Morley may fly Roosters' NRL coop
Sydney Roosters enforcer Adrian Morley is on the brink of walking out on the NRL after receiving only a one-year offer to extend his stay at the Bondi Junction club.
One of four high profile Roosters coming off contract at the end of the season along with skipper Craig Fitzgibbon, rugby union target Ryan Cross and injured 2005 Golden Boot winner Anthony Minichiello, Morley is considering a return to his homeland to play in the Super League next season.
Morley is upset at having only received a one-year deal from the Roosters, and a move back to where his career first began is now looking more and more likely.
"He would like to be here longer, if he doesn't stay it will only be a longevity thing," Morley's manager Andrew Purcell said.
"You'd think if they really wanted him they would (offer him a longer deal)."
"They're the only NRL club he'll play for, but there was up to 10 clubs interested in the UK, we've whittled it down to two now."
Roosters chief executive Brian Canavan said the club was unlikely to alter its stance on the length of the contract offer.
"It's just sitting with him now," Canavan said.
"There's no deadline, we'd never do that with Adrian, he's too good a bloke."
Canavan is more confident of keeping Minichiello in the Tri-colours beyond 2006, saying negotiations were "well down the track", but Cross' playing future remains a mystery.
Cross has held talks with ARU officials about a possible code swap, with Perth-based Super 14 side Western Force keen on securing the 26-year-old.
"We don't have any notion of what is coming from rugby union, that's not our interest," Canavan said.
"Our interest is what we can afford. We're hopeful that Ryan will be with our club next year. Ryan's not interested in going to another NRL club, he's stated that to me."
Fitzgibbon, who has been linked with the new Gold Coast franchise for next season, had his negotiations with the Roosters put on hold last week after the club thought he'd be tied up with Origin commitments.
Canavan rejected rumours linking the club with Penrith second rower Frank Pritchard, who failed to meet a deadline to take up a three-year offer with the Panthers last week.
"Our total focus at this point in time is to re-sign our existing players," Canavan said.
"We'll worry about the rest of it after that."
Pritchard is expected to test his value on the open market, where he could be joined by a host of players on the lookout for a club next season.
Despite having already spent most of the early part of the season sorting out the future of high profile pair Trent Barrett and Mark Gasnier, St George Illawarra is one club which still has plenty to do on the re-signing front.
The Dragons still have several regular first graders uncontracted from 2007 and beyond, including injured halfback Mathew Head, representative backrower Ben Creagh, and young props Justin Poore, Ashton Sims and Michael Henderson.
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