Barrett won't compensate Wigan: manager

AAP | 09/05/08 | 0

Trent Barrett's manager will meet Wigan boss Ian Lenagan on Monday, but is adamant there will be no compensation to the English club for releasing the former Test five-eighth.
   
Wigan have conceded Barrett is unlikely to see out the final year of his three-year deal with the Warriors, but have said his release has not been finalised because "discussions on compensation have not yet even started".
   
Asked today what he understood by that statement, Barrett's manager Wayne Beavis said: "Wouldn't have a clue, never heard of it before in my life.
   
"I don't think there'll be any compensation."
   
Barrett has requested the release for personal reasons and Beavis said this week there were four or five NRL clubs in the hunt for his signature.
   
Barrett's former club St George Illawarra as well as Canberra, Cronulla and the Bulldogs have been linked to the playmaker.
   
Beavis has scheduled a meeting with Lenagan, who is in Sydney, on Monday to attempt to resolve the stand-off.
   
"I've just put the unconditional release application in and I'm waiting on him," Beavis told AAP.
   
"I've spoken to him and we're going to catch up on Monday.
   
"We'll just go there and state our case, it's as simple as that."
   
Meanwhile, Anthony Minichiello and the Sydney Roosters remain confident the former Test fullback will make a full recovery from his back injury despite another setback at training.
   
Minichiello has been out for five weeks with the recurrence of the injury and suffered a scare during the week when his back pain flared as he returned to running.
   
The former Golden Boot winner's rehabilitation had been travelling well until this week but Minichiello is adamant the setback will not threaten his NRL career.
   
"I'll come back when I'm 100 per cent right, I'm not going to put a time frame on it. I'll be back," said Minichiello.
 
It has been a frustrating period for the 27-year-old who has had two operations on bulging discs in his back since the injury emerged in 2006.
   
The ongoing battle with his recovery prompted speculation the Roosters were trying to offload him to another club to ease salary cap pressure, but this was quickly denied by the club.
   
Roosters chief executive Brian Canavan confirmed Minichiello's setback this week but denied anybody at the club had begun discussing possible retirement with him.
   
"(Giving the game away) isn't even in our discussions," said Canavan.
   
"He ran last week and he got a little bit more pain. The pain had virtually dissipated but the running rekindled it a little bit.
   
"From there the physio and the doctors said to back off for this week and he's just gone back to his normal rehabilitation program. He's having further biomechanical assessments."
   
Roosters coach Brad Fittler said Minichiello had taken extra steps to understand the full extent of his back problems this time.
   
"He is doing some good rehab at the moment and taking on board some extra information about it and some research he has never really done before," Fittler said.
   
"I am really confident he is going to come back and when he comes back I think he is going to come back good because he is working on the hardest part, which is his head."

I don't think there'll be any compensation Wayne Beavis, Trent Barrett's manager