By PETER JESSUP
Bulldogs captain Steve Price is set to become a Warrior.
Price, 30, is the form prop of this season and the State of Origin series and will undoubtedly be one of the Warriors' best buys.
He brings a bankable 145 metres average ground-gain every game and in excess of 20 tackles, well-timed off-loading skills and superb leadership.
The Warriors have been engineering the coup of the transfer season after chief executive Mick Watson found that Price has an option in his contract which allows him to leave the Dogs.
He has since been Watson's number one target, ahead of Kiwi captain Ruben Wiki, all negotiations proceeding in secret because the Warriors did not want to get into an auction.
There is no doubt Price would have been a target of all 15 NRL clubs plus the big-spenders in England had his name been prominent on the "available" list.
Warriors manager Spiro Tsiros and Price's agent, George Mimis, were in the Queensland State of Origin camp yesterday to work out final details with Price. Price has agreed terms, with the signing expected soon.
The Dogs captain has agreed to play under Monty Betham but his leadership skills, after 208 premiership games, 15 Origins and three tests, will be a big fillip.
Watson said yesterday that he could not confirm or deny anything, but did acknowledge that Tsiros was in the Origin camp "waiting for a deal to be done".
Whether or not that came off, it had nothing to do with Wiki and they were still eagerly chasing the Canberra hardman, Watson said.
Wiki's agent, Jim Banaghan, flew to Canberra yesterday to try to jack up the money on the three-year deal on the table there. There were offers from St Helens and Wigan and another Super League club was expected to weigh in, and other NRL clubs than the Warriors wanted Wiki, Banaghan said.
"He's in hot demand. The offers coming across my desk remind me of the halcyon days of Super League," he said, indicating Wiki would take another two weeks to decide and sign.
Senior Warriors players have been told Price is expected at the club in 2005 and Watson was reported as saying "if we get Wiki too, we're there".
The potential signings have apparently increased Logan Swann's keenness on returning to Auckland.
Watson did confirm interest in Sharks prop Chris Beattie, 28, who has played 84 games for the Sharks and three Origins for Queensland, and the Roosters' Chad Robinson, 23, who has played 62 games.
But they will be pursued only when it is known how much is left after the big buys.
Money will be one of the draws for Price. During the salary cap scandal of 2002 it was revealed that he was on a far lower wage, at around A$160,000, than most in rugby league believed. The Warriors' two-year deal will be worth around twice that.
If the Warriors or Canberra don't get Wiki he will go to England, as Wigan are big spenders. Stephen Kearney is also in the frame there and looks certain to see out his career in Super League.
Wigan boss Maurice Lindsay is in Australia with the Dragons centre Mark Gasnier his number one target, then Wiki or Kearney, then others in domino fashion, among them Cowboy Glenn Morrison.
Former Warrior Kevin Campion is looking at a one-year deal as a player with Hull with the offer as assistant coach for 2006, under former team-mate and Roosters reserve grade coach Ivan Cleary, who has withdrawn his interest in the Warriors.
* Vince Mellars has been released by the Warriors and is likely to play for Cronulla within a fortnight.
Steve Price
Born: March 12, 1974 Toowoomba, Queensland.
Height: 193cm
Weight: 101kg
Debut: July 1994, 208 games for the Bulldogs.
15 State of Origin games 1998-2004. 3 tests 1998-99.
Married, two children.
Game average: 17 hit-ups for 145 metres, 23 tackles.
Rugby League: Price is right for Warriors
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