Wantaway Latrell in eyes of the Tigers
WHEN Wests Tigers lost James Tedesco to the Sydney Roosters there was nothing they could do about it.
Now it’s time for the ultimate revenge. In an ironic twist of fate, the cashed-up Tigers have emerged as the new favourites to land Roosters centre Latrell Mitchell.
The development comes after rivals Canterbury withdrew from a contract race that is fast developing into a circus.
The Bulldogs had been viewed as a significant player for the 22-year-old Test centre after Mitchell met board member George Coorey during the finals series.
But a meeting of the club’s retention committee yesterday afternoon determined the Dogs would now look elsewhere.
“Usually we don’t make comment around our recruitment and retention strategies.,” Bulldogs chief executive Andrew Hill said yesterday:
“However, with all the speculation around this matter we thought it was the right thing to do by everyone to confirm we won’t pursue an interest in Latrell Mitchell.”
But with a stack of rival clubs still circling, the Tigers have jumped to the top of the queue.
The fact is they have $1.7 million in available salary cap space for next season and are planning an audacious bid to make Mitchell the club’s biggest signing.
While the two parties are yet to meet directly, that is expected to change in the coming days when coach Michael Maguire ends his commitments with the New Zealand Test team.
Although Mitchell still has a year to run on his Roosters contract, the reigning premiers would not stand in his way after pulling an $800,000-a-season offer this week.
Some rival clubs are also baulking at Mitchell’s $1 million asking price.