Jonathon Thurston

[WillyInBris]

I'm looking to get as many bucks as I can and set myself up for a life after footy

After this one quote I don't want this turkey at my club how hard is he really going to play for all the $$ anyway as it seems this is all its about for him.


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So Thurston has a 1.1mill a year contract offer from Jap Rugby probably France as well and then we have a New Melb Rugby team starting up soon probably chuck in an offer as well.

I am so sick and tired of players using this Rugby BS to push up contracts or just chase the money OS I really wish the NRL would start doing something about this.

Its very simple make these guys think about their future a blanket rule if you go to a rival code you cant come back to the NRL for a further two years after that contract has finished.

That will do two things make these guys think about the future, can they chance going to another code or country will they like living in that place will they get homesick like Baz did or Rogers sick of all the travel and not seeing his family if it doesn't work out how much money will I lose as they cant come back to the NRL my career could be over.

Would you take that chance?

The rival code/team doing the bidding will also have to make some rather large financial decisions as they will have to offer even larger contracts as insurance to the players if things don't work out.

Another way of doing this is to having it as a Age system the older you get to retirement age (say 34) the longer that ban will be up to 4 years long.

Another one is a re-entry fee to the NRL of 1 milion dollars payable by the player to the NRL and to be shared by all clubs.

I have posted this before a few more thoughts but something really needs to be done it isnt right for a player like Rogers to go over to RU make some $$ then come back and take some young kids place that is passionate about playing our sport also all the money that clubs payout with training etc to make these guys the worlds best.

We need to make these Players think about their own futures and what it could cost them.

Anyway what's your thoughts people.

(ps Ricky feel free to use these ideas as well mate but at least PM this time and say thank you )

 

[Master Sharky]

Let him go, cant believe he is saying he owes Rugby League nothing. Look around JT all of it is from the game you are prepared to turn your back on! Off you trot to that poor excuse for a game and hope you enjoy watching SOO on TV.
Atleast playing Union he will only have to do half the work.

 

[Mark^Bastard]

I honestly couldn't care less.

 

[WillyInBris]

I honestly couldn't care less.

About Thurston or losing players.

 

[Megashark]

Each club should be allowed one "marquee player" outside of the salary cap, I think that would go some way towards solving this problem of topline players using rugby union as a bargaining chip.

 

[Mark^Bastard]

About Thurston or losing players.

Both. Unless we lost Gallen for example I just don't care. We've poached juniors from Union for years and we've poached poms as well. It's all a part of life. There will always be plenty of young talent to fill the places of the greedy wankers that want to leave.

 

[fitz]

Each club should be allowed one "marquee player" outside of the salary cap, I think that would go some way towards solving this problem of topline players using rugby union as a bargaining chip.

I've got no dramas with the concept of a marquee player, however I do believe that many Clubs, after spending huge amounts on those players will be pretty reluctant to release those players for rep duty.

I'd hate to see the situation that the quality of rep footy is somehow eroded by players making themselves unavailable beacause of the pressure a Club may put on them.

 

[WillyInBris]

Both. Unless we lost Gallen for example I just don't care. We've poached juniors from Union for years and we've poached poms as well. It's all a part of life. There will always be plenty of young talent to fill the places of the greedy wankers that want to leave.

Did you care when we lost Ando?

So don't just allow them back at all, I am happy with that as well Mark.

 

[pandapat]

He's pretty ugly.

 

[mtk]

I've got no dramas with the concept of a marquee player

I know the marquee player system is used in the A-League - but they aren't doing it to keep players, rather to help poach bigger names to Aust (correct me if I'm wrong)

Does any competition use it to try and stop their players going overseas?

My concern would be that the top handful of players would be paid exhorbitant money by clubs like Brisbane, Melbourne etc. but then that all other clubs would be forced to pay overs for substandard 'stars.'

e.g. at hte moment Cronulla could not afford a limitless salary for a marquee player. I would assume that in our current position, we wouldn't sign a marquee player at all. Wouldn't the system further tip the scales towards the bigger clubs with the money?

 

[Bungy]

If the NRL keep losing marquee players at the rate we are every year I couldn't give a sh!t to be honest. As long as it doesn't escalate any further and the NRL can still be competitive with other codes of course.
With some of the top players gone other players will take their place as top players. Now when I say that don't mistake that for meaning other players we become as good as those who have left but those other players will look as good as the departed marquee players and you wont even know the difference.

 

[WillyInBris]

The marquee system doesn't work for me, Anderson wouldn't have been a marquee player in our team but we still lost him and it did hurt us last season.

JT would be a loss to the NRL but really any good first grade player is a loss to our sport, does that hurt the NRL deals of selling our sport to the highest bidder?

 

[Ramzyv1]

Firstly on Thurston while the quote might sound bad that he wants the money and wants to set himself up for life is that so bad? If I was an NRL player I know that I would want as much money as I can get. That doesnt mean I would have no loyalty but I know my career would last until I was in my mid thirties and then I am retired. After being a big star would you want to have to get a blue collar job? You cant fault the guy for being honest. Plus dont forget he and his coach dont get along so his loyalty is stretched.

On players being banned after leaving, I think that is dumb. Yeah it might make players think twice but their decision will likely still be to leave for better money and then it just means we wont get them back so guys like Tahu and possibly Gaz will stay in union.

