KEY POINTS:
It seems Michael Witt is an easy sort of fella to fall in love with. Parramatta were certainly keen on their up-and-coming goal-kicking five-eighth, offering him a four-year deal at the end of his breakthrough 2003 season - when he narrowly lost out to Billy Slater in the
Dally M Rookie of the Year stakes.
Somewhat surprising, given he was so strongly tipped for success, the liaison didn't last and, by the end of 2004, he found himself surplus to requirements.
With Andrew Walker's return from rugby union pole-axed by his drugs ban, Manly had a hole to fill - and took a punt on the unexpectedly available Witt.
To say they quite fancied him at the start of 2005 is an understatement, with the club issuing a public thank-you to the Eels for letting such a fine player slip into their clutches.
Just a year later, the flame had once again gone out. It wasn't true love at all, just a passing infatuation. With Manly turning their attentions to untested rookie Travis Burns, Witt managed just one start in first grade last season.
So now, at just 23, he has come to Auckland, hoping the Warriors might be keen on turning a one-year deal into a more meaningful, long-term relationship.
Perched on the terraces at the Ellerslie Eagles' ground where the Warriors have based much of their pre-season training, Witt chuckles at the love affair analogy, showing no sign of the hurt you'd think someone who'd twice been jilted so brutally might feel.
"That's pretty much footy isn't it?" he says.
A suspension carried over for a high tackle during Manly's 2005 finals exit - at the hands of, you guessed it, Parramatta - meant he had to sit out the start of last season. And that, as they say, was that, with Burns seizing his chance. "The team was winning and I couldn't really get back into a spot," says Witt, who had to wait until round 17 to get his one and only chance for the year .
So, is there some major flaw in his game that leads to coaches giving up on him? "Not particularly. I've been at two strong clubs that have got good depth. If someone else gets a crack and they are doing the job well, then they stay there."
Which is precisely what Witt will be trying to achieve this season. With the jury still well and truly out on converted centre/fullback Jerome Ropati's long-term ability to fill the five-eighth role, he will get his chance.
It might not be Last Chance Saloon for Witt, but it's getting pretty darn close. "It's only a one-year deal so, if I'm not playing well it's not going to be renewed, so in that sense, it's definitely a big season."
Getting back to the love-in, it's not just league clubs who have a habit of falling for the Queenslander. Charities, women's magazines and, doubtless, women themselves have all taken a fair shine to him. Thing is, Witt is pretty darn good looking. To paraphrase Billy "The 12th Man" Birmingham, he's so good looking that it wouldn't take too much for the average man to turn for him.
Maybe that's an exaggeration. But you have to be fairly easy on the eye to be a centrefold in Cleo; the cover boy of the 07-08 Naked Rugby League calender; and a starring attraction in Cosmopolitan's 'Boys With Balls, 2006' photo spread.
"Ohhh, here we go," he groans with the resignation of someone who knows no matter how many first-grade hat-tricks he scores he'll always be the pretty-boy bloke in the missus' Christmas calendar. Witt's first modelling assignment was a pure act of charity. It's one he's paid for.
"Through my management company some people approached me to do a calendar for breast cancer. First of all I knocked it back but then I asked my mum and she told me it was a great cause. I guess if there's any way you can help raise a dollar for a cause like that then you should - but it certainly wasn't one of my most enjoyable moments.
"The people from the calendar gave all my stuff to the magazines to promote it, so it looks like I've done a lot [of modelling] but I really haven't - just one or two things."
But it's unlikely he'll take up a full-time second career. "No way in the world - then again, if someone wants to pay me a lot of money to stand there with me gear off, no worries."
Sadly for the nation's ladies, there is a Mrs Witt, with the couple having married shortly before coming to New Zealand. "She [Angie] is actually one of the people who pushed me into doing the calendar. She said 'when you are 40 and fat and overweight, it might be good to look back and see you had some sort of physique when you were younger".
On the field, Witt insists - fairly convincingly - that his modelling hasn't caused him too much grief. "The boys in my own team give me a lot of flack about it but a lot of people realise that it's for a good cause. If I was out there doing it for myself then it would be stupid."
So you've never had anyone smash you into the mud and say 'take that pretty boy'? "I'm sure they have - before I even got into these things. It's part of the game but it's all good. You've got to be prepared to take a bit of flak if you're doing things with your gear off. It has honestly impacted nothing on my footie. It's something I've done away from footie and kept on the down-low."
Perhaps the strongest string to his bow as he looks to nail down the number six shirt is his goal-kicking. Having been mentored by Jason Taylor and polished by the Socceroos coach Graham Arnold, Witt is in the upper-echelon of the NRL's goal-kicking ranks.
Not since coach Ivan Cleary was lacing up the boots have the Warriors had a kicker of Witt's ability. "I like the added responsibility. Since I've come into first grade I've always been a goal-kicker. I enjoy the pressure of it so hopefully I get the chance to do it here."
Witt is also a threat with the ball in hand, averaging about a try every four games in first grade.
"I feel I'm playing best when I am running the ball, taking it to the line. And my kicking game can help the team as well. I consider myself a player who will play whatever role the team needs me to play."
The marvels of the internet also revealed another little nugget about Witt, which he was less-than-impressed to learn was public knowledge: he has a bone missing in his foot.
"Mate, that's just a big toss. When I was a kid, a podiatrist said I was missing a bone in my foot that does nothing at all. But, when I wear screw-in boots, it pushes on that spot and hurts a little. So I just wear moulded boots."
Whether Witt will turn out to be the next Brent Webb or the next Matt Jobson (remember him?) remains to be seen. But there's no doubt he's aiming to be around for a while.
"Before I signed here, I rang Steve Price [a fellow old boy of Harristown State High in Toowoomba] and asked him about the club and Auckland itself. He had nothing but praise for New Zealand and the club so that certainly helped my decision.
"If you look at it from my terms, it's a big move to make just for a year. So I've certainly come over in the frame of mind to play good footie and get myself a new deal here and stay for a few more years."
The CV
* Age: 23
* Height: 1.8m, Weight: 86kg
* Position: Five-eighth/halfback
* First grade debut: May 2, 2003 - Parramatta
* First grade career (Parramatta/Manly): Games: 47, Tries 11, Goals 137/179 (76.57%)
