Has boarded a plane to France to negotiate an RU contract apparently....

[url=http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/07/26/Sonny_Bill_turns_back_on_Dogs_boards_flight_to_EuropeStory here[/url

yes sonny bill . has gone missing . will play STATE OF ORIGIN.NSW BLUES. then KANGAROOS in THE WORLD CUP

The 'Steve Folkes effect' strikes again? Or is SBW being a tit?

its a bit of everything . but mostly money$

How can a French second division side offer Aus$3 million over two years? rugbyleaguelive.com.au/Articles/ ... rance.aspx

How can a French second division side offer Aus$3 million over two years? rugbyleaguelive.com.au/Articles/ ... rance.aspx

gasnier's french team has a salary cap of $19million

And thats what is becoming attractive to the NRL's top players. Do the big bosses at NRL HQ stick to their guns, or change the salary cap and sponsorship rules with the intention of keeping their big name players?

Let the players go - If they leave to RU ban them from playing in the comp again

Most will only be going to earn enough money on 2 or 3 years so they can retire

Blame his agent - Khoder Nasser.

The same agent who encouraged Mundine to walk out on his Dragons contract. The same one who all of a sudden has Sonny Bill whining about his contract. Out of the blue SBW starts going on about his "black and Polynesian brothers" - a well worn Mundinism.
This Money Bill Williams only emerged a few months ago when Nasser became his agent.

you could blame his agent. And you could cite Gasnie's french girlfriend and SBW's 'special' circumstances (whatever they may be).

FACT - in the last week 2 NRL sides have lost their only genuine star players.

The only question is whether the NRL actually have a look at doing something about the money for the few stars the game has.

Maybe something like the England rugby union had a few years ago?
POssibly a system where one or two players per club can be paid highly, subsidised by the league?
Either way, you can't let many more stars like this walk out..
As a British occasional fan of the NRL, games are certainly less appealing to me first thing on a weekend morning when these guys aren't playing.

When the NRL chiefs first started to talk about the loss of so many players to SL and union I laughed it off saying they were a bit OTT and the aussies will always produce more...I don't see the next Gasnier or SBW on the horizon, maybe they were right.

Oh well, you're getting ol' Trent back next year ;
You can take King too if you like

What? Gasnier's "French" girlfriend who was born on Sydney's north shore and has only ever been to France on holiday? (her parents emigrated before she was born).

How about we blame St George who failed to make sure Gaz got paid what his contract stated and left the loophole open? Makes more sense.
The fact is that Gaz's contract included 100K in third party payments and they couldn't find anyone to fill it. If it had been a Million it wouldn't have mattered. No company seemed to want Mark "Fire up bitch" Gasnier as the face of their product.

anthony ''the man''choc mundene is making millions$ from boxing

Quote ="getdownmonkeyman"How can a French second division side offer Aus$3 million over two years? rugbyleaguelive.com.au/Articles/ ... rance.aspx'" Apparently most of the clubs over there are backed by men with deep pockets. Quote ="BrisbaneRhino"FACT - in the last week 2 NRL sides have lost their only genuine star players.'" There'll be more SBW / Gasniers and the like come through. Personally I'm not overly concerned at all this doomsday talk. It's amazing how big the issue becomes when it directly effects those in Sydney. There was nowhere near this sort of frenzy when Qld lost Tiquiri, Sailor and Rogers to RU. Quote ="Dico"As a British occasional fan of the NRL, games are certainly less appealing to me first thing on a weekend morning when these guys aren't playing.'" LOL, gee in that case we'd better act now.

Quote ="getdownmonkeyman"How can a French second division side offer Aus$3 million over two years? rugbyleaguelive.com.au/Articles/ ... rance.aspx'" Apparently most of the clubs over there are backed by men with deep pockets. Quote ="BrisbaneRhino"FACT - in the last week 2 NRL sides have lost their only genuine star players.'" There'll be more SBW / Gasniers and the like come through. Personally I'm not overly concerned at all this doomsday talk. It's amazing how big the issue becomes when it directly effects those in Sydney. There was nowhere near this sort of frenzy when Qld lost Tiquiri, Sailor and Rogers to RU. Quote ="Dico"As a British occasional fan of the NRL, games are certainly less appealing to me first thing on a weekend morning when these guys aren't playing.'" LOL, gee in that case we'd better act now.

Exactly. The money's simply not there. So those that are crying for Salary Cap increases need to STFU because chances are your club can't afford it.
That said, get rid of the SC and let the weak die!!

yes ok bronco scum . you have already ed up 4 teams . go too hell scum suckers

It seems the Dragons' master-work is finished.
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you....


....fredie! The [ucomplete[/u idiot!

tvnz.co.nz/view/page/417227/1946917

tvnz.co.nz/view/page/417227/1946917

Enough with this set spending limit and dull and boring, trying to make it an even, competition. Its time for a change. The NRL needs to evolve and expand into untapped markets. Money needs to start pouring in from the sponsors. The salary cap has to go. The teams that can promote the game, bring in the fans and sponsors would succeed and the teams who can't keep up should merge or go away. Let the teams decide their own fate in the years to come.

My point was it takes a few years and a lot of money bringing through these players and turning them into household names. If Union keeps on cherry picking them it makes your product far less attractive to neutrals and casual spectators all over the place, I was using myse;f as an example.

dismantle broncos before they ruin the game in qld

You're not concerned? The NRL WILL produce star players for sure. But who, exactly are the real 'star' players right now - and I'm talking here about those with some kind of profile outside of the sport itself?

I'd say - Lockyer, Thurston, Slater, Inglis (maybe add Folau), Marshall, Mason, and erm.......

And when exactly would you hit the panic button? Not that I have BTW but accepting these losses when there is money available to sponsor real stars is ridiculous. If third party payments keep Inglis in the game then why not? You could still allocate some space on the cap for such players (i.e. take it off the total) at an assumed amount, so nobody could stockpile loads of them.

In The Courier Mail yesterday there qwas again a list of NRL players and how much they might earn in Frog RU. It gives an awful impression of the sport IMO. We should be talking about how great these players are, not just sighing when another leaves.

And BTW the obvious difference between this and SL is that in SL you'll get playes like Matt King being the highest earbner at their club when in NRL they weren't. The difference isn't that great for a lot of players. The amounts being touted by French Union are huge.

I wouldn't be surprised to see SBW come back with his tail between his legs TBH, as whilst a Gower might enjoy doing sweet FA and swanning round French golf courses, living in a country where few speak English isn't everyone's cup of tea.

sonny bill''money bill''williams contract is in euro $$. thats huge

I agree, BUT WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING TO COME FROM????

Sydney clubs are struggling with the new pokie tax. Parra, Wests, Canterbury even Penrith with their hundred million dollar Leagues club turnover are crying poor. St George couldn't come up with a third party sponsor to pay 100K a year to keep Gasnier. Even your Sea Eagles are tight for cash and Max pays plenty for them.

We do not have billionaires falling over themselves to give out money hand over fist. Rusty paid 3 million for 75% of the Bunnies with the fan's approval - so the Rabbits fans only think their club is worth 4 million.

I don't know what the answer is, but open slather isn't it. Open the cheque books, and we'll have a four team comp in next to no time.

Matt King isn't the highest earner at Warrington. The speculation in the Sydney press about his salary was absolute horse crap.