I think marquee players could work and I hope that happens but what if you have an existing star like Gallen and then woo Trent Barrett as a marquee star then Barrett is paid heaps more than Gallen which may cause unrest in the team and possibly Gallen to leave. Ie, it punishes the homegrown star in a sense.

 

[WillyInBris]

Firstly on Thurston while the quote might sound bad that he wants the money and wants to set himself up for life is that so bad? If I was an NRL player I know that I would want as much money as I can get. That doesnt mean I would have no loyalty but I know my career would last until I was in my mid thirties and then I am retired. After being a big star would you want to have to get a blue collar job? You cant fault the guy for being honest. Plus dont forget he and his coach dont get along so his loyalty is stretched.

On players being banned after leaving, I think that is dumb. Yeah it might make players think twice but their decision will likely still be to leave for better money and then it just means we wont get them back so guys like Tahu and possibly Gaz will stay in union.

I think marquee players could work and I hope that happens but what if you have an existing star like Gallen and then woo Trent Barrett as a marquee star then Barrett is paid heaps more than Gallen which may cause unrest in the team and possibly Gallen to leave. Ie, it punishes the homegrown star in a sense.

I understand what your saying and if he wants the money then fantastic go for it but to invite him back with open hands if it doesn't work out for him then I don't think that's right it doesn't happen in the real world these guys need to accountable for their actions.

To call my ideas Dumb is fine but just remember your calling Ricky Stuarts ideas Dumb as well as he had the same views a week later when I first posted this after we lost Anderson but I don't think you were around then so you probably didn't see or read it.

Fitz posted the problem with marquee players I don't think it can work that's why we have a cap clubs don't have the money and finding sponsorship money can be hard as well look at what happened with the goons and gaz it could also make the game extremely lop sided.

I just don't think they should have the right to pick and choose not many employers will welcome you back after you leave them doesnt matter how good you are especially if you go to a rival company and I am talking from experience I only ever did that once.

I think something needs to be put in place to make these guys think long and hard and at the moment if it doesn't work out for them they are are aware that they can come back to the NRL and get a contract to me that's just unfair on our game the players and the supporters.

 

[peachey]

for every player that pisses off we discover another talented junior

no big loss if they piss off, though the cowboys will be f*cked without him

 

[ABshark]

The number of players leaving now is not a huge problem, but I'm sure no-one wants to see the NRL turn into effectively a junior league for SL and RU.

Money is 90% of the reason players leave.
They need to be payed more to keep them in the NRL.

A "marquee player" both comprimises the salary cap (Brisbane can pay Lockyer much more than we ever could) and poses an issue re: rep games (as fitz pointed out).

Solution: Make the payments for rep games (Tests, Origin, City vs Country) massive. This keeps your top tier players in the game, and the ones just below that level who have hopes of playing it in the future (your Fergo's, Crokers, Pearces, Mullens, Lockes, Lawrences).

This would be paid by the new governing body- actually it doesn't matter who pays it as long as it isn't the clubs- and as long as it is not included in the salary cap. The only question is where the money comes from but that's not my problem- the commission can find it from advertising/TV revenue.

Problem solvered.

 

[Mark^Bastard]

That's a great idea. Also they should allow rep players to negotiate their own media deals but make sure they are completely independent of the club. They should be able to endorse products and all that, as long as the team doesn't benefit from it.

 

[ABshark]

That's a great idea. Also they should allow rep players to negotiate their own media deals but make sure they are completely independent of the club. They should be able to endorse products and all that, as long as the team doesn't benefit from it.

That would work too MB, so long as the clubs offered no assistance to the players in the negotiations... the benefit of the rep payments is that they are absolutely arbitary- it makes not one iota of difference if Thurston plays for NQ or the Broncos, he gets paid the same by the Commission.

Media deals and sponsorship might not be so independent... Brisbane's a much bigger market than Townsville, but I imagine the involvement of clubs in any third party deals could be monitored by the salary cap auditor like he does now.

 

[WillyInBris]

The number of players leaving now is not a huge problem, but I'm sure no-one wants to see the NRL turn into effectively a junior league for SL and RU.

Money is 90% of the reason players leave.
They need to be payed more to keep them in the NRL.

A "marquee player" both comprimises the salary cap (Brisbane can pay Lockyer much more than we ever could) and poses an issue re: rep games (as fitz pointed out).

Solution: Make the payments for rep games (Tests, Origin, City vs Country) massive. This keeps your top tier players in the game, and the ones just below that level who have hopes of playing it in the future (your Fergo's, Crokers, Pearces, Mullens, Lockes, Lawrences).

This would be paid by the new governing body- actually it doesn't matter who pays it as long as it isn't the clubs- and as long as it is not included in the salary cap. The only question is where the money comes from but that's not my problem- the commission can find it from advertising/TV revenue.

Problem solvered.

Its a a good idea but:.

Lockyer had that exact same idea last year he wrote it in his column but the NRL have stated that they cant afford to do it just not enough money around it has plenty of merit though.

 

[Lumpy]

All good ideas. Why can't the NRL look at that sort of system. The players images are used but the clubs and the players get very little for it. Each club should be allowed to trade off its own image and make as much money as they can.

Every other professional sport in the world allows its players to make money from their own image. How much would that clean up the players acts, if they were to lose their own personal sponsers becuase of their acts.