Cap may hinder Foran
THE Warriors could face issues squeezing Kieran Foran inside the salary cap, even if they pick him up at a bargain basement price.
It has been reported that the Warriors would be able to sign him for at least half the A$1.2 million (NZ$1.26 million) a season deal he was on at the Eels this year, before getting a release.
However, even if Foran did want to come to the Warriors for 2017 on the cheap, the Warriors could still face salary-cap issues as the NRL would attach a notional value to him, which could be bigger than the space inside the cap they’ve got.
The Warriors were close to the cap this season, which is A$6.8 million (NZ$7.1 million).
They won’t have to pay Konrad Hurrell’s salary next year and Thomas Leuluai has been given an early release from his contract to return to England.
That should free up around A$700,000, a significant amount but not enough to fit in Foran if the NRL’s auditor believes the 26-year-old is still a A$1.2m a season player.
Situations similar to this have come up in the past, most recently when Robbie Farah was looking elsewhere for this season after falling out with Tigers coach Jason Taylor.
The Tigers would have been willing to eat a large chunk of his salary if he went to a new club, who may have only had to pay him $100,000 for the season, however that club would have to use up a much larger portion of their salary cap.
The NRL do this is to stop teams gaining an unfair advantage.
There is another stumbling block to Foran coming to the Warriors or any other club and that’s the NRL registering him.
There are two key questions the NRL would need answered before they would allow Foran to play again.
The first is whether he’s overcome his personal issues and is in a good state of mind to handle the pressures of being a professional sportsman again.
In April Foran tried to take his life by overdosing on pain-killing medication. He had previously spent three weeks in a mental health clinic, where he was diagnosed as being bipolar.
First and foremost, Foran’s health has to be a priority, as pointed out by Warriors managing director Jim Doyle last week.
Doyle knows Foran personally and certainly wouldn’t want to push Foran into playing again before he was ready and the NRL would have a similar view.
There is also the issue over company Foran has been keeping off the field, including former brothel owner and well-known punter Eddie Hayson.
Matches Foran played in last year for the Sea Eagles and one this year for the Eels are being scrutinised by police and the NRL because of unusual betting patterns, with Hayson linked to big bets on those matches.
No doubt the NRL will want this matter cleared up also before allowing Foran to take the field again. Getty Images