Giteau deal may change rugby

[Burgs]

Burgs:
So it would appear that we may have won the race to sign the biggest off-contract (and available) player in 2006.
I must say that I will believe it when it comes from Giteau's own mouth as, although they would love to think otherwise, the media does not always get it right.
I seem to recall Ben Tune was meant to be a done deal as well!
In any case, what does TWF think about the reported figures being bandied about to "lure" Gits to the West?
Is this too much to be offering to a single player by a development team?
He has shown that he is not immune to injury and the Force have had no luck in that department!
Would the Force be better off paying that money to a couple of second tier players rather than one star?
What message will it give to the rest of our squad when the time comes to renegotiate and to the other off-contract players we want to sign up for '07?
Perhaps it goes deeper than that, perhaps such figures will help our juniors to decide to stay in rugby for that extra year to see if they too may be able to chase the big money?
Is it healthy for the code to have third party payments and industry involvment in the recruiting process?
Perhaps that is fair to balance out the natural inclination for Eastern States players and League converts to not come to the West?
Deliberately a lot of questions without answers here as I would love to see what you are thinking without influencing you with my own opinions.
One way or another this issue will help to shape the future of the Western Force, both in terms of playing style and recruitment in general, so have your say.


Giteau deal may change rugby

By Peter Jenkins
April 21, 2006

AUSTRALIA centre Matt Giteau could be the catalyst for a ground-breaking salary cap in Australian rugby union.

The chase for the Brumbies star - spiked by rumours that he could earn $900,000 a season if he signs for Western Force - has the Australian Rugby Union nervous about how to handle the danger of spiralling payments to top-end players.

Giteau's shift to Perth is imminent, with The Daily Telegraph able to reveal his manager was in the city yesterday to meet potential corporate backers prepared to help bankroll the move.

The rise of third-party deals has Queensland boss Theo Psaros calling for a salary cap and Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan having an open mind on the idea.

Both fear third-party arrangements will be more readily available in the Perth and Sydney markets and are already being leveraged as key recruitment tools.

The Reds and Brumbies believe they could struggle to compete for leading players unless funds are sourced from elsewhere in the future.

"We would reserve the right to look at options, a salary cap or something else, if we genuinely felt the game's interests were being jeopardised," ARU operations chief Rob Clarke said last night.

"We would always want to ensure provinces don't go broke and we would also do whatever we could to protect the integrity of the contracting process.

"I think there's also been a new dimension come into play with the number and (worth) of third party agreements on the increase across the board."

Players can access the corporate dollar, as long as their agents attract the off-field income. Provinces are not allowed to attract the sponsors as part of negotiations.

But it remains one of two grey areas in the existing contract system.

The other is a so-called gentlemen's agreement where provinces put a ceiling on Super 14 salaries of around $110,000 - before match payments plus car and accommodation extras are added.

The ARU then provides top-ups for leading players and an incentive of more than $10,000 a Test.

There are claims that Giteau is being dangled more than $200,000 extra per season to go to Perth.

Waratahs boss Fraser Neill says "three kitchen sinks" have been tossed at Giteau.

Force chief executive Peter O'Meara denied he had offered Giteau an increase on the terms Force tabled to the ARU, or that the franchise had secretly stitched together third-party sponsorships.

"No three kitchen sinks here," he said.

"We haven't even thrown one. But if player managers get off their arses and find opportunities to build a player's profile ... we do have a very strong commercial precinct here, probably a lot stronger than Canberra."

For that reason, Fagan is wary of third-party deals which rugby league includes in its salary cap.

There is no doubt the advent of the Force has ramped up bidding for key players.

But Giteau is the first marquee Wallaby to test the water with all four franchises.

The result is that ARU officials are worried third-party deals could see sponsorship funds, earmarked for a state's grassroots, go to pay players.

Rugby Union Players Association boss Tony Dempsey said his union would oppose any move towards a salary cap.

"We are proponents of free market forces," he said.

Dempsey also claimed the perception that Super 14 teams could only pay players a maximum $110,000 a year was false.

He said the collective bargaining agreement between the ARU and RUPA - which runs until 2008 - banned collusion between state unions and the ARU to limit player payments.

The Daily Telegraph

[Sagerian]

So he's not quite the million dollar baby... yet.

It probably won't be long before some sort of salery cap is imposed.

[shasta]

Not a lot of opinions recorded here so far and I'm not going to give a concrete one as yet. The way franchises and the ARU string these deals together is not clear enough, to me at least, to make a judgement. For now I'll just say that I'm very uncomfortable with the amounts of money being hinted at for Giteau. Memories of the fallout from the "Superleague" bidding war are still fresh. I know Rugby has many more dollars available because of it's links to the corporate world and it's international profile. But there is always a bottom line. If ever larger shares of the pot get diverted to one area then inevitebly other areas are left dealing with a shortage. It leaves me wondering how sustainable inflated player payments can be. I don't see The Force being able to attract players under an even salary cap, which in itself sounds a bit too "left-wing" for RU to stomach Not unless we were to become a top performer very quickly before somesuch was implemented.

The ARU (read NSW powerbrokeres) needs to step outside it's parochial rut and look to the greater good. ALLOW THE FORCE PLAYER RECRUITMENT ASSISTANCE ASAP. They haven't shown any signs of moving in that direction so far. Why am I not surprised? All we've seen recently is unfair use of ARU top-ups to bolster the already overflowing pool of talent at the Waratahs. So even though I'm uneasy about the amounts being speculated, who can blame the Force managemant team for doing their jobs properly?

