Sharks end Warriors’ surge
Warriors’ $5m bait for Carney
SHARKS MARQUEE player Todd Carney has admitted he came close to joining the Warriors for next season because of his great friendship with Matt Elliott.
It was reported that the Warriors coach tabled a $5 million five-year deal for Carney and, after playing a pivotal role in the Sharks’ 18-14 win at Mt Smart Stadium last night, Carney revealed he had been tempted to make the move to Auckland.
‘‘I was very close,’’ Carney told the Star-Times.
‘‘I don’t just admire Matty as a coach, I’ve got a great friendship with him. He was the person who brought me into first-grade as a 17-year-old at Canberra.’’
In the end, Carney chose to stay at Cronulla and sign a five-year deal for a million dollars less than the Warriors’ offer.
‘‘It was hard to ring him [Elliott] up and say I wasn’t coming,’’ Carney said.
‘‘But the first day I spoke to Matty I made him aware that I wanted to stay at Cronulla and he respected that decision.
‘‘We went through a process, but it would have been hard to leave Cronulla, hence why I had to stay.’’
While the Warriors weren’t able to land Carney, they have picked up second rower Jayson Bukuya from the Sharks for next season.
Bukuya had a strong start to the game last night before having to leave the field due to illness.