RUGBY league’s lost child, Kieran Foran, is about to escape to the only place that might save him.

Foran is hoping to secure a one-year deal to join the New Zealand Warriors next season.

While the move will surprise many in the game, like the ending to any good story it is both surprising and completely logical on reflection.

A somewhat stunned Warriors chief executive Jim Doyle confirmed the club’s interest in Foran when contacted but he was adamant a deal was yet to be tabled.

“I have been talking to Kieran for quite some time, helping him work through the issues he’s had,” Doyle said.

“I’ll continue to talk to him through these issues.”

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Doyle’s interest in Foran extends beyond his possible contribution for the Warriors.

The relationship goes back to when Doyle, one of the game’s intelligent thinkers, ran the New Zealand Rugby League and Foran was the young Kiwi star on the rise. The pair have remained close and are regularly in contact.

media_camera Foran only played a handful of matches for Parramatta this season.

Doyle said it was only natural that during recent conversations the prospect of Foran joining the Warriors was raised.

“Of course we’d love to have him.”

If Foran lands at the Warriors it will leave the NRL’s sleeping giant perfectly placed to land their first NRL premiership.

Along with Shaun Johnson, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Issac Luke, the Warriors would have the New Zealand Test spine.

No deal is on the table at the moment but the Warriors have room in their salary cap to offer Foran a deal, albeit less money than what he commanded to join Parramatta.

Last month Thomas Leuluai was released in compassionate grounds from the final year of his contract in 2017 to return to England.

However money is not a concern for Foran as he deals with his current troubles.

He is prepared to take the deal and the opportunity to get away from the increased intrusion and speculation of life in Australia to get his career back on track.

He also wants just a one-year deal, prepared to back himself to return bigger than ever.

He plans to leave for a holiday in New Zealand soon, where talks will continue.

media_camera Foran would only sign a one-year deal with the Warriors.

Foran was invited to New Zealand by Sonny Bill Williams, who goes in to hospital on Wednesday for an operation on a partial tear to his achilles tendon suffered at the Rio Olympics.

After tomorrow it is rest and recuperation, something Foran is in need of, too.

Foran will wait until Williams is past the worst of his recovery before flying to New Zealand to stay with him and take a look around the country.

A move away from Australia is being increasingly considered most beneficial to his recovery.

Right now, Foran is a walking sideshow.

His every movement is catalogued.

The fog around his headspace is beginning to lift and he realises, out of the chaos, he has the opportunity to change certain habits and get his life back on track.

It would be mean not to wish him well and, in a show of his reputation in the game, all NRL fans wish him well.

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The Warriors are a club on the improve who would benefit significantly by the experience he would bring.

It is not the first time the Warriors have had a dip at Foran.

Doyle put an offer to him when he left Manly but was trumped by Parramatta.

The pair have remained in contact since and have shared regular phone calls since Foran’s troubles began earlier this season.

Many in the game remain convinced Foran was headed to Canterbury when he returns to the NRL.

The Warriors have not been mentioned in regard to Foran but there is a growing belief from those close to the troubled playmaker Foran that they will be his best option to resurrect his career.

The NRL has already said it would want assurances from Foran that he has dealt with his off-field issues before it re-registers him.

Joining Doyle at the Warriors, who is highly regarded by the NRL, would smooth Foran’s return.