NRL General Discussion Thread

[Foordy]

Ben Hunt has had a bit of a go at his Dragons team mates. Even though most had given him a good reason as to why they couldn't attend, subsequent reports emerged stating a "large number of those Dragons players" were actually in Sydney and not on holidays.

Ben Hunt says:

“It was a bit disappointing, in a way,” Hunt told Channel 9.

“But a lot of players came to me when we found out about presentation night and mentioned they’d already booked holidays away.”

“I did hear after it that there was a couple of guys that were in Sydney and I think that is pretty disrespectful,” Hunt said.

“You’re part of the club, you’ve worked hard all year playing for them, you should come and celebrate the year.”

Although Hunt is away in England with the Kangaroos for the Rugby League World Cup, he plans on getting to the bottom of it all when he’s back on Aussie shores.

“Yeah, I’d like to have a chat to some of them,” Hunt said.

“Obviously I won’t be able to do it for a few weeks now, not until pre-season. It’d just be good to know their reasons for why they didn’t come.”

 

[Super Freak]

The Manly Pride jersey fiasco.

So the coaching staff and the playing group had no prior knowledge regarding the jersey. The board approved the jersey on the proviso that the football department were all on board, but the GM of the football department John Bonasera did not tell anyone about it, not even Des.

Manly's commercial boss sent an email to Bonasera double checking that none of the players would have any objection to it before production began. The only thing Bonasera said in the email was "Don't see an issue at all mate".

How out of touch and wrong he was...

 

[Foordy]

Josh Dugan is considering taking legal action against the Sharks for wrongful dismissal, if he is successful in court later this year.

Dugan was charged with an alleged breach of the New South Wales public health order during the Covid-19 pandemic. after this charge, he was sacked by the Sharks with "more than $100k" of his contract still to be paid

Dugan's solicitor, Paul McGirr says:

“He was terminated because of this breach, therefore, you would think if he had been terminated unlawfully, he would have to have a civil action,” McGirr told The Daily Telegraph.

“And not only for the losses at the time for the particular matter but his name and reputation have been sullied. Josh Dugan has always declared his innocence in respect to this.

“It would be like me saying that you’re sacked for stealing something when it turns out you didn’t take anything.

“The law only changed a matter of days before (the incident) and he had the understanding he was doing the right thing and he was terminated on that basis.

“He is certainly looking at his legal options in respect to an action against his employer at the time.”

 

[Foordy]

I do have to ask, how much the fine in NSW was for breaching the covid protocols ... because he is likely paying his lawyer more than the fine was to challenge it

 

[Super Freak]

“It would be like me saying that you’re sacked for stealing something when it turns out you didn’t take anything.

I don't get this analogy.

He was caught. It wasn't a case of mistaken identity. He was caught being in a place he wasn't allowed to be in and is playing dumb saying he wasn't aware of the protocols when they were blasted all over TV and social media across the country.

I guess the lawyer is laughing. He's getting paid for a case that Dugan doesn't have a defence for.

 

[Foordy]

I don't get this analogy.

He was caught. It wasn't a case of mistaken identity. He was caught being in a place he wasn't allowed to be in and is playing dumb saying he wasn't aware of the protocols when they were blasted all over TV and social media across the country.

I guess the lawyer is laughing. He's getting paid for a case that Dugan doesn't have a defence for.

sounds better than an accurate analogy which would be "you're sacked for stealing something, but it turns out you didn't know stealing was a crime"

 

[Sproj]

Those Covid rules were confusing weren’t they for a while?

That said it’s Dugan and he didn’t care much for rules when he wanted to get sacked at Canberra. Good luck with getting around that precedent lawyer guy.

 

[Foordy]

Those Covid rules were confusing weren’t they for a while?

That said it’s Dugan and he didn’t care much for rules when he wanted to get sacked at Canberra. Good luck with getting around that precedent lawyer guy.

even if that was true ... by August 2021, damn near everyone in the country would have been well aware of the COVID rules.

besides, the reports say that he was stopped twice on the same night by the same officers. the first time he was simply told to turn around and go home ... he was charged after they stopped him a second time

His lawyer is full of shit when he says:

“The flaw in the [police] case is having to prove positively that my clients had notice of the orders,” he said.

“Absent [proof of that knowledge], the matter must fail.”



because even if he didn't know the protocols before he was stopped the first time, how the hell can you argue he didn't know them after he was stopped THE SECOND TIME.

 

[Sproj]

even if that was true ... by August 2021, damn near everyone in the country would have been well aware of the COVID rules.

besides, the reports say that he was stopped twice on the same night by the same officers. the first time he was simply told to turn around and go home ... he was charged after they stopped him a second time

His lawyer is full of shit when he says:

“The flaw in the [police] case is having to prove positively that my clients had notice of the orders,” he said.

