Titans boss warns defectors
Phil Lutton, Brisbane Times | February 27, 2009 - 12:08PM
http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/conditions/titans-boss-warns-defectors/2009/02/27/1235237892139.html
Gold Coast Titans managing director Michael Searle has warned "generation Y" footballers they would be foolish to expect to waltz back into the NRL after get-rich-quick stints in rugby union.
A season after the NRL went into panic mode at the defection to French rugby of Sonny Bill Williams and Mark Gasnier, a new foe has appeared on the horizon, this time from Japan.
Despite an economy shrinking faster than the polar icecaps, Japan's rugby clubs appear to have deep enough warchests to mount serious raids on Australia's rugby league stocks.
Already former Shark Fraser Anderson has signed a two-year, $400,000-a-season deal with Kobe Steel. High-profile club Suntory, which counts former Wallaby and Queensland Reds coach Eddie Jones among its staff, is reputedly preparing for a strong play at Brisbane Broncos fullback Karmichael Hunt.
While Brisbane chief executive Bruno Cullen said the club would be powerless to retain Hunt in the face of a deal that could be worth close to $1 million, Searle was talking tough, saying defecting players would need to lie in the bed they made if their flirtation with rugby came to an end.
He said the Titans would be reticent to sign players returning from stints in Asian or continental rugby, fearing their skill levels and fitness would suffer dramatically in competitions he believes lack the intensity of NRL.
"It's not our job to feather the nest for Japanese rugby or French rugby. If a player wants to go, then go. It's his choice. Is he restricted to come back if he wants to? I don't believe so. But in saying that, these guys need to make a decision," Searle said.
"I wouldn't like to be trying to earn a dollar after coming back from French rugby. It wouldn't give this CEO any confidence that the player will be able to maintain the level of fitness that's required in the NRL.
"French rugby and Japanese rugby, it's not as though it has the levels of intensity the NRL has. There has to be question marks on when a player comes back whether he can still cut it."
Japanese rugby is a clear financial lure for young players but the jury is out on the quality of the football in which they will participate. Many Super 14 coaches regard the game in Japan as an inferior product, raising doubts as to how attractive league converts would be to domestic rugby franchises if they began rattling their tin among those circles.
"Our game is very loyal to those at stay loyal. Those that jump, that's their choice. They suffer the consequences," Searle said of the defectors.
Generation Y has been widely criticised for a perceived "I want it all and I want it now" attitude, a trait which Searle believes may be filtering through in rugby league circles.
"I think generation Y sometimes need to take a deep breath. They can get good money out of it, but is the lifestyle what they want? Is French rugby where you want to be at? Is Japanese rugby where you want to be at?" he said.
He has strongly backed NRL chief David Gallop's hardline stance on the issue, which raised its head after Benji Marshall flagged a desire to play Japanese rugby in the off-season prior to the signing of a new deal with the Wests Tigers.
Searle said he hoped the issue would not even be discussed between club chief executives.
"I support David Gallop. There's no off-season playing rugby. It's not even negotiable. It shouldn't even be debated. It can be debated in a public forum but privately, I hope it's not even discussed at a CEO level. It shouldn't be," he said.
"I'm sure there are some (chief executives) that would say there is a short-term benefit to their club. But sometimes you have to ignore the short term benefit and look at the long term benefit to the game. And there's no longterm benefit to letting players jump."
