SENIOR Sea Eagles stars have hosed down suggestions of player discontent following continued speculation about drama in the camp.
It has lead to rumours that Anthony Watmough and Steve Matai were l
ooking to leave the club at the end of this season, which has been quashed by head coach Geoff Toovey.
Co-captain Jason King declared all is well at Narrabeen.
“Absolutely we are a happy team, it always has been and everyone is moving in the same direction,’’ he said.
“Everyone is concentrating on footy, which is the most important thing.
“Be it video sessions or out on the training paddock, we are a unified bunch.”
When quizzed about whispers suggesting player unrest, King pointed to their collective resilience.
“Over the years we have learnt to get on with things,’’ he said.
“It doesn’t bother us, we are focused on winning rugby league matches.”
King’s words were echoed by five-eighth Kieran Foran.
“It’s a tight knit group and to be honest I don’t think there is any player rumblings,” Foran said.
“I know it keeps getting pulled up but it seems happy, everyone seems fine with one another.”
And Foran said he was very happy at the club where he made his NRL debut in 2009.
“I love the joint, I love the playing group we have here,” he said.
“I’ve said it all along in my eyes there is a great culture here and it’s something that can never be broken.”
There was talk players were unhappy about the way their mate Glenn Stewart will leave the club at the end of the season to join South Sydney.
“I think the Glenn Stewart thing could have been handled better and I said that from the start,” Foran said.
“I’ve said it all along, I think the bloke deserve a contract put in front of him for all that he has done for the joint.
“That is just my personal opinion and I think have been pretty open about that.”
Foran said all the speculation was not distracting the players in their premiership campaign.
“I think we are a professional enough club to get on with things,” he said.
“The great thing about this club is that we are not going to let anything affect our performances on the field.”
Andrew Prentice and Jon Geddes
Manly Daily
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-beaches/rumours-of-player-rumblings-dismissed/story-fngr8iii-1226943286779