Mark Gasnier

[Darren]

You don't play Rugby for a pay rise, you play coz its a better game ... (prolly not the right icon, but I like it - reminds me of my wife)

[.X.]

your wife has a yellow round face?

[niggle]

You don't play Rugby for a pay rise, you play coz its a better game ...

Agree completely Coach. We need to stop giving Leaguies a direct path into the Wallabies or providing an easy way for them to prop up their NRL asking price.

Why not spend some of this money ensuring that young players don't leave union in the first place? I have seen reports that NRL scouts were taking lots of interest in the Commonwealth Games 7's.

Surely spending the money on developing 20 up and comers is a better investment than attracting a single high profile league player.

[Moses]

another reason that union is attractive to the league players is you play less games per year for around the same money - allows them to stretch their careers

[Burgs]

In further developments, more NRL players are looking at the option of coming across from League to Union.
Yes players should play for the sport rather than the wage but the reality is, when both codes are professional, that dollars certainly come into it and if the player is going to dedicate his year to gut busting training and risking his physical health h may as well do it for the best possible financial benefit.
With a player with the outstanding sporting ability of a Gasnier or the younger version in Karmichael Hunt, I would not suggest cutting of your nose to spite your face.
Either player would be oustanding for any S14 team and, regardless of any contractual obligations, would earn their spot in the Wallabies squad.
I would be less enthuisiastic about Minichiello although as a fullback he would easily make the transition.
I don't know enough about Tonga or Cross to comment about them.
The other aspect to consider, although of less importance at pro level, is if juniors start seeing their stars playing Union it is probable that we can start to gain some in roads on the league stranglehold on junior playing numbers in Qld and NSW providing more junior depth for Australian Rugby.
Also, as illustrated below, many of these "League converts" actually have a background in Rep Juniors and Schoolboys Union but have been lured away to the other code by the prospect of big dollars. Now is the time to redress that issue and start to get some of "our" juniors back playing Union.

NRL stars open to all offers

By Peter Jenkins
March 22, 2006

LEADING NRL stars last night invited the Australian Rugby Union to include them on a hit list with the world's best centre, Mark Gasnier.

The welcome mat was laid down, via their managers, by Australia fullback Anthony Minichiello, Brisbane teenager Karmichael Hunt, Bulldogs Test centre Willie Tonga and Roosters centre Ryan Cross.

Wallabies coach John Connolly met Gasnier more than a week ago to discuss a prospective code switch. It is understood the two parties will talk again within a month.

But Connolly said the ARU was happy to speak to other high-profile league players if they expressed an interest in making the jump --a warning signal the Broncos claim cannot be taken lightly.

"We're very aware of what might happen," Brisbane chief executive Bruno Cullen said. "We know what sort of dollars they can throw and they don't have a salary cap issue."

The Daily Telegraph has been told at least one player from a struggling club has contacted the ARU, and other headline acts are now set to follow Gasnier in sounding out their potential value to rugby union.

"We'd be happy to look at all options," Connolly said.

Player agent David Riolo confirmed he had three off-contract drawcards - Minichiello, Hunt and Tonga - who would be open to approaches from the ARU and Super 14 provinces.

"I'd definitely look in Brisbane and see if the Reds were interested in Karmichael," Riolo said.
"He played for the Queensland Schoolboys in rugby. Like Mark Gasnier, you'd be mad if you didn't consider rugby."

Cross, 26, played for the Australian Schoolboys in rugby union but was signed by the Roosters on leaving Sydney's Waverley College.

"There have been no approaches from rugby yet but if they come it's our duty to go through the processes," his manager, John Fordham, said.

"Whenever contract negotiations have come up in the past with Ryan there has always been serious discussion with rugby union."

Cullen admitted last night the rugby union threat could not be under-estimated - not with the Broncos losing Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri and Berrick Barnes in recent seasons.

"We're due to start discussions with 'K' shortly," Cullen said.

"He's indicated in the past he'd like to be a long-term rugby league player and we're interested in doing the best for him. But like others, we do have some constraints in terms of the cap."

Roosters chief executive Brian Canavan, keen to retain Minichiello and Cross, conceded: "Rugby is a concern, even if it's just in terms of prolonging negotiations with players.

"We wouldn't be surprised if there was interest from (rugby). Mini is arguably the best player in the world and Ryan is one of the best centres in the game."

So too is Tonga who has no rugby union background but is only 22 years of age.

If there were backline positions the ARU would be keen to bolster, it would be the centres. And at provincial level, the team most in need is Western Force.

A player such as Tonga or Cross would command a minimum $150,000 from Force and could land a six-figure top-up from an ARU desperate for the Perth franchise to become more competitive.

The incentive to play for the Wallabies at $10,000 per Test would then push them towards $450,000 a season.

