lance thompson jus got released ?

[Baron Vo Mandor]

This Thompson saga is pretty weird. He walks out on their presentation night leaving Peter Doust like a shag on a rock holding his 200th game award because he's angry cause he believes the club wants to give him the chop but the club comes out and says he's at fault and pre-empted their intentions. They only wanted to 'talk' about his future. Well what did they want to talk about? Has Thompson jumped the gun or is he justified to believe the club wants him out? I mean he reportedly took a pay cut last year so what else could they want from him?

BTW I'd have him at the Sharks.

f**k me cant blame him hey, when anyone be it your partner or your boss tells you, "We need to talk, the writing is on the wall!"

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

Lance is gone.

I can't believe Browny saying "We haven't decided yet" then saying "We have a lot of young backrowers and they are the future", then claiming they haven't made up their mind about Thompson.

Shame Browny shame.

 

[aids]

slightly off topic, but isn't trent barrett the most payed player in the game at the moment?

i remember seeing last year he was on 50,000 more than fitler, and was around $490,000.
is that about right?


i bet he would be the last person looking at a paycut to keep someone at the team, yet he comes out on the news and says the cap isn't right.

 

[brokendigit]

Lance is gone.

No - he's not.
Easts want Ashton Sims, & may be prepared to make a deal (salary cap wise) to get him.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

That is right but thats not counting additional payments that the roosters are now making in his farce of a role as "kicking coach"

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

No - he's not.
Easts want Ashton Sims, & may be prepared to make a deal (salary cap wise) to get him.

Well, if he isn't gone I reckon he's probably saved his own arse by walking out the other night and bringing it to a head.

 

[gunnamatta bay]

excellent article:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/i...st-must-explain/2005/10/10/1128796466313.html

If buck stops at top, Doust must explain
By Jacquelin Magnay
October 11, 2005
All the St George Illawarra fans out there, relax. Don't worry that the club's two most experienced players, Shaun Timmins and Lance Thompson, are left in a disturbing quandary about their playing futures.
According to chief executive Peter Doust, who left the country with coach Nathan Brown for a two-and-a-half week tour of the US yesterday, there is no drama.
Doust wanted the fans to be reassured. He didn't contact the players, but he did send out a press release, the first line of which said: "The St George Illawarra Dragons categorically state there is no crisis at the club."
What then, Doust, constitutes a crisis? The club that so dramatically failed to make the grand final, yet again, has sent Timmins off to "ponder his future". The translation of this is, they are trying to convince him to sign a lucrative two- or three-year deal to finish his career in England.
Thompson heard of his imminent fate - the same as that of Timmins - through Doust's mate and St George Leagues club director, Bruce Spaul, who so sensitively dropped the news that Thompson had played his last game for the Dragons just before he was to receive a 200-game presentation at the club's annual night last Friday.
Doust says: "That communication is a normal internal-management process where players are provided the opportunity to assess their own positions and the club is able to facilitate further planning in its short- to medium-term playing rosters".
Thompson, understandably, was a little upset that the club he had remained so loyal to, taking a pay cut and playing his heart out for, was to repay the favour with a termination of his deal 12 months early.
Doust says Thompson is too emotional. What did he expect?
Doust said he was embarrassed and disgusted at Thompson's reaction. Is Doust serious?
If there are any red faces, it should be at the top, where such critical decision-making was left until the season had finished.
Having re-signed Luke Bailey and Clint Greenshields for one extra year before they both head off to the Gold Coast, did Doust only just discover the club is $300,000 over the cap for next year? And how was the most promising hooker, Michael Ennis, allowed to depart to the Broncos?
The timing is such that all other NRL clubs have committed to their salary cap and cannot afford Timmins and Thompson.
If there is any accountability here, the buck has to stop with Doust. The Dragons board should be looking at his performance of late, which hasn't been nearly as impressive as the strident runs Thompson puts in and the brave injury comebacks of Timmins.
Let's see Doust's reaction if he is told to take a walk. Now that may be embarrassing.

 

[gunnamatta bay]

According to chief executive Peter Doust, who left the country with coach Nathan Brown for a two-and-a-half week tour of the US yesterday, there is no drama.

Apparantly they are going to visit several sporting teams in the states. Pick up a few tips on how things are done.

 

[Phil McGrawhan]

Apparantly they are going to visit several sporting teams in the states. Pick up a few tips on how things are done.

should'nt they be visiting a medical centre & getting tips on what to do in an on field emergency . ie. 17 players choking at the one time

 

[innsaneink]

The timing is such that all other NRL clubs have committed to their salary cap and cannot afford Timmins and Thompson.

Translation.

Saints wont have to pay their contracts out while they are playing for someone else.

Timing & convenience...Saints good at something.

