New Zealand strike forward Tony Puletua will reluctantly have ankle surgery next week after Penrith threatened to impose financial sanctions if he did not return
home following tomorrow's opening Tri-Nations match against Australia.
Despite former All Blacks doctor John Mayhew advising that Puletua would need only six weeks' recovery from the operation, the Panthers have refused to allow him to play out the tournament and the New Zealand Rugby League last night conceded defeat.
NZRL general manager Peter Cordtz said the 25-year-old second-rower was bitterly disappointed but had been left with little choice after Penrith officials warned he would be in breach of his contract if he did not have the surgery as scheduled next Thursday.
"I really feel for Tony," Cordtz said. "I think he has been unfairly sandwiched between his desire to play for the Kiwis and the demands of his club in this.
"People were asking what could Penrith do if he just went to England and played anyway. There's no way they would release a player of his quality, but they made it clear they would hit Tony fairly heavily in the hip pocket and we certainly didn't want to do anything that would hurt him.
"It's just disappointing
because the independent assessment and review carried out by Dr Mayhew today supported the view of our doctor, and indeed the specialist used by Penrith, that delaying the surgery would neither affect his long-term rehabilitation or ability to play next season.
"But when I spoke to [Penrith chief executive] Mick Leary this afternoon and asked him if he'd seen the copy of Dr Mayhew's report we'd sent through, he said that he hadn't but it didn't matter. The club expected him home and he made it clear that should Tony choose to tour against their wishes, there would be financial and legal ramifications for him."
New Zealand coach Daniel Anderson said Puletua was shattered by the news but realised that he also had an obligation to Penrith.
"Tony wants to go. They are very passionate young men but they also understand both sides," Anderson said. "It's a quandary. The NRL basically runs rugby league in the southern hemisphere and the clubs provide the salaries, so hence they dictate to their employees like any workplace agreement.
"The difference here is that most of these boys are desperate to represent their country, and if everyone wants international rugby league to flourish, we need to have the best players to play."
Cordtz said he would raise at the end of the tournament the issue of clubs pressuring players to withdraw from the Kiwis, and questioned whether Puletua would have been placed in such a situation had he been in the Australian side.
"As I understand it, only [Kangaroos doctor] Hugh Hazard, the NRL's chief medical officer, can rule players out of the Australian team," Cordtz said. "We don't have that luxury."
Australia coach Wayne Bennett expressed sympathy for the Kiwis' plight and suggested the Rugby League International Federation should have the same powers to rule on player availability that soccer's governing body, FIFA, had.
