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BRISBANE - Brisbane boss Bruno Cullen believes Wallabies' outside back Lote Tuqiri can fulfil his promise in league but is realistic about the National Rugby League club's chances of securing the ex-Bronco.
Cullen said the Broncos would speak with Tuqiri about a possible 2008 code switch "in the
next week or so" but admitted Brisbane would not be "moving heaven and earth" to re-sign the dual international.
However, Cullen did not rule out good friend Tuqiri taking a massive pay cut and returning to league so he could "fulfil his potential".
Brisbane was expected to head the queue for the 27-year-old and begin talks this week after the Australian Rugby Union recently withdrew an offer, believed to be about A$3 million ($3.4 million) over four years.
At least seven NRL clubs are believed to be desperate to sign the New South Wales Waratah while Super 14 rugby outfit Queensland Reds have initiated preliminary talks.
However, Cullen yesterday admitted the Broncos had not yet gauged Tuqiri's interest and would speak with the Fijian-born flyer "when we get around to it".
Cullen believed the Wallabies winger would only return to the NRL club "for love not money".
"We will get to it in our own good time. That's no disrespect to Lote, we would like to talk to him and find out his intentions," Cullen said.
"But we don't think we are in a position to do too much ... the numbers being bandied around are way out of our league.
"We are not going to ignore Lote because he is a good friend of the club and we like him, so we will certainly have a chat to him."
The Broncos' boss disagreed with Reds coach Eddie Jones' recent assessment that Tuqiri wasn't the strike weapon he once was, saying the speedster just needed the right environment.
"To me Lote hasn't fulfilled what I would have thought is his full potential as a footballer but I think that's because of the game [rugby]," Cullen said.
"That's probably one of the reasons why he is thinking about coming back.
"Maybe he himself doesn't believe he has fulfilled his promise as a footballer.
"I thought league was a game that suited him a lot more than rugby did but I don't know the game well enough to be critical of it.
"I don't think he is a spent force ... Back in league, in the right team and with the right tactics to use him I think he would be very, very good."
Cullen said the Broncos did not have too much room to move under the NRL salary cap, saying their 2008 squad was already all but finalised.
- AAP