue and gold the following week when Brooks is hopeful of returning from a hamstring injury.
The Tigers aren't hiding their desire to be active in the player market after Moses decided to sign with Parramatta next season.
Widdop, who is off contract at the end of this year at the Dragons, is believed to be their No.1 target, with Johnson a close second.
It's likely Johnson will demand close to a million dollars a season, therefore any contract offer will depend on the future of James Tedesco and Aaron Woods.
However Johnson does have a strong relationship with Cleary, who handed the lively playmaker his debut back at the Warriors in 2011.
"We're in a situation where we aren't waiting," Egan said.
"We have to get out and discuss options and make sure we're planning for contingencies. Every club is doing the same thing, despite what they might or may not say. We plan to be successful at this club, and that means having conversations with players across the park. We've started that already but we're going to be a lot more aggressive with it now. Respectfully to Teddy and Woodsy, they've always been a priority for us. The offers are there and we're very positive about how those offers look and what they reflect. But we've got to keep moving as a club too.
"They are proud blokes, they are good blokes. They are local juniors and people that represent some good traits. It would be unreal if they said they want to stay. We'd love that to happen. I feel very confident there's a really stable coaching group and football group around them. I hope they see that as really good evidence. And a couple of wins can change things too. Wins can mask a lot of things but they can also assist a lot of things. We just need to try and make that happen."
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/wests-tigers-want-shaun-johnson-or-gareth-widdop-as-mitchell-moses-replacement-20170407-gvfx2k.html
