Dunning to ARU: show us the money

[GIGS20]

dunning might very well be coming here to play for the force next year and you will instantly love him just as you instantly turned on drew cos he is leaving!

WHAT THE HELL!!!!

We were all saying Drew was a shit fullback in 2007, now I know his departure was a poorly kept secret but that's just ridiculous!

As for us instantly loving Dunning when he pulls on a jersey....well, it'd go a long way to proving he's not as F@%in' stupid as this press release seems to infer, but it would remain to be seen if he was still fat and slow!

all those who call us fair weather fans for criticising the players when they're playing badly should take a look inside their own backyards. I think it's far worse to be praising a player who plays poorly simply because he's in your team!

[AndyS]

Gentle guys, I suspect it was more a sense that our comments were aimed at Dunning personally that upset RRG.

[GIGS20]

To expand on Andy's comments, if the ARU know they've got him in the bag and he's not going overseas, they'll pay him less than he's actually worth and save the money for a player who's important but less likely to stay

[Swee_82]

RRG

You should like me be proud to live in a capitalist country, which this principle that dunning isn’t happy about is a core component of!!

You don’t by chance own a lot of red cloths do you?

Well, it is May Day...maybe Dunning is smarter than we all think and this is a covert call to arms for the Comrades.

[rahrahgirl]

WHAT THE HELL!!!!

We were all saying Drew was a shit fullback in 2007, now I know his departure was a poorly kept secret but that's just ridiculous!

As for us instantly loving Dunning when he pulls on a jersey....well, it'd go a long way to proving he's not as F@%in' stupid as this press release seems to infer, but it would remain to be seen if he was still fat and slow!

all those who call us fair weather fans for criticising the players when they're playing badly should take a look inside their own backyards. I think it's far worse to be praising a player who plays poorly simply because he's in your team!

i searched drew mitchell and alot of people on this site were going on about him being fullback for the wallabies last november over ashley-cooper, im not going to bother going back and checking names off a list but it seemed to be a general opinion of a majority that he was the best thing since sliced bread and you all wanted him to stay, then when he was leaving you all turned on him. i know im casting a generalisation but if you search his name you will see what i mean.

i think calling dunning stupid for what he said is exactly that. as i said before he asked that other players salarys be made public so that the ARU couldnt short ball people. the ARU as a company are going to try to sign everyone for as low amount of money as possible i dont think dunning said he deserved to be the highest payed player in the country but he is saying if the ARU holds secret talks with everyone then players are likely to miss out.

i didnt claim he was the greatest player on earth, i dont mind him but at the same time he would stay at the force and offer more experience than ben castle has ever had (and no, playing a season or two in europe isnt the same as playing internationals!) i think if dunning is being low balled then he has every right to ask the question as to what other front rowers in this country are worth. he is a footballer not a statesmen and he deserves to be treated with a bit more respect than called greedy or ungrateful when he has just gone through 6 months of rehab for an injury caused when he was representing his country as one of the best 17 players we had on that day! (not to mention that they have sacked the groundsman for the incident)

i want to work in an industry where we have a union and my union collective bargins. i dont see the difference in my wages being published and adhered to for my job and footballers wages being published. it would be good for them as a collective and i get enough enjoyment out of the rugby to want them to stay in this country and play for our teams so if doing so will convince the stanners, dunnings etc of this country to stay then i want it to happen. if the ARU was more transperant in negotiations then maybe we wouldnt need to go looking for new players every year!

[Swee_82]

For every advocate of collective bargaining there'll be someone else insisting it's a disincentive to achieving beyond the status quo, since there's no additional reward to be doing your job better than the person sitting next to you.

I personally would be happier to see the $$ spent retaining younger props, the likes of Robinson etc, over someone who hasn't been able to pull a boot on all season.

If he knows what other people are being paid then he/his manager should be walking into a negotiation ready to demonstrate why he's worth just as much. If the case can't be made, then there's your answer.

The world of professional sport is particularly cut-throat given the competition for spots and that contracts are re-negotiated very regularly compared to those in the general population, but apart from that the ARU sounds no different (better or worse) than every company I've worked for (and most I've known anyone else to work for) since graduating and frankly, don't see what the big deal is.

[The Lone Hydrangea]

Sorry RRG your out of your depth here. Your waffling.

[shasta]

For every advocate of collective bargaining there'll be someone else insisting it's a disincentive to achieving beyond the status quo, since there's no additional reward to be doing your job better than the person sitting next to you. .

It's horses for courses really. A bit over simplified but some employees need a collective bargaining situation so they are not exploited. Others, usually those with "transportable" or extraordinary skills or qualifications can do OK rowing their own boat. Good Professional Rugby players have the best of both worlds. The average Joe still gets paid reasonably well for doing what he'd do for free anyway. But to expect to have their individual earnings in the public arena so you can use that as a bargaining chip is either very naive or just plain stupid. Suck it up Donut.

[prop53]

Any Prop is worth top money, so just pay up.

[robyn <3]

RRG, we were shouting about Drew because he wasn't given much of a chance at 15 and AAC was playing like bollocks. We had a guy who hadn't had very much game time at 15 during the S14 season, and we had AAC screwing up every game for us. Why shouldn't Drew have got a turn

(Don't accuse everyone on the site. I have a sneaking suspision most of the Drew posts were by me)

I don't rate Dunning very highly, I'm afraid. I'm actually suprised he's turned to the media, considering how things have gone for Baxter now that he tried it. *shurgs*

I don't think we will gift him with any love for wearing any jumper. He needs to earn appreciation.

