Ali Lauitiiti's manager Frank Endacott believes the NZ Warriors club has burnt its bridges with the star second rower despite its confidence of a turnaround at a meeting scheduled for Monday.
The Auckland-based Sunday News today reported big-spending English club Wigan was well advanced in talks and favoured to win the race for Lauitiiti's services.
It quoted Wigan boss Maurice Lindsay as saying: "We are not a poor club. We have plenty of money and if we decide we want to sign someone, we usually get our man."
Lauitiiti and Endacott will meet with Warriors chief executive Mick Watson on Monday morning in Auckland to decide the 2002 Dally M second-rower of the year's future at the club.
But Endacott told Channel Nine's Footy Show he couldn't see Lauitiiti seeing out the remaining two and a half years of his Warriors contract, despite Watson saying he was hopeful the 24-year-old would change his attitude.
Badly out of form, Lauitiiti was offered a release from his contract last week with the club claiming he'd indicated he was not committed to winning premierships.
Asked whether the Warriors would give Lauitiiti another chance and come to an amicable agreement on Monday, Endacott said: "I think that would be great but I can't see it happening."
"We were told by Mick Watson that he wouldn't play for the Warriors again so I think that's pretty straight forward."
"We would rather see him play for the New Zealand (Warriors) side but we know what's been said and he really hasn't got an alternative."
Endacott said 10 Australian and four English clubs had expressed interest in signing Lauitiiti, who was once dubbed the Michael Jordan of rugby league.
"We're meeting with Ali and his wife in New Zealand tomorrow and he will tell us which side of the world he wants to go," said Endacott. "We believe it's better to make a quick decision than go on and on."
Endacott denied rumours of a poor relationship between Lauitiiti, who missed 16 weeks of football last year because of an arm injury, and Warriors coach Daniel Anderson.
"He has no problems with Daniel Anderson and I don't think Daniel has any problems with him," said the player-manager."If you know Ali I don't think he has a problem with anyone in this world."
Endacott
added there was no warning that his client would be offered a
release from the Warriors, who have lost five out of their six
matches this year, and the news came as a shock.
