Rejection stings the Aussies No pay for play as Foran earns his keep at Warriors

DALLY M medallist Jason Taumalolo believes his decision to shun Queensland and Australia is still an issue for the Kangaroos, who he predicts will mention it among themselves before the Four Nations final.

North Queensland’s Taumalolo says he hasn’t spoken to Mal Meninga since turning down the now-Australian coach’s overtures to make himself eligible for the Maroons in 2012.

‘‘Obviously there’ll be a lot said in camp, trying to put a lot of pressure on myself but at the end of the day, I love playing for New Zealand and putting on the black and white jersey,’’ said the second rower, who tied with Cooper Cronk for the 2016 Dally M.

‘‘In the Australian camp they would be saying how much they wanted me to play for them but I made my intentions clear that I wanted to play for my home country and that’s pretty much it.’’

In an interview to be published next week in British monthly Rugby League World, Meninga insists: ‘‘I don’t target kids.

‘‘I believe you’ve got to follow your heart when you make those decisions. Jason, he made that decision based on his heart and his family. He made that decision to stay with the Kiwis even though he played junior, all the way through, with Queensland. I’ll be honest with you, there were things that were said through Origin – I never chased one player. Not one player – because it’s their decision. If they don’t gauge it from the heart, they’re not going to play well.’’

Taumalolo was famously ‘‘forgotten’’ on the bench in Perth when the two sides met six weeks ago but his match time has more than atoned since.

‘‘Under Kiddy [coach David Kidwell] I’ve been playing a lot of minutes,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s nothing new to me. I normally play about 60 minutes a game. Kiddy likes leaving me out there as a workhorse type.

‘‘Either way, I’m not too fazed about it. I welcome the challenge trying to play as many minutes as I can and obviously trying to get the boys rolling through the middle and doing my best with Blairy [Adam Blair] and Jesse [Bromwich] and trying to dominate that middle third for guys like Shauny [Johnson] to do their thing.’’ Kieran Foran is picking up his wages from the membership and community departments at the Warriors as he attempts to get back in the NRL.

The five-eighth has been training with the Auckland club as he and Doyle attempt to persuade the NRL that he can be registered again for next season.

However, as he isn’t officially on the club’s books, he can’t receive any salary from out of the squad’s player budget, which is part of the salary cap.

To get around this, he has been mixing up training with work for other departments at the club, although earning nowhere near the reported $1.25 million a year he was on at the Eels.

‘‘He’s not getting paid as a player, because he’s not contracted,’’ Doyle said.

‘‘One of the things he does for us, which we’re allowed to do, is that we’re paying him for working in the membership and community departments.

‘‘But to say the least, it’s pretty significantly different to a playing contract.’’

Doyle said they’re still in discussions about getting Foran registered for next year, for which he’ll have to prove he hasn’t been involved in any inappropriate gambling activities, as well as show he’s overcome his personal, family related issues.

‘‘It’s still a work Doyle said.

‘‘I think we’re getting closer and I’m hoping that before the end of the year we’ll have a decision from the NRL.

‘‘We’re working with them on a regular basis and we’re getting closer.’’

Doyle admitted it’s not been a quick fix to get Foran up to a mental and physical state where he can play in the NRL again and even now, there are small setbacks for him.

‘‘As he works through it, he has some good days and some not so good days,’’ Doyle said.

‘‘The good thing is that his not so good days aren’t as bad as they used to be.

‘‘He’s getting better the more he’s engaging with the players. He’s still frustrated that he’s having to do rehab because of his shoulder injury, just the same as any other player.

‘‘Roger [Tuivasa-Sheck] this year has been really frustrated because he wants to get out on the field, but has had to do rehab because of his injury.

‘‘Kieran is exactly the same, he’s down in the gym, on the bike, in progress,’’ doing shoulder exercises to build himself up and he’s watching the other players doing things he wants to do, but can’t.’’

Meanwhile, the draw for next season is expected to be released this week and, contrary to media reports, it’s unlikely the Warriors will start their campaign with a home game against the Dragons.

There are a number of concerts at Mt Smart Stadium over the summer, including Bruce Springsteen in February and Adele the following month, but Doyle says there aren’t any concerns about these causing disruptions to the Warriors fixtures.

‘‘We’ve been working away with the RFA (Regional Facilities Auckland) on that.

‘‘They’ve kept us in the loop and we’ve been working with the NRL around it, so there are no issues around that.’’

Ahead of last year’s Eagles concert at Mt Smart Stadium the Warriors threatened legal action against Auckland Council, for booking the venue for the veteran American rockers without consulting the club.

It occurred during a time when relations between the Warriors and the stadium owners were at an alltime low, with the club threatening to quit Auckland as the council tried to force them out of Mt Smart Stadium.

That issue was resolved and the Warriors are committed to staying in Penrose until 2028.

Doyle says relations between the club and Regional Facilities Auckland are considerably better.

‘‘They’ve been really positive and we find solutions for different things,’’ he said.

‘‘There have been conflicts the season in the past.’’ during