If Fainu's matter is dismissed, you have to note he is in the 30 and therefore its intended that he be available to play. Therefore though Des will probably bring him along slowly, as is how Des operates, he'll definitely play him later this year at some stage in first grade. Its just that I dont think he'll start him as No 9, probably for the rest of the season, unless Croker is injured. He's got someone there who is doing the job satisfactorily and he wont want to disrupt the stability.
But I doubt that Des will to ignore the obvious talent of Fainu who at one stage was being considered for the SOO and the next big thing in hooking, as well as the fact that he is being paid a reasonable salary to perform, now that his injury is behind him, and he's apparently training with the squad. I would suggest he'll test him at 14 soon after his trial is over, with gradually increasing game time to see how he goes, if as I said, his matter is dismissed and he gets the OK from the NRL. This is a business not a charity and Fainu will be expected to pay the club back through his performance for the 2 years he's been out. His contract is also up, I believe at this end of this year, and Manly will be wanting to see if its worth continuing to finance this investment with a further contract.
