Wallabies star Quade Cooper conducting talks with Parramatta Eels

[TOCC]

Getting a little ahead of ourselves if we think Sharpe is a definite starter for 2011

[jazza93]

We would be getting ahead of ourselves if we thought anyone was going to be a certain starter in 2011...

Besides Giteau though, we all know he is always going to be a legend until he retires. But when he retires, it wont be him retiring from Rugby, it will be Rugby retiring from Matt Giteau.

[Burgs]

He already has a partner Jazz

[GIGS20]

Getting a little ahead of ourselves if we think Sharpe is a definite starter for 2011

Yeah, just like we didn't need him in the tour of South Africa........that went well didn't it?

I'm not suggesting Sharpe is going to be fully fit next year, but if he is, he'll be on the field, not the bench. He's an automatic pick this year, even the Eastern states press is lauding the quality of his play. Vickerman at his anal retentive best wasn't a match for the sheer raw potential of Sharpie, even though Sharpie was probably at the lowest ebb of his powers whilst Vicks was playing for us. If Vickerman DOES regain his best form, it'll push Horwill to the Bench, not Sharpie.

and our second row will then be the best in the World!

[Burgs]

Insert evil laugh Gigs?

[GIGS20]

Sorry ........... Mwahahahahaha

[Burgs]

Wallabies star Quade Cooper reportedly prepared to join NRL if money is right

By Peter Badel
August 15, 2010 .

Wallabies star Quade Cooper is prepared to walk away from rugby union if the NRL provides an extra $200,000 to his offer from Parramatta.

The revelation comes as Eels star Jarryd Hayne declared Cooper would be a hit in rugby league.

Hayne urged the NRL to strike a blow for the code by targeting the Wallabies playmaker.

Hayne's stance was backed by Fox Sports rugby league expert Greg Alexander, who called on the NRL to assist the Eels in their bid to poach Cooper just 12 months out from the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

While Cooper is adopting a diplomatic line to avert ructions with his ARU paymasters, privately the 22-year-old is seriously considering a code switch after meeting with Hayne and Eels powerbrokers Paul Osborne and Roy Spagnolo on Thursday night.

Cooper told the Eels trio he is interested in joining the club next season.

The Cooper camp are unhappy at suggestions they are using Parramatta to drive up their asking price after the Queensland utility turned down a $1 million offer from French rugby.

But the final impediment to his stunning code switch is money, with Cooper reluctant to quit rugby if Parramatta cannot trump the estimated $600,000 he stands to earn with the ARU next year.

With the Eels having around $500,000 to spend, their hopes of snaring Cooper hinge on whether the NRL is prepared to bankroll the biggest Wallaby defection since rugby turned professional in 1996.

Alexander said the NRL would be foolish to ignore the public relations opportunities in poaching Cooper after seeing big-name stars Craig Gower, Karmichael Hunt, Sonny Bill Williams and Israel Folau lost to rugby and AFL in recent seasons.

"It is time for the NRL to do something. Let's get Quade Cooper," Alexander said.

"Why not do it? The other codes have done it to us, why shouldn't we do it?

"I know it wouldn't be a popular decision (for the NRL to subsidise Cooper's Eels deal), but if a guy like Quade Cooper is interested in league, we shouldn't be closing the door on him. The AFL stepped in to help get Israel Folau, the ARU has stepped up previously to top-up several league guys' contracts like Mat Rogers and Wendell Sailor.

"If I was David Gallop (NRL boss), I'd be saying here's some money, pick which club you want to play with and we'll give you a top-up. I know NRL clubs will jump up and down, but Quade Cooper would be a massive coup for the game.

"He's got the goods. The NRL's help could drag him across the line."

After meeting with Cooper on Thursday night, Hayne urged the Reds playmaker to play alongside him at the Eels next season.

"He would adapt for sure, I'd love to play with him," said Hayne, who has struck up a friendship with Cooper via Twitter.

"Quade would be good for us, he's a great player."

[blueandblack]

"Eels to offer record $850,000 for Cooper "

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/rugb...815-125ba.html

[travelling_gerry]

PARRAMATTA will table a bumper $1.5 million contract to Quade Cooper as the NRL club turns up the heat on the Australian Rugby Union in the cross-code battle for the Wallabies sensation.








.

[TOCC]

maybe there is a little bit more to all of this, still confident he will stay with rugby union, i would hate to see him go to the NRL just because of all mungo crap they would start sprouting, especially to Parramatta of all places.

---------- Post added at 09:46 ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 ----------

Yeah, just like we didn't need him in the tour of South Africa........that went well didn't it?

I'm not suggesting Sharpe is going to be fully fit next year, but if he is, he'll be on the field, not the bench. He's an automatic pick this year, even the Eastern states press is lauding the quality of his play. Vickerman at his anal retentive best wasn't a match for the sheer raw potential of Sharpie, even though Sharpie was probably at the lowest ebb of his powers whilst Vicks was playing for us. If Vickerman DOES regain his best form, it'll push Horwill to the Bench, not Sharpie.

and our second row will then be the best in the World!