“Absent [proof of that knowledge], the matter must fail.”



because even if he didn't know the protocols before he was stopped the first time, how the hell can you argue he didn't know them after he was stopped THE SECOND TIME.

Hey I agree with you, I'm not sticking up for Dugan.

 

[Foordy]

Karl Morris did a good job sabotaging us, now he is branching out, attempting to sabotage Manly. I personally would have preferred that he attempt to sabotage the Storm, as Manly have done a good job sabotaging themselves.

He has given a character reference to his friend Scott Penn.

Seibold is the favourite to replace Hasler at Manly (possibly as early as this upcoming pre-season) ... Penn is reported to be a fan of "PowerPoint coaching"

Karl Morris says:

The bloke can coach,” Morris said. “In sport, sometimes it is about timing. When he joined the Broncos, there was a lot of noise around the appointment, at that time we were dealing with Covid, his family stayed behind in Sydney.

“Like most things in life, timing is everything. At that point in time it wasn’t right. I couldn’t be more delighted if he was given a second opportunity.”

“Scott is a personal friend of mine,” Morris said.

“Why wouldn’t he [reach out to me], as I would ring him if we were looking at a similar thing. I was asked for a character reference in relation to Anthony and that is what I gave.

“I got to know him very well when he was here in Brisbane. I always thought he was a good and decent fella, and he can coach.”

 

[Old Mate]

If only Karl would disappear.

 

[Sproj]

Am we strongly recommend Morris to Manly?

 

[Bull Shark]

I’m more surprised that Anthony Seibold is chasing this job with Manly than I am about Manly chasing him .. He only recently said he wasn’t ready yet to try again as a head coach, and If this ends badly, it’s unlikely he’ll get another shot..

Manly is not a club you want to get involved with unless you're 110% sure of who you are and what you're about as a coach

 

[Super Freak]

I’m more surprised that Anthony Seibold is chasing this job with Manly than I am about Manly chasing him .. He only recently said he wasn’t ready yet to try again as a head coach, and If this ends badly, it’s unlikely he’ll get another shot..

Manly is not a club you want to get involved with unless you're 110% sure of who you are and what you're about as a coach

It probably makes more sense for him to get back into coaching with Manly because he already has a relationship with some of the playing group. He was an assistant coach at the club when Barrett was head coach.

 

[Fernando]

I’m more surprised that Anthony Seibold is chasing this job with Manly than I am about Manly chasing him .. He only recently said he wasn’t ready yet to try again as a head coach, and If this ends badly, it’s unlikely he’ll get another shot..

Manly is not a club you want to get involved with unless you're 110% sure of who you are and what you're about as a coach

He just needs Turbo to stay fit and it will work out. If Turbo misses a lot of games then I don't think Seibold will hold it together as well as Des could.

 

[IceWorks]

is Karl suggesting good coaching is a timing issue?

I think he is correct. look at Nathan Cleary and his coaching stints at the Panthers, was his timing or his coaching vastly better these last few years?

 

[IceWorks]

He just needs Turbo to stay fit and it will work out. If Turbo misses a lot of games then I don't think Seibold will hold it together as well as Des could.

Imagine tying your success to Tommy’s hamstrings and the end of the DCE reign… you would not be sleeping soundly.

 

[Foordy]

The Roosters have now gone to war with Sydney FC (A-League).

Sydney FC also rent Allianz stadium and on their first game at the ground, they had the "Home of the Roosters" sign covered up with a tarp

there was a "furious phone exchange over the issue" between the two CEO's Joe Kelly (Roosters) and Adam Santo (Sydney FC), it ended when Santo hanged up on Kelly.

After which, Nick Politis rang Venues NSW to whinge.

Politis and his minions need to learn that THEY DON'T OWN ALLIANZ STADIUM, it was paid for by the tax payer. if they really want to dictate what happens there, Uncle Nick should have opened his own wallet, bought and redeveloped the stadium himself instead of expecting the tax payer to pick up the tab.

Joe Kelly says:

“I told him what they’d done was the equivalent of vandalism,” Kelly said.

“I also told him we’d be looking at our legal options … then he hung up on me.”

Nick Politis' whinge

“It’s very, very petty,” Politis said, “They obviously don’t understand our history.

“We’ve been on this site with three stadiums for 86 years. How long have they been around?

“What they did with the tarpaulin looked so hideous on a beautiful new $900 million stadium.”

Politis insists the Roosters have an agreement in which their branding has to be permanently visible.

“Sydney FC don’t understand,” Politis said.

“They just have a ground hire agreement.

“We paid for our own facilities and we pay rent for the space we use.

“It’s in our contract that the signage is part of that agreement.”