Wiki, Monaghan to test player market

[raiders_lover_18]

We wont be able to afford anyone with our crowds at the moment. We will have no income :lol:

 

[raider_at_heart]

60 Seconds With...Robbo

Name: Michael Robertson

Famous for: Dodgy hammies, bad interviews

First Car: 1970 purple Corolla (My old man bought it for $100)

Toughest Opponent: Matt Utai

What do you do to relax? I'm a mallrat, hang out in malls anywhere

Favourite Movie: Old School, hard to split it with Starsky and Hutch

Joel Monaghan: Torture. We call him 2%, only 2% of what he says is true

Best stitch-up ever put on you: Any of Joel's lies

He better not be lying about wanting to stay at the club.

 

[thickos]

I hope not either raider_at_heart. #1 and I have caught up with him a few times now after matches and we've put the tough questions to him like 'why the f*$k would you want to go to manly!' and he's pretty much said 'yeah I'm staying, the manager is just trying to jack the price up'.

He comes across as a prankster but an honest fella, if he was lying to us fans that would be pretty low.

 

[BAY72]

Mick is NOT coming back. Bay25 got is right from the horses mouth on Saturday night when he said he made it clear he was staying in Manly. I had a feeling the women around that area might ruin us.

Yeah I was very dissapointed. Last year after he signed for Manly, Woodgers and I asked him if he would ever come back, and he said then that he would.

Now, I looks as though we've lost him, I don't remember his exact words, but he seemed pretty adamant that he wasn't coming back.

 

[hrundi99]

From the SMH:

Elsewhere, Canberra chief executive Simon Hawkins said last night he did not believe Melbourne halfback Matt Orford was serious about leaving the Storm.

But Hawkins warned recalcitrant Raiders Joel Monaghan and Ruben Wiki there might be no money left for them if they decide to stay after testing their value on the open market next month.

Orford was given a week-and-a-half to negotiate with rival clubs at the end of May and is now about to re-enter talks with Melbourne.

He has been linked with the Sydney Roosters, Canberra and the proposed Central Coast NRL franchise, among others.

"I'm not too convinced he was looking to move," Hawkins said. "I think it was just Melbourne testing his value so they knew how much to pay him. I didn't think he was necessarily that serious, so we didn't bother too much about talking to him."

Hawkins said he had offered 31-year-old forward Wiki an astonishing three-year contract - but manager Jim Banaghan turned it down along with a four-month-old offer for centre Monaghan.

Of 22-year-old Monaghan, Hawkins said: "There is no offer there right now for him because our offer was turned down and we weren't told why and we weren't asked for another offer.

"If it gets to July and there is no money left . . . well, we've got to plan for the future."

 

[tHe_MaC]

Come Home Ruben.

 

[mike83au]

Straight from the Raiders website:

Re: Monaghan and Wiki Contracts

02/06/04: The Fone Zone Canberra Raiders wish to clarify that both Ruben Wiki and Joel Monaghan have not been granted permission by the Club to negotiate with other Clubs prior to the June 30 anti-tampering deadline.

This is contrary to what was suggested on Fox Sports program “NRL Scoreboard” on Monday 31st May, 2004.

 

[thickos]

But Hawkins warned recalcitrant Raiders Joel Monaghan and Ruben Wiki there might be no money left for them if they decide to stay after testing their value on the open market next month.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

Re-sign guys, come on! You will both make a motza anyway!

 

[hrundi99]

All part of the negotiations I'm afraid...

 

[I Bleed Green]

That's at least a good sign that the club have some targets that they want to sign. But at what expense is the question.

 

[Edwahu]

I reckon Wiki must have some pretty good offers already on the table to turn down a three year deal.

It wouldnt suprise me if the warriors are willing to give him a 3 year deal at about 400k. He has single handedly beaten them a dozen times and he would make such a difference to their side.

 

[I Bleed Green]

I reckon Wiki must have some pretty good offers already on the table to turn down a three year deal

But that's just it, he hasn't been given permission to negotiate with rival clubs.

