With chequebooks at the ready, NRL rivals Parramatta and Canterbury Bankstown have welcomed revelations from gun playmaker Daniel Mortimer that he wants his long-term playing future decided before the start of the 2010 season.
Eels chief executive Paul Osborne and Bulldogs counterpart Todd Greenberg said they were both ready to sit down for talks with the 20-year-old - who comes off contract with the Eels at the end of the year - at any time.
After initially indicating he would wait until midway through the season to make a decision on his future beyond 2010, Mortimer said he now wanted a deal done before kick-off in a bid to ward off the possibility of second-year blues.
And according to Mortimer there are only two clubs in the hunt - Parramatta and the Bulldogs - the club at which the Mortimer name was made famous thanks to the deeds of his father Peter and uncles Chris and Steve.
"I agree that finalising a decision is probably a good thing for all parties," Greenberg said.
"I think it's important for him and for us that these things don't drag on."
Asked whether the club was in a position to table an offer, Greenberg said: "We haven't done that yet but we will look to do that in the coming couple of weeks."
While the appeal of turning out for the Bulldogs is obvious, Osborne said Parramatta were confident of retaining a player they had nurtured into the top grade.
Osborne said there had been ongoing talks with Mortimer's manager Steve Gillis, but denied the club would rush the youngster into making a decision.
"I just want him to concentrate on footy - we're not worried whether it's before round one or not before round one," Osborne said.
"We're just waiting to hear back from them - we're ready to talk to them now.
"We're pretty confident he'll stay. Obviously he likes the place."
Gillis refused to confirm the round one deadline, but intimated his star client was ready to step up talks.
"I think there's a possibility things could move forward sooner rather than later," Gillis said.
"We've spoken to Parramatta - we've discussed in a roundabout way where we're at but there's nothing concrete. Nothing's going to happen overnight."..
Replies
If Daniel signs it is arguanbly the end of his career. If he elects to stay how will he feel towards the Dogs knowing their attempts to recruit another halfback ?
While we as fans demand loyalty from young kids and the players of our team, we are very quick to put the knife in and be ready to be rid of players when they begin to reach the end of their careers! How many threads have we had on whether players like Luke Burt or Nathan Cayless should be given the boot? These are players who have shown our club ultimate loyalty and we as fans do not do the same to them.
The bottom line is - is that money talks. If the Bulldogs wish to lure Morts away with coin, then so be it. Morts is yet to play a full season of NRL and is entering what is usually a tumultuous second year. Parramatta should not play overs for him, when we have other options in our halves.
He has given us a deadline in the not too distant future. At least once his decision is made we can focus on the rest of our season, knowing exactly the position of all our halves.
Nothing aganist Morts, he is a champion player, he is kind of player who might bring you Premiership. We all know deep down he is a Bulldog. Oneday he will go to Bulldogs for sure. Many of us mentioned before KK could be similar as him if not better. If you look at 2008 NYC, you will know how good KK was. I will be filthy if we loose KK for Morts. Hopefully we will keep both.
The bottom line is, is that for young stars like Morts, it's almost inevitable that te media will hook onto any talk about contract, especially considering the rivalry between the Eels and Dogs! These things are rarely kept private anymore. Think about Jarryd, Mateo, Inu, Tahu etc.
Mortimer knows this and so has thrown his hat into the ring knowing that the Dogs want him. It's now a case of 'may the fattest chequebook win'. Clever? Yes! Mature? I'm not so sure. In my opinion - he's done the mercenary thing a bit here.
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