NRL: Warriors' class clown Maloney a playmaker in demand

James Maloney. Photo / Greg Bowker

When James Maloney's agent called him to say the Warriors were interested in signing him, Maloney's response was unequivocal.

"I said, 'You're kidding, mate, keep looking'," Maloney says now with a smirk.

Even though he had played only four games for the Storm in 2009 and was desperate to find a club that might give him more first-grade opportunities, the Warriors didn't interest him. He didn't fancy the travel and didn't fancy New Zealand.

Now, virtually every club in the competition fancies him.

Maloney has become one of the NRL's standout players and many are calling for him to be part of Australia's squad for the upcoming Four Nations.

It's an indication of Maloney's growing stature that he's being talked about in a country with plenty of quality halves.

He's a man in demand, and it's likely most clubs will have made an inquiry to his agent, Wayne Beavis. A recent report out of Australia suggested seven clubs were interested in him but that number must surely have increased after Maloney guided the Warriors to this weekend's grand final.

The Warriors want him to stay but Beavis said in July the club would need to come up with some "serious money" or risk losing the chirpy playmaker when his contract expires at the end of 2012.

"Of course we want to keep him," Warriors' chief executive Wayne Scurrah said. "He's been excellent for us this season."

It wasn't really known how good he could be when he first arrived. Apart from Stacey Jones, the club had largely struggled to find a top half to direct the team around the park. From the time Jones left to play in France in 2006, the Warriors tried the likes of Lance Hohaia, Michael Witt, Grant Rovelli, Jerome Ropati, Nathan Fien, Joel Moon, Brett Seymour and Isaac John in the halves with limited success.

They all did a job but not in the way Maloney has, and quality halves are a prerequisite for any premiership-winning side.

The prospect of what the Warriors could do long-term with Maloney and Shaun Johnson has already been illustrated with their run to the grand final.

Maloney and Johnson complement each other well because they provide two points of attack and two good kicking games. Maloney is also the conductor as he barks out orders during a game and his competitiveness is contagious.

He sidesteps any talk of contracts, saying he will consider his options at the end of the season, but you get the sense he will depart. The current Warriors' management doesn't have a history of throwing big money at players and Maloney is still very much the boy from Orange, the agricultural and mining town 200km west of Sydney, who speaks with a heavy Australian accent.

He's like the class clown in the side and earlier this season caused plenty of consternation when he tweeted that Micheal Luck would be following Cleary to Penrith next season - Luck is contracted to the Warriors in 2012.

"He's got the most annoying voice in the world and it never shuts up," Luck said last month. "You only have to be around him a little while and you wish he'd go home."

Luck doesn't mean it. Most hope Maloney sticks around for some time.