Also, a question. When they say "haven't been given permission to negotiate", does that mean with NRL clubs only and that Super LEague clubs can make offers, or no one... period... can make an offer?

 

[jed]

Yes, it's only the Australian clubs that are precluded from entering into negotiations. ESL (and the ARU for that matter) aren't covered in the anti-tampering agreement.

 

[I Bleed Green]

Thanks jed, that explains things.

 

[I Bleed Green]

Harragon: sign Wiki at all costs
By Peter Fitzgerald
Wednesday, 2 June 2004

Former Australian rugby league great Paul Harragon believes the Canberra Raiders must re-sign second-rower Ruben Wiki - or risk "putting a dent in the club's ability to be successful next year".

While acknowledging the difficulties of retaining Wiki beneath the Raiders' salary cap, Harragon classifies Wiki as a must-keep player.

"Ruben Wiki is a great leader. He's respected in all parts of rugby league for what he does both on and off the field and for the Raiders to lose him would be a real tragedy," Harragon said.

"[The Raiders] should be bending over backwards to keep him. I know it's hard with the salary cap but if I had my choice, I'd be keeping Ruben.

"He's a one-in-20-year player and such a ferocious forward."

Wiki, along with centre Joel Monaghan, heads a list of Raiders first-graders coming off contract at the end of this season.

And while Monaghan's likely suitors will be NRL clubs, Wiki is a target for cashed-up English Super League franchises.

Wiki's manager, Jim Banaghan, declared on Monday that a fresh three-year deal for Wiki would "probably be Ruben's final rugby league contract". Harragon believes age hasn't hurt the Raiders' hitman.

"[Wiki] has got three good years left in him - he's holding up incredibly well," the former Newcastle forward said.

"He's a great competitor and it's great to see in this day and age that when sides play the Raiders and Ruben's there, blokes look where they're running. That doesn't happen too often. Probably Ruben and Adrian Morley - they're the two guys you look out for when you run the footy."

The Raiders, with five players yet to re-sign, are aware of the importance of the coming months to the club's future.

While declaring last week that Monaghan was the club's "priority signing", coach Matt Elliott said he knew how hard the club had to fight to convince Wiki to stay.

"Full out," he said.

"Ruben offers so much to us and we're working really hard to keep him here but there's also a business side to that.

"The processes to make that happen are really challenging."

Harragon said he knows how Elliott feels.

The Footy Show co-host said he believes the National Rugby League salary cap should have expanded in the past five to six years and believes it isn't too late to make that move with the official trading period set to start on July 1.

"There hasn't even been an increase with CPI over the years, which I think needs reviewing," he said.

"It's hard. The [Raiders board] will know what they have in the salary cap and know they have some good players coming through, but also know they don't want to lose Ruben."

While not denying the claims linking him to English clubs, Wiki said he preferred to concentrate on football.

"I'll just leave it up to the shirt and tie people," he said. "My manager just wants to see what's out there and, in the meantime, I'll just play footy and give everything I have to the Green Machine."

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Hmm... we have 5 players to re-sign? Besides Monas and Muss, who is off contract? I thought they were the only two. :?

 

[Raider_69]

Miller might of been 1

 

[hrundi99]

Is Harragon managed by Branaghan?

 

[mike83au]

Why can't we just enjoy our great win on the weekend, without all this bullshit.

Honestly, from reading that article - I reckon he's gone.

 

[thickos]

I can't believe we have to put up with another month of this crap! :evil:

All this BS in the media, the goddamn tabloids from Sydney fuelling speculation about them leaving because they have their own agenda towards the Sydney clubs..... lets end this charade!

 

[Edwahu]

Hmm... we have 5 players to re-sign? Besides Monas and Muss, who is off contract? I thought they were the only two. :?

Isn't Rhino off contract. Schif too maybe.Mogg was also a 2 year contract if I remember correctly.

It gives me the shits that out of every side we seem to be under the most pressure to keep our players. We have one origin rep, we should have no problem fitting them all in.