 

[The Colonel]

I won't be quitting early, says Timmins
By Brad Walter and Paul Suttor
October 11, 2005

St George Illawarra international Shaun Timmins is set to join fellow Dragons stalwart Lance Thompson in rejecting an offer to quit the club with a year remaining on his contract.

Timmins yesterday said he had confronted coach Nathan Brown at the weekend after hearing rumours he might be released to help alleviate the club's salary cap problems and was told the Dragons would not force him to leave.

The 29-year-old lock had been annoyed that club officials had not told him where he stood after rejecting approaches earlier this year to play in England.

Thompson, 27, also attracted interest mid-season from several clubs, including Wests Tigers, but Brown and Dragons chief executive Peter Doust were adamant he remained part of their plans.

Doust yesterday issued a statement denying his club was in crisis, before flying out with Brown and other members of the coaching staff for a two-week study trip to the US.

But Thompson still has not heard officially where he stands after being told by a director on Friday night that he had played his last game in the red V.

Rather than risking a scene on stage, Thompson walked out of the club's awards night at Sydney Town Hall before receiving a presentation from Doust for reaching the milestone of 200 first grade games.

Timmins, who has played 199 first grade games since making his debut for Illawarra in 1994, said he was also yet to speak to Doust about the issue but had been assured by Brown that any decision to leave would be up to him.

He said Brown had not asked him to take a pay cut.

"I haven't even talked to Dousty. I talked to Brownie. I had to ask him what was going on because I heard the stories, too," Timmins said.

"We had a chat about it all. It's up to me, whatever I want to do next year. Brownie said if I want to stay there, he's happy for me to do that and they'll support me.

"I'm only one game away from 200. I want to finish the year, I was always keen to see the contract out after being 12 years at the club.

"Brownie talked to me about life after footy, working with the club. There's a few options there."

Timmins yesterday contacted his manager, George Mimis, who told him not to worry about the drama until Doust returned.

Meanwhile, Doust said the club was "embarrassed and disturbed" by the publicity surrounding the future of its two longest-serving players.

"Management is merely going about the business of planning the club's short-term future," he said. "That communication is a normal internal management process where players are provided the opportunity to assess their own positions, and the club is able to facilitate further planning in its short- to medium-term playing rosters."

It is understood the Dragons were facing a salary cap breach of up to $300,000 before releasing hooker Michael Ennis to Brisbane and centre Albert Torrens to Cronulla.

http://smh.com.au/news/league/i-wont-be-quitting-early-says-timmins/2005/10/10/1128796466310.html

...

 

[gunnamatta bay]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/dragons-directors-keep-faith-as-caine-plots-to-oust-doust/2005/10/11/1128796526140.html





Dragons directors keep faith as Caine plots to oust Doust

By Jacquelin Magnay
October 12, 2005

Directors of St George Illawarra football club say they have been kept appraised of the club's salary-cap dramas by chief executive Peter Doust but have been stunned by the backlash against the proposed axing of Shaun Timmins and Lance Thompson.

This comes as a local identity, Carrs Park swim coach Dick Caine, is gathering backing from supporters who successfully lobbied for the return to Kogarah Oval. Caine, a long-time friend of Thompson's, said he would stand against Doust - the son of longstanding St George director Laurie Doust - at the next St George Leagues club elections in May with a ticket of locals.

"Dick Caine is calling in all his favours," Caine said. "And if I get elected it won't be because of my dad or my good looks."

While Doust and Dragons coach Nathan Brown are on a 2½-week study tour to the United States, board members say they have confidence the issues will be resolved.

None of the five board members contacted by the Herald would talk publicly, except to say they were aware of the financial issues concerning players.

Doust's position as chief executive is not in question. He recently signed a lucrative up-graded deal to stay in the job for three more years.

"I don't think the Thommo and Timmins stuff has been handled too flash but it will work out all right in the end," one director said.

The Dragons will be about $300,000 over the salary cap next year, brought about in part by signing a huge proportion of their gun Jersey Flegg team and upgraded bonuses for their Australian representatives.

But the tensions surrounding Thompson, 27, and Timmins, 29, will not be settled soon, according to Thompson's manager Khoder Nasser. Nasser said the claim by Doust and Brown that they wanted a meeting with Thompson last Friday but he never showed was untrue. He said there was no meeting organised for Thompson.

Nasser said the club had never organised a meeting with Timmins either because it was Timmins who confronted Brown to confirm rumours that he might not be wanted for next season.

