In the Sunday Tele yesterday:
CRONULLA’S hopes of re-signing boom front-rower Andrew Fifita have stalled because of a player manager dispute.
The Origin and Kangaroo prop is refusing to negotiate a new deal while embroiled in a legal row with his agency SFX and manager Darryl Mather.
NRL integrity unit boss Jim Doyle has stepped in to try to negotiate a settlement to allow the barnstorming front-rower to determine his future.
The Australian Rugby Union and the South Sydney Rabbitohs are vying with the Sharks for Fifita’s signature.
The disgraced former agent Greg Willett is also involved in the drama.
Willett lost his accreditation after a Supreme Court judge found he cheated two clients — an old school friend and a quadriplegic — out of millions of dollars in a failed business venture.
He has been Fifita’s accountant since he started out at the Wests Tigers and had a number of NRL clients including Braith Anasta, Luke Lewis and Craig Gower.
The Sharks front-rower is still under contract to SFX but wants to do his own contract, using Willett as an financial advisor.
If he signs with Cronulla or anyone else right now, SFX will be legally entitled to eight percent of the money.
Rated the best young front-rower in the game, Fifita will command around $500,000 a season in his next contract, or more than $2 million over four years.
He is obviously serious about testing the market because he rang Souths half-back Adam Reynolds last week to ask him what it was like playing under about coach Michael Maguire.
Still, the Sharks are extremely confident he will stay.
But Fifita's dodgy agent will tell him it's a better career move for him. Jeez , Souths even getting $1m to fund it. If Burgess left, they would move for Fifita anyway.