12months is a long time especially when you have the likes of Vickerman and Horwill returning..

regardless, our locking stocks look to have substantially more depth come the 2011 RWC

[Burgs]

Meanwhile Nathan Hindmarsh has given him a "Don't bother" on Sunday.

[jargan83]

By Darren Walton

PARRAMATTA co-captain Nathan Hindmarsh doesn't want Wallabies playmaker Quade Cooper at the NRL club.

Despite claiming he still has unfinished business in rugby union - most notably next year's World Cup in New Zealand - Cooper continues to be linked to a big-money cross-code switch to the Eels in 2011.

Hindmarsh on Sunday said he was unaware of any negotiations between Cooper and Parramatta but, regardless, the veteran back-rower made it clear he could do without the classy five-eighth at the Eels.

"I'd like to stick with someone in the league ranks, to be honest," Hindmarsh told Triple M radio.

"That's just my opinion. Whether or not it's true or not that they (Eels management) are chasing him.

"There's been a bit of talk in the paper that we are, but (I'm) not too sure, to be honest with you."

Like Australian Rugby Union boss John O'Neill, Hindmarsh suspected newspaper reports that Cooper was considering a move to the NRL was merely a negotiation stunt designed to bump up his price tag.

"I suppose it's a bit of a bargaining chip for Quade himself, isn't it?" said Hindmarsh, who will almost certainly assume sole captaincy of Parramatta next season after Nathan Cayless retires from the NRL.

"If league's following him, then rugby are probably going to spend a little bit more to keep him."

O'Neill agreed that Cooper deserved an upgraded contract and was confident of nutting out a deal in the coming fortnight that would keep the 22-year-old gamebreaker in the rugby ranks.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1225905465109

[zimeric]

a slow media week that has got everyone all aflutter with a non-story methinks!

[jargan83]

Found this on the website of The Australian

David Gallop is ready to help steal Quade Cooper

* Brent Read and Bret Harris
* From: The Australian
* August 16, 2010 12:00AM

The NRL revealed it was prepared to sound out sponsors on behalf of the Wallabies playmaker on the condition he was serious about switching codes.

Cooper's manager, Richard Colreavy, responded to the development last night by offering to meet NRL chief executive David Gallop to demonstrate his client's genuine interest in playing rugby league.

Cooper, among the most exciting players in the Wallabies' squad and a key figure in Australian coach Robbie Deans' plans for next year's World Cup in New Zealand, is out of contract at the end of the year.

The ARU has made Cooper an offer, but he is dissatisfied with it and is exploring other options.

Cooper, who has had a breakthrough season with the Queensland Reds and the Wallabies, is seeking renumeration that reflects his new status in the game, while the ARU argues the 22-year-old needs to pay his dues before commanding top dollar.

Colreavy, an accredited NRL agent, has been in contact with Parramatta over a potential switch to rugby league next year.

The Eels are unlikely to match the dollars on offer in union without the support of third parties although there were reports last night the club was ready to table a three-year $500,000 a season deal.

That's where the NRL's involvement could be a deal-breaker.

"It would be great to see him playing rugby league, but there's too many precedents, particularly where players have threatened to go to rugby union, for us to go round playing with the salary cap now," Gallop said.

"Like any player we can look for roles with our sponsors, but we're not about to start assisting clubs outside the salary cap with chasing rugby union players.

"If he seriously wants to look at rugby league, we would do what we could.

"We certainly wouldn't be breaking any salary cap rules.

"We wouldn't be making an exception for him over other players. I'm happy to have a chat with his agent if he is genuine." Colreavy was encouraged by Gallop's position.

"I'll meet with David Gallop tomorrow," Colreavy said. "We are in negotiations with a rugby league club and I'll contact David Gallop if that is his stance."

Although the NRL has made it clear it will not directly pay players, it has been willing in the past to talk to its sponsors on their behalf.

Gallop has previously been involved in negotiations involving former Newcastle captain Andrew Johns, St George Illawarra centre Mark Gasnier and Brisbane centre Israel Folau.

It failed to stop Gasnier and Folau leaving the game, although Gasnier returned to the NRL this year after a stint with French rugby union club Stade Francais.

Cooper represents a different scenario, as the NRL would be poaching him from rugby union rather than trying to retain one of its own players.

Given Cooper's importance to the Wallabies, his signing would represent a coup for the NRL on and off the field.

Rugby union and AFL have poached rugby league players, partly for marketing purposes, and there is a view that it is time for the NRL to return the favour.

Until the advent of professional rugby union in 1995, rugby league clubs regularly raided the Wallabies' best players, but the traffic has since gone the other way.

Several former league players have returned in recent years, most notably Lote Tuqiri, Mat Rogers and Wendell Sailor, but it has been more than a decade since a high-profile rugby union star switched codes.

Former Test second-rower Garrick Morgan was the last Wallaby star to switch.

He played two games with the South Queensland Crushers before returning to rugby union.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225905631453

[Burgs]

In breaking news, the ARU Board is allegedly planning to dump JO'N if NRL Boss David Gallop agrees to terms.

Sources close to the ARU Board are rumoured to be dissatisfied with JO'N's leadership and are aggressively pursuing NRL powerbroker Gallop as "He has some balls".

Everyone concerned have claimed that there have been no official talks.