NRL: Dragons keen to welcome back Gasnier

Mark Gasnier. Photo / Getty Images

Like a long lost brother, St George Illawarra players are desperate to welcome former skipper Mark Gasnier back with his one-time centre partner Matt Cooper prepared to do the hard sell, if required.

"I had a chat to him last week," said Cooper, "but we didn't really talk about it much because it hadn't come out yet. He'd only got back the night before and just happened to be in Manly. I'm sure I'll talk to him in the next few days, see how he's going and see what (is going on).

"I'm excited, I'm really excited. To have him back it's going to give us a bit of x-factor. He's a great weapon in attack and the way we're playing - to put Mark Gasnier in a side like what we've got now, it's going to be great for us."

Gasnier could make a decision on his future as early as next week. The 28-year-old is believed to be awaiting a final offer from his French rugby union side Stade Francais while also weighing up deals from Super 14 franchises.

He returned to Australia last week with his wife Claudine to be with her family, amid reports his father-in-law had been diagnosed with cancer.

That is when the Dragons confirmed they were interested in luring him back to the club and league with a reported $1.4 million three-year deal.

Five-eighth Jamie Soward would stand to gain from Gasnier's return, given the Dragons pivot operates on the same right edge as Gasnier. But Soward was also quick to point out that he and the Dragons had been given great service by the injured Beau Scott.

Meanwhile, Broncos skipper Darren Lockyer is opposed to the Dragons being able to pick up Gasnier for a reported A$50,000 for the rest of 2010.

"I want to see Mark Gasnier back in rugby league. But not like this," wrote Lockyer in his weekly News Limited column.

Lockyer said Gasnier should be welcomed back to rugby league with "open arms. I just think it's unfair if he is registered by the NRL as a St George Illawarra player on $50,000 for the rest of the season, as has been proposed in media stories this week," he wrote.