That was actually good wasn't it lol

Was thinking about that, surely he can't train? Will he need to be re-registered just to go into rehab and train again as an RL player with Rovers?

Aye

Your going to have a sleepless night arent you? like a close relative about to give birth in the early hours you cant sleep if it means you miss some important news

Dobson is not a free agent!, he has been temporarily deregistered but his contract is still held by rovers and as a result is still on Rovers payroll, it would therefore be illegal for any club to make an approach.
Didnt Something like this happen once before when he was at Catalan Dragons?, my brother in law who is a Geordie and massive Newcastle utd fan (fool), tells me it has happened on a few occasions in football.

I do hope this doesn't come back to bite us on the ar*se.

Already has. Baristas on full steam ahead.

That's it then, Mrs. Barista's quite amused, season over.

Wishful thinking? Misunderstanding of the rules? Misdirection? An undertaking by Dobson not to sign for anyone else?

Any number of possible reasons. The Op Rules are pretty clear though.

Lets be honest, we've probably bent the rules again, but the fact that if this didn't happen Mason wouldn't be playing tomorrow. That isn't good for Rovers.... and for the RFL either. Mason will get his Tongan stuff in the coming days and Dobson will carry on as normal.

Nothing more.... nothing less.

See Scott?



The vice-chairman has made reassuring sounds on t'other board. It's just an unwanted (from a Rovers POV) addendum to the saga.

Scott as in me? I don't understand :S lol

I do hope so; as much as I've been looking forward to Mason being here i'd get rid of the rest of our Aussie and Kiwi contingent before Dobbo.

Have you just not bothered reading the appropriate section of the Operational Rules that have been posted on here? The [ionly[/i way to de-register a player is to terminate his playing contract.

In fairness to your board, I'm now hearing that this wasn't their idea and they've pretty much had it forced on them.

Not really. I can't imagine that the passport will arrive in the early hours, or that Saints will announce the signature of Dobson. The thing is that Rovers say they're expecting final clearance in the next few days, but they've been saying this since the start of January. I will be interested to see the HDM in the morning though, but that's generally not available online until well after 7am, so plenty of sleep for me.

I can't believe Rovers would jeopardise Dobson's position for anyone or anything, having seen what the best part of 3 seasons without a steady scrum half can do to a club.

I guess they would have all the necessary caveats in writing from the RFL before the de-registration. What I do wonder, though, is when the necessary re-registration "permission" from the (mixed club) RFL board is obtained? Would it be this week (have the board even met this week?) before de-registraion or do they have to wait until re-registration for the yea or nay?

If the latter, I'd be peed off to high heaven if I were Dobbo, or expecting massive compensation for the risk, as the termination of contract has to be by mutual consent.

He is not registered as a player and under the operational rules is a free agent - section c1.1.5

Rovers can employ him to do other duties, but he could play elsewhere - FC have development staff who play for other pro clubs! There is the issue of his visa that probably prevents him from working in other capacities - like James webster when he came to Hull. rovers cannot pay him as a player without registering him and his contract with the RFL.

The key point is that if Dobbo wants to play for rovers(and I am not questioning this) when Mason is sorted this is all academic, notwithstanding approval from the RFL board to re-register him.

when do players need to be registered for the challenge cup? will the re registration of mason also rule him out?

clever move by rovers just hope for their sakes it has not been rushed through, a deported dobson would be a blow for super league

I was saying earlier that Mrs B will give an honest answer when asked an honest question - she'll try to hide it away, but it'll be there. The forecast remains fair according to our reluctant weathervane (sp?).

When the question marks disappear - that is the time to worry. Isn't it?

Why would it happen in football? they don't operate a quota.

The most likely scenario is that all will be well. However, there is no escaping the fact that Rovers look completely ridiculous to be in this position 6 months on.

Who by the RFL?

But when will this be? Rovers are confidently saying "a few days" but he was sipping the beers just after Christmas with the Tongan president and it was purportedly all sorted then! As it is he's here on a NZ Visa and passport, will he have to go thorough the whole "applying for a Tongan Visa again" fiasco again once the passport arrives? And how will the passport physically arrive anyway? Will he have to go back to Tonga to collect it?

There are certainly no concrete deadlines, and, if the last 6 months are any indicator, I'd have either a twitchy bum or itchy feet if I were Dobbo.

What seems odd is why go to all this bother if they are so sure Masons Tongan passport will arive in a matter of days, they've waited this long for Mason so whats another few days?