Sydney Roosters chief executive Brian Canavan says the club is desperate to keep hold of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, but says it cannot match a bid put forward by the New Zealand Warriors.
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According to Fairfax Media, the Warriors have tabled Tuivasa-Sheck a deal worth around $800,000 a year – an offer of almost double of what the Roosters have presented.
Canavan admits that losing the star 21-year-old halfback would be a massive blow for the Tricolours, but says the club simply cannot match the Warriors’ bid due to its salary cap restraints.
“We’re very keen to keep him, but we do have a thing called the salary cap,” Canavan is quoted as saying by AAP.
“If the reported figures are correct from other clubs, we can’t go anywhere near that.”
Tuivasa-Sheck has been in superb form in 2015 and is viewed as a long-term replacement for the retired Anthony Minichiello at fullback.
The Roosters are at risk of losing a host of big-name players with James Maloney, Daniel Tupou and Shaun Kenny-Dowall all come off contract at the end of the 2015 season.
However, Canavan says the Roosters’ main priority is to keep hold of Tuivasa-Sheck.
“Our preference is to retain Roger before we do anything else,” he said.
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