Warriors place restrictions on AFB's transfer.

[Shaun Hewitt]

Puts the Warriors in a VERY awkward position.

We lose here either way if he has thrown his toys out the cot.

Either we release him, but then that puts us out of an elite forward for most of the season and what do we get back from it?

OR we keep him, but he'll be a shell of himself, and do we want that toxic attitude around the dressing room?

 

[Shaun Hewitt]

The only way I can see we can get something is by doing a player swap, but I'm not too clued up on their roster, and given they are flying high, I'm not sure there would be too many who'd want to jump ship.

1 loss in 10, with the best PD of the league by 40 odd points isn't a position that you'd want to walk away from to go to a team sitting on 13th, and situated in NZ.

 

[Big Marn]

Why would we help strengthen a competitor? We dont owe him anything. Hes very wellpaid. Let him rot on the sideline if he doesnt want to play. And no idea why there isnt a clause where the club doesnt need to pay him if the issue is not injury related. Theres too much guaranteed money in the nrl. In the nfl, players will get a signing bonus and some guaranteed money. After the first year or 2, the club could cut the player if hes not performing or doing illegal shit and not pay a cent. Only the very elite quarterbacks get a good amount of guaranteed money whuch is not normally viewed as smart business for the club.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Why would we help strengthen a competitor? We dont owe him anything. Hes very wellpaid. Let him rot on the sideline if he doesnt want to play. And no idea why there isnt a clause where the club doesnt need to pay him if the issue is not injury related. Theres too much guaranteed money in the nrl. In the nfl, players will get a signing bonus and some guaranteed money. After the first year or 2, the club could cut the player if hes not performing or doing illegal shit and not pay a cent. Only the very elite quarterbacks get a good amount of guaranteed money whuch is not normally viewed as smart business for the club.

I’d happily let him go if the other club paid out the remainder of his 2024 contract value as a %of games played (including finals) and there was clause that he couldn’t play against us. That way the club gets a significant financial benefit. If we’re paying him for all of 2024 then he can sit on the sidelines or play reserves.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

If this is really him just spitting the dummy (and to be fair there be more to it we don’t know) I’d be concerned if I was Sharks supporter that we’re getting someone who can’t be trusted.

It’s one thing to ask for a release as he did with Manly and with us already, but to agitate for one when things get tough shows pretty shitty character.

 

[Rich102]

Real problem for the NRL. Contracts can't be enforced.

 

[Titanic]

Real problem for the NRL. Contracts can't be enforced.

Totally agree, the entire recruitment/contract/agent accreditation system needs a major overhaul.

 

[Shaun Hewitt]

I’d happily let him go if the other club paid out the remainder of his 2024 contract value as a %of games played (including finals) and there was clause that he couldn’t play against us. That way the club gets a significant financial benefit. If we’re paying him for all of 2024 then he can sit on the sidelines or play reserves.

That's a fairly decent idea
Works well for everyone involved, however what would be the future deterrent for this?

 

[SpaceMonkey]

That's a fairly decent idea
Works well for everyone involved, however what would be the future deterrent for this?

Good point but that’s more for the NRL to enforce than the clubs. Not sure we’d want to spend half a million bucks to send a message about contracts.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

It’s a tough one isn’t it.

The contracts themselves are perfectly enforceable, it’s just clubs are choosing not to because they’d rather grant a release than have a disruptive agitating player contaminating the rest of the squad.

Maybe there’s a cap on the next contract value? Say, no more than 75% of the old contract, for the remaining term of the old contract. That’d discourage players from shit stirring for a release because it’d hit them in the pocket

A way to manage exceptions for genuine family reasons etc. would need to be worked out but I’m sure it could be managed somehow.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

I'd say he's welcome to go to Sydney, but he can't play first grade. No way am I releasing him to the Sharks, to help their cause. So we get $300-400k or whatever it is for it, so what? What are we tangibly going to be getting for that? Is that going to be the difference with the ability to sign anyone, or do anything? I doubt it.

We can be good people by saying hey, we get it. You are a family guy, you want out to Sydney. Away you go. But none of that has jack shit to do with playing football. You're signed for Cronulla, we let you exit your contract early for that. You wanted out with three years to go, even though we made a major investment in you. We let you go with two more years to go. No f**king way are we letting you play at a rival club, midway through a year, after you basically gave up in a game where we had so many players out, then you f**ked off straight afterwards. No. Go to Sydney, that's fine. But we're standing up for ourselves that the Warriors will not be bent over by anyone.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Real problem for the NRL. Contracts can't be enforced.

Maybe we need a system where if you make it work for yourself, ie the Sharks getting AFB two years early, you have to give something up. OK you can have him, but you give up something significant to the club you're getting him for. Your salary cap goes down twice the value of the player you're getting, and the club you pinch him off takes that cash.

I dunno, that's probably stupid (I've had a couple of beers) but at the moment you're right - contracts can't be enforced because it's not worth it. Players, and by proxy player agents, have clubs over the barrel.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

A way to manage exceptions for genuine family reasons etc. would need to be worked out but I’m sure it could be managed somehow.

That part is easy, just put a voluntary waiver mechanism in there that clubs can activate when it’s a genuine compassionate circumstance that’s mutually agreed on. So if we were satisfied he wasn’t taking the piss we could allow the 75% limit to be waived. obviously in this case we wouldn’t.

 

[TheDMC]

My faint hope is that AFB's wife had some minorish temporary meltdown and AFB went into the game last weekend in a bit of a mental mess and post-game was so gutted about his pathetic performance that he genuinely didn't feel worthy to celebrate with the team. But some remedial work happening now and his wife is okay, and AFB is okay, and after the bye he will play on for the rest of the year at his usual standard.

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Willie Mason said he is hearing some strong rumours that shit is going to go down this week, not a happy camp

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Willie Mason said he is hearing some strong rumours that shit is going to go down this week, not a happy camp

Hmm... had a feeling the bye break was going to be key to AFB's future with us.

When he said 'camp' do you know if he meant the Warriors or AFB's mgmt. team? or both...

 

[Beavers Headgear]

Hmm... had a feeling the bye break was going to be key to AFB's future with us.

When he said 'camp' do you know if he meant the Warriors or AFB's mgmt. team? or both...

He didn’t really elaboarate, I’d say AFB isn’t happy has burnt some bridges that may be too hard to repair

 

[SpaceMonkey]

My faint hope is that AFB's wife had some minorish temporary meltdown and AFB went into the game last weekend in a bit of a mental mess and post-game was so gutted about his pathetic performance that he genuinely didn't feel worthy to celebrate with the team. But some remedial work happening now and his wife is okay, and AFB is okay, and after the bye he will play on for the rest of the year at his usual standard.

I read a bunch of rumours about why he supposedly wants out on Reddit the other day and most of them involved his partner, so that’s quite possible. (None of them are particularly salacious or interesting claims, so won’t bother repeating the specifics).

 

[Matua]

I read a bunch of rumours about why he supposedly wants out on Reddit the other day and most of them involved his partner, so that’s quite possible. (None of them are particularly salacious or interesting claims, so won’t bother repeating the specifics).

Wasn't the partner the reason he wanted in? She wanted to come back to NZ?

 

[RHYTHM AND STEALTH]

I said it earlier, she can go to Sydney and set up. He will be there nearly every 2nd week