Sam Burgess retires

[Tiger5150]

Since his last shoulder injury in 2011 he:

1. Signed a contract with Bath Rugby in 2015
2. Signed a new contract with Rabbitohs in 2016
3. Signed an extension with the Rabbitohs in 2018

That's three contracts.

And then busted his shoulder for the third time in rd 5 2019. Your point is?

 

[Tiger5150]

I don’t have a problem if Souths can request the NRL to medically retire GI & Burgess, however if Sam’s decision is made before Matulino it just shows how much harder it is going to be for the less favoured clubs.

Massive difference with GI. Supposedly he just CBF anymore and according to the fairy tale, GI supposedly said no to $1m and didnt get paid the rest of his contract. That is not what is happening with S Burgess

 

[wazdog]

And then busted his shoulder for the third time in rd 5 2019. Your point is?

It's a new injury that occurred post signing his contact extension in 2018.

He would have had to undergo a medical prior to signing this contract. Unless somewhere in that medical it states that he has a pre-existing injury from eight years ago that might flair up and should be taken into consideration then fine it's on us for taking that risk. If there's no mention then one can only assume that it's completely unrelated.

 

[Mr Spock!]

Workers' compensation does not generally cover professional athletes.

Yeah I know.

 

[Tiger5150]

It's a new injury that occurred post signing his contact extension in 2018.

He would have had to undergo a medical prior to signing this contract. Unless somewhere in that medical it states that he has a pre-existing injury from eight years ago that might flair up and should be taken into consideration then fine it's on us for taking that risk.If there's no mention then one can only assume that it's completely unrelated.

Mate Souffs can sign him if he only has one leg if they want. The NRL rule for getting a medical retirement (not on the cap) states taht it has to be a new injury and not a recurrence or degeneration of a previous injury. If you think that a player busting the shoulder that he has previously had reconstructed twice before is unrelated to that previous injury then there is nothing I can say.

 

[Mr Spock!]

Under NRL rules, the salary cap auditor will consider the following three points before making a cap exemption ruling:

“The Player, at the time of termination, was diagnosed as medically unfit to currently continue to train and play elite level contact sport and was medically unable to ever return to play elite level contact sport due to the current level of disability or the significant risk of further disabling injury as a result of playing elite level contract sport"

This should be as straight forward as reviewing the medical advice the club has received from several doctors. The key part of this is "significant risk or further disabling injury" in the future.

The NRL may wish to seek their own advice on this, but you would have thought that the club got opinions from the best doctors in the world.

If his insurance pays out, the NRL should take this as third party verification which ticks this box.

"The Player, had no similar injury or medical condition to that area of the body that either has or could reasonably be predicted medically to lead to a degenerative condition of that area of the body prior to signing his last NRL contract or if the players contract was signed more than 24 months previous within the last 24 months unless an unrelated single event has resulted in rapid deterioration of this condition" and

Last shoulder injury was in 2011, 8 years ago as reported by Fox Sports. Condition met.

"A single event that caused the injury could be identified.”

The event is being reported as an infection from the surgery mid-season.

It looks pretty clear cut to me if the first condition is met.

The only element of his contract that I believe should remain in the cap is if the club decides to pay Sammy the shortfall between an insurance pay out and his contracted salary if he walks away from the club.

If they decide to put him in a non-administrative role his salary should count towards the Football Operations Cap.

Interesting that the decision is being made by a guy who has zero background in anything close to the field of medicine.

Not quite.

The nrl have its own medicos. The NRL bloke who examined Stewart and Matai was the ex-Manly doctor.

He knew their histories.

 

[Tiger5150]

"The Player, had no similar injury or medical condition to that area of the body that either has or could reasonably be predicted medically to lead to a degenerative condition of that area of the body prior to signing his last NRL contract or if the players contract was signed more than 24 months previous within the last 24 months unless an unrelated single event has resulted in rapid deterioration of this condition" and
.

You cant read......you just PROVED that Souffs shouldnt get a medical retirement for Burgess. Let me read it for you....

