Raiders insist homesick Anthony Milford's all theirs for one more season
Date
November 30, 2013
Andrew Webster
Chief Sports Writer, The Sydney Morning Herald
The will-he-stay-or-will-he-go saga concerning Anthony Milford has taken another twist with Canberra insisting the young star has again confirmed his commitment to the club for next season.
After it was announced earlier this week that Milford would join the Broncos for two seasons from 2015, the 19-year-old bizarrely told News Corp there was ''no guarantee'' he would honour the final year of his contract with the Raiders.
He also said he had no idea the Raiders would be releasing an official statement confirming he would play in Canberra next year.
That was stunning news to Canberra coach Ricky Stuart and chief executive Don Furner, who had issued the release after it was seen by his manager Sam Ayoub and with the knowledge of the Broncos. ''Anthony has given us an undertaking in writing from his manager and personally from Anthony as well that he will be here in 2014,'' Furner told Fairfax Media. ''He will honour his contract, which is all we wanted him to do.
''We're comfortable that he's homesick and wanted to sign with the Broncos for 2015 and 2016.
''I spoke to the chief executive of the Broncos [Paul White] about it, clarifying that it would only be for those seasons.
''We clarified that. We've had the backing of the NRL, because you can't walk out of contracts. And he understood that.
''The Broncos knew about the press release, and so did Sam.
''So I'm not sure what that's all about today.''
Milford has been at the centre of a tug of war between the two clubs after he expressed a desire to trigger a clause in his Raiders deal relating to the health of his father, Halo, who is recovering from a heart attack.
The Broncos are desperate for Milford to play in the halves having lost Corey Norman to Parramatta and released Peter Wallace to Penrith.
The Raiders, meanwhile, are banking on having Milford - the club's player of the year - available after allowing Sam Williams to sign with the Dragons.
Having terminated the contracts of Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson, the Canberra board was adamant Milford would not be leaving early.
Milford returned from a holiday in Samoa on Friday morning and is yet to speak with the Raiders, but Furner said Ayoub again assured him he would be playing for the club in 2014.
''I've exchanged text messages with Sam today and he said he will not be going back on what we've said,'' Furner said. ''He will be with you in 2014.''
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...more-season-20131129-2ygzf.html#ixzz2m1TM4v9L
