http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/nrl/story/0,26746,24039584-5016365,00.html
Mark Gasnier's decision to go tough on the Dragons
Darren Lockyer | July 19, 2008 12:00am
AU revoir . . . Mark Gasnier is off to France and Darren Lockyer says the timing of his announcement is a big problem for the Dragons. / The Courier-Mail
MARK Gasnier is a loss to rugby league but the worst thing about his announcement this week is its timing. His change of codes and the ramifications of it in keeping the best players in the NRL has been the biggest talking among NRL players this week. Finally, I got to thinking about it from his club's point of view.
It's July and while St George Illawarra now has extra cash to offer next year, it's too late in the year for it to be offered to many of the best players who end their contracts this season.
I feel for the Dragons and I feel for Wayne Bennett, the incoming coach.
The Dragons have had players leave the club in recent weeks. The extra wriggle room in the salary cap had they known for sure earlier that Mark was leaving the club might have helped them retain Josh Morris and Jason Ryles.
It's another problem coming from the big flaw in our game, the player signing system. The end-of-year trading period the AFL has is, as I've said before, a fairer system.
Wayne's got a talent for thinking outside the square and there will be something or someone he will produce to counteract the loss of Gasnier. He'll have to, probably.
Remember how he called back Allan Langer from England for the 2001 State of Origin.
Let me say again Gasnier has done nothing wrong. As soon as the game turned professional loyalty started disappearing.
Talk of a strike by players for an increase in payments for representative football is fairly extreme. As Ricky Stuart said this week, we need to work together to make the pie a bigger one so we can compete against the others.
Players Association representatives, and I was one, sat down with the NRL last year about representative payments and saw when David Gallop showed us some financial details that the players were getting a fair slice of the pie.
As someone who loves league, I was pleased to read where Greg Inglis said he didn't want to play rugby union. He'd find it really hard to give up the Australian jersey and the Queensland jersey.
Everyone's different. I was asked if I wanted to be recruited to rugby union in 2003, but I didn't really get serious and eventually said to talk would be wasting everyone's time.
League's great asset in keeping its best players is the game itself.
There's been some speculation this week about my future at the Broncos. I am contracted to the Broncos for 2009 and my view remains unchanged that what I do in 2010 is something I will look at next season.
I'm more focussed on doing well on the field for the Broncos this year. The Broncos, I would've thought would also being waiting to see how I pull through my current injury.
My next contract will not be all about money. There will be plenty of things to weigh up, like whether I want a different experience in another competition to name one.
Out of all the contracts I've signed, I'd say the next one will be the one I will have mulled over the most because it will probably be the last. If I were to spend some time away from our shores I feel it would be important to pencil something in for my return.
I haven't thought long and hard enough about whether I want to get into coaching at the end of my playing career.
Like any footballer worth his salt, I'm concentrating on the play in front of me.
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Good points all. Lockyer has played all his career for a team and a state I despise, but he's a true superstar.
Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere.
