League: Locke's unpaid loan final hurdle to move

Kevin Locke. Photo / Richard Robinson

Want-away Warrior could play for Salford as soon as next week

An unpaid loan made to Kevin Locke is believed to be stalling his planned early move to Salford.

The fullback last month signed a three-year contract to join the UK Super League outfit in 2015 but has since been negotiating an early release to play for them this season.

Ambitious Salford owner Marwan Koukash is keen to get Locke over as soon as possible and reports out of England suggest he could debut for the Red Devils as early as next weekend's match against Castleford.

The Warriors are comfortable about releasing Locke early but the stumbling block appears to be money owed to the club by the 25-year-old. The Herald understands he received an advance on his wages and needs to pay the club back what he owes before the Warriors release him.

Locke also needs a visa clearance to play in the UK.

Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah declined to comment on the specifics of the club's ongoing negotiations with Locke and Salford, but indicated a resolution could be imminent.

"We're still progressing discussions with Kevin's agent and Salford and included in that is him getting the necessary visa to be able to get clearance to be able to go there," Scurrah said.

Scurrah admitted it was possible Locke could play for Salford next weekend.

"That would probably indicate they're pretty optimistic about his visa coming through and if they are that's quite promising, and good luck to him. If he's able to play for Northcote, I'm sure he's able to play for Salford."

Relations between the Warriors and Locke have deteriorated in recent weeks.

On June 9, Koukash announced on Twitter they had agreed to terms with the Warriors for Locke to join them immediately and were just waiting on his visa clearance. Prompt denials from the Warriors were then followed by Locke's insistence that he was, in fact, still tied to the club, but his absence from club training and team lists added further fuel to speculation he had fallen out with coach Andrew McFadden.

The situation took another twist last weekend when Locke opted to play for his junior club side Northcote in last weekend's Fox Memorial match against Richmond, without the Warriors' knowledge or approval. McFadden expressed frustration at Locke's decision to play a club game and confirmed he did so without permission. "No, he didn't but we're working through things at the moment. We're a little bit disappointed with that but he's made that decision," McFadden said.

After a delayed start to the year through injury Locke has struggled for game time, with English import Sam Tomkins filling the No1 jersey.

Locke has played 89 first-grade games and scored 26 tries over six seasons at the Warriors.