This makes me happy.
Dragons offer ill star Cody Ramsey fresh contract to help keep NRL dream alive
November 10, 2023 — 5.00am
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The Dragons have offered Cody Ramsey a fresh contract extension and will pay the stricken star out of their own coffers despite no guarantee he will play another game of rugby league due to a career-threatening illness.
In a selfless gesture at odds with the cut-throat nature of the NRL, St George Illawarra is in the final stages of extending Ramsey’s deal by another year to allow him more time to recover from a debilitating bowel condition.
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According to club sources not authorised to speak publicly because the deal is ongoing, the Dragons and the NRL have been locked in discussions about a proposal for Ramsey to stay on the club’s books until 2025. His current deal is due to expire at the end of next year.
The plan involves St George Illawarra splitting the money Ramsey is owed over the rest of his contract across two years, which will not count towards the salary cap, and will need to be funded by the club itself.
Ramsey would also be removed from the top 30 roster to allow the Dragons to fill his spot with another signing, or promotion of a player already contracted to the club.
But if Ramsey does return to rugby league and be in line for NRL selection, the Dragons would have to make a roster space available in their top 30 and then count his salary towards the club’s cap.
St George Illawarra Dragons fullback Cody Ramsey will have his contract extended despite no guarantee he will play rugby league again.
Dragons powerbrokers have been discussing how best to support Ramsey, 23, for months and have been in regular contact with NRL salary cap auditors.
The idea has been to provide the fullback with some security and as much time as he needs to return from the inflammatory bowel condition ulcerative colitis, which sidelined him for the entire 2023 season and has resulted in him having more than half a dozen surgeries.
The Molong junior was struck down with the rare condition weeks before Christmas last year as the Dragons went through pre-season training, resulting in an extended stay in hospital.
He had cemented himself as the club’s first-choice fullback at the end of the 2022 season but watched on as Tyrell Sloan assumed that role this year.
Cody Ramsey
Cody Ramsey was seen as one of St George Illawarra's rising stars who could help drag the club back towards finals football, only enhanced when he scored a double on debut against Canberra in the final rounds of the 2020 season. He progressed to be the club's first-choice fullback, but was struck down with a debilitating bowel condition during last pre season and didn't play a match in 2023 as he underwent multiple surgeries.
Team:St George Illawarra DragonsPosition:Fullback/WingDebut:Round 18, 2020 (Canberra Raiders)
Age:23NRL games:36NRL tries:14
Ramsey was forced to have multiple follow-up operations as his teammates finished second-from-bottom, only spared the wooden spoon by the Tigers. The club has tried to instil a positive environment around the young star as he hopes to return to the game.
“Cody is a great character who is one of the most passionate, popular and respected members of our club and will have a significant impact on the success of the team over the coming season,” Dragons general manager Ben Haran said earlier this year.
Ramsey’s spot on the club’s roster, and that of five-eighth Junior Amone, who has been stood down from all club activities after being
found guilty of a rooftop hammer attack, has been up in the air as new coach Shane Flanagan tries to rejuvenate the Red V.
Flanagan is expected to give
Zac Lomax time at fullback during pre-season training as an added option in the No.1 alongside Sloan, who has entered the final year of his deal