Wow, you're on fire - this is the thing everyone misses in the loyalty BS - it's a PROFESSIONAL sport...
Yeah that's fine. If DCE, or any player in the world, wants to hold out for the highest bidder I have zero problem with it. Hell, I consider Kieran Foran to be a loyal person of the highest moral standards and he's leaving. He's going for more money, to provide for his family. Great. I'd do that too.
You can do that without completely skull-f**king an organisation, lying to the fans - without whom you're a park footballer - and basically bulldozing everything morally in your path straight to the bank.
I've heard people point to the fact that clubs can cut you too, ala Iron's Ben Barba comparison Yes they can, and you'll be entitled to being paid in full - and an extra period of time to either find a new club or address your options. It's almost exclusively form or attitude that leads you to end up there, so you've basically got your own destiny in your hands.
If a player f**ks a club, they can't hold him to it - unless they stick him in reserve grade which works out for nobody. If DCE had done a Simon Dwyer, the Titans would've backed him in fully. But he's done an SBW and they can do nothing about it. Yes that's the NRLs rules but surely the Titans can expect some sort of moral compass when it comes to a signature, a handshake and ongoing reassurance he's coming?
Again, I have no issue at all that DCE accepted Manly's new offer. I have no problem that Luke Lewis did a backflip, that Fifita did etc. Even Tedesco came out and said look I signed with Canberra but I can't bear to leave my mates and they've increased their offer. Great, no one had any issue. I have an issue with GIs as he did it spinelessly and said the planes weren't flying in the rain so he couldn't get to Brisbane (!). And I have an issue with DCE leaving it to the last minute, leading the Titans down the garden path then at the last hour, completely f**king them.
From ball one where (quite likely manager-led) he was being publicly shopped around, he's handled it like the cat I believe him to be.
Funny thing is, Manly fans absolutely despised him and booed him through the whole process and when they thought he was gone. Now they're quite happy to herald him as the saviour again. Imagine that will change pretty quickly if he gets injured or his form slumps. If SJ did the same thing to us, I'd have a very hard time forgiving him unless a premiership came of it.
