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LOTE TUQIRI's immediate future may not be as cut and dried as rugby union or rugby league - he could be playing both codes next year.
The Herald understands Tuqiri is considering playing rugby union in France throughout the rugby league off-season before joining an NRL club a few months into the next NRL season - and at least one club is believed to be open to the idea.
Much of the speculation about Tuqiri, sacked by the ARU for breaching protocol by reportedly inviting a woman back to his hotel room, has centred on whether he would pursue the big-money deals in France or take a pay cut to rejoin his former code.
But Tuqiri may be tempted to have the best of both worlds by signing with Bayonne, the French club to which he has been most closely linked, before joining an NRL team after the French Top 14 competition ends in April/May next year.
Tuqiri has held talks with officials from Sydney Roosters and Wests Tigers. And the former Brisbane Bronco is believed to have raised the prospect of a mid-season start in the NRL with the Tigers, who are believed to be considering it as an option.
The Tigers were at the centre of a union-league tug-of-war with their star player Benji Marshall earlier this year. The five-eighth had hoped to sign a deal with a Japanese rugby club before returning to the Tigers but that proposal prompted NRL chief executive David Gallop to effectively ban him from doing so.
Gallop last night said the two scenarios were different and he would, ''on the face of it'', allow Tuqiri to carry out the cross-code switch if he wished to.
''It would be great to have Lote back playing rugby league,'' Gallop said. ''He just has to be registered by the 30th of June. What we said before with a player like Benji Marshall is he can't be under contract to both codes at the same time. He [Tuqiri] couldn't sign with a rugby league club and then sign with rugby union. As long as it wasn't a contrived arrangement … we'd just have to be satisfied it wasn't a case of a player being under contract with both codes. He could be under contract with rugby union and do a deal with an NRL club.''
Tuqiri remains keen to stay in Sydney, given his family has settled in Birchgrove. Curiously, he asked on his public Twitter account last Friday how the Tigers were faring against Parramatta.
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So Lote could sign with both a union and league club. Not sure if I'd like this if he's gonna sign with the Roosters! I think the off-season is VERY important for the Roosters this time around (there's gonna be lots of changes, and we need to develop a culture.)
Having some guy from Union coming in as our saviour just before the season starts; he'd have no idea how to play modern league (its changed a LOT since his days as a star!!) and wouldn't have grown up with the new Roosters culture.
So in short... if he's considering the Roosters, I'd like Lote to sign NOW or never. No Union in France (make millions) then hit up the Roosters for more cash... we need team players, not individuals.
The Herald understands Tuqiri is considering playing rugby union in France throughout the rugby league off-season before joining an NRL club a few months into the next NRL season - and at least one club is believed to be open to the idea.
Much of the speculation about Tuqiri, sacked by the ARU for breaching protocol by reportedly inviting a woman back to his hotel room, has centred on whether he would pursue the big-money deals in France or take a pay cut to rejoin his former code.
But Tuqiri may be tempted to have the best of both worlds by signing with Bayonne, the French club to which he has been most closely linked, before joining an NRL team after the French Top 14 competition ends in April/May next year.
Tuqiri has held talks with officials from Sydney Roosters and Wests Tigers. And the former Brisbane Bronco is believed to have raised the prospect of a mid-season start in the NRL with the Tigers, who are believed to be considering it as an option.
The Tigers were at the centre of a union-league tug-of-war with their star player Benji Marshall earlier this year. The five-eighth had hoped to sign a deal with a Japanese rugby club before returning to the Tigers but that proposal prompted NRL chief executive David Gallop to effectively ban him from doing so.
Gallop last night said the two scenarios were different and he would, ''on the face of it'', allow Tuqiri to carry out the cross-code switch if he wished to.
''It would be great to have Lote back playing rugby league,'' Gallop said. ''He just has to be registered by the 30th of June. What we said before with a player like Benji Marshall is he can't be under contract to both codes at the same time. He [Tuqiri] couldn't sign with a rugby league club and then sign with rugby union. As long as it wasn't a contrived arrangement … we'd just have to be satisfied it wasn't a case of a player being under contract with both codes. He could be under contract with rugby union and do a deal with an NRL club.''
Tuqiri remains keen to stay in Sydney, given his family has settled in Birchgrove. Curiously, he asked on his public Twitter account last Friday how the Tigers were faring against Parramatta.
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So Lote could sign with both a union and league club. Not sure if I'd like this if he's gonna sign with the Roosters! I think the off-season is VERY important for the Roosters this time around (there's gonna be lots of changes, and we need to develop a culture.)
Having some guy from Union coming in as our saviour just before the season starts; he'd have no idea how to play modern league (its changed a LOT since his days as a star!!) and wouldn't have grown up with the new Roosters culture.
So in short... if he's considering the Roosters, I'd like Lote to sign NOW or never. No Union in France (make millions) then hit up the Roosters for more cash... we need team players, not individuals.
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