Gasnier/Union: Possible 780K deal

[God-King Dean]

Johns was already going to be contracted by Ch9, there was nothing new about that. He'd already done plenty of commentary work for them previously.

Plenty ? 1, or 2 games when he was injured ?

Not meanign to have a go at ya, but how convenient 9 decided to sign him at the exact time of his negotiations. What are the odds ?

 

[Wristy McSlashalot]

I can only imagine the debauchery he will get up to in South African nightclubs

 

[aids]

I can only imagine the debauchery he will get up to in South African nightclubs

Lote better put a pin code in his phone if gaz goes to Union

 

[Sea_Eagles_Rock]

Lote better put a pin code in his phone if gaz goes to Union

:lol:

If I remember the deal that Johns got offered (by union and yes assuming it was accurate) wasn't massively over the NRL price for him anyway. That's why the Knights have a team of kids basically.

But this Gasnier deal of $780k is massive money for a centre. You wouldn't go within a million miles of paying that much for the bloke. I don't care what his surname is. Frankly if he wants to considering going to ARU then so be it. Don't let the door hit him on the ass as he goes. And if he is fair dinkum trotting this out to up the ante for himself, he should also give a big kiss good bye to any hopes he had of playing SOO this season too. And no Green and Gold either.

We have stop rewarding players privilages when then they pull out the old Union option. If you get caught negotiating with Union, the selectors should pull out the big black marker and write, "NEVER AGAIN" over him for rep jerseys. I know you can't 'say' you are doing, but you can bloody well do it.

 

[nqboy]

My memory of the the NRL/Joey saga is patchy at best but I seem to remember they did put in a big effort to keep him. That said, Johns was, and still is, the best in the game and one of the best of all time. Gasnier is just a talented, injury-prone, human headline drama queen.

Don't let the door smack you on the arse on the way out.

 

[miketyson]

I can only imagine the debauchery he will get up to in South African nightclubs

edited 17/03/2006 12:04am

 

[humpy]

There have been a number of queries about what the NRL did in regard to keeping Joey Johns in Rugby League (and therefore Newcastle).

The NRL has helped its clubs retain elite players in the past, most notably in 2004 when it approved third-party agreements with the Nine Network and News Limited (publishers of The Australian) to help keep Newcastle captain and Test halfback Andrew Johns away from rugby union.

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,18492844-32463,00.html

This is the exact reason why 3rd party agreements should not be counted under the salary cap, because the NRL seem to have discretion in what they do and don't approve. If Gasnier is so good, he should be able to attract plenty of personal sponsorship from Sydney to Ulladulla (even if the club does set up some appointments with sponsors etc).

 

[drake]

The main point is precedent.

The NRL are trying to say no player i bigger than the game; which is right.
But unfortunately they have already said that one player is: Johns. And also to a certain extent, Anasta.

I honestly don't think Gasnier should be given such a ridiculous fee to stay in RL. But it irks me greatly that the NRL are vomiting tripe about fairness, when they have already thrown it out the window and told players they can hold the League to ransom.

Beleive me, if it were Benji Marshall, Darren Lockyer, or any talented non Dragons player, I would be almost as pissed off. Almost because it ain't my team, but the unfairness and inequity of the stance would still aggravate me greatly.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

Rules have to be clear, coherent and consistent across the board. If the NRL assisted the Knights in retaining Andrew Johns to the NRL, then they must be consistent and attempt to retain Mark Gasnier.

That said, we all know whether they'll show consistency... buzzzz, no they won't.

As good as Gasnier is no one compares to Joey.

Waiting for the biast calls but its definately true.

 

[PB]

First Thompson, now Gasnier, see this is why they should be the ILLawarra Dragons and use gong boys only...

Only kidding.


I would be up in arms if the i were a dragons supporter. The NRL allow exta cash and incentives to keep no doubt one of the greats (Johns), but how old was he when the deal was done 30 something! What's Gasnier, 24? He could be anything over the next 6 years and is as talented as any centre in the game for the last 20 years. Not to mention the family name which is an icon of rugby league.

