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Foran to Bulldogs not a done deal yet

The Warriors' season is in trouble. (AAP Image/David Rowland)
21st April, 2017
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Warriors chief executive Jim Doyle is adamant Kieran Foran has yet to sign with Canterbury after Bulldogs counterpart Raelene Castle told him as much late on Thursday night.

Doyle says Castle denied reports Foran agreed to move to Belmore when his contract expires at the end of the season.

Wests Tigers skipper Aaron Woods is also believed to be heading to the Bulldogs, however Doyle squashed suggestions Foran is certain to depart.

“I got a text message from the Bulldogs CEO after midnight last night saying, ‘Despite what’s on the back page of the newspaper, we’ve got no agreement with Kieran. We’ve got no contract with Kieran Foran,” Doyle said on Friday.

“He may go back to Sydney and he may still stay here. He’s obviously finding it very difficult to make a decision because his kids are there.

“But at this point in time, he’s still working through that. He wants to focus on playing really good football for the club and helping the club.”

However Doyle did suggest the player market is now set to find some traction after the NRL had finally given clubs a temporary salary cap figure for next season.

The cap is currently at $7 million this year, however the governing body and players’ union are still in negotiations over the future number as part of their ongoing collective bargaining talks.

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Doyle claims the uncertainty of the final cap figure is the primary catalyst to the increased speculation around the transfer market.

“Players and player managers who sign contracts didn’t want to commit beyond 2017 because no one knew what the cap was going to be,” he said.

“The NRL came out last night and have said to all the clubs, here’s a number that you now have to use for the salary cap, so for the first time we’ve got clarity from them.

“Whether that’s the final number or not, who knows? But they’ve given us some clarity so we’ll be able to start locking in contracts for some players.”

One of those players could be star halfback Shaun Johnson, who comes off-contract at the end of the season and is believed to have attracted interest from rivals clubs.

“I spent time with Shaun yesterday, I met with his manager this week. We’re pretty close. Shaun obviously wants to get success and he wants to help this club get success,” Doyle said.

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