Pomeroy#3
Bull Shark
- Joined
- May 27, 2007
- Messages
- 1,771
- Reaction score
- 31
Maroons hero weighs up big move south Font
Dan Koch | April 15, 2008
COWBOYS powerhouse Carl Webb said he was prepared to leave North Queensland, if he believed the move was in the best interests of his young family.
Off-contract at the end of this season, Webb, 27, has been targeted as a top priority by the Bulldogs, who have tabled a three-year, $1million offer.
At least one other Sydney club is said to be keen to sign the 110kg juggernaut, who has bounced back to form in emphatic fashion over the past fortnight after a sluggish start to the season.
He backed up his one-man wrecking ball effort against the Eels a fortnight ago, with a strong display against the Dragons, chalking up 110m in eight hit-ups and setting up a crucial try.
While not keen to leave Townsville, his home since 2005 when he joined from the Broncos, Webb said he owed it to his fiancee Renee Marsterson and one-year-old son Carter James to get the best deal possible this time around.
That means even the once-unimaginable prospect of moving to Sydney is now a distinct possibility for Webb, whose passion and fire in the Maroons jersey has earned him cult hero status north of the Tweed.
"I know this is the big contract in my career and I have to take care of my future and my family's future," Webb said.
"That's the way I am looking at it. I will seriously consider any offer I get because this my chance I will have to set things up for us for the years ahead."
Webb conceded he would find it difficult to leave Townsville and the talent-laden squad most expect to remain a serious premiership threat over the next few seasons.
But to keep him the Cowboys are likely to need something close to the big money being thrown at him by the boys from Belmore.
That means something, somewhere at North Queensland is going to have to give.
Having just landed the prize signature of Bulldogs Test centre Willie Tonga, Cowboys chief executive Peter Parr is facing a salary-cap squeeze trying to retain Jacob Lillyman, Steve Southern, Sione Faumuina, Justin Smith, Matthew Bartlett, Ben Harris and Ben Farrar.
In a strange twist, Webb has been earmarked by the Bulldogs to fill the void left in its engine room by the departure of his old adversary Willie Mason and Test prop Mark O'Meley.
The fierce rivalry Mason and Webb have shared from their days playing colts for Adelaide and Brisbane, respectively, to their clashes in State of Origin, looks likely to have a new chapter added this off-season, with the duo's managers already in deep discussions about a potential boxing match-up.
Two of the most athletically gifted big men in the game, Mason and Webb would go head-to-head in the proposed charity event to be held sometime over the off-season which promoter Angelo Hyder believes can draw numbers akin to the Anthony Mundine-Danny Green battle.
I wouldn't mind big Charlie Webb wearing our colours! Webb, Bird, Gallen thats got intimidation written all over it!