St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown will meet with Nine Network boss Eddie McGuire on Friday in a last ditch bid to stop NRL star Mark Gasnier from jumping ship to rugby union next season.

Having met with Australian Rugby Union officials earlier this month and Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie on Tuesday afternoon, Gasnier's manager George Mimis will hold discussions with Dragons chief executive Peter Doust about a possible deal to keep the Test centre at the joint-venture club.

Paramount to any contract talks would be the inclusion of third-party payments, with the Nine Network confirming Brown will meet with McGuire at the television station's Sydney offices on Friday to discuss the possibility of topping-up the Dragons' offer to the talented three-quarter.

It is believed Gasnier could earn upwards of $750,000 a season in the 15-man game, which would dwarf anything he could earn in the NRL under the restraints of the salary cap.

But Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie dismissed claims Gasnier's talks with the rival code were simply used to boost his asking price at the Dragons.

"He's done a lot in rugby league already and I think he's looking for a challenge," McKenzie said.

"I don't get the impression this is necessarily a money thing."

As for any possible last minute play by the Dragons to keep Gasnier, McKenzie seemed non-plussed.

"There's probably only so many television contracts you can hand out to your players," he said.

While rugby union's push for Gasnier moved into overdrive this week, NRL clubs have been busy trying to launch their own counterstrike, with NSW fullback Peter Hewat and Queensland Reds youngster Berrick Barnes in their sights.

Brisbane officials hinted at a possible move to bring Barnes back to the Broncos next season, while Hewat is believed to be in the sights of at least two NRL clubs.

"I'm very flattered by it, but I'm locked into the Waratahs for another two years," Hewat told the Nine Network.

McKenzie said he was impressed by the level of Gasnier's interest in switching codes and his possible role with the Waratahs.

"He's definitely been watching and had some thoughtful questions about the game and how he might be able to contribute," McKenzie said of Tuesday's meeting with the 24-year-old.

"He was quite clear in how he thought he could play the game.

"I know other people think he'd be a winger but I think he definitely would be playing in the centres and I think that's a position he'd be looking to play."

Gasnier has made it clear he will only play for the Waratahs if he does in fact switch codes, something McKenzie puts down to his organisation's proven track record with fellow converts Mat Rogers and Lote Tuqiri.

"He sees us as an organisation that's worked well with these guys in transition," McKenzie said.

"So in terms of making the transition as quick as possible he thinks we can facilitate that better than anywhere else because we've done it already with a number of players."

ARU officials said they hadn't placed any time frame on when it will table an offer to Gasnier.

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