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AFTER weeks of being on desperate defence attempting to retain Wallabies James O'Connor, Rich-ard Brown and Drew Mitchell, the Western Force has switched onto the offensive in a bid to lure Waratahs Test prop Matt Dunning to Perth.
Force chief executive Greg Harris met yesterday with Dunning in Sydney to try to persuade the 44-Test front-rower that his best chance of playing in his third World Cup campaign in 2011 was to switch from a sky blue jersey to one that is ocean blue.
It is difficult to pinpoint where Dunning sits in the pecking order of NSW props after he was forced to sit out this year's entire Super 14 because of a snapped achilles tendon, an injury he blames on the unstable surface provided at Wembley for the final match of the Wallabies' spring tour, against the Barbarians last December.
Arguably he has slid to third-choice prop on both sides of the scrum, with Benn Robinson and Sekope Kepu the preferred looseheads and Al Baxter and Dan Palmer ranked ahead of him on the tighthead side.
Harris made it clear yesterday that Dunning would be the man the Force would build its pack around next season if he decides to end his NSW career just one cap short of bringing up a century of appearances for the Waratahs.
"Our absolute priority is to get a tighthead sewn up," said Harris, who confirmed the club's marquee player, Kiwi tighthead Ben Castle, would be moving on at the end of this season's Super 14. It is understood Castle is attempting to secure a contract in Europe.
Adding further impetus to the search for a rock-solid prop on the right-hand side of the scrum is the fact that the Force is set to lose Tai McIsaac who, like World Cup winger Scott Staniforth, intends to play in Japan next year.
"Someone with Matt's number of Test caps would be very appealing to us," Harris said. "NSW have at least four other quality props but I suspect Matt wants to play in the 2011 World Cup and I reckon he'd have a better chance of doing that by starting for us rather than coming off the bench for the Waratahs."
Indications are that Dunning dramatically has slid down the ARU's ranking list for top-ups. It is understood that of the ARU's 20 highest-paid players, 13 are forwards and that almost half that number are front-rowers and it may well be that the emergence of such exciting young props as the Brumbies' Ben Alexander, Kepu, Palmer and Queensland Reds pair Laurie Weekes and Ben Daley means Dunning might be squeezed out of a ARU top-up.
If Dunning chooses to remain in Australia and not take a contract in Europe, he would be forced to accept a slightly-enhanced Super 14 contract from the Waratahs. Only in Perth would Dunning be likely to attract any third-party sponsorship.
Matt Giteau's announcement that he will be returning to Canberra to play for the Brumbies next year has made it imperative for the Force to quickly get a big-name signature - be it Dunning, O'Connor, Brown or Mitchell - on a contract to head off a potential mass exodus of stars.
Harris will be speaking later today with O'Connor's agent Anthony Piccone, pitching to him the scenario that with Giteau going, the 18-year-old Test sensation now could become the public face of the Force.
And with such foundation players as McIsaac and Staniforth moving on, the opportunity is there for O'Connor and Test flanker David Pocock to head a new generation at the Force.
The Reds again will fall back on Daley at loosehead after Greg Holmes failed to recover in time for his neck and shoulder injuries to take his place in the side to play the Chiefs at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html
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