 

[Nook]

Johns is one of the best players in the history of RL. His conversion to Union would have been a massive propaganda victory. The NRL were absolutely right to do whatever it takes to keep him in the game.

Gasnier is arguably the best centre in the world at the moment. He's also an arsehole. I'm sure the NRL would prefer to keep him but comparing it to the Johns situation misses the point - the fact that he's replaceable.

 

[sooperdooper]

when is this whole gasnier thing gonna end!
i personally think he would tear union apart!

 

[Catatonic_Omnivore]

Gaz would be crazy to pass up that kind of money. He's only 24, give it a go for 2-3 years and so things pan out.

It would be interesting how STG plans to counter the offer. Even more interesting if Gaz decides to stay. Not sure what he is on now but I suspect whats on offer is at least double.

I didn't agree when the NRL stepped in for Joey and I don't think they should intervene when it comes to any player.

 

[the_eel]

Look to be honest i rate Gasnier big time and definitely don't want to see him go to union but where do you draw the line? The NRL didn't step in for Lote and Rogers, they did for Johns....its all getting a bit too much. Its becoming a bit of a joke that any high profile player can threaten to go to union and get the NRL to come in and double their payments.

 

[PB]

Doust does have a point though in terms of wanting to know what the salary cap for next year will be. Because he (and all other clubs for that matter) need to know what sort of money they can offer their stars.

 

[Thomas]

Hats off to Gas' manager. He's done all the work and can put another story on his house after this one.

The NRL has to draw the line, and to be honest, should have done that with Johns. He's not bigger than the game and was an injured old hack when his manager and the NSWRU were in talks.

 

[Calixte]

The ad hoc nature of the rugby league defence shows that we need to get our house in order and develop some protocols to deal with these situations.

For me, Gasnier is a great talent but his name is more important to the game of rugby league than his personal ability. His uncle was in the top five players of all time - without a doubt - and it would be a disgrace for his nephew to go over to the dark side without a whimper of opposition.

Of course, this is the major reason union is interested. Together with a complete absence of quality players themselves.

 

[bartman]

Money talks... Does league get in a bidding war everytime someone and their manager threatens to change codes? Should we change our rules to suit the circumstances and stable growth of our game, or change them as a knee jerk reaction to occasional situations like this.

League survived and prospered without Matt Rogers, without Wendell Sailor, without Lote Tiquiri, without Andy Farrell... and did Union really make massive inroads because they swapped over? And league will survive and prosper without Mark Gasnier too.

 

[Sea_Eagles_Rock]

So what his uncle was a great. Where do you draw the line on that BS. Newton's dad was a great golfer, does that mean he had to play golf for a living?

If the NRL wants to get fair dinkum about this, the answer is simple. They target elite union players. They negotiate a deal to get them to play in the NRL. The player than can negotiate with any club he wants. The club willing to part with the most dollars for his contract gets him and the NRL pays the gap. Demand has dictated the price under the salary cap. If a player wants to go to a particular club after that then the sign on cannot be less than 75% of the maximum bid. That allows 25% reduction in a contract for 'quality of life' issues. The only problem is quality of elite union talent that can play league. Are any union players actually worth converting? I can't answer that as I hate the game.

If the NRL puts some fire under some of the Union contracts that will force to pay more on their current players and should help reduce their need to shop for NRL players.

This salary cap rise needs to be finalised RIGHT NOW. No more BS, just work it out and announce it now. The clubs should not have to wait to sign players that are off contract. We don't want heaps of talent unsigned by June 30.

 

[bartman]

Having said that, I disagreed with the whole Joey and his manager show when they held the league to ransom, and the league stepped in and helped. That set a terribly inequitable precedent, exempting one players' third party agreements from the salary cap, while now punishing other clubs for similar.

Gasnier, Hindmarsh, Tim Smith, whoever... I disagree that special options should ever be used by the league again. If they don't want to play, let 'em go and bring up the next star in the making.