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Hannay to fill Hewat's spot
By Peter Jenkins
July 28, 2007 12:00am
FORMER Queensland State of Origin centre Josh Hannay is in negotiations with the NSW Waratahs and could be playing rugby union within weeks.
Released last month by NRL club the Sharks, Hannay has met Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie and is under consideration to boost the goal-kicking stocks of the Super 14 franchise.
Sharpshooter Peter Hewat, the second-highest points scorer in Waratahs history, confirmed yesterday he was heading to England in mid-October to play with London Irish after NSW agreed to terminate the final year of his contract.
Hewat, 29, admitted rejection from the Wallabies brains trust had driven his desire to leave.
As the wing-fullback prepares to depart, opening up an additional spot in the NSW roster, Hannay has been skill and speed tested by the Waratahs over the past fortnight.
"Hannay could play (club football) as soon as next weekend if that's what we wanted to do," McKenzie said.
"He's just come on to the market and he's a recognised goal-kicker.
"He did have something of a union background at school and what I learned this year is that you can't load up your team with guys one year out of school.
"You need experience, and while he has not played the game for a long time, he has runs on the board in terms of playing a competitive level of football."
Hannay played for the Cowboys against the Wests Tigers in the 2005 grand final and was part of the Queensland squad for the last match of the 2006 Origin series.
McKenzie said that if the Waratahs did decide to recruit him - "and we're speaking to a lot of guys" - he could be eased into the game via the Trevor Allan Cup, a Sydney club competition to run parallel with the new Australian Rugby Championship over the next two months.
"If we went that way he could play five or 10 games before the end of the season," added McKenzie, who views Hannay as a potential inside centre.
Hewat will head offshore on a three-year deal after completing his ARC commitments with the Central Coast Rays.
"There's definitely no bitterness from my end," he said.
"NSW have been sensational and Ewen was the one who gave me an opportunity three years ago. The only regret is that I haven't got an Australian cap next to my name.
"They say Super 14 is the breeding ground for a Wallaby jumper and I think I did enough in my three years here to definitely be involved in some sort of squad capacity. But that's all in the past for me now."
Hewat leaves the Waratahs after scoring 636 points in 50 matches, for an average of more than 12.5 a game.
"People will forget in years to come what you did on the field," he said. "You'll only be remembered by what's in the history books and I leave extremely proud of what I achieved with the Tahs."
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Originally Posted by chook
Was the wait worth it - Ya betta baby 
