Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary has put the heat on captain Aaron Woods and James Tedesco to re-sign with the club, announcing a deadline for their decision.
Tedesco and Woods have been given until 5pm (AEST) tomorrow to make a call on their futures, Cleary said in a press conference on Thursday.
Woods is reportedly in discussions with the Canterbury Bulldogs about a move there, while Tedesco has been linked to a move to the Sydney Roosters.
Cleary said constant speculation had led the club to place a deadline on Tedesco and Woods’ contract decisions, in the best interests of both the club and players.
“We’d rather not deal in speculation but the constant speculation has led us as a club to put deadlines on the offers to both James Tedesco and Aaron Woods, that’s for Friday,” said Cleary.
“The constant speculation is actually becoming a hindrance to performance, we don’t want to go into another game with that.
Cleary said the management of both Tedesco and Woods had been informed on Tuesday morning that the Tigers expected a decision by the end of the week.
The recently-appointed Tigers coach said he was very hopeful that both players would decide to remain with the club.
“I think it’s really good for the guys and they understand that so we’d love them to stay – at this stage we’ve had no decision or information regarding decisions, but that will obviously come, whatever happens we will respect those decisions,” Cleary said.
“Of course we’re really hopeful of both guys staying with us and working towards building a future here, but whatever happens for the remainder of 2017 we’ll work together and make sure we deliver the best possible outcome for the Wests Tigers.”
Earlier this week, Cleary made it clear that he will not grant Mitchell Moses his requested early release to join the Parramatta Eels.
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