Rugby League Coaching Manuals

By Brad Walter, SMH - Just two weeks before the start of the NRL season the effects of Britain's visa crackdown are being strongly felt, with Warriors five-eighth Michael Witt told he is free to find another club and Wests Tigers lock Liam Fulton finalising a deal to join Huddersfield.

Witt, who will play fullback in a lower grade trial this weekend, has been linked to Penrith after being advised that Warriors coach Ivan Cleary preferred Nathan Fien and Joel Moon ahead of him for the No.6 jersey this season, while Fulton will leave the Tigers to replace Todd Carney at Huddersfield following the refusal of British authorities to grant the sacked Canberra halfback an entry visa.

The Tigers will use the money freed up by Fulton's departure to help alleviate salary cap pressure that has been mounting since they won the 2005 grand final, while officials still hope to re-sign Benji Marshall and are expected to meet his manager, Martin Tauber, today.

But a number of other clubs are awaiting the results of appeals by Michael Crocker and Greg Eastwood against their visa rejections almost as much as the Test back-rowers are themselves.

After earlier this week releasing forward Epalame Lauaki to Hull FC, Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah confirmed the club's interest in Eastwood if he was unable to take up his contract with Leeds. Witt's departure would free up more money.

Crocker, also a target for South Sydney and the Bulldogs, was immediately linked with Cronulla after the Sharks cut ties with Fraser Anderson this week following his request for a mid-year release to take up a lucrative rugby union offer in Japan.

Anderson is expected to finalise the two-year deal today and with the Sharks not paying anything for his release, the club can now add two-thirds of his contract to the money they already had free to spend under the salary cap on a replacement.

Cronulla officials and Crocker's agents, Andrew Purcell and Dennis Scott, deny any discussions have taken place but the Herald has been told his name has been mentioned at Toyota Stadium as a potential recruit should he fail in his visa appeal.

Coincidentally, Fulton and Lauaki face a lengthy wait to learn if their visa applications are successful before they can begin playing Super League. Fulton will remain with the Tigers until he receives the green light.

"We have all shaken hands," Giants managing director Richard Thewlis said. "He will remain training with the Tigers for the time being and, if everything goes as I would expect, he will see the season out with us from around the mid-point."

Witt could be playing elsewhere by then, with the Panthers set to inquire about his services after learning yesterday he was on the outer at the Warriors.

"I haven't played in any of the trials and I guess that would suggest that Ivan doesn't really have me in his plans for this year, and that he is looking at other players in that position," Witt told Auckland's Radio Sport.

"He said that the club is going in a certain direction and unfortunately Michael Witt is not part of that. He hasn't broken it down a hell of a lot but I guess they are looking at some new options in that position at five-eighth and I'm not really one of those."

Witt said he had had a chance to take up an offer with Hull but decided to stay in the belief his performance in helping the Warriors to the penultimate weekend of the finals would hold him in good stead.

"I've had a really good pre-season and I've been training hard so I'm just going to try and put my best foot forward and see what eventuates," he said.

- The Knights are today expected to finalise a deal that would extend the contract of coach Brian Smith by two years if the team makes the top four this season.