Tomthumb
Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Didn’t take you for a comedian Dan
Australian Rugby / RA
- Thread starter Dave Beat
- Start date
KevinO
Geoff Shaw (53)
Taniela Tupou, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Rob Leota, Isaac Kailea, David Feluiai, Pone Fa’amausili, Darby Lancaster, Matt Gibbon, Lachie Anderson, Ethan Dobbins, Lukas Ripley.
Rugby faces player rebellion as Rebels opt out of Waratahs rebuild — CODE Sports
The Waratahs’ hopes of landing a host of Melbourne Rebels stars are in tatters as key group opt for rival clubs, with some even choosing club rugby over pulling on the NSW colours.apple.news
Proud of the lads for taking a stand
Slayer!
Herbert Moran (7)
Hardly. It's just that Sydney is too expensive and Ballymore is too shiny to resist.Rugby faces player rebellion as Rebels opt out of Waratahs rebuild — CODE Sports
The Waratahs’ hopes of landing a host of Melbourne Rebels stars are in tatters as key group opt for rival clubs, with some even choosing club rugby over pulling on the NSW colours.
Proud of the lads for taking a stand
The_Brown_Hornet
John Eales (66)
Come to the Force boys!
Rebel man
Jim Lenehan (48)
Don’t care what there reason is. Happy to see them refusing the Tahs
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
Depending on your wages, being paid to turn out for whoever you want at club level while you maybe grind out a year at Uni/TAFE or as an apprentice sounds pretty cool tbh.
Rebel man
Jim Lenehan (48)
How so, they are entitled to get paid and under the EBA RA can’t compel them to play for a certain club
stoff
Phil Hardcastle (33)
They signed a tripartite guaranteed deal. Sports players are ruthlessly cast aside all the time. It’s weird what fans demand of them - I’m sure they’d all happily play for the Rebels.
Rebel man
Jim Lenehan (48)
Never thought of it that way before. But it actually sounds like the best option. Study at uni play club footy still get paid
noscrumnolife
Jimmy Flynn (14)
Not sure about ethics but I wouldn't be very impressed if I was Joe Schmidt and Peter Horne by a player willing to forego a year of their development and play against the lions to mooch about in clubland because they didn't want to live in Sydney. If that's the case, I suspect RA will be saying don't let the door hit you on the way out.
In any event the article seems like a total nothing-burger, hogswash spoonfed to Pandaram by agents looking for a living bonus and a headline designed to appeal to the handful of Rebels fan with a loud voice on the internet.
In any event the article seems like a total nothing-burger, hogswash spoonfed to Pandaram by agents looking for a living bonus and a headline designed to appeal to the handful of Rebels fan with a loud voice on the internet.
Rebel man
Jim Lenehan (48)
Why should they play for the Tahs also Aus rugby can’t afford to tell players to not let the door hit them or soon we will have no players.
Bullrush
John Hipwell (52)
No player is bigger than the jersey.
If a player doesn't want to put themselves in contention for a Wallaby jersey and would rather play club footy, so be it. Being a Wallaby and a current international player is just as good for the player as it is for the Wallabies.
Out of that 11, only 1 would be considered a no-brainer Wallaby and that's Tupou. If the rest of them don't find the Wallaby jersey appealing enough to do their job and play Super Rugby, then let them go. They weren't good enough to win more than 5 games this season so concentrate on players who actually want to play rugby at the highest level.
If a player doesn't want to put themselves in contention for a Wallaby jersey and would rather play club footy, so be it. Being a Wallaby and a current international player is just as good for the player as it is for the Wallabies.
Out of that 11, only 1 would be considered a no-brainer Wallaby and that's Tupou. If the rest of them don't find the Wallaby jersey appealing enough to do their job and play Super Rugby, then let them go. They weren't good enough to win more than 5 games this season so concentrate on players who actually want to play rugby at the highest level.
Tomthumb
Nicholas Shehadie (39)
I know they are entitled to get paid, but the amount they are being paid was based on them playing Super Rugby
Tomthumb
Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Thinking they should play the level of rugby they are being paid to play is demanding a lot of them?
Dan54
Tim Horan (67)
I think it a couple of years away with players etc you got now Tom, but I would never say it can't be done.
KOB1987
John Eales (66)
I think that's right, it's basically just a rewrite of the article from a couple of weeks ago except they are naming the players and the Waratahs now have a coach. It also smells a little bit of a Newscorp disruptor now that the next broadcast deal is getting thrown around.
As we discussed at that time, these are professional athletes and at the end of the day they need to go somewhere to further their careers. I'm sure many of them do want to go to Queensland but they all can't, and a lot of them would end up on the bench anyway. A starting gig is going to be high on the list of the priorities and for most of these blokes and that is going to be a choice between the RA Tahs, the RA Brumbies, or moving to Perth.
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Mick The Munch
Cyril Towers (30)
Can someone copy the article please?
KOB1987
John Eales (66)
Melbourne Rebellion as 11 stars snub NSW Waratahs amid Rugby Australia contract talks
The Waratahs’ hopes of landing a host of Melbourne Rebels stars are in tatters as key group opt for rival clubs, with some even choosing club rugby over pulling on the NSW colours.
This masthead can reveal that 11 Rebels players have nominated clubs other than NSW to join next season, after RA pulled Melbourne’s license for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.