"The Player, had no similar injury or medical condition to that area of the body that either has or could reasonably be predicted medically to lead to a degenerative condition of that area of the body prior to signing his last NRL contract ..........


or ...

Ok, you see the word or? That means, its one....OR...the other.

if the players contract was signed more than 24 months previous within the last 24 months unless an unrelated single event has resulted in rapid deterioration of this condition" and

So lets read it properly, is it one.....or the other.

"The Player, had no similar injury or medical condition to that area of the body that either has or could reasonably be predicted medically to lead to a degenerative condition of that area of the body prior to signing his last NRL contract ..........

Did Sam have a similar injury to taht area of the body that has or could predictably lead to a degenerative condition prior to signing his last contract? The answer is YES!

OR.....

if the players contract was signed more than 24 months previous within the last 24 months unless an unrelated single event has resulted in rapid deterioration of this condition" and

Did Sam sign his last contract 2 years before his last injury? No is the answer.

Therefore you have just proved that he should not be medically retired. Thank you for clearing that up.

 

[Pommy]

it doesnt matter actually according to the NRL rules. It has to be an injury that occured in a specific game and at a specific time and not a previous injury that has degenerated. He had TWO previous reconstructions on that shoulder before his last contract. Then he busts that shoulder again, then he gets the infection. It is a clearly a degeneration of a previous injury

Yeah and if you read my previous post you would see I said the nrl rules are dumb and should have been looked at with the GI incident. But why would the NRL bother to be proactive?
Wasn’t the infection from a previous op prior to last season and not known about until they opened him up again? This is where the rapid degeneration could come in to it.

 

[Mr Angry]

f**k the salary cap.

Sam has been huge for League..

Pay the man.

Sour merkins.

It is not as if Souths can just find another like him.

So many haters. Bloke broke his body for us to watch.

 

[Chimp]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...n/news-story/c6bb73f70c51f1fe4aa3e0e41576295b
Interesting take on things - if doctors said he would need to take 2 seasons out, but could return after that (in what would be final year of his contract), then how can it be medically retired? He could return within the duration of his contract, but is choosing not to.

 

[Mr Angry]

And for the record.

Thankyou Sam, been a privilege to watch, glad you never tackled me, would hurt.

 

[Mr Angry]

I would give Peter Beattie's salary to Sam for the next ten years.

 

[Perth Red]

Great player who I’ve enjoyed watching over the years. One of those players you’d tune in to a game just to watch. NRL will be lessor for his retirement.

 

[MilkShark]

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...n/news-story/c6bb73f70c51f1fe4aa3e0e41576295b
Interesting take on things - if doctors said he would need to take 2 seasons out, but could return after that (in what would be final year of his contract), then how can it be medically retired? He could return within the duration of his contract, but is choosing not to.

The only reason that option wasn't taken is Souffs would be paying him that entire time, and they don't want to do that.

So here we are again with Souffs seeking a medical retirement.

 

[Tiger5150]

The only reason that option wasn't taken is Souffs would be paying him that entire time, and they don't want to do that.

So here we are again with Souffs seeking a medical retirement.

He will still be paid, Souffs dont want it on the cap, which makes sense and is understandable, but against the rules and contrary to what has happened to other players/clubs.

 

[MilkShark]

He will still be paid, Souffs dont want it on the cap, which makes sense and is understandable, but against the rules and contrary to what has happened to other players/clubs.

Yeah I get where Souffs are coming but the rules should not be bent just to appease them.

 

[skeepe]

The only reason that option wasn't taken is Souffs would be paying him that entire time, and they don't want to do that.

So here we are again with Souffs seeking a medical retirement.

Exactly. He can play again according to medical advice. Therefore medical retirement is not an option.

If Souths want to pay him the rest of his contract, that’s their prerogative. But it must count on the cap.

 

[typicalfan]

Man, this makes me feel old.

 

[Wily Ole Dog]

f**k the salary cap.

Sam has been huge for League..

Pay the man.

Sour merkins.

It is not as if Souths can just find another like him.

So many haters. Bloke broke his body for us to watch.

Spot on.

sour haters

 

[Peter Quinn]

You really dont understand how the salary cap works do you?

Oh no.