From Zero Tackle,
Bunnies lining up Inglis replacement?
Greg Inglis’ NRL career hangs in the balance, with the South Sydney superstar set to make a call on his playing future early next week.
Inglis is currently on leave from the Rabbitohs as he battles a shoulder injury as well as fitness problems, with coach
Wayne Bennett to meet up with him next week to see if he’s still keen to play on.
The Maroons and Kangaroos star has already confirmed he will retire at the end of the 2020 season, but there’s a possibility that could be brought forward.
If it does, the Bunnies will need to be prepared to replace Inglis, and according to the
Courier Mail, Brisbane centre
James Roberts could be one of their main targets.
Roberts played for the Bunnies in 2011, in his first season in the NRL.
He’s gone on to play 76 games for the Broncos, with all but three of those being played under Bennett.
Roberts has struggled with form and injury so far this season, and the Bunnies could come calling in the near future if Inglis calls time early.
I think I would take Roberts back in 2020. Yes, he has the off-field stuff but I'm hoping that at a new club, a proud club like us he might see the error of his ways. There's no doubting he is a freakish player and I think over all, I'd be quite excited to have him back.
With what money?????????
Inglis will be on Souths books till 2020.
Souths would have to absorb $1.5m in cap if Inglis can't go on
South Sydney would be forced to absorb the remaining $1.5 million of Greg Inglis' contract into their salary cap even if their superstar captain is no longer fit to play.
Speculation about Inglis' immediate playing future remains one of league's hottest topics after he was given time away from the game by Souths to overcome his latest injury.
Greg Inglis' immediate playing future is uncertain. Photo: AAP
Redfern officials and rival players remain confident the 32-year-old will return a giant force in the competition before he retires when his contract expires at the end of 2020.
As a result of of Inglis' long history of injuries there is little chance the NRL would approve any request for a medically enforced retirement, unless there was a fresh injury.
By doing so, Inglis could have been fully compensated and the remainder of his deal, around $1.5 million over the next 18 months, excluded from Souths' cap.
Should Inglis reach the decision himself that he is unable to physically or mentally play on, it is understood Souths will need to include his entire deal in their cap.
Regardless of any settlement being struck between Inglis and the club, the original deal would remain on Souths' books.
Souths are understood to have little chance of applying for cap dispensation, even if Inglis is not playing.
The NRL were mindful of clubs abusing the cap by signing players to long-term - and often heavily back-ended - deals that they were never expected to honour.
If the current rule was not in place, clubs, for example, could include a senior player on their books for little money the first couple of years of a deal. And once that player quit the game mid-deal, he would receive his full payout while the club avoid carrying them on their future cap.
There is no suggestion this was the case with Souths and Inglis. Inglis made the call over the summer to call time on his career at the end of 2020 so he could focus entirely on making his final two years his best.
It is easy to forget what kind of havoc he caused in the opening Origin game for Queensland last season.
He suffered a shoulder injury against St George Illawarra in round two but has had issues with the same left shoulder in the past. His ongoing knee issues, which required attention over the summer, have also been a constant battle through his brilliant career.
Souths officials have become frustrated and almost cagey about the intense Inglis innuendo while his management said the club and coach had already addressed the matter.
Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett said on Tuesday he took one look at Inglis on Monday and gave him the enforced spell, and was prepared to give him longer if that was what he required.
Cronulla's Andrew Fifita has played for Australia and the Indigenous All Stars alongside Inglis and said "one of the icons of the game and future Immortal'" would benefit from a few months away from the game.
Like Inglis, Fifita has struggled with his own mental health and had people questioning his future in the game.
"I think everyone should leave GI be for a bit," Fifita said.
"It's hard when everyone is talking about it, you think he's not listening to the outside noise but you still hear it.
"He has to concentrate on himself and his family.
"I really feel for GI, I know he's one of those people who will bounce back from this. He has a lot of positive people around him and he'll get through it.
"I give it a few more months and he'll be back and flourishing for the Rabbitohs and nobody will even be talking about this. They'll be talking about how GI has run 100m and doing the 'goanna' [celebration] down by the tryline."
When pressed on how difficult it was to meet lofty personal expectations, Fifita said it was difficult to comment on Inglis because he was at a rival club.
"He's with Souths, and that's a better question for someone in his team," Fifita said.
"Personally, I always heard that in the press as well ... how I wasn't playing good enough and I wasn't good enough. The next thing you know I came out the following year and we won the comp [in 2016].
"GI still has this year and next year. He will want to go out with a bang and his teammates will want to put in for him. I wanted to give something back to Mick Ennis and found that drive wanting to send him out with a bang."