Because of the depth at their NRL clubs and the bite of the salary cap, Tonga would currently earn around $200,000 at the Bulldogs and Cross no more than $300,000 at the Roosters.

The Daily Telegraph

[Mambo No. 5]

another reason that union is attractive to the league players is you play less games per year for around the same money - allows them to stretch their careers

And go drinking in South African pubs

[The InnFORCEr]

I have a mate here in Perth that grew up with Mark Gasnier, in fact Mark has even been to rugby HQ (JBs) for a drink on past visits. My mate reckons (without having spoken to Mark) that no amount of money or other incentive would move Mark from ARL. But don't worry I'm onto my mate to get a hold of Mark and let him know we have a Western Force jumper waiting for him with whatever number he wants on the back, all we need is signature!

Does anyone think Gasnier would NOT be good for rugby??

[The EnForcer]

Call me old fashioned but I reckon it's all well and good to transfer from one to another but to be given automatic inclusion into the national side seems a bit harsh on the players who have come up through the ranks and remained loyal to their sport.

I know that we are now in an era of professional rugby blah blah blah, but one problem that does arrise from professional sport is the lack of loyalty. When it comes to playing for your national side I feel that that counts for a lot.

[Burgs]

Tail end of the Fox article about Eddie Jones wanting Queensland League players Hunt and Tonga:

The Western Force is also hunting backline options.

Force chief executive Peter O'Meara told The Daily Telegraph last night: "We won't be shutting the door on anyone.

"We haven't sat down and looked at all the league players coming off contract but we have spoken about how we can come up with a more positive acquisition strategy and we will look into it [the NRL options].

"The thing is, without ARU assistance and desire to bring one of these guys into the game ... we don't have the discretion to buy them on our own."

The Daily Telegraph

[Burgs]

Burgs: One way of looking at it is to agree with Brumbies CEO Andrew Fagan that it is unfair to lump all the league players together and I tend to think the same way.
However, each squad only has a certain amount of positions to fill so, down the track, the Tahs will have to decide whether if it wants to continue as the nursery of Australian Rugby that they portray themselves to be, or if they will concentrate on having 33 stars and allow the other teams to develop the talent for them to pilfer at maturity to add to their aging League converts.
There has to be a balance for these things for the good of the national team.
Certainly the tight five positions are in no fear of gaining Leaguies however most other positions would be up for grabs if they wanted to come over.
In my mind, the Wallabies would be best served in having four even teams that are all expected to finish on the edge of semi final qualification rather than having one team of stars, one star team and two at the bottom of the heap.
The Tahs players will have less exposure to fighting hard for a win if they are full of guns for hire and that is what is needed at the International standard, where things level out and there are no opposition players to exploit.
I believe this to be one of the reasons that, as a rule, the South African Super 12 teams have done so poorly over the last ten years, while the Springboks have remained in the top three through most of that same period.
As said earlier, many of these players have had a background in Union and gone to League to make a career for themselves, Union has already made a down payment on them in juniors and schools and really, we have as much "right" as League to contract their services.
However the balance must be there to encourage the juniors, who have stuck with the code, to continue on for higher honours.
There are some genuine potential stars coming through the age group rep teams at the moment and it would be terrible if their careers are stymied because there are no positions left in the squads from a raid on League.

Wallabies would welcome Gasnier switch: Mortlock

ACT Brumbies captain Stirling Mortlock believes Wallaby players would welcome a move to rugby union by St George-Illawarra centre Mark Gasnier.

Gasnier has been linked with big money offers to switch from the National Rugby League to the Australia Rugby Union next season.

And while Gasnier's defection is far from certain, Mortlock believes the league centre would be a valuable addition to rugby union's ranks.

"If you look at all the rugby league converts that have come across, particularly in the backs, they've all been incredibly positive for Australian rugby on and off the field," he said.

"Obviously, if they bring a centre over it's going to put a bit more heat on me, but that's the decision the powers that be will make and hopefully for the right reasons."

If Gasnier does make the switch, Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan said he did not expect to see the centre in his club's colours.

Lote Tuqiri, Wendell Sailor and Mat Rogers are the three most high-profile players to make the switch in recent years, and all three now play with the New South Wales Waratahs.

And Fagan today expressed some frustration at this pattern, suggesting the ARU should not be funding Waratahs' recruiting.

"Our concern is that if the ARU does invest a lot of money attracting these guys that they don't just direct them all to one team," he said.

"But it's certainly not straight forward, and we wouldn't expect players to be forced to play in a team or a province that wasn't appealing to them."

[shasta]

I don't subscribe to the "us and them" theory when talking about players switching codes. As far as I'm concerned, since the professional era, they are all Australian Rugby players and if anyone of them wants to have a crack at the "truly international" Rugby code and build our stocks for international success, then bring it on! Especially if one or two of them turn out to be world class midfield players who'd like to play for The Western Force. One caveat I'd put on RL converts, though, is that they are paid a base contract roughly equal to what they'd command under the NRL salary cap with rising incentive payments for international matches. The great difficulty is, of course, determining the base figure.

