Defectors, Returners and Loyalty

[sheepbender]

Over the years of players goin back n forth between different codes, it seems only recently that people are bitchin and moaning about a certain 3 players ever coming back - Sonny Bill Williams, Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau.

I dont remember anyone complaining as much about Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri and Mat Rogers as much as the above 3.

Now I get Sonny ran out on a contract, which you should never do. But I cant begrudge the guy chasing a childhood dream.

Hunt and Folau on the other hand ditched our sport for AFL, its a head scratcher for sure, as theyd never really played, especially Izzy..

But to say I never want them back in Rugby League is ridiculous, I want them back, and would welcome them back, as we did with Sailor, Tuqiri and Rogers.

And to those who say, who would take them? By the time theyre ready to come back, there might be more teams in the NRL. But there are always CEOs willing to get the best no matter the history of the player.

I want the best quality players, playin in our comp, Sonny and Israel are highlight reels, they do things other players dont, and Ive loved watching Hunt return a ball, he runs with massive stones at the biggest guys.

I understand why the Diehards out there despise these guys for walking away, but Id rather them playing our sport and bein known as Rugby League legends, inspiring the kids of the future to play our sport, than staying where they are now and inspiring kids to play Rugby or AFL.

The days of loyalty to clubs are long gone, Lockyers retired and Hindmarsh isnt far away, and with the commission and new TV rights coming in, $$$ are goin to rule, and players are goin to do as they please to help themselves before helping their club.

 

[adamkungl]

They will all be back except cutie imo, who will go get his paycheque in french onion or something.

I don't mind, they're quality players, and tbh someone like Folau coming back is a slap in the face to the AFL after his $1.2mil contract :lol:

Cash in, do nothing for a couple of years and f**k off at the first opportunity.

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

Only way i would have them back is if they sat down at a press conference & read from a script written by regulars from TFC ,which trashed AFL.The words soft, nancy boys,backward states,fumble bumble,derp,points for missing,bogan fans,hush money ,cover ups,drugs,police deals ,etc would have to be read out .

 

[hineyrulz]

Only way i would have them back is if they sat down at a press conference & read from a script written by regulars from TFC ,which trashed AFL.The words soft, nancy boys,backward states,fumble bumble,derp,points for missing,bogan fans,hush money ,cover ups,drugs,police deals ,etc would have to be read out .

I like it

 

[DoggiesBro]

Saying SBW chased a dream is a joke, he chased the dollar. Hunt is about the only one i have no anger towards. He never said anything that was a lie, he also bluntly was ripped. Broncos promised him alot more money along with a shot at being captain as Lockyer was ment to retire, he didn't and he got shafted. Much like Petro when Webcke steped down. Can't blame him for giving it back.

Folau lied and said he went to brisbane to be closer to home, then pisses off down to Sydney again. Along with him not doing his mormon mission or whatever he has proved he was purely acting for money. Again can't blame him but bluntly lied.

SBW is the only one here who is an out and out dog, he was pissed that when willie walked he couldnt get any of his money and wanted his 400k 5 year deal upped in his first year. The dogs refused he spat the dummy and kept throwing the shits. Then showed no loyalty to the club who gave him shot, helped make him a star, paying him 400k a year along with who knows what in 3rd parties options and not to mention a future captain and probz a upgrade if he showed he could stay on the field and deliver constant success. He instead bailed not only on the fans but on his own team mates in the middle of the night in the season from hell.

That is a joke.

 

[Canard]

Your either to young or need to lay off the bongs if you think there was no furor over Sailor et al leaving for Union.

That was massive news at the time and Im sure a casual search on these board would reveal a lot of people wanted them banned for life.

I reckon all three of the guys you mentioned will play League again, once there contracts are up they are not worth more than say $300K per season in AFL, all could command $500K+ in League

 

[AuDragon]

Only way i would have them back is if they sat down at a press conference & read from a script written by regulars from TFC ,which trashed AFL.The words soft, nancy boys,backward states,fumble bumble,derp,points for missing,bogan fans,hush money ,cover ups,drugs,police deals ,etc would have to be read out .

Love it, but will never happen... :?

I would welcome Folau back, who is the only guy that never denied where is love is, and although he couldn't say he left for the money, and obviously had to do his bit of bs marketing, everyone knows that only that absurd salary could move him out of RL.

SBW went for the money too and was honest about it, but the way he did it was cowardly at best, which is no surprise given whom was advising him. Wouldn't take him back.

cutie is the worst of the lot, holding the club to ransom for almost a year, making sure Origin was over when he announced his defection "in search for a new challenge, as he had achieved all he could in RL".

FOAD cutie, never again!

 

[Knightmare]

Wendell- announced he was going to Rugby in 2002. Played out the 2001 season with Brisbane.

Rat- announced he was going to Rugby in 2002. Played out the 2001 season with the Sharks.

