TAHU signs with Union!

[BING103]

Tahu signs for Waratahs


March 20, 2007

PARRAMATTA centre Timana Tahu has signed a four-deal deal to play rugby union from next season

The Australian Rugby Union announced the deal tonight.

Tahu, 26, will join New South Wales for the 2008 Super 14 competition after his contract with Parramatta expires at the end of the 2007 NRL season.

Tahu, now in his ninth season playing league, won the 2001 premiership with Newcastle.

He has played five Tests for Australia and 11 State of Origin matches for NSW.

AAP

He must hate Hagan that Much

[aspher]

I thought he disliked Rugby (http://au.sports.yahoo.com/070220/2/13w05.html)?

Oh well.

[BING103]

I thought he did too, Obviously not.

I think its Hagan, he doesnt like him.

[Steelers]

Wow, I am actually surprised. Tahu is a great player, unfortunate that he went, but he won't be missed too badly.

[Titanium_BD1103]

Well this is a shock... needless to say I hope Timana doesn't become like Lote, no ball and very bored... :(

Timana is a great player who will add a lot to the Waratahs, but I just hope he gets ball... as if he is wasted in Rugby, he'll be a big loss to Rugby League, NSW and to the athletes of the game.

[Social Loafer]

Meh no big loss, League will continue to develop great players, meanwhile Union still hasn't figured out they are better off spending this money on grass roots development so they can try end the need to buy League players...

[jake86]

Meh no big loss, League will continue to develop great players, meanwhile Union still hasn't figured out they are better off spending this money on grass roots development so they can try end the need to buy League players...

Exactly right! Kind of funny that we may soon see the AUS union side with Tahu, Barnes, Schif, Lote and Cross in their backline. We will continue to produce better players if union keeps spending big money on league players rather than developing juniors.

[Steve]

I don't think not liking Hagan is an issue, he could go to another club.

He's 27, time to earn his retirement package.

Who needs a super when you can play for the wallabies for a few years? :D

[DIEHARD]

He'll regret it, little does he know what he said the other month about union was true.

[Dakink]

Seems a little money orientated when only a couple of weeks ago he was calling union boring. Though I will never begrudge him the right to earn as much as possible in his short career as a footballer.

Wont help their sport though, forgetting their juniors.

[Go_The_Doggies]

Lol tahs.

Thats all I have to say.

Hey, he coulda done worse, coulda went to the Reds. :p

I wish him luck in Union.

[TDoGGBulldog]

All because of Hagan IMO.

A test player at his level shouldnt be given to rah-rah that easilly from an NRL club. Eels couldve done better.

Shock decision too. Out of the blue!

Good luck to him and hope he goes well for NSW in the Super 14 Rugby comp.

[Capital_Shark]

At least he didn't fart arse around between the codes to up his price. The Eels will miss him though. Pitty they're gonna farewell him with a wooden spoon.

[Social Loafer]

At least he didn't fart arse around between the codes to up his price. The Eels will miss him though. Pitty they're gonna farewell him with a wooden spoon.

I'm sure Matt Elliott will have a lot to say about that..
Anyway at the end of the day he is getting an extra 200k a year to do less work, smart lad...

[~lee~]

Wow his opinion on Union changed fast. Bad loss for the Eels atleast we might buy some new players now then.

[Titanium_BD1103]

Wow his opinion on Union changed fast. Bad loss for the Eels atleast we might buy some new players now then.

He was on radio in Sydney this morning and that comment was never meant to be anything but a smokescreen.

Smart PR move was that one from Timana, as it got everyone off his tail about Union and allowed him to get the contract done in private without the media hounding him... which is exactly what he wanted... :)

[Capital_Shark]

He was on radio in Sydney this morning and that comment was never meant to be anything but a smokescreen.

Smart PR move was that one from Timana, as it got everyone off his tail about Union and allowed him to get the contract done in private without the media hounding him... which is exactly what he wanted... :)

Smart move? He could have pulled an extra 300K if he'd shown interest in union and a league for his next contract. Glad he didn't though.

Anyway, I thought Union tied up the majority of their league dollars in Lote? Isn't this why they've stopped targeting O'Donnell?

[Titanium_BD1103]

Smart move? He could have pulled an extra 300K if he'd shown interest in union and a league for his next contract. Glad he didn't though.

Anyway, I thought Union tied up the majority of their league dollars in Lote? Isn't this why they've stopped targeting O'Donnell?

Very true CS.. but at the same time, he'd have his face in the media for 2 months... and knowing Tahu, that is the last thing he'd want... he's not a big fan of publicity... ;)

Funny though to hear NSWRU CEO Fraser Neill on Sydney Radio this morning say that Tahu will get media training... c'mon not every player has to be a walking talking puppet... let him play football and the performance on the field do the talking... perhaps if RU did that instead of turning them into media ponies, the results would be a lot more impressive... ;)

[Capital_Shark]

Very true CS.. but at the same time, he'd have his face in the media for 2 months... and knowing Tahu, that is the last thing he'd want... he's not a big fan of publicity... ;)

Funny though to hear NSWRU CEO Fraser Neill on Sydney Radio this morning say that Tahu will get media training... c'mon not every player has to be a walking talking puppet... let him play football and the performance on the field do the talking... perhaps if RU did that instead of turning them into media ponies, the results would be a lot more impressive... ;)

True, I don't know if I've ever seen Tahu chatting into a mic or camera, other than a couple words. Certainly no Dell, Lote, Gasnier or Joey.

Its about the RU making the maximum return on their dollar. I dunno what Tahu's getting paid, but I'd imagine its excessive for 14 games. Because of this they attempt to turn their league converts into brand names. Tahu would be a cheap rip off from Go-Lo brand without media training. It'll be interesting to hear how Tahu takes to being a poster boy more than a player.

