Leeds will get an undisclosed "acceptable" offer at some time. The tragedy here is Leeds can't afford to let him rot and the Aussie clubs know it.
Can we afford though? I'm sure we'll have the cap space to still bring in another hooker as we normally leave something spare in the cap and whatever hooker we bring in wont exactly be big time/money. Whatever wage he's on will be serioualy dented by fines if he doesn't return to the country so probably wouldn't lose that much at all keeping his registration. The usual problem in these situations is that you don't want an unhappy sulking influence on the training ground and in the dressing room but again if he stays in Australia that part isn't a issue either.
See this is one of the issues I mentioned before about how badly do Cronulla want him? Let's not forget he was out of favour from the start of the year at Penrith and in all that time no one offered him an NRL deal. Cronulla knew Ennis was retiring before Segeyaro even set off over here let alone the Option date of Sept 1st and still didn't go for him and were happy to go with other options for the hooking role rather than get rid of somebody to bring him in. It's only Ben Barba's departure that's led to them having some salary cap to spend. That they didn't bring him in when they could've had him for free doesn't strike me as a team that's then going to splash out for him especially when the void in their squad has come from a starting FB departing. You would imagine he's not the only player they're looking at right now and you wonder if they themselves wash their hands of the messy situation.
I get the whole principle argument - it's absolutely right..... but it still doesn't make it the best option all round.
On Cronulla, they were interested pre-September re-signing, but didn't have enough cap space to do anything. And now it's not a question of replacing Barba, as Barba will be rejoining the Sharks on a much reduced contract (basically his $900k salary minus the 3 months he'll be suspended - I guess they'll also be paying him less per year than his original contract, but will offset this by extending the number of years he's signed for.) Essentially, Segeyaro will be paid out of the Barba savings this year - so he Sharks get both their men!
The issue is the contract and whether players face a penalty if they walk away mid-contract. SL really needs to send a message as a sport that players will face financial penalties if they do so. In an ideal world the sport as a whole would deregister players in this situation, either until they reach agreement with the club they left, or at the very least until that contract expires (personally I'd add an additional one year suspension on top).
What we can't have is a situation where all the power is one way - players insisting on long-term contracts (understandable) but then deciding to walk out when it suits. RL as a whole ought to be strong on this - the NRL is seeing players like Radrada threatening to go to RU and a couple of others will no doubt jump ship if the NFL shows even the slightest of interest.
Whilst we can't stop players leaving for greener pastures, the game needs to ensure it has contractual integrity, and IMO remove the safety blanket of a quick return to the sport in the event things don't work out (Solomona, Radrada etc).
I get the whole principle argument - it's absolutely right..... but it still doesn't make it the best option all round.
On Cronulla, they were interested pre-September re-signing, but didn't have enough cap space to do anything. And now it's not a question of replacing Barba, as Barba will be rejoining the Sharks on a much reduced contract (basically his $900k salary minus the 3 months he'll be suspended - I guess they'll also be paying him less per year than his original contract, but will offset this by extending the number of years he's signed for.) Essentially, Segeyaro will be paid out of the Barba savings this year - so he Sharks get both their men!
Isn't Barba returning not a gimme though? Looking at a Cronulla message board they say he's not happy at how reduced the offer is and is considering other teams so if Cronulla offer more to keep him it will limit how much they can spend on Segeyaro.
Looking at their views on it quite a view praised Leeds for standing their ground over Segeyaro and they aren't overly fussed if they do get him. Some saying it's a done deal others saying it's off because Cronulla management aren't prepared to get into a fight for him.
If they can land a player of Chicko's calibre for no transfer fee then great.
If it means getting into a battle with Leeds, they can just rinse their hands of the matter for now and walk away, knowing that in 12 months time they can land him for next to nowt.
Surely some kind of dispensation can / could be offered by the RFL in these extreme cases?
And GH has now ruled out a return for Segeyaro, should he change his mind.
This could run on, and on, and on...
Good distraction from all the other club issues though
Good, who wants a player that doesn't really want to play for the club?
'Do whatever makes you happy! Not what makes others happy!' James Segeyaro
I agree James, but maybe Should have thought of that after you lied and said you loved it at the club and put pen to paper on a two year deal, before wiping your aris with it!
And GH has now ruled out a return for Segeyaro, should he change his mind.
This could run on, and on, and on...
Good distraction from all the other club issues though
Good, who wants a player that doesn't really want to play for the club?
'Do whatever makes you happy! Not what makes others happy!' James Segeyaro
I agree James, but maybe Should have thought of that after you lied and said you loved it at the club and put pen to paper on a two year deal, before wiping your aris with it!