Fien never got money owed by Warriors

FIONA GOODALL/Fairfax Media

OUT OF POCKET: Former NZ Warrior Nathan Fien claims he never got the money he was owed when he left the club mid-season for St George-Illawarra.

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Nathan Fien says he took a substantial pay-cut to escape his Warriors' reserve grade nightmare when the club refused to pay out his contract.

Fien says when the Warriors offered him a mid-year release to join the Dragons – with whom he had signed a three-year contract starting 2010 – the club wasn't willing to pay out the remainder of his existing deal, which ran to last month.

And the Dragons had exhausted their NRL salary cap – leaving only some money in their second-tier cap, a $300,000 per club limit aimed at players outside the club's top 25 salary earners.

"The Warriors said I could move on, but they weren't going to pay out the rest of my contract, and the Dragons didn't have any money in their salary cap, just a bit in their second tier cap," Fien said.

"We got through it, I haven't got the money I was owed from my Warriors contract, but I had to weigh everything up for us and it was a great move for me football-wise."

Having been dumped to the Auckland Vulcans' NSW Cup side, Fien says he knew he had to move or write off any hope of Kiwi selection for the Four Nations. He got regular game time at hooker as the Dragons won the minor premiership, enough to ensure he retained his place in the national team.

"I worked it our for myself – you've got to be playing at the highest level possible to put your hand up for selection. I wasn't doing that in Auckland.

"I've said it many times – it was a sad thing we had to go through, moving away from a place where we loved living and a club I loved playing for, but when you sit down and look at the big scheme of things, it's a great opportunity the Dragons have given me ... it's given me a new lease of life."

Fien still owns a house in Auckland and hopes he can move back to the city after his playing career.

- © Fairfax NZ News