[gotheforce]

Apparently Donut King ran out of Donuts. Thus, Matt Dunning was able to somehow free up his mouth and make a comment.

---------- Post added at 23:35 ---------- Previous post was at 23:32 ----------

Disclaimer: Matt Dunning does not represent the views and opinions of the props in rugby. Nor does is he a representation of the average IQ level of props. We would like to like to remind everyone that he has been kicked out of the front row ranks for taking THAT dropkick. With these new comments by Dunning, we doubt if he ever will be reinstated as a full fledge front rower.

[rahrahgirl]

alot of people on this site were drew backers, as they were giteau backers and so on!
i love the force but to turn on people for doing right by them is a joke!
giteau said he only came west for money and i dont think i would trade him this season for anything. without him we could well be near the bottom of the table. to accuse dunning of being selfish or "going to the media" when he made those comments on a rugby podcast were all season people have felt free to speak there minds is a joke.

im sure the younger props are being payed, but the same as dunning im sure the ARU are trying to pay them as little as possible to do so! to say you dont think he should be payed cos he hasnt played all year when he GOT INJURED PLAYING FOR AUSTRALIA is so so wrong that it makes me mad. its like saying shephard doesnt deserve a contract cos he has been injured most of the year! so selfish. your basically saying if you have a workplace accident then your work shouldnt have to take you back and if they do can pay you less cos you missed time!

---------- Post added at 07:52 ---------- Previous post was at 07:51 ----------

Sorry RRG your out of your depth here. Your waffling.

out of depth would be passing comment on a person without touching on the subject matter wouldnt it?

i strongly believe if you have nothing to ad you might try increasing your knowledge of reality instead of having a go at someone you dont know because you fail to see a point of view!

[prop53]

You go RRG

[GIGS20]

alot of people on this site were drew backers,

Yep, I was one of them, still am

as they were giteau backers and so on!

Yep I was one of them, still am

I have said repeatedly in this thread and others, that Drew is an excellent winger and Gits is the World's best #12, all the people who criticise us for bagging them when they have bad games tend to ignore these qualifications.

I have called for Drew and Cam to swap positions all season (well, when Cam was fit that is) Nobody seems to recognise this

I called for Drew to replace Lote for most of the World Cup, how strange that you don't mention that in your Rant! selective hearing, or does it simply interfere with your carefully crafted argument?

i love the force but to turn on people for doing right by them is a joke!

Who's turned on anybody, I've said Gits is playing selfish rugby and is kicking poorly, I've said Drew is incapable at fullback. What would you have me do? Lie simply because they're leaving and that must mean they're giving their all.

The team has played awesome in the last 3 weeks, what is the reason? Two HUGE factors would be Giteau actually involving his all-Wallaby backline in the game and Drew having some reasonable games at fullback....I still think Drew should play wing, but if that's not going to happen, I hope he keeps playing as well as he has (or better)

giteau said he only came west for money and i dont think i would trade him this season for anything. without him we could well be near the bottom of the table. to accuse dunning of being selfish or "going to the media" when he made those comments on a rugby podcast were all season people have felt free to speak there minds is a joke.

Are we talking about Giteau, Drew or Dunning here? I guess what we're talking about is criticising players......I reserve the right to suggest a player is better than another, Isn't that the real discussion that this thread is all about. Donut is saying that all players should be paid an award......if you carry this logic to it's logical extreme, the ARU top up should be scrapped altogether, and all players paid a flatt fee per match played, that way the Wallabies would get more than the S14 journeymen by playing more games. Of course this is ridiculous, but that's the idea that's being mooted!

im sure the younger props are being payed, but the same as dunning im sure the ARU are trying to pay them as little as possible to do so! to say you dont think he should be payed cos he hasnt played all year when he GOT INJURED PLAYING FOR AUSTRALIA is so so wrong that it makes me mad.

Well, he doesn't qualify for Worker's comp because he's on a contract which guarantees his earnings, and his medical bills are covered. He's not out of pocket due to the injury, just out of form...His contract is negotiated simply upon relative value to the organisation, I tend to think that an old prop, who is recoverign from a serious injury and out of match fitness is not as valuable to the organisation as a young, fit, talented prop, but maybe that's just me!

its like saying shephard doesnt deserve a contract cos he has been injured most of the year!

Shepherd's top up will, similarly be negotiated based upon his relative value to the Team, I would think that Shepherd's injury is further down the recovery road and even if his contract was up for renegotiation this year, he'd probably not suffer as much as Dunning in the process....there's just not as many fullbacks around of Shep's quality, whereas Dunning has struggled against International opposition and might have expected to be downgraded this contract anyway in favour of a change.

In short, I'm sick of being bagged for giving my opinion about how players are playing....I thought that was the purpose of this forum, but apparently it's only now good for slaggin each other and mutual love ins!


Sorry to anybody I've offended!

[travelling_gerry]

GIGS, you shouln't pick on on poor rahrahgirl.

She is being forced to live in a state that is as interesting as bat shit and to watch a team that makes looking at said bat shit dry, facinating.

Please take pity on her soul.