Warriors ideal move for Foran, says boss Jim Doyle

Kieran Foran (AAP file)
Kieran Foran (AAP file)

Warriors boss Jim Doyle believes new signing Kieran Foran is now in the ideal situation to recapture the form which saw him become one of the world's premier players.

Doyle has been in prolonged discussions with Foran since his departure from the Eels due to personal reasons, and has no doubt that the return to the familiar environs of his native New Zealand will pay dividends on and off the field.

'He feels he wants change, to start to rehabilitate himself and get back on track to what he used to be, and he felt this would give him the best opportunity for that change,"  Doyle told Newshub.

"He knows a lot of people here and felt coming into familiar surrounds he'd be comfortable with.

"He's obviously very excited about playing and helping the Warriors take the step up to the next level."

The former Manly star has penned just a one-year deal, and with children still living in Sydney it seems likely he'll make an eventual return, a possibility Doyle has comes to terms with.

"From that point of view I'm sure he'll go back there in the future, but I think for next year it's a good opportunity for him.

"We obviously spend a fair bit of time there as a club anyway."

Warriors ideal move for Foran, says boss Jim Doyle

Doyle with Warriors owner Eric Watson (Photosport file)

Doyle was adamant no further players would need to be shed in order to create the salary cap space required to acquire Foran's services.

'We've lost Thomas Leuluai this year, and we had Konrad [Hurrell] leave a little bit earlier. We're in a position to bring Kieran in based on those players leaving already.'

'It wouldn't be a positive to the club to bring in one player who could potentially be here for a year, and disrupt lots of others.'

That may not be the case for promising young half Tui Lolohea.

There had been plenty of speculation on Lolohea's dicey situation with the club after he spent a season stuck in a revolving door of selection, and given Foran plays the same position as the 21-year-old, the future looks more uncertain than ever.

However Doyle believes that Lolohea's game would only improve with a year of mentorship under one of the NRL's best.

"Tui's still a young kid and has many years ahead of him and you couldn't work with a better half to learn from.

"We've seen this year that Tui still has some learnings ahead of him and this will be a huge person for him to learn them from."

With a 'one and done' deal the likely scenario, the pressure for the embattled club to produce results in 2017 has only intensified.

It's a pressure Doyle and his cohorts expect, and their aspirations are even clearer following an off season which has already seen the addition of Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney.

'People like myself and Eric [Watson], our whole desire is to get the club to the heights that we all want it to get to.

"[Foran's]whole attitude, his leadership ability, how he drives other people around him will just add that extra positive at the Warriors.

"Every piece of the puzzle we can do to try and make that happen, that's what we're focused on."

Newshub.