[Burgs]

For Gasnier, it's Rome or Wollongong

By Wayne Smith
April 3, 2006

MARK Gasnier can spend next summer doing what he has done every summer for years, putting in the hard yards at pre-season training for St George Illawarra in Wollongong.

Or he could spend it instead playing with the Wallabies in Rome, Dublin, Cardiff and Edinburgh.

In recent days, any number of rugby league identities have worked themselves into a frenzy over Gasnier's impending switch to rugby, imploring the NRL - in a suspiciously self-serving way - either to lift the salary cap or to set aside a special fund to retain players being chased by union, the game league so shamelessly plundered for nigh on a century.

They are entirely missing the point. To turn Bill Clinton's famous quote on its head, it's not the economy, stupid, at least where Gasnier is concerned.

If there is one thing about Gasnier that has impressed the Australia rugby heavyweights who have spoken to him it's that, try as they might, they cannot get him to talk dollars.

Clearly it is not money driving his desire to play rugby but the fresh challenges and fresh locations the game has to offer.

Wallabies coach John Connolly yesterday refused to discuss the Gasnier situation but was prepared to talk broadly about what rugby offers league players tiring of the "same old, same old" track from Campbelltown to Brookvale to Parramatta to Leichhardt.

"Rugby is a truly international game," he said. "As a general rule, I don't think money is the big issue for league players wanting to switch over. It's the lifestyle that rugby offers and the chance to play on the world stage. Rugby league has just got to get over it and move on."

If Gasnier moves on, as indications suggest, the ARU will fast-track his preparations for next year's World Cup in France by sending him on the Wallabies' end-of-season tour.

Chances are he won't play in any of the four Tests but there are four midweek matches, any or all of which would provide Gasnier with the chance to settle into the 15-a-side game.
Where the league world is shrinking to NSW, Queensland, small pockets of New Zealand, the north of England and the Perpignan region of France, the rugby world keeps expanding - as the Commonwealth Games sevens demonstrated. It wasn't just the usual suspects doing well there but also teams such as Uganda and Kenya.

League invariably tries to dismiss rugby's international appeal, yet clearly it is conscious of its own shortcomings in this regard.

Why else would ARL chairman Colin Love and chief executive Geoff Carr miss Wednesday's representative season launch in Sydney to instead go to Seoul to lobby the General Association of International Sports Federations for league's admission as a full member.

Now, GAISF is one of those amorphous bodies that seems to contribute little to world sport but nonetheless always manages to find somewhere exotic to hold its talk-fests. And while just about every serious sport in the world already is a member - rugby among them - GAISF also is the umbrella body for korfball, sambo, tug-of-war, sumo wrestling and sleddog. And, I kid you not, even the International Timekeepers Federation is a member. Yet league is still knocking on the door?

Once it was rugby that built the Us and Them divide. Now it is league that is jittery about its future and trying to compartmentalise its players, shielding them from the ravages of rugby recruiters. In fact, rugby only sparingly has dipped into league ranks. Of the 130 players contracted to the four professional rugby teams in Australia, only one played league exclusively before switching to rugby - Wendell Sailor.

Lote Tuqiri, Mat Rogers, Berrick Barnes, Rocky Elsom ... all played rugby before they played professional league. And that's the key issue. No longer are there distinct pools of players. The fact is both games involve similar skills and most players have tried both before reaching the elite level. What that means is that there now is a common pool both codes can draw from. In the end, the market will decide which game comes out on top.

Rugby should not become too smug if Gasnier does switch, however. His recruitment will cause problems, not least because ARU boss Gary Flowers has told The Australian there is virtually nothing the ARU can do to dictate which team he joins. To do so would breach its own collective bargaining agreement with the Rugby Union Players Association.

That means Gasnier will join the Waratahs, mainly because he then would not have to leave NSW. But of the 15 NRL clubs, 10 are based in NSW, which means that if the ARU's hands-off policy continues, two-thirds of all league converts now and in the future will want to play for NSW, which already is the strongest rugby team.

It may be that directing Gasnier to a side that desperately needs him, such as the Force or Reds, could be a deal-breaker. Rather than move states, he might stay with league.

But the ARU has a responsibility to the game nationally and Flowers might well revisit the events surrounding Sailor's crossover.

Initially, all negotiations were conducted on the understanding he would play for the Queensland Reds, but when the Brumbies offered him late, additional goodies, he almost went to the ACT.

That's when Flowers' predecessor, John O'Neill, stepped in and directed Sailor to go to the Reds or the deal was off.

One good thing at least will come of Gasnier joining the Tahs. Surely the ARU would head off any possibility of Matt Giteau wearing a sky blue jersey next season.

The Australian