[Poida]

Grothe flags union interest

By Steve Jancetic
March 21, 2007

PARRAMATTA wing Eric Grothe claims he is keen to follow Eels teammate Timana Tahu to rugby union.

Tahu signed a four-year deal with the Australian Rugby Union and New South Wales last night, and talks are now underway to lure Grothe to the 15-man game.

Grothe, who is off contract at the end of the season, said he had already met Australia rugby union coach John Connolly, and he said the prospect of playing rugby was "definitely enticing".

"I've met John Connolly once and had a coffee with him ... they seemed very keen and positive," Grothe said today.

"The whole thing went really well.

"It wasn't very specific. It was more of a meet-and-greet kind of thing.

"There's been interest from some other (NRL) clubs and the ARU, and I just want to hurry up and finalise it all.

"It's definitely enticing (the idea of playing rugby union).

"It's a bit of a rap for them to be interested in you; it shows that they see something in you that maybe other places don't.

"It's a buzz."

Connolly said of the possible signing of Grothe: "I think he'd go very well as winger."

Grothe's manager, Andrew Purcell, said he had held discussions with the Waratahs, but the player did not necessarily want to remain in New South Wales.

"We're still awaiting a formal offer from the ARU," Purcell said.

"We've only spoken with NSW at the moment, but, as of today, we've had interest from other provinces.

"I think everyone but maybe (Western) Force have opportunities to strengthen the outside backs."

Purcell said he hoped to follow up interest from the other provinces when he returned from a business trip.

Grothe, who played his one and only Test for Australia in 2005, said he wanted to have his future sorted out by the end of the month.

He hopes to return to the pitch for the round-three against Wests Tigers next weeken, having missed Parramatta's season-opening loss to the New Zealand Warriors because of an ankle injury.

"I'd also love to stay at Parra, but I just want to make sure," Grothe said.

"It may be one of my last contracts so I've got to make it a good one.

"It's different now to when I was 19, I've got a mortgage and all that stuff.

"I'm just going to make sure I do it right.

"I'd like to wrap it up as soon as possible.

"I don't want to carry on with it, a bit like Timana.

"I'd just like to get it done and forget about it and concentrate on what's ahead, which is Parra for the rest of the year.

"I'm open to speak to anyone.

"I've spoken to a few people and things are looking good."

Parramatta has tabled an offer to Grother, but the club has not put a deadline on negotiations.

AAP

[Poida]

Timana prepares to be 'bored'


March 21, 2007

PARRAMATTA and Australia back Timana Tahu last night signed a four-year deal worth almost $2 million with the Australian Rugby Union just weeks after slamming the code as "boring".

Tahu walked away from a further one-season option at Parramatta to become the latest NRL defector, aligning himself from 2008 with New South Wales and the Wallabies.

Negotiations with the ARU lasted only four weeks, suggesting Tahu's decision and Olympic-class backflip - he said last month that he would never play rugby because he would want to touch the ball more than once a game - was motivated by money.

Sources at the Eels said last night that annual earnings of around $300,000 at Parramatta were being cranked up to around $500,000 a year with the the Australian and NSW rugby unions.

But Tahu, 26, whose career with Newcastle and Parramatta has included five Tests and 11 State of Origin appearances for New South Wales, claimed last night that his earlier sledge was a deliberate smokescreen to cover his true intentions.

"I've been thinking about playing rugby union for the past four years," Tahu, who has been earmarked as an outside centre by the Waratahs and the ARU, said.

"A few weeks ago, I was quoted as saying that I wouldn't switch ... this was a direct quote to stamp out any rumours regarding my interest in rugby.

"I wanted to make the decision on my own, along with family, and not influenced by outside forces.

"This is why I have negotiated to join the ARU without the fanfare."

Eels chief executive Denis Fitzgerald said: "I don't think you can be surprised, now, about good outside backs changing to rugby.

"They don't seem to see much action out there at the moment.

"I think the Super 14 competition so far this season has been absolutely boring and a shambles in terms of any open play.

"The number of stopages is absolutely at an all-time high, I would think.

"But the dollars are obviously very big for selected players."

NRL chief executive David Gallop reacted to the Tahu news by saying: "From time to time, guys are going to take that option.

"But we still believe rugby league is the ultimate testing ground for footballers, and we all get on with life."

ARU negotiator Pat Wilson described the signing as a "major coup" for the game, eight days after retaining Lote Tuqiri on a $5 million five-year deal.

Wallabies coach John Connolly also welcomed the recruitment of "a proven tryscorer who has played at the highest level in rugby league".

http://network.news.com.au/images/h14_dailytelegraph.gif

[~lee~]

Im not sure i'd be happy with his 'smokescreen' if i was a union fan. League has plenty of talent to cover for him. I dont want the eels to lose Grothe aswell, he is a top class winger.

[Dakink]

Grothe is more of a concern BUT if they want to fork out 500k a year for ageing WINGERS and outside backs then let em. Will only send them broke in the long run.

[Capital_Shark]

Grothe is more of a concern BUT if they want to fork out 500k a year for ageing WINGERS and outside backs then let em. Will only send them broke in the long run.

Thats the way I'm looking at it. They're just paying overs to clear out the old fellas and let more of our young talent burst onto the scene. Tahu is way past his best. Last time I remember him looking the goods was in a Knights jersey. If I were Parramatta he'd be in reggies for the next 24 weeks. Start grooming a young bloke who WANTS to play League. That might also help Grothe make a quick decision.

[mb63]

Grothe is more of a concern BUT if they want to fork out 500k a year for ageing WINGERS and outside backs then let em. Will only send them broke in the long run.

Agree,don't think Tahu rates Hagan much as a coach.