NRL: Last-chance Seymour has bosses' confidence

Brett Seymour. Photo / Getty Images

Brett Seymour is almost certainly coming, Scott Dureau isn't, and Stacey Jones is still pondering his options. That's the latest on the somewhat muddled halfback situation at the Warriors.

A deal to bring Seymour to Auckland is in its final stages, with director of football John Hart confident the two-time NRL outcast would be at the club within a matter of weeks.

In limbo since being sacked by Cronulla at the end of June following a string of alcohol-related incidents, Seymour is also carrying a knee injury. Hart confirmed the Warriors were hoping to finalise a deal to bring the playmaker to Auckland immediately, with a view to rehabbing the injury in time for next year's pre-season.

Given he was also sacked by Brisbane for his off-field conduct, Seymour seems a risky recruit for a club desperately seeking some solidity in the halves. While few question the 24-year-old's talent, building a team around a player who has fashioned a reputation as ticking time bomb would appear to be a huge gamble.

"It is not a decision we are taking lightly," Hart said. "But I think there is a real chance for this person to turn his life around. I think there is a strong commitment by him to turn his life around, which probably hasn't been there in the past. I think he knows it's his last chance."

Seymour, though, has spoken of last chances before. "There's no more chances obviously, one more mistake and I'll be out," he said on Channel Nine's Footy Show after he was fined A$20,000 and placed on an alcohol rehabilitation programme after a drunken incident in March.

But Hart insisted the club had done its due diligence on Seymour and could provide the right environment for him to thrive. "We are privy to a lot of information now. We've had detailed discussions with the player, with his agent and with other people around him.

"He knows that when he comes in he has one chance left in his career. And we need to make sure that we do everything we can to help him.

"This is the sort of place where he can flourish because he'll get a lot of support."

While Seymour is being lined up as next season's starting five-eighth, who will partner him is still far from clear.

Isaac John and the highly touted Shaun Johnson remain works in progress while Jones, who will be 34 next year, is no closer to committing for one more season.

"Stacey will make his decision in his time," Hart said. "We've made it pretty clear that we are keen to have him around in 2010. In the end it is about how Stacey feels, how he feels about his game, his drive, and what he wants to do. We don't want to put any pressure on him, I think that would be unfair."

If Jones decides to pull the pin, the Warriors would definitely pursue another halfback, Hart confirmed.

That player is unlikely to be Newcastle back-up Scott Dureau, who has been linked to the club recently. The 23-year-old had been a Warriors target two years ago but re-signed at Newcastle and is under contract at the club until the end of next season.

No new approach had been made to Dureau, chief executive Wayne Scurrah said.