Will he or won't he? That’s the big question hovering over Pirates No.10 Andrew Moodie after he was linked to a code switch and a move to the Bears.
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Signing the rugby veteran would be a big coup for North Tamworth captain-coach Scott Blanch as the side eyes six straight premierships in 2019.
Bears veteran prop Shane Wadwell sparked speculation of the poaching when he told The Leader that “Andrew Moodie’s probably looking like he’s going to be there [Norths next season]”.
I don’t know if he’s signed yet or not, but it’s looking pretty promising.
- Shane Wadwell
“I'm pretty sure he will be,” he said. “I don’t know if he’s signed yet or not, but it’s looking pretty promising.
“He has got a league background, definitely,” Wadwell added. “He grew up at Farrer with all the Farrer boys as well. He’s a bit older than most of us.” Wadwell is a Farrer alumnus.
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But the man in question was quick to shut down speculation he would be swapping Ken Chillingworth Oval for Jack Woolaston Park, after three consecutive premierships with Pirates.
“I haven’t signed anything,” he said.
When asked what way he was leaning, he replied: “I’m on holidays in Brisbane with my family.”
If April, after delivering a brutal defensive performance in Pirates’ 53-14 home defeat of Moree, Moodie, who was 35 years old at the time, said he wanted to keep playing until he was 40.
“I love playing football,” he had said. “A lot of people ask me why I haven’t retired. It’s because I still love it, and I still get around the park all right.”
If Moodie does join Norths, there is no guarantee Wadwell will be there playing alongside him. Wadwell said he was a “50-50” chance of playing next year.
“I was gonna retire but the boys want me to stay around,” said arguably the hardest man in the game in Tamworth. “If I play, it will be one year, and that’s it. I’m 32 next year.”
In May, Wadwell told The Leader he had defied his wife, Kiera, by playing in 2018.
