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By Peter Badel and James Phelps
November 6, 2005
BESIEGED Dragons forward Lance Thompson admits reviving his career in England would be a last resort as he contemplates leaving behind the "most important thing in my life".
lance
Powerful bond: Dragons forward Lance Thompson with his daughter Shalisse
With Thompson on shaky ground at the Dragons, the back-rower has held preliminary talks with British powerhouse Leeds.
Should Thompson be sacked by the Dragons, his best chance of resurrecting his career would be in England, with almost every NRL club having completed their recruitment drive for 2006.
But Thompson concedes heading abroad would mean facing up to the heartbreak of leaving four-year-old daughter Shalisse.
"My little girl is everything to me, she's the most important thing in my life and I don't know if I could leave her behind," Thompson said.
"I guess there's always the possibility of going to England but it would be a last resort. I don't know ... it's a confusing time. Ideally I'd like to stay at the Dragons."
Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington confirmed he has been in negotiations with Thompson's manager, Khoder Nasser.
The development comes after it was revealed that Thompson could be sacked after sending an offensive text message to team-mate Justin Poore on the eve of the Dragons' semi-final against Wests Tigers.
It is understood an angry Poore later confronted Thompson on the team bus just hours before the sudden-death clash.
"We have had contact with Lance's manager," Hetherington said. "We explained to him that we were in the market. He contacted us a couple of weeks ago and we said we were interested.
"We are waiting for Khoder to get back to us."
Thompson is not dismissing the prospect of extending his NRL career with a rival outfit. At an unofficial presentation night held by Dragons fans last week to celebrate his 200th first-grade game, Thompson revealed he would consider playing for the Bulldogs, Wests Tigers or Souths.
Thompson received an expression of interest from the Wests Tigers in July. But they were turned away by the Dragons, who insisted the City Origin back-rower was under lock and key.
Thompson is expected to meet with Dragons chief executive Peter Doust and coach Nathan Brown in the next fortnight to show cause why his contract should not be terminated.
November 6, 2005
BESIEGED Dragons forward Lance Thompson admits reviving his career in England would be a last resort as he contemplates leaving behind the "most important thing in my life".
lance
Powerful bond: Dragons forward Lance Thompson with his daughter Shalisse
With Thompson on shaky ground at the Dragons, the back-rower has held preliminary talks with British powerhouse Leeds.
Should Thompson be sacked by the Dragons, his best chance of resurrecting his career would be in England, with almost every NRL club having completed their recruitment drive for 2006.
But Thompson concedes heading abroad would mean facing up to the heartbreak of leaving four-year-old daughter Shalisse.
"My little girl is everything to me, she's the most important thing in my life and I don't know if I could leave her behind," Thompson said.
"I guess there's always the possibility of going to England but it would be a last resort. I don't know ... it's a confusing time. Ideally I'd like to stay at the Dragons."
Leeds chief executive Gary Hetherington confirmed he has been in negotiations with Thompson's manager, Khoder Nasser.
The development comes after it was revealed that Thompson could be sacked after sending an offensive text message to team-mate Justin Poore on the eve of the Dragons' semi-final against Wests Tigers.
It is understood an angry Poore later confronted Thompson on the team bus just hours before the sudden-death clash.
"We have had contact with Lance's manager," Hetherington said. "We explained to him that we were in the market. He contacted us a couple of weeks ago and we said we were interested.
"We are waiting for Khoder to get back to us."
Thompson is not dismissing the prospect of extending his NRL career with a rival outfit. At an unofficial presentation night held by Dragons fans last week to celebrate his 200th first-grade game, Thompson revealed he would consider playing for the Bulldogs, Wests Tigers or Souths.
Thompson received an expression of interest from the Wests Tigers in July. But they were turned away by the Dragons, who insisted the City Origin back-rower was under lock and key.
Thompson is expected to meet with Dragons chief executive Peter Doust and coach Nathan Brown in the next fortnight to show cause why his contract should not be terminated.
