Ian Schubert steps up at Eels in fight to keep Semi Radradra
The Australian
12:00AM June 20, 2016
Brent Read
Senior sports writer
Sydney
Former NRL salary cap auditor Ian Schubert has stepped up his role at embattled Parramatta, taking on the duties of an interim chief executive as the club finds itself knee-deep in a fight to retain star winger Semi Radradra from the lure of overseas rugby union.
Schubert, who had been working as a consultant with the Eels, has agreed to a request from the club’s board to expand his role while they continue to deal with the fallout from the salary cap scandal.
Schubert hasn’t ruled out taking on the chief executive role on a fulltime basis should it be offered down the track, but his immediate priority is resolving any issues around Radradra. The Fijian winger flew out of the country on Saturday amid speculation his head had been turned by offers from French rugby union giants Bordeaux and Toulon.
Radradra has been on the radar of rugby union for some time — only last month the media in France reported he was a contingency should Bordeaux miss out on French international Maxime Mermoz.
Schubert, having met with both the player and his manager George Christodoulou over the past week, remains confident Radradra will be back in Sydney by the weekend and eventually agree a new deal with the club. If such a deal is struck, there will be no provisions for a stint in overseas rugby union given the NRL would be unlikely to ratify a player switching between codes.
“We had a couple of meetings this week about Semi’s long-term future at the club,” Schubert said.
“His agent was adamant he was looking forward to a couple of extra years here. He likes the place, he likes the players, he likes everything.
“If he hasn’t been fielding offers from French rugby, even the Boston Red Sox, I would be surprised. He is the best athlete in Australia at the moment.
“That’s the reality. What that does to players is it plays with their heads. They can get a bit distracted. For a bloke who has those distractions going on around him, he can still play some good footy.
“He is here until the end of 2017 anyway, but what we’re looking to do is up (his pay) and extend him. We’re still waiting to find out our exact position with the NRL.
“We’re working within those confines and boundaries but there is room there for Semi at our club for a long time.”
Radradra’s uncertain future shapes as the latest disaster for the club, which has been through hell this season. Coach Brad Arthur has remarkably kept his squad in finals contention despite the salary cap scandal that is likely to cost the club 12 premiership points.
The loss of Radradra — it is understood he has also been dealing with personal issues — would be terminal for the Eels’ slim hopes of finishing in the top eight.
The club is also yet to re-sign five-eighth Corey Norman, although all indications are he will stay beyond the end of the season.
“We have been speaking to his agent,” Schubert said.
“We would like to think we would sit down and do some serious stuff on that in the next week or two. Everything is depending on our submissions to the league.
“It was a fairly substantial document that we sent back in.”
Schubert said he was genuinely excited about the club’s future.
“I have offered to step in and keep the shop running until the end of the season until the club or the board decide what direction they want to take,” he said.
“I love my involvement in footy — always have. I didn’t think I would ever go to clubland after being at the NRL, but I have to say I have enjoyed it and there are a lot of good people there.
“They need some of the skills I have so we’re working OK at the moment. If we get our structure and corporate governance right, we can get Parramatta back to where they were in their heyday, if not better than that.”
