Reds keen on bid for Giteau

[travelling_gerry]

THE Queensland Reds will make a big-money play for Matt Giteau if the Wallabies star makes it clear he will not be at the Western Force beyond this season.
Giteau recently committed himself to the Force for 2009 but there is no guarantee he will remain at the Force for the long haul following the collapse of his third-party sponsorship deal with Firepower.

The five-eighth has been linked with the Brumbies for 2010, although the Reds are keen to enter the race for his signature.

Queensland are well served in Giteau's primary positions, with Quade Cooper secure in the No10 jumper and Berrick Barnes capable of playing outside centre or at five-eighth.

But the Reds are determined to leave no stone unturned in their bid to climb from the Super 14 cellar.

"Matt has family in Canberra and played his footy there. But if he decides to leave the Force, we'll be asking the question,'' Reds recruitment chief Ben Whitaker said.
"He's got some major ties elsewhere but if he became available, you'd inquire at least.

"I wouldn't chat to Matt until he makes it clear he's leaving the Force. He's signed with the ARU until the World Cup (in 2011) but unless Matt says he would like to weigh up his options, we won't interfere.

"We won't get too carried away because we're happy with our current 10 and 12, we've got Quade and Berrick Barnes on our books.

"We'll let Matt make the call first on whether he wants to stay or go.''

Giteau, who recently knocked back an offer from France worth almost $10 million, said any prospective bidder had to be a Super 14 title contender.

"Every player wants to win a comp, if they don't they shouldn't be here,'' he said.
"Lifestyle is another factor, where I'm going to be happiest. There's a number of factors. The coach, the players, what players will be kept.''

http://www.news.com.au:80/dailyteleg...006067,00.html

[GIGS20]

Reds keen on bid for Giteau

Giteau, who recently knocked back an offer from France worth almost $10 million, said any prospective bidder had to be a Super 14 title contender.

With one sentence, this reporter has made his entire article a joke!

[slomo]

EWF should target berrick barnes, hes also out of contract at the end of the season.....

[travelling_gerry]

Reds want Giteau if Barnes chases cash

26th January 2009, 9:00 WST

The Queensland Reds will make a million-dollar bid for Matt Giteau this year if they fail to retain young playmaker Berrick Barnes.

Barnes is entering the final season of his contract and the Reds hope he will forgo the big money in Britain and France for a further two years with Queensland and the Wallabies.

However, should he opt for immediate wealth rather than the 2011 World Cup, the Reds will attempt to stitch together a deal sufficiently lucrative to lure Giteau to Brisbane, according to QRU high-performance manager Ben Whitaker.

Giteau receives about $700,000 from the Australian Rugby Union and the proposed Reds package will push his annual income into seven figures. The Wallabies fly-half is not expected to stay with the Force beyond this year because of the collapse of his sponsorship deal with failed company Firepower.

A Queensland newspaper recently revealed a group of wealthy Reds backers had met to determine what it would take to enter the race for Giteau’s signature and Whitaker confirmed yesterday the Force pivot was on Queensland’s radar.

“We won’t go near him until he’s made it clear he’s moving on but you’d have to ask him the question,” Whitaker said. “He’s probably the best player in Australia and one of the few in the category of being able to command big third-party deals.

“Matt probably wouldn’t want to come here if we re-signed Berrick but, if that didn’t happen, we’d make a move.

“We’re putting together a young team with good possibilities here, with a core of six Wallabies, so we’re going to be competitive.”

Giteau will most likely return to his hometown Canberra and the Brumbies, whom he last represented in 2006, but confirmation he will not stay in Perth will trigger domestic and offshore offers.

Giteau sat out Friday’s practice game against the Crusaders at Members Equity Stadium and, with James O’Connor out with a virus, Scott Daruda spent 90 minutes at fly-half.

He and new scrum-half Josh Valentine combined well until two knocks to the head in quick succession midway through the second 30-minute period left him mildly concussed.

Daruda played on but with little influence and admitted yesterday he struggled to shake off the blows.

“I was a bit crook after taking a whack in the face,” he said. “But I needed a good run and stayed on.”

The Force built a 19-5 lead after 40 minutes but when Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder inserted his better players en masse in the second term, the momentum shifted dramatically. Scrum-half Andy Ellis took charge and the Super 14 champions responded to claim a 24-19 win.

The Force play the Reds at Ballymore on February 5 in their only other trial match before they host the Auckland Blues at Subiaco Oval in round one of Super 14 on February 13.

DAVE HUGHES

[TOCC]

wait till mudskipper gets a hold of this article



it shouldnt bother him though, apparently the Brumbies rejected Giteau anyway

[GIGS20]

In the light of what that article said, Australian rugby will be far worse off with Giteau at the Reds.

Give me a minute TOCC, Berrick Barnes is the ideal backup to Gits at 10. They both have plenty of time in 10 and 12 and are both working well together (at least when they shared the fiend this year) The article implied that the Reds would have one or the other, but not both.......seriously, I'd rather have Gits at the Brumbies than the Reds in light of that decision.

Not to worry anyway, he said he wants to win a title, so he's not going to be looking towards Queensland this contract!

[chiselhead]

Gits is the most over rated fly half in world rugby. He is a fantastic runner of the ball. I'd love to see him at 15.
His tactical kicking is toilet. His defence is suspect. He isn't Dan Carters arsehole. Gits likes the big euros on offer for kicking the ball into touch for 80 mins and not getting tackled. He'll go to France and bide his time. The question really is, who will he play for in 2011 as he tries to make the wallaby squad?
It might be a bad move to leave Australian rugby. Quade Cooper, Kurtley beale, Berrick Barnes, James O'Connor are lining up. We had nothing for a decade and suddenly we have a 1000 quality young 10's

[TOCC]

Not to worry anyway, he said he wants to win a title, so he's not going to be looking towards Queensland this contract!

I guess thats why he is wanting to leave the Force so bad as well?

anyway, skill wise Giteau is better, but personality wise Barnes is miles ahead of Giteau, the man with many faces.

[waratahjesus]

barnes is a much better 5/8 than gits but yet gits plays 10 and barnes plays 12, it doesnt make sense to me.

the wallabies should be built around barnes and i hope he stays in queensland! there building a good team up there after being raped by other teams and problems for a while it would be good to see them all mature together and become what they used to be.

[robyn <3]

I guess thats why he is wanting to leave the Force so bad as well?

anyway, skill wise Giteau is better, but personality wise Barnes is miles ahead of Giteau, the man with many faces.

What do you mean personality wise?!

Have you ever met Giteau?? I have. He has got to be one of the most lovely, charming people I have ever met. He smiles at everyone, signs anything he can possibly and has fun with his fans, every time I've seen him. And it's not just his fan face- he's a genuine person who is nice to be near. I'm not saying Barnes isn't just as charming, but you can't say Giteau has no nice personality because he does.

[TOCC]

What do you mean personality wise?!

Have you ever met Giteau?? I have. He has got to be one of the most lovely, charming people I have ever met. He smiles at everyone, signs anything he can possibly and has fun with his fans, every time I've seen him. And it's not just his fan face- he's a genuine person who is nice to be near. I'm not saying Barnes isn't just as charming, but you can't say Giteau has no nice personality because he does.

personality was probably the wrong word to use,
maybe loyalty was the term i was looking for