Plea for league players

Press, 5 March 1982, Page 30

Plea for league players

NZPA staff correspondent Sydney The New Zealand rugby league coach, Mr Ces Mountford, will have talks with the Cronulla club in Sydney on Tuesday in an effort to persuade it to release the Sorensen brothers for the Test series against Australia. Cronulla received a formal request from the New Zealand Rugby League Council on Wednesday for the release of Kurt and Dane Sorensen. "The club will be considering the request between now and Tuesday,” said Cronulla's

secretary, Mr Arthur Winn, yesterday. Up until now Mr Winn has been widely quoted in the press in Sydney as insisting that Cronulla would not release the brothers to represent their country in the series against Australia. “We paid big money for their transfers to play with us and have an obligation to our fans. “If the Sorensens wanted to play for New Zealand, they should have thought of that before agreeing to join Cronulla,” he said this week.

However, yesterday Mr Winn told NZPA the belief that the club should come first was just his own opinion as the club at present had not decided on the question of releasing the brothers. Mr Mountford and the ; N.Z.R.L. secretary, Mr Allan Gore, fly to Sydney on Mon- | day for talks with the Aus-’ tralian Rugby League, the N.S.W.R.L., and the Queens- ■ land Rugby League on ar- ■ rangements for the two Test ; tour which begins in June. i If the N.Z.R.L. gets the i release of the Sorensens it i Would considerably ,

strengthen the side which would also be likely to include other Sydney-based league players, Mark Broadhurst (Manly), and Mark Graham and Fred Ah Kuoi, both playing for North Sydney. The Sorensens have said here they would love to don the Kiwi Test jumper again. They started the new season last week-end in slashing form, with the second-rower, Kurt, scoring two tries mid-way through the second half to help pilot Cronulla to victory over Balmain.