Aussie Player Exodus

[WorkingClassRugger]

To what extent you allow these deals creates an interesting discussion re salary cap breaches etc. I would think if these MLR players/coaches were simply being gifted gyms worth $250k it would be an unfair contract advantage. If they, however, were investing their own money and being given assistance or discounts on equipment, it probably falls on the ‘safe’ side of that grey area.

Same thing happens overseas in different sports in what they call ‘big market’ franchises, there are just better business opportunities in those markets which in turn attracts the better players who want to make money outside their contracted salaries.

Oh, it was contentious among MLR fans. But they aren't the only club that gets creative. Before LA many bemoaned San Diego and its ability to draw talent off a small cap. The cap covers direct payments and can be boosted by $250k from $500k to $750k a season based on if they achieve their development goals which each club met last season.

There's probably a deal of truth in what you're suggesting and I don't think every player would be on these kind of arrangements.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Could be a business deal separate (on paper) to DTH's contract. Gits & Coops prob had an option for the same deal. At the end of the day he decides how much a franchise is worth. I think Meaksy & Cottrell are getting deals in the off season to work for Gilly's beer.

Its something Nick Politis does over at the roosters, helps guys with their investments outside of their footy wage. But that is pretty interesting info DTH

Gilchrist is pouring a fair bit into the game in both LA and Austin. Paid for a docu-series on Fox Sports based around his Austin franchise and seems to have linked up with WR (World Rugby) to run a kind of 'school of hard knocks' concept for crossovers on the WR (World Rugby) YouTube channel. Among a bunch of other grassroots stuff.

 

[Adam84]

It costs roughly $250k to set up a gym. That includes the franchise fee. Equipment and working capital requirements. They apparently need 65 members to break even. This was from a break down I found from 2019. So, yeah. worth more than most Super Rugby contracts.

i had a mate establish one in Australia, cost a fair bit more then then to establish but he was able to sell an established gym for triple the value later on.

I can’t see MLR teams gifting F45 gyms, F45 as a company is publicly listed and trades on the NYSE. It isn’t a private company someone could just gift franchises from. Someone would be paying F45 the franchisee fee unless F45 are willing to write it off as sponsorship.

Maybe if F45 are sponsor of the team they might offer a discount on franchise costs for players.

 

[wamberal]

Does Blake Ferguson qualify as an Australian player? Not any more, apparently, his rugby career looks as though it is over before it really began.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

i had a mate establish one in Australia, cost a fair bit more then then to establish but he was able to sell an established gym for triple the value later on.

I can’t see MLR teams gifting F45 gyms, F45 as a company is publicly listed and trades on the NYSE. It isn’t a private company someone could just gift franchises from. Someone would be paying F45 the franchisee fee unless F45 are willing to write it off as sponsorship.

Maybe if F45 are sponsor of the team they might offer a discount on franchise costs for players.

It listed on July 15 2020. Most of these guys signed in late 2019. Not saying they were expressly gifted them. More so they probably had the process of being awarded them made easier. I should also note that the LA Giltinis head office and facility happens to be the old F45 HQ in LA.

 

[Members Section]

Speaking of f45 sponsorship a little badge of the rebels new training gear

 

[Adam84]

Again not exactly a ‘Aussie player’ but fair bit of crossover.

Ferguson’s cocaine incident in Japan continues to blow up with reports the NEC Green Rockets may even fold over the saga. This might make Japanese clubs place greater scrutiny on recruiting foreigners.

What Japanese club’s staggering 506-word statement means for Cheika amid Ferguson saga

What Japanese club’s staggering 506-word statement means for Cheika amid Ferguson saga

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[Derpus]

Again not exactly a ‘Aussie player’ but fair bit of crossover.

Ferguson’s cocaine incident in Japan continues to blow up with reports the NEC Green Rockets may even fold over the saga. This might make Japanese clubs place greater scrutiny on recruiting foreigners.

What Japanese club’s staggering 506-word statement means for Cheika amid Ferguson saga

What Japanese club’s staggering 506-word statement means for Cheika amid Ferguson saga

www.foxsports.com.au

Fold out of 'embarrassment'? That's the most Japanese thing ever.

 

[wamberal]

Fold out of 'embarrassment'? That's the most Japanese thing ever.

