Hard-up Melbourne Storm gives trial to sacked Rooster Stanley Waqa..
RUSSELL GOULD HERALD SUN AUGUST 17, 2010 7:55PM
MELBOURNE Storm's salary-cap struggles have forced it to look beyond the NRL for cheap front-rowers and sacked former Sydney Roosters giant Stanley Waqa has been given a trial at the club.
The 22-year-old Fijian was dumped by the Roosters late in 2009 after being charged with assaulting his girlfriend.
The charges were dismissed by a Sydney magistrate in March.
But Waqa has not played in the NRL since the last of his nine games in Round 26, 2009 and has added about 15kg to his 118kg playing weight during his exile.
He is in Melbourne until Friday and needs to meet several fitness requirements before his quest to become a Storm player goes any further.
A Storm official said the club was aware of Waqa's past, but at this stage his trial was based purely on assessing his physical capabilities.
As part of the prop search Melbourne officials, including coach Craig Bellamy, also spoke at length to under-used South Sydney front-rower Jaiman Lowe after Sunday's game against the Rabbitohs at AAMI Park.
The 27-year-old has played 101 NRL games since 2002, but only three this season having joined Souths mid-year.
With premiership props Brett White, Jeff Lima, Ryan Tandy and Aiden Tolman on their way to other clubs, Storm is desperate to recruit at least two bargain-basement big men for next season.
Its front-row stocks for 2011 consist of Adam Blair, Bryan Norrie and youngsters Jesse Bromwich and Sione Kite.
THE Rugby League Players' Association yesterday demanded the NRL abandon its new policy requiringstatutory declarations from players and managers to accompany all contracts.
NRL chief executive David Gallop said the rule, adopted because of the Storm cap scandal, would ensure more "accountability" from those doing contracts.
The rule comes despite his concession that a "fundamental obligation" to lodge cap-compliant contracts already existed within the rules.
RLPA boss David Garnsey said he was appalled but "not surprised" about the NRL's lack of consultation in adopting the policy, which he was informed of by the media.
Garnsey said the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement obligated the NRL to consult the RLPA on any intention to amend rules.
"It is clearly a significant matter that we should have been given a reasonable opportunity to consider," he said. "This is yet another example of the NRL's culture of non-consultation."
Gallop said he could not understand Garnsey's objection, but would suspend the rule for seven days and consult the RLPA.
"Technically, the RLPA is entitled to have been made aware of any change to the rules but the extent to which this is a change of any substance is debatable," he said.