"There was never a meeting organised, they are clutching at straws with that one - they are looking to get Thommo out of the club, and Brown and Doust and their paid lapdogs are hiding behind one another," Nasser said. "It appears that no one is accountable and responsible for this mess. No one from the joint-venture board or from the football office has contacted Lance. "Why are they hiding in the US and saying it is an internal matter when it was Doust who was sprouting off about Lance being embarrassing? All they have to do is pick up the phone, but the call won't come because they aren't man about it."

Doust is a board member of the St George District rugby league football club, the St George Illawarra rugby league football club and the St George Leagues Club as well as being the chief executive.

As one director said: "He is very firmly entrenched, particularly as he comes from the St George side [of the joint venture] as they control the money and have the power."

Dragons supporters have set up a website in support of Thompson.

Willow/Southernsaint do you have a link to the aforementioned website?

 

[taxidriver]

that part of the article is a crock, have a look at most fan sites and support for Thommo is about 50/50

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

If I was to get rid of a player it would be Timmins for sure a nuffy with the heart of a sparrow.

 

[bartman]

Castleford have just gained promotion to Super League and have overseas quota spots to fill. I'm sure they'd be watching this situation develop very closely....

 

[Mr Saab]

Apparantly they are going to visit several sporting teams in the states. Pick up a few tips on how things are done.

yes they are going to visit the Lakers. A team that in the past 2 yrs has had an enormous amount of drama with 90% of their squad being ousted after the 2003/4 season. A team that had the coach (Jackson) write a book and in it was highly critical of his star player (Bryant).
Yeah the Dragons will learn alot from the Lakers!

 

[gunnamatta bay]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/thompson-may-be-shown-the-door-after-walkout/2005/10/12/1128796589337.html





Thompson may be shown the door after walkout

By Brad Walter
October 13, 2005



Save Lance … Dick Caine's protest at Carss Park yesterday.

St George Illawarra officials may attempt to use Lance Thompson's reaction to his proposed axing next season as grounds to cut the long-serving Dragons stalwart from the club.

Dragons management is angry Thompson walked out of last Friday night's presentation awards at Sydney Town Hall after being told by a director, Bruce Spaul, he was not wanted next year. The 27-year-old second-rower then went public with his fears.

Thompson had left by the time Dragons chief executive Peter Doust was due to make a presentation to him for recently reaching the milestone of 200 first-grade games in the famous red V. An emotional Thompson had not wanted to make a scene on stage but officials say his absence caused the club embarrassment.

Doust and Dragons coach Nathan Brown flew to the US on Monday with the matter unresolved but it is believed they are planning to take disciplinary action against Thompson upon their return in two weeks' time that may involve attempting to terminate his contract.

Despite releasing hooker Michael Ennis to Brisbane and centre Albert Torrens to Cronulla, it is understood Doust still needs to cut a further $200,000 in player payments to prevent the club from exceeding the salary cap next season and wants Thompson and former Test lock Shaun Timmins to consider their playing futures.

While the Dragons are attempting to cut Thompson and Timmins, former Sharks back-rower Matt Bickerstaff has been signed on a one-year deal believed to be worth about $60,000. He will join Cronulla Jersey Flegg pair Bryson Goodwin and Reece Blayney, and Canberra's Damon Alley-Tovio at the club next year. Bickerstaff, 29, played in France this year and had been expected to play next season for the new Perpignan-based Super League team Les Catalans.

Brown has also promoted second-rower Willie Tupou and props Charlie Leaeno and Danny Wicks from this year's Jersey Flegg premiership-winning team to next seasons's top 25-man squad along with Australian Schoolboys rugby union breakaway Lagi Setu.

After rejecting an offer to join English club Hull next season, Timmins approached Brown last Saturday about rumours he was set to be cut and was assured he would not be forced to leave. Timmins, 29, said he planned to see out the remaining 12 months of his contract and Thompson, who took a massive pay cut two years ago so the club could re-sign other players, is also adamant he does not want to leave. The pair attended medical assessments for the team last Friday.

Dragons fans yesterday staged a protest in the streets of Kogarah in support of Thompson and Timmins, the club's two longest-serving players.

Dick Caine, the Carss Park swimming coach, was behind the rally and has said he intends to run against Doust at the next St George Leagues club elections in May with a ticket of locals. Fans also plan to present a petition in support of the players to Doust when he returns from overseas.

[/QUOTE]

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

St George are certainly proving themselves to be as bigger low lifes as manly I'll say that much.

Pathetic.

 

[gunnamatta bay]

I think the big question is when did they become aware of their salary cap problem and when did Thompson and Timmins became expendible. It would be interesting to know exactly when Doust began playing with the idea. Rumours of Lances plight have been circulating for a while now.

 

[Willow]

Knight82, I'm sure that overeaction will make a lot of difference.

Gunnamatta, the only one I'm aware of is here: http://www.r2k.info/lancethompson.htm although there any be others. I'll ask around.