"Face" is a hugely powerful force in many Asian cultures. We can never understand it, but if we live and work in the region we need to know that it exists, and it is real.

 

[PhilClinton]

Also need to understand that these teams are run for enjoyment and entertainment by corporations, in a much different way to how we see our teams formed. Shutting a team down because it no longer fulfils that purpose, or is perceived to be disgracing the overall brand, is something they would be more than willing to do.

Sounds like Cheika might get the chop before that happens though, for signing him.

 

[Derpus]

Also need to understand that these teams are run for enjoyment and entertainment by corporations, in a much different way to how we see our teams formed. Shutting a team down because it no longer fulfils that purpose, or is perceived to be disgracing the overall brand, is something they would be more than willing to do.

Sounds like Cheika might get the chop before that happens though, for signing him.

I thought they were moving away from the corporate playtoy model

 

[PhilClinton]

I thought they were moving away from the corporate playtoy model

Yes I believe that was the idea behind this revamped competition, evolve the game in Japan into a more genuine product.

But this indiscretion has occurred before that new comp even began.

 

[Adam84]

Rory Arnold to Japan apparently

Top 14: le joueur de Toulouse Rory Arnold vers le Japon

INFO RMC Sport – Le deuxième ligne australien Rory Arnold, en fin de contrat, devrait quitter le Stade Toulousain l’été prochain pour rejoindre le Japon.

rmcsport.bfmtv.com

 

[Dctarget]

Rory Arnold to Japan apparently

Top 14: le joueur de Toulouse Rory Arnold vers le Japon

INFO RMC Sport – Le deuxième ligne australien Rory Arnold, en fin de contrat, devrait quitter le Stade Toulousain l’été prochain pour rejoindre le Japon.

rmcsport.bfmtv.com

probably [marginally] better for his Wallabies aspirations I think

 

[Adam84]

probably [marginally] better for his Wallabies aspirations I think

I wonder if his new club knows/supports that though…..

 

[upthereds#!]

Shame - Advanced talks to get him back in australia but contracting put on hold with the flicking of johnson and the restructure etc.

 

[Dan54]

See a few players already having to be shed with new salary caps up north, only good news down here I think!
Know this is former AB, but still bodes well for Aus etc too I think!

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

 

[PhilClinton]

I saw over the weekend that another Australian based player management agency has got themselves a dedicated MLR base of operations now.

Convenient timing with MLR due to start this weekend and club rugby pre-season very much in full swing here. With travel restrictions basically gone, it will be interesting to see how many club rugby players get a tap on the shoulder to fly over for injury cover etc. I know a few did early into the season last year.

 

[RebelYell]

I was thinking, the interesting thing is that with the new legislation, Hansen/Tuipulotu could always end up chasing a Wallaby jersey later in their career if they felt it was something that they wanted to fulfill. They could stand down from Test footy and still earn the money in Europe, or if they dropped out of the selection mix. Likewise Dolly, Sam Johnson etc.

Found this very interesting from Tawera Kerr-Barlow:

Kerr-Barlow would be willing to move with the times and switch allegiance. He likes how international rugby has recently opened up its eligibility rules which now allow players capped by one country to play for another. “It is a really positive thing. You get players who play a handful of Tests for a country and that is their eligibility shot and they have still got a lot to offer world rugby.

“We all want world rugby to be strong, we want it to be a spectacle and some of the best players in the world, they move overseas and they grow and they improve. You have got the likes of Charles Piutau in England, Steven Luatua is there, you have got Victor Vito in France, you have got all these guys who could add so much to their country.

“Even myself, I’d love to chuck on the Australian jersey as I spent the first part of life in Australia, my family is still there and I’m very grateful for what they have done for my family. My mum played for Australia. It [opening up eligibility] is a positive thing. You will get people saying, ‘Oh you know you’re not loyal’ or ‘How can you play for one country and play for another?’

“But if you are born in a country or your parents are born there and you feel a certain way about the country and you have got roots already established, then why not? I am a pretty open individual in terms of those sorts of things and I just want rugby to be the big thing I know it can be because if you love rugby you want it to improve.”

 

[Dctarget]

Classic Kiwis poaching Australian players, ever heard of developing your own?