Question is, does Francis have a mental health issue or is he merely using an isolated incident to extricate himself from a contract.
Surely he has a limited number of sick days, hence once those days are over exhausted, the club should not be required to pay him.
Francis should be subjected to psychological assessment by a specialist employed by the club.
If it is determined that he is mentally ill, he should be released and his contract removed from our salary cap. *Deleted*
I think there are complications with this which is what Flanagan was alluding to. Let's say he goes through an assessment, is deemed to be mentally ill and released from his contract with some kind of payout. Firstly that process could take quite some time, so we wouldn't be able to fill his spot until well into the season.
Secondly, if he undergoes treatment and recovers, presumably there's no legal reason why he should not be allowed to return to work, for another club. The problem here is that there is no NRL policy for handling this situation and protecting the club from other players potentially using this as an exit strategy. That's why Flanagan was saying this is complicated and he's leaving it to the club, NRL and RLPA to work through.
Whichever way you view it Flanagan's statement has shown that a solution is not imminent. It's frustrating as hell but we have to try and not lose sight of the player's welfare in all this.