Wesser Shelves Retirement Talk As He Begins Chase For New Contract

[Newcastlerabbit]

JOSH RAKIC
April 18, 2010

CONTEMPLATING an early retirement six months ago after a year-long battle with injury, Rabbitohs fullback Rhys Wesser yesterday declared his intention to extend his career at the club.

The 31-year-old flyer was forced to sit out all but two games of the 2009 season after undergoing knee surgery and is now fighting for a contract extension as he prepares to play his sixth consecutive NRL match, against the Eels this afternoon.

Rabbitohs chief executive Shane Richardson has set a round-10 deadline to renegotiate Wesser's contract with manager Daryl Mather, and it is believed the fullback will be offered a one-year extension on his deal.

''This is my year up here at the moment - my last year,'' said the cult figure, who won a premiership under coach John Lang at the Panthers in 2003.

''I guess I've got to show I can perform week to week and see how we go from there. I haven't played a lot of football so that's expected I guess.

''But I'm definitely keen to stay. Obviously with the year off last year, it's given me a new lease on life so I'm happy playing in the NRL and it's a great comp. If I can be around for a bit longer, it'd be great.''

His manager is confident a deal will be done as soon as round eight to keep Wesser in Redfern.

''There's been no talk of cutting Rhys loose - quite the opposite in fact,'' Mather said. ''I know that Shane and John have enormous opinions of Rhys and Colin Best - who is also off contract - and there's every chance they'll both be at the Rabbitohs next year.''

Showing glimpses of his best in recent weeks, Wesser doesn't seem to have lost a yard of pace, despite being forced to go under the knife for a second time in November.

''I guess that year off freshened me right up,'' he said. ''I'm feeling good and I've been looking forward to this season for so long. I just want to play every day. I guess anything to do with your knees you're a bit unsure over how you'll recover and if you'll lose your speed or not. But I'm feeling more confident as the rounds go by and I feel fast.

''It's the first time I've played with Chris Sandow and John Sutton together on a regular basis and there's still stuff we need to work on because we haven't all played together before really. It's just a matter of getting those combinations as smooth as possible now and getting back to my best.''

Wesser is just lucky to be playing at all after a 12-week injury led to a horror 10-month stint on the sidelines. The former Maroons star was still unable to jog in November, eight months after the surgery.

''The end of last year I wasn't too sure whether it was going to get better or not. I was a bit concerned,'' Wesser said. ''I was pretty frustrated and really didn't know if it was ever going to get better or not. I was pretty worried.

''During the Christmas break … I started to see more improvement and then I started to run late January. I could barely run even during October. I was pretty hesitant at first because it was only meant to be a 12-week injury, not a 12-month one.''

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ins-chase-for-new-contract-20100417-slet.html
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[the Little Master]

barring injuries this wouldn't be the worst move. He is gaining confidence and playing well. If he stays on the field he will only get better as the season progresses. He is only abot 30 so he is far from washed up.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

I wouldn't mind this as long as he realises that the club has to employ a backup for him and his pay packet should reflect this.

 

[lockyno1]

You want to reconsider your thoughts? Does his new contract involve him actually learning how to pass. You will lose Capewell if you are not smart about this one, he is a gun FB.

 

[God-King Dean]

I suspect we've seen his last game in the NRL.

 

[eggchaser]

Was a shame to see him play badly today, he's been playing well so far this season. Hopefully he'll be back to his best next week against the Raiders.

 

[Galeforce]

i think our biggest concern today was our number 6 , very poor kicking game, bottom line we let eels off the hook because we are not being led by smart playmaker. minimal repeat sets forced when we were in their qtr and general kicking was under 20 standard.

as this is a wesser thread, he should not be resigned by Souths on any good money , Norths maybe as a backup full back if he really wants to play on , as he is just above average now overall and if souths want to win a premiership , we need a consistent better fullback. Would have liked to see Mcqueen continue his development this year, pity he is injured for year.

 

[NSW Cup photos]

I suspect we've seen his last game in the NRL.

I think so to he'll be lining up for North Sydney next week

Luke capewell is playing well at fullback for Norths at the moment .....

If not id like t5o see Merritt at no 1

 

[grandorient]

Hi Guys,

Your best bet is to fu*k this hasbeen off.

He is currently an embarrasment to your team. Better off without him.

