SOME of the NRL's biggest stars may be allowed to supplement their income through an off-season rugby union stint in Europe, with the NRL not ruling out a radical plan by St George Illawarra chief executive Peter Doust to stop players from leaving for the big money on offer overseas.

With speculation strong that Dragons captain Mark Gasnier is set to become the most high-profile NRL player to succumb to the lure of playing rugby union in France on a $1 million a season deal with the Ewen McKenzie-coached Stade Francais, Doust went public with his proposal after yesterday's match at WIN Stadium.

Gasnier insisted he had not yet signed but indicated an announcement was imminent on his playing future after being able to exercise an escape clause in his $400,000 per season contract with St George Illawarra after a number of third party deals negotiated when he re-signed last year failed to materialise.

"There will be a resolution, hopefully sooner rather than later, but as yet nothing is done," he said. "From the start it's been about contract negotiations and stuff not being honoured, it has nothing to do with being disillusioned [with playing in the NRL]. I hope to have it done very soon."

Penrith winger Luke Rooney's rejection of an offer from Canberra last week to sign with Toulon has highlighted how big a threat European rugby union has become to the NRL, with Craig Gower and David Vaealiki already playing in France and Sione Faumuina set to follow.

Former Wallabies coach John Connolly predicted in Saturday's Herald that if Stade Francais wanted Gasnier, the Paris club would get him, and Dragons coach Nathan Brown said yesterday the NRL couldn't compete with the money on offer in France.

"It is always about the money, that is what life is about. Everyone goes where they get the cash," Brown said. "As long as they offer more money than clubs can afford to pay, the players are always going to leave. It is just the reality of life."

But Doust believes that if players have the opportunity to earn extra money from an off-season stint, they may decide to stay in the NRL, and he revealed he had already raised the idea with other club chief executives and NRL boss David Gallop.

"I have spoken about letting these players play both," Doust said. "I don't think first-class athletes really need the pre-season. Why can't they play both?

"That is the only way that we could get these athletes that are a feature of our game to stay in our game. If they're athletic enough to be able to grow their earning capacity, I don't think we should stand in their way.

"We just can't avoid it and say it's going to fix itself because it's not. I think we have to be a little bit more flexible in the way we treat these athletes."

Before Britain switched to a summer season during the Super League war, Australian players regularly enjoyed off-season stints there and vice versa but it is now all but impossible for them to do so now.

Andrew Johns and Adrian Morley played in the Super League finals three years ago after their seasons ended early but the last player to play a lengthy off-season stint in England was Wendell Sailor, who played rugby for Leeds Tykes in 1998-99.