[Sagerian]

Apparently the Force are possibly facing some huge fines for chasing Al Kanaar, WTF are they playing at.

The relationship sank even further yesterday with the Waratahs accusing the Force of a serious breach of the player contracting process. NSW believe they have basically signed up their second-rower Al Kanaar for several more years, and were waiting for the Australian Rugby Union to finalise the deal.

The understanding was that as the Kanaar deal with NSW was "done and dusted", no other province could approach him a second time. NSW then discovered that Kanaar flew to Perth this week for further discussions with Force officials.

This has infuriated the Waratahs, who have called on the ARU to investigate the matter. The ARU were last night awaiting a "formal complaint" from NSW before they decide whether action should be taken. If guilty, the Force are facing a sizeable fine.

[shasta]

Apparently the Force are possibly facing some huge fines for chasing Al Kanaar, WTF are they playing at.

C'mon Sage - get yer wear blue Fridy hat off fer a minit. The Force Management are doing what they are paid to do. Build a winning team.

The Waratahs - and I'm a longtime supporter, still - are rumoured to be making a substantial offer to a kitchen sink from outback Queensland next

Ewen McKenzie is also a paid professional and doing what he's supposed to. I realize that, but his bleating about other franchises trying to get their hands on some of his boys are wearinmg very thin

We'll let the professionals worry about the legalities.

[Darren]

I'm of the opinion that it is early days for the Force, and getting local business to top up player salaries is the way to go to see us through the transitional stages of developing into a rugby playing state. At the same time however, we need to be plowing funds into local rugby development and training so that we do in fact become a rugby state and are able to support our own team from locally grown players. Its a balancing act between growing our own players for the future and importing them for the present to keep the current momentum.

The ARU should be supporting us in these endevours, they can only win by having a larger, better skilled pool of players.

[Sagerian]

C'mon Sage - get yer wear blue Fridy hat off fer a minit. The Force Management are doing what they are paid to do. Build a winning team.

The Waratahs - and I'm a longtime supporter, still - are rumoured to be making a substantial offer to a kitchen sink from outback Queensland next

Ewen McKenzie is also a paid professional and doing what he's supposed to. I realize that, but his bleating about other franchises trying to get their hands on some of his boys are wearinmg very thin

We'll let the professionals worry about the legalities.

I agree with what you've typed there. I'm trying to stay non-biased but the day you guys signed MacKay, you crossed me.

If it's done within the rules and it's what the players want, then fine, let them sign up. But it seems to me they don't care who they piss off in the process.

[shasta]

But it seems to me they don't care who they piss off in the process.

Nor should they. A certain amount of ruthlessness is required in the face of an imbalance of power between the 4 unions concerned. I understand population numbers, registered players and all that. But we now have four equal professional franchises, in theory. However the player funding is still mixed up with the ARU. But only for certain players. A recipe for rorting/favouritism and the inevitable retaliation.

I also understand that all other things being equal some players from Sydney will probably prefer to stay there, blind fools . So maybe the answer is something like ALL Wallaby payments to be incentive based. No salary top-ups.

Which brings up a question I don't know the current answer to. How many delegates/votes does each union have currently?

[frontrow]

We should be able to attract these top end players here now, any way we can, ie financial incentives.... But in the future, say two or three years, after a sort of "club loyalty" is built by the Force, which is already evident within other franchises, then they should be out looking for new options to stop the over pricing of star players...Having to start with picking from the talent pool left over too us( after the other franchises have recruited all the talent) would disadvantage the force from the outset, but if we couldn`t offer extra incentives for a change of location/ lifestyle etc, even if it is for the beautiful climes of Perth, then how many people could we attract from the top???
Hands off for now ARU

[MysticBalls]

Big questions Burgs!
SALARY CAP yes, with an extra dispensation for Force for its first 10 years.

PLAYER DRAFT yes, to help get t'othersiders to the West. It works very well for the AFL where premierships and finals are continually being achieved by Non-Melbourne clubs.

ARU - is kidding itself with its non-sustainable current policies on S14 teams, and all this favouritism recruitments,top-ups & "Wallaby of the future"deals.
Basically, they're all slushed up with funds, with no concrete agenda or direction. In this regard, the ARU has just as much house-sorting to do as the SARU.

Coach on the money re "grow your own". I believe I saw about 6 Development Officers for schools and junior clubs listed on the Emirates Force site. Is this enough? Is the ARU helping funding for this?

Shasta - you have sagaciously mentioned the Superleague (war) bidding as a parallel to Giteau's signature 'treasure hunt'. Quite true, hence I'm a Rugby follower now!

Sagerian- I'll be OK with Waratahs winning the title this year, but from '07 onwards, the greater good must be observed. As Frontrow was leading to - one team can't get all the goodies or have first pick at the pool, at the expense of the other three teams! (McKay made the CHOICE to move - no one forced him)

INCENTIVES- spoken of with local businesses in mind, gets sponsors onboard in a real way.
Until salary caps are enforced, every player needs a vehicle and accommodation for starters.

GITEAU - jeez he looks good outside Larkham- who throws a magic pass! Would it be the same in another team? Would his gammy knee hold up for a whole season? Is he worth 900 grand? My answers are all NO ! For the same money, you could bring through many youngsters, or even four experienced fellows, with five or ten year careeers with the Force. And the big rub is that one of those youngsters might just be another Giteau ! (Or a Larkham!)

[Darren]

So he's not quite the million dollar baby... yet.

No, just "The Six Million Dollar Man" apparently...