League: King Wally salutes The Little General

While the little general moves to France, the king - Wally Lewis - says Stacey Jones' departure will leave a gaping hole at the Warriors. Lewis, considered one of the game's greats, has always been a massive fan of the 28-year-old halfback.

He even asked to meet Jones after the Warriors' recent 24-12 win over the Broncos - something Lewis says he does about once every five years when he sees a player he thinks is outstanding.

"When they played the Broncos here I walked straight to the dressing room and asked to see him," Lewis said. "I went to congratulate him and said I thought he was sensational. I've always regarded him as one of the finest players in the world. When he runs the ball, he terrorises sides and the whole Warriors team follows him. It's like putting a V8 in a four-cylinder car.

"It could be a good time for him to go. He's probably been thinking for some time whether he wants to keep playing or milk some money out of the game."

Parallels were drawn between Jones' situation and that of Lewis, who left the Broncos in controversial circumstances after it was made clear he didn't figure in the plans of coach Wayne Bennett.

Lewis is clearly still affected by Bennett's decision, especially considering his Gold Coast Seagulls side finished last in his final season in 1992, the same year the Broncos picked up their first premiership.

"It wasn't the way I'd planned it," Lewis said diplomatically when asked if he was still upset about the way he left the club.

"I had an idea about how I was going to end my time there but it was forced upon me by something else. Eventually when I sat down to think about when I was going to pull the plug, it was taken out pretty quickly.

"When you're not the boss of a club, you can't plan it that way. [Bennett] runs that club, he owns part of the club and players don't have any choice."

Despite the fact Lewis and Bennett are unlikely to exchange Christmas cards, Bennett is widely regarded as the master of shifting players before they slide down the slippery slope of mediocrity, or convincing them to take up lucrative contracts elsewhere.

Along with Lewis, he also let Allan Langer and Gene Miles go just prior to a slide in their careers, not only prolonging their careers but also picking up profitable contracts.

It is a common tactic in other sports, chiefly American sports and football, where players are essentially treated as stocks to be traded on the share-market.

"I think it's a great time for Stacey to move after 11 years in the comp," Bennett said. "He's done a hell of a job and he'd be realising that things aren't getting any easier.

"As a coach you don't want to lose your best players but we have to see their point of view. After 11 years, people should pat him on the back - you can't make him do something he doesn't want to do. It's a great opportunity, especially at his age."

Warriors skipper Steve Price says life will go on without Stacey Jones, drawing parallels with his own move from the Bulldogs this season. "I love playing with him but it was the same situation I was in at the Bulldogs," said Price, who could be a doubt for the Warriors' game against the Panthers next weekend after straining his hamstring setting up a Willie Tonga try in Australia's 32-16 win.

"He's looking for a new opportunity and to give his family a new experience. I know how much it has done for me and I know how much it will do for him."

Meanwhile Warriors CEO Mick Watson says the club is aiming for one more player for 2006 - but it won't be a replacement for Jones and it isn't likely to be Anthony Mundine or Carlos Spencer.

"You can't fill Stacey Jones' boots. We should put them on the wall because no one will fill them," said Watson. "If this was US sport, they'd retire the jersey. But we have to plan for the future and move on."

Nathan Fien, Lance Hohaia and Jerome Ropati were the play-maker options for the club once Jones had moved on, he said, and the club wouldn't be going to the transfer market for a replacement. He'd be looking for a player in another position but wouldn't say what it was or who he had in mind.

Watson has severe doubts that Mundine would play for the Warriors and he said the Jones-for-Mundine theory was well off-beam.

Mundine, the 29-year-old former Dragons five-eighths, will defend his super-middleweight title on May 11 and has been speaking about returning to the NRL, with the Warriors among a number of clubs mentioned as likely recipients of his undoubted talent.

However, many in league circles believe that Mundine may only be interested in a return if he loses his fight against tough Dane Mikkel Kessler on May 11.

Watson spoke of his surprise over fan suspicion that Jones had been "pushed" instead of "jumped" from the Warriors. "No club is ever going to show a player like Stacey Jones the door," he said. "People don't realise how closely we worked on this. Stacey came to see me and asked if I'd help him with this matter. He got rid of his manager a couple of years ago and basically asked me if I'd manage the deal for him. I went home that night quite affected and told my wife that Stacey wanted me to manage his deal.

"Well, I did - I got him the best deal he's had in his career."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY