NRL Season Recommencing

I just read Martin tapau was one of the players refusing the flu jab (he has since miraculously changed his mind). Has he given a reason? Because if love to hear it considering he was really involved in helping with the measles outbreak in samoa. I mean, ffs... these ***** are thick but SURELY SURELY SURELY there's a reason after seeing such a obvious cause and effect scenario...

some people have had a bad reaction to the flu shot which is why they have been resisting.

for example, this is the reason given by Nathan Peats, who said he had a bad reaction to a flu shot while he was at Souths. but as soon as he realised he couldn't play he went and got the shot... which is a reasonable explanation IMO
 
this whole flu shot "controversy" could have been very easily avoided.

the NRL either needed to try to get the comp up and running without making that guarantee with the State and Federal Governments or been tough enough to enforce it ...

however, what they have done is simply gone against the agreement they made and have now reportedly written to the QLD premier begging her to allow the players to play without the flu shot ... we have a spineless premier in QLD, so they have a 50/50 shot at this ...
 
this whole flu shot "controversy" could have been very easily avoided.

the NRL either needed to try to get the comp up and running without making that guarantee with the State and Federal Governments or been tough enough to enforce it ...

however, what they have done is simply gone against the agreement they made and have now reportedly written to the QLD premier begging her to allow the players to play without the flu shot ... we have a spineless premier in QLD, so they have a 50/50 shot at this ...
The easiest way to resolve it would've been inclusion of a clause within the new CBA indicating that a failure to comply with the revised playing conditions may result in termination or inability to participate.

Given this is running on... you would expect they haven't included this, which seems crazy. It should be the first clause because the revised CBA is purely happening because of COVID.

I think at worst they will just stand the players down WITH pay.... by paying them they can minimize a legal stoush for damages / loss of income, etc. (as only origin and internationals would be left).

It will cost the NRL money but a couple $100k on wages to sit around and do nothing is better than letting this thing run through the courts and sit in the media spotlight. The clubs could be pissed off if they don't get any cash back in their salary cap, but they can request a compensation... although available players would be an issue.

Given JDB lost in the federal courts for the no fault stand down whilst being paid... there's a lower risk they would lose to a few players who have been stood down for public safety.

The other thing the players avoiding the jab should be worried about is if this thing goes on into the 2021 season, which could very likely happen, or if a vaccine comes out. It will most definitely be a requirement that they have the vaccine in order to play.

It could be these kind of playing conditions for years, at which point their contract dwindles down and they would struggle to get a new deal ... especially Bryce whose value is barely above minimum salary as it is... so by not playing he can't give any indication that he's worth literally any value on a football field (which he's not)
 
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Flu shots dont contain an active virus. Its not possible to catch the flu from a flu shot. What generally happens is you either get some flu like symptoms as a side effect, not the flu itself, or while your body is developing the immunity to the flu virus from the antibodies, its possible to actually catch the flu in a two week period as your bodies immunity is down a little.
Also, the flu shot only covers so many strains, its possible to catch a different one that wasn't covered by the vaccine.

I'm also willing to bet that 90% of people who claim they had "the flu" actually just has a bad cold.
Correct. There are literally thousands of viruses that cause a similar type of illness; cough/cold/sneezing/muscle aches. The flu jab protects against usually 3-4 of them. From what I understand, clever people analyse data from the Northern Hemisphere's flu season and try to predict which 4 are the most worth covering with the vaccine. Some years they do a better job than others. It doesn't protect you from every possible cold, it does protect you against 4 of the nastier ones that are likely to be the most common.
Spot on!

I would add that given the amount of flu vaccines given each year, it is statistically certain that some people will experience some "flu like" symptoms within a short time of taking the vaccine, and attribute the cause to said vaccine, when it is in fact nothing more than coincidence.

Players refusing the jab should quite simply be stood down, no ifs or buts. No Jab, no play!
 
The easiest way to resolve it would've been inclusion of a clause within the new CBA indicating that a failure to comply with the revised playing conditions may result in termination or inability to participate.

Given this is running on... you would expect they haven't included this, which seems crazy. It should be the first clause because the revised CBA is purely happening because of COVID.

I think at worst they will just stand the players down WITH pay.... by paying them they can minimize a legal stoush for damages / loss of income, etc. (as only origin and internationals would be left).

It will cost the NRL money but a couple $100k on wages to sit around and do nothing is better than letting this thing run through the courts and sit in the media spotlight. The clubs could be pissed off if they don't get any cash back in their salary cap, but they can request a compensation... although available players would be an issue.

Given JDB lost in the federal courts for the no fault stand down whilst being paid... there's a lower risk they would lose to a few players who have been stood down for public safety.

The other thing the players avoiding the jab should be worried about is if this thing goes on into the 2021 season, which could very likely happen, or if a vaccine comes out. It will most definitely be a requirement that they have the vaccine in order to play.

It could be these kind of playing conditions for years, at which point their contract dwindles down and they would struggle to get a new deal ... especially Bryce whose value is barely above minimum salary as it is... so by not playing he can't give any indication that he's worth literally any value on a football field (which he's not)

no player will have a legal case against the NRL ... they could try taking the QLD government to court but they will lose, so it would be a waste of time.

apparently the QLD government won't allow any NRL player an exemption from the COVID-19 rules unless they have a flu shot. NSW/ACT are allowing players to play/train with a waiver assuming the vast majority of players receive the flu shot.

so theoretically Cartwright and Kelly could probably move to NSW and play any game that is played south of the border. they just won't be able to re-enter QLD (without going into a 14 day quarantine) until the borders open.

they wouldn't be permitted to train or play games in QLD
 
The NRL is just days away from securing a new TV broadcast deal worth up to $2.3 billion, the richest in Australia’s sporting history.
Channel 9 and Fox Sports are on the verge of agreeing to a seven-year contract that will guarantee the survival of all 16 clubs.

Peter V’landys is hoping to reach an agreement in principal by Friday for the remaining three years of the current contract plus a four-season extension until 2027.


This guy is a doer, no doubt. I hope he doesn't burn out fixing all the fuckups left to him
 
The NRL is just days away from securing a new TV broadcast deal worth up to $2.3 billion, the richest in Australia’s sporting history.
Channel 9 and Fox Sports are on the verge of agreeing to a seven-year contract that will guarantee the survival of all 16 clubs.

Peter V’landys is hoping to reach an agreement in principal by Friday for the remaining three years of the current contract plus a four-season extension until 2027.


This guy is a doer, no doubt. I hope he doesn't burn out fixing all the fuckups left to him

IMO that figure is misleading

the current deal was worth about $1.9 billion over 5 years (or $380 million per year)

the new deal would be worth $2.3 billion over 7 years (or about $328.5 million per year)

so while the overall figure of the new deal may be more than the overall figure of the current deal ... the current deal is actually the better one.
 
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IMO that figure is misleading

the current deal was worth about $1.9 billion over 5 years (or $380 million per year)

the new deal would be worth $2.3 billion over 7 years (or about $328.5 million per year)

so while the overall figure of the new deal may be more than the overall figure of the current deal ... the current deal is actually the better one.
If we're only losing 350m over the last 2 years compared to the current deal being extended as is, I'm actually happy with that*. That's better than what I was expecting. Espescially if it guarantees funding for this year/next.

*** If the NRL retains all digital rights and can expand that part of the game.
 
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IMO that figure is misleading

the current deal was worth about $1.9 billion over 5 years (or $380 million per year)

the new deal would be worth $2.3 billion over 7 years (or about $328.5 million per year)

so while the overall figure of the new deal may be more than the overall figure of the current deal ... the current deal is actually the better one.
I agree the average yearly income is higher from the last deal this is still a pretty good outcome in the current climate.
Throw in international rights and radio rights as well for a proper comparison and allowing for the haircut caused by covid I think V'alandys has done very well.
Coming out of this with a deal in place and back playing much sooner than anyone thought possible he can now concentrate on sorting the NRL admin mess and streamlining other costs which have blown out under Greenturd.
I like the guy because he gets shit done.
 

I applaud the QLD government. Even going on to provide exemptions, beyond what the NRL applied for no less, given to any and every other QLD’er who has a medical requirement for such.

One set of rules for everyone - there can be no other way.
 
Absolutely.

I guess now we'll see how strong their convictions are. Is not getting a flu jab really worth losing hundreds of thousands of dollars?
 

I applaud the QLD government. Even going on to provide exemptions, beyond what the NRL applied for no less, given to any and every other QLD’er who has a medical requirement for such.

One set of rules for everyone - there can be no other way.

I'm actually quite surprised that this QLD government weren't their usual weak selves ... i was fully expecting them to perform their usual backflip

a couple of other things of note from the article:

it is expected that the Titans will stop paying both Cartwright and Kelly.

it has been reported that the Titans will consider ripping up Cartwright's 600k a season deal on the grounds that his exile from training/playing in on the basis of his personal beliefs

The Titans have arranged for Kelly to be spoken to by health experts (including Indigenous specialists) in order to help him understand these vacinations

Meninga seems to be hinting that the Titans should get compensation for their players been banned from playing and training, here is what he has said:

“We’re not quite sure how it’s all going to pan out if we get any compensation for those guys making those decisions, personal decisions that will put the team at a disadvantage and the club at a disadvantage,” Meninga told Fox Sports.

there are only two players in the comp that have been stood down ... although the others who have not received the flu shot will not be able to enter QLD to play matches up here
 
But can they sack them based on personal beliefs? Or is this different to religious beliefs? Or doesn't it matter?
 
I know they most likely want Cartwright off their books anyway and would jump at any chance, but it would look very ordinary if they sacked him and kept Kelly over this.
 
But can they sack them based on personal beliefs? Or is this different to religious beliefs? Or doesn't it matter?
Not sure from a legal perspective, but what I do know is that the ball is firmly in their court now:

Play by the same rules as everyone else or risk having your contract torn up.

Your move, Bryce and co.
 
Another gem from Betoota Advocate:

 

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