Leeds are pissed at him for saying things about 'being bored every night, on his own looking at the same 4 walls etc' as part of his homesick story - they went out of their way to make sure that wasn't the case and had either players or welfare officers spending plenty of their free time with him to make sure he felt welcomed and part of the club. He also pushed Leeds for a place of his own (he was originally house sharing with Brett Delaney), and Leeds got him a place of his own about 3 weeks before he returned to Aus. So for him then to make out he was left to fend for himself has been a bit of a kick in the guts - hence the being so stubborn. Whoever decided that angle was the way to go on the homesick front is probably responsible for the approach Leeds are taking.
I still think it's BS though - regardless of what he's done, how can Leeds say 'we're not going to pay you, you're not welcome back here to start earning, but we're not going to let you earn anywhere else without a fee' - they're holding him to ransom and that doesn't seem right as he now as no options to earn a living from the game for 2 years, in what is already a short career.
Surely if they're unhappy with his behaviour (not turning up for pre-season), then they sack him and sue him, not just stop paying him but still hold him accountable to the contract duration.
Segeyaro walked out on Leeds, not the other way around. He precipitated this situation, so at law Leeds can seek legal redress to him breaching it. Under employment law, they cannot force him to play rugby league for them as courts generally look at that kind of thinking as legalised slavery. What Leeds can do is get a court injunction preventing him from playing rugby league for anyone else during the terms of his contract, and more likely a court would extend that to playing professional rugby union. Why else do you think SBW, when he walked out on the Bulldogs, eventually "bought out" his Bulldogs contract? Simple, he knew what the legal ramifications could have been against him.
Thing is, there are other jobs Segeyaro would be able to do, even if it was something un-league related such as a brickie, a garbo, or even an office worker and the courts would not stop him from doing so. He can earn a living that way. Just for the remaining terms of his contract with Leeds, the courts can prevent him from playing for "a competitor". That is pretty much the situation when you have a fixed term employment contract as far as I understand it.
As to sueing Segeyaro for damages? I don'6t know how that would turn out. Can't say I've ever heard of it happening.
On this matter, Leeds are in the right, and it's not "BS" at all. Segeyaro was under contract. He walked out. He said publicly he would not be coming back and has publicly been bagging Leeds at the same time. Yet Leeds should pay him whilst he is doing this eh? Sorry but that boggles the mind. I think his management have badly advised him on this as they thought they could "use the same old tricks" others have used to get out of SL contracts, but it as blown up in their face.
