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FU REBELS!
Western Force players, coach vow not to sign with Melbourne Rebels
Nick Taylor
Wednesday, 6 September 2017 4:15PM
Western Force players and coaches may not be the easy pickings Melbourne Rebels are hoping to boost their depleted Super Rugby squad with for next season.
The Rebels are targeting up to 15 players and a number of staff, including coach Dave Wessels, who are likely to be on the market after RugbyWA lost its legal battle to keep the Force alive.
However, there are a growing number of players who have vowed not to play for the rival Super Rugby team that was favoured by the ARU in the culling process.
More here
https://thewest.com.au/sport/rugby-u...-ng-b88591720z
crikey!! what more can we ever do for these guys?? this is 'to the end of the earth"stuff if true
come on team !! lets make this work!!
And the interest from NZ as well! That makes it look even more promising-am getting happier every minute at this new prospect!
Given we know the VRU has only $23 in net assets and there is no Cox cushion anymore, the Force guys who are being targetted should demand massive salaries as a condition of going to the Rebels, knowing that the VRU doesn't have a hope in hell of meeting those demands and that the ARU would need to give them even more in handouts in order to be able to field a viable team!!!
This is starting to get very, very juicy indeed.
Our players are totally in the box seat re bargaining position. Hope their managers milk it for all they're worth!
Get the popcorn in people!!
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
Dave Wessels comes across as a very up-front man. He indicated his preference is with his players and he believes in the Forrest vision as a way forward. I just don't see him copping the crooked dealing that saved the Rebels and I don't see Wessels wanting to work under Clunk. However I wish him only the best and he must do what is best for him, his family and career. He won't have any problem finding a job wherever that be.
The big question is; do the ARU have any appetite left to heap more contract bastardry on the players if they refuse to go to Melbourne?
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
Holy shit... that is huge.
I know and one thing I have been so impressed by has been the way Wessels and Sinderberry have stuck by the players and organization.
Wessels should be a potential future wallabies coach and Sinderberry could have been in line to replace Pulver maybe but neither of them have worried about protecting their own interests but rather fighting for what is right. Great stuff
To be fair, I guess Blood knows there is a couple of years to go before he will be in contention, by which time a lot of water will have gone under the bridge, there will definitely be a new Board one way or another and he will have been Coaching either in a different style of comp or a different country adding to his coaching credentials/diversity.
Don't get me wrong, I am hugely impressed in the position of all involved, but a new comp most likely won't be the end of days for their national careers. Especially while Aus Rugby generally remains.... um.... shit.
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
It's like they're planning the Reds into Storm all over again.
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
OK Burgs, point taken, but Oz rugby remains shit because these tossers keep selecting crap on postcode, rather than choosing players on merit.
If you think that won't extend to shooting themselves in the foot when the most talented in the nation refuse to pander to their petty demands you underestimate the arrogance.
The only way Oz rugby will be fixed is for it to be completely dismantled and rebuilt upon fair foundations.
C'mon the![]()
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The Force family need a job, it's their livelihoods, so if they sign for someone good luck to them ... but they could ideally, keep a breakout clause that states they can return to a fully pro WA franchise (SR or Indo-Pacific Comp) at the end of the season in which they give notice.
"The whole point of rugby is that it is, first and foremost, a state of mind, a spirit." - Jean-Pierre Rives
I agree. they need to feed themselves.
I don't begrudge them getting a job else where, it is a very competitive market.