$BW- fled in the middle of the night while his team was struggling, then tried to stab his old club (the club that put him in the shop window for Rugby in the first place) and the game (the game that made him a superstar, lined his pockets with cash and third-party deals and gave him everything a young sportstar dreams of, including a dalliance with celeb-chasing whore Candice Falzon) in the back, quoting word for word what Mundine had told him to say.

F**k him off, a dog of the highest order. He could come to the Knights and I would still boo him. It's a disgrace enough that they have given him coverage on The Footy Show or Origin telecasts. It should be banned to even speak of his name or to write it without a dollar sign where the s's are. $onny Bill William$ can go f**k him$elf.

 

[El Diablo]

the Union defectors were paid because the ARU thought they would be good players

the AFL defectors were paid to try and get youngsters to switch games like they did, not because of ability seeing they'd never played the game

 

[betcats]

Loyalty is dead in the NRL as it is in most modern sports. You've got players and coaches moving around between clubs, states and even countries. Its all a business so i think we need to move past loyalty because these days its a bullshit concept, talk about loyalty all you want but the dollar wins out most of the time.

 

[Loudstrat]

Agree with AU re cutie how he held Brisbane to ransom, after shafting New Zealand.

Folau is a moron bulsh*tter who gave his religion a bad name in the way that Will Hopoate never did.

SBW is just a brainless twat.

The difference between the other four (you have to include Blacklock) is that they didnt bullsh*t their way into the other sport. All have been punished to an extent. None walked back into League into their current stature. When Rogers came back it was to a fledgeling club - he never regained his origin jumper. Both he and Wendell copped a bagging from the Union snobs because they were from a League background. They returned with a better class of player in their rep jumpers, and all below the class and skill level of Hayne, Inglis, Slater et al. Tequiri kept his trap shut and did the best of them all, but mud was slung from Union and he has gone missing from the Tigers.

I reckon they will all be back. I reckon it will snow on Lang Park before they see another rep jersey.

 

[Fifty Metre Line]

No one has mentioned Tahu in this.
Came back a shadow of the player he was before he left yet still got handed a NSW jersey on his return (though I'm sure that has more to do with the incompetence of the Blues selectors than anything else).

 

[betcats]

No one has mentioned Tahu in this.
Came back a shadow of the player he was before he left yet still got handed a NSW jersey on his return (though I'm sure that has more to do with the incompetence of the Blues selectors than anything else).

Gaz as well.

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

If the Tigers ever sign $BW, cutie or Folau, they'll have lost me. It was bad enough that they signed that merkin Tuqiri.

 

[StormHi]

Saying SBW chased a dream is a joke, he chased the dollar. Hunt is about the only one i have no anger towards. He never said anything that was a lie, he also bluntly was ripped. Broncos promised him alot more money along with a shot at being captain as Lockyer was ment to retire, he didn't and he got shafted. Much like Petro when Webcke steped down. Can't blame him for giving it back.

Folau lied and said he went to brisbane to be closer to home, then pisses off down to Sydney again. Along with him not doing his mormon mission or whatever he has proved he was purely acting for money. Again can't blame him but bluntly lied.

SBW is the only one here who is an out and out dog, he was pissed that when willie walked he couldnt get any of his money and wanted his 400k 5 year deal upped in his first year. The dogs refused he spat the dummy and kept throwing the shits. Then showed no loyalty to the club who gave him shot, helped make him a star, paying him 400k a year along with who knows what in 3rd parties options and not to mention a future captain and probz a upgrade if he showed he could stay on the field and deliver constant success. He instead bailed not only on the fans but on his own team mates in the middle of the night in the season from hell.

That is a joke.

Agree 100% on all points except cutie.

 

[Mr Pmatta]

Your either to young or need to lay off the bongs if you think there was no furor over Sailor et al leaving for Union.

That was massive news at the time and Im sure a casual search on these board would reveal a lot of people wanted them banned for life.

I reckon all three of the guys you mentioned will play League again, once there contracts are up they are not worth more than say $300K per season in AFL, all could command $500K+ in League

Sailor is a wanker anyway you look at it!

 

[God-King Dean]

Tahu was the biggest dog of them all.

Says he would never play Union. A month later......

At Union says it's more professional than League. A month later.....

 

[Vic Mackey]

I think folau is the most likely to come back as he will likely fail pretty hard. I dont know if the other 2 will come back as they are elite athletes and could probably play 3 or 4 sports professionally and ours will be the least paying

All 3 were a joke how they left. Hunt 'im 23 and have achieved everything' then lost all credibility as being serious at afl when he shipped off to france to play union instead of learning how to play the game. Folau with the 'moving the brisbane to be closer to my family' crap. He is the greediest of them all imo.

Id have all 3 back but in particular sbw and hunt as they were in the top few players in the game. I always felt folau was very over rated

 

[Matt23]

Folau & Hunt can stay there (AFL) and rot, as for $BW who in the right mind would want to sign a part time boxer?

 

[betcats]

Folau & Hunt can stay there (AFL) and rot, as for $BW who in the right mind would want to sign a part time boxer?

Probably any club that can afford him....