From Aaron Bower
Several Super League clubs have been linked with a move for Brisbane Broncos utility Tristan Sailor in recent weeks. Sailor’s services have been offered to clubs as the domestic season draws to a close, with it looking increasingly likely his future is away from the Broncos in 2024.
However, Thirteen has been told that a move to the top-flight is complicated by a number of issues. Chief among them is the amount of games Sailor has played, with it looking increasingly certain he would not meet the threshold required to get a working visa to play in Super League.
The way around that? Any club that wishes to sign Sailor would have to apply for dispensation to allow him to be registered for a Governing Body Endorsement (GBE), which would enable him to make the move.
The numbers are tight, which could leave the door for that to happen. To secure a GBE for a player coming from the NRL, they have to have played 50 per cent of NRL matches in the qualifying period – which, in this case, if an application is made after August, considers the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Sailor has played just four times for Brisbane this season and last year, he wasn’t under contract at any NRL club, meaning he would automatically fail in that criteria – and by some distance.
But there is a secondary category which could potentially enable Sailor to make the move. The RFL will consider any player against secondary criteria specifically for players 25 or under – Sailor is 25 – at the age of application.
That details that a player must feature in 25 per cent of his club’s NRL matches – including play-offs – in the current season. The Broncos will have played 27 games by the culmination of this weekend’s NRL Grand Final, meaning that with Sailor’s four appearances, he has an appearance percentage of 14.81%: below the threshold once again.
Clubs can apply for an exemption if a player fails to meet any of the criteria if there are extenuating circumstances, and Thirteen has been told that clubs are confident they could secure a GBE for Sailor given his off-field history.
Sailor was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault in October 2020, but was ultimately found not guilty on all charges last year. Thirteen has been told that any club hoping to sign the player would argue that Sailor would have featured much more in the NRL if those charges hadn’t been hanging over him, which played a factor in him not securing a contract last year.
Hull had shown an interest in Sailor but their reported pursuit of Cooper Johns makes any move somewhat less likely. Leigh Leopards are another club monitoring Sailor’s availability.