GO

 

[Appin Rabbit]

Why would he want to shelve retirement for with the brilliant exhibition of fullback display today every club in the NRL & Super league will be chasing his signature he was Parramatta's man of the match you cannot get better than that.

 

[ironhorse]

He was pretty bad but you cant blame him for the loss . re : the burt try ,well burt was good metre in front of the kicker , he was clearly offside but Wesser was very lazy . Still the forwards were quiet also Today .

 

[aqua_duck]

He was pretty bad but you cant blame him for the loss . re : the burt try ,well burt was good metre in front of the kicker , he was clearly offside but Wesser was very lazy . Still the forwards were quiet also Today .

He dropped the ball about 5 times and that Burt try was very, very poor, also looked deadset sterile in attack. Time to give it up Rhys

 

[African Monkey]

It was a sh*t performance all round tbh. The Eels weren't great either apart from Tahu's defence and their kicking in the 2nd half which got them over the line. Ball control is what's needed for next week.

 

[Aaron_sfas]

wesser had a real hegarty of a game today (sorry, couldnt help it)

but there are few players who can really hold their head up after that one... baz was baz. you cant ever fault the bloke. i thought macpherson put in, other then his brain explosion. burgess never stops trying either. cant say too much about merrit, champion, tulz and best, and the game was well and truely lost in the middle of the park. (champion got -1 for my fantasy team :S) but was a tough game to watch... but lets not forget...

Asotasi
Crocker
Ross
Pettybourne
Tyrell
Lowe

we had almost a whole forward pack on the sideline

 

[the Little Master]

wesser had a real hegarty of a game today (sorry, couldnt help it)

but there are few players who can really hold their head up after that one... baz was baz. you cant ever fault the bloke. i thought macpherson put in, other then his brain explosion. burgess never stops trying either. cant say too much about merrit, champion, tulz and best, and the game was well and truely lost in the middle of the park. (champion got -1 for my fantasy team :S) but was a tough game to watch... but lets not forget...

Asotasi
Crocker
Ross
Pettybourne
Tyrell
Lowe

we had almost a whole forward pack on the sideline

that was the main problem. With a couple of extra forwards I doubt we would have seen Souths play to that poor standard.

 

[Wobbygong]

Wesser hasn't played decent consistent footy for 4 or 5 years now. He isn't even worth half of the 250k a year you are paying him.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

Wow, you guys are a real fickle bunch. Wesser had probably his best game for us against the Knights a week ago. Prior to that he had been solid but not outstanding. One ordinary performance and you are all ready to wield the axe. The entire team were woeful yesterday. Wesser was just one of the bunch. He has always been a bit rocks or diamonds as a footballer and any Penrith supporter will tell you that he has always had the odd shocker in his game. His execution was ordinary yesterday, but at least he was having a go.

 

[Fein]

Wow, you guys are a real fickle bunch. Wesser had probably his best game for us against the Knights a week ago. Prior to that he had been solid but not outstanding. One ordinary performance and you are all ready to wield the axe. The entire team were woeful yesterday. Wesser was just one of the bunch. He has always been a bit rocks or diamonds as a footballer and any Penrith supporter will tell you that he has always had the odd shocker in his game. His execution was ordinary yesterday, but at least he was having a go.

Well said DKOR.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people have no f**king idea on what a good, bad or indifferent performance is.

 

[Different kind of Rabbit]

All I can say is, I hope my standard of posting doesn't drop off around here for a couple of days or you'll all be calling for my head....

TBH fi Wesser was going to have a shocker, I'd prefer it to have been in that game. We were woeful and soundly beaten anyway.

Compare that to Luke Patten's shocker when the Warriors nabbed the Dogs a week or so ago. A couple of Patten's mistakes directly led to Warriors tries and cost the Dogs a game they should have won.

By the by, I bet Doggies fans weren't calling for Patten to be sacked...

 

[Ike E Bear]

I want Wesser to go well (although yesterday's game was definitely the one I wanted him to stuff up as an Eels fan).

The problem is, I can't help but think that Merritt is the best fullback at the club's disposal, while Simpson is wasted in lower grades.

A few posts indicate that Capewell is going well too. I'm not sold on him at fullback after repeated problems in the past ... but if he is coming on in his development, I shouldn't rubbish him when I haven't seen him play for the Bears.

I really like Simpson and wish there was a spot for him somewhere.