Perth Red
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Wayne Bennett recently charged NRL clubs with manipulating concussion protocols, saying, “The clubs have got a duty of care but none of them practise it.” The accusation, which is tantamount to saying the clubs cheat, caused a number of eyebrows to involuntarily jerk upwards.
When it comes to bending the rules, they claim someone at Bennett’s Dolphins has been approaching players before November 1 when rival clubs are permitted to negotiate with players approaching the final year of their contract.
Maybe it’s not Bennett, or even the Dolphins’ recruitment manager, making the offers on behalf of the new club which enters the competition in 2023.
But someone has allowed player managers to quote Dolphin sign-on fees to their clients. The Dolphins targeted the Storm but failed to land Harry Grant and Jahrome Hughes, with their re-signing now a mere formality. The expansion club is also desperate to secure Melbourne’s Cameron Munster who is contracted to the Storm until the end of 2023. Yet his player manager describes Dolphin offers for Munster as “noise”.
Offers made before November 1 are in clear breach of the NRL rule but headquarters can only act when a club makes an official complaint. No club will lodge a protest because they risk upsetting their own player and his agent.
If the Storm report, say the Dolphins for making a $1 million offer for Munster for 2024, the player can reasonably argue his own club is undermining his price in the market. Similarly, the player manager risks being de-registered. “It’s a lose-lose situation for the club making the complaint,” one club boss said.
There is also a degree of hypocrisy associated with Bennett’s Dolphins and the players they have signed. The NRL has expanded into Queensland to exploit the parochialism of its inhabitants, keen to grow the fan and player base north of the Tweed. The nucleus of strong, enduring teams is homegrown talent but the Dolphins have largely ignored players from their state league. Instead they have signed players from Victoria and NSW, buying half the Storm pack (the Bromwich brothers and Felise Kaufusi), as well as players from Souths and Parramatta.
History is destined to repeat itself when the NRL expands to 18 teams and a new team targets the best couple of players at a number of clubs.
The NRL will soon engage with the RLPA over a new CBA, with headquarters determined to avoid the duplicity inherent in the current contract system. The players and their managers prefer the status quo where they can set themselves up for years ahead of the expiration of their existing contract.
It will be interesting to witness the role of Bennett in this potentially acrimonious debate, given his political puppetry and the huge regard in which he is held by ARLC chair Peter V’landys.
The Skinny Coach is a master manipulator and, when he eventually retires from rugby league, there’s got to be a seat in parliament with his name on it.
www.smh.com.au
When it comes to bending the rules, they claim someone at Bennett’s Dolphins has been approaching players before November 1 when rival clubs are permitted to negotiate with players approaching the final year of their contract.
Maybe it’s not Bennett, or even the Dolphins’ recruitment manager, making the offers on behalf of the new club which enters the competition in 2023.
But someone has allowed player managers to quote Dolphin sign-on fees to their clients. The Dolphins targeted the Storm but failed to land Harry Grant and Jahrome Hughes, with their re-signing now a mere formality. The expansion club is also desperate to secure Melbourne’s Cameron Munster who is contracted to the Storm until the end of 2023. Yet his player manager describes Dolphin offers for Munster as “noise”.
Offers made before November 1 are in clear breach of the NRL rule but headquarters can only act when a club makes an official complaint. No club will lodge a protest because they risk upsetting their own player and his agent.
If the Storm report, say the Dolphins for making a $1 million offer for Munster for 2024, the player can reasonably argue his own club is undermining his price in the market. Similarly, the player manager risks being de-registered. “It’s a lose-lose situation for the club making the complaint,” one club boss said.
There is also a degree of hypocrisy associated with Bennett’s Dolphins and the players they have signed. The NRL has expanded into Queensland to exploit the parochialism of its inhabitants, keen to grow the fan and player base north of the Tweed. The nucleus of strong, enduring teams is homegrown talent but the Dolphins have largely ignored players from their state league. Instead they have signed players from Victoria and NSW, buying half the Storm pack (the Bromwich brothers and Felise Kaufusi), as well as players from Souths and Parramatta.
History is destined to repeat itself when the NRL expands to 18 teams and a new team targets the best couple of players at a number of clubs.
The NRL will soon engage with the RLPA over a new CBA, with headquarters determined to avoid the duplicity inherent in the current contract system. The players and their managers prefer the status quo where they can set themselves up for years ahead of the expiration of their existing contract.
It will be interesting to witness the role of Bennett in this potentially acrimonious debate, given his political puppetry and the huge regard in which he is held by ARLC chair Peter V’landys.
The Skinny Coach is a master manipulator and, when he eventually retires from rugby league, there’s got to be a seat in parliament with his name on it.
Why there’s something fishy about Dolphins’ attempts to lure big names
Abide by the rules? Wayne Bennett is a fine one to talk, say rivals, when someone at his new club has been flouting the NRL’s November 1 edict.