They are: Taniela Tupou, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Rob Leota, Isaac Kailea, David Feluiai, Pone Fa’amausili, Darby Lancaster, Matt Gibbon, Lachie Anderson, Ethan Dobbins, Lukas Ripley.
Some feel so strongly about rejecting NSW’s approaches, they have vowed to RA through their agents that they will play club rugby if they are stopped from joining their nominated club.
It will be a major concern for RA, given the need for NSW to be competitive.
They have recently appointed head coach Dan McKellar - touted as a future Wallabies coach - and director of rugby Simon Raiwalui to oversee the rebuild after finishing with the wooden spoon this year.
And RA had hoped that a host of Rebels stars would opt to join NSW once the Melbourne franchise was axed.
For a variety of reasons, the majority of players have expressed a lack of interest in the Waratahs. Some players want to move to a city where they are close to family members, others believe they will develop more at rival clubs, and all are concerned by the cost of living pressures in Sydney.
RA guaranteed all players contracts when axing the Rebels.
The money they were contracted for in 2025 will be honoured. But for a player on a wage of $150,000, the living costs associated with a move to Sydney far outweigh Canberra, Perth and Brisbane.
RA is aware of the players’ disgruntlement.
“We are still working through that process with the players,” an RA spokesman said.
“The Tahs needed to conclude the recruitment process for their director of performance and head coach. They now have a truly world class team in Simon Raiwalui and Dan McKellar, and they are already heavily involved in the recruitment process with players.”
But with the Waratahs training in their eastern suburbs hub of Daceyville, rents close to the facility are pricey.
There was also the extended time RA took to appoint McKellar – confirmed last week after Darren Coleman was sacked in May – that led players to consider NSW an unstable club.
This masthead has learned one player has already taken up a lease in Brisbane, despite RA hoping he will join NSW.
There are several who are so adamant they won’t be forced to sign with the Tahs, they will play club rugby in 2025, earn their wages from RA, but miss the chance of representing the Wallabies against the British & Irish Lions.
There is a precedent. When the Western Force were axed from Super Rugby in 2017, Robbie Coleman spent the following year playing for Gordon in the Shute Shield, before signing a deal in French rugby.
RA has previously told the players they will not be forced to join any club.
But the NSW market is crucial for their bottom line. It is the biggest in terms of participation and population, and RA needs a winning Waratahs team to increase match attendances and more importantly television viewership, as they embark on broadcast rights negotiations.
RA took over the operations of the NSW Waratahs earlier this year, and this week announced a similar alignment with the Brumbies, after both clubs faced financial difficulty.
RA is quietly hoping that now the coaching and high performance appointments have been finalised, they can sell their vision for NSW Rugby and convince some of the players to change their minds.
Wallabies outside back Filipo Daugunu and rising second row star Josh Canham have already inked deals with Queensland. Daugunu is signed for 2025 while Canham has a two-year deal until the end of 2026.
Rebels playmaker Carter Gordon and hooker Jordan Uelese have already obtained early releases from RA. Gordon has signed with NRL club Gold Coast Titans while Uelese has joined French club Montpellier.
The Waratahs have two major signings on board for next year; NRL superstar Joseph Aukuso-Sua'ali'i, and Wallabies outside back Andrew Kellaway.
But they have lost multiple players to overseas clubs including Test capped Izaia Perese, Ned Hanigan and Lachie Swinton, while winger Mark Nawaqanitawase will join NRL club Sydney Roosters upon his return from the Paris Olympics rugby sevens campaign.
The development comes on the eve of the Wallabies’ first match in Melbourne since the Rebels were shut down. They face Wales at AAMI Park on Saturday night, having won the first match in Sydney last weekend.
The Waratahs’ hopes of landing a host of Melbourne Rebels stars are in tatters as key group opt for rival clubs, with some even choosing club rugby over pulling on the NSW colours.
This masthead can reveal that 11 Rebels players have nominated clubs other than NSW to join next season, after RA pulled Melbourne’s license for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.
They are: Taniela Tupou, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Rob Leota, Isaac Kailea, David Feluiai, Pone Fa’amausili, Darby Lancaster, Matt Gibbon, Lachie Anderson, Ethan Dobbins, Lukas Ripley.
Some feel so strongly about rejecting NSW’s approaches, they have vowed to RA through their agents that they will play club rugby if they are stopped from joining their nominated club.
It will be a major concern for RA, given the need for NSW to be competitive.
They have recently appointed head coach Dan McKellar - touted as a future Wallabies coach - and director of rugby Simon Raiwalui to oversee the rebuild after finishing with the wooden spoon this year.
And RA had hoped that a host of Rebels stars would opt to join NSW once the Melbourne franchise was axed.
For a variety of reasons, the majority of players have expressed a lack of interest in the Waratahs. Some players want to move to a city where they are close to family members, others believe they will develop more at rival clubs, and all are concerned by the cost of living pressures in Sydney.
RA guaranteed all players contracts when axing the Rebels.
The money they were contracted for in 2025 will be honoured. But for a player on a wage of $150,000, the living costs associated with a move to Sydney far outweigh Canberra, Perth and Brisbane.
RA is aware of the players’ disgruntlement.
“We are still working through that process with the players,” an RA spokesman said.
“The Tahs needed to conclude the recruitment process for their director of performance and head coach. They now have a truly world class team in Simon Raiwalui and Dan McKellar, and they are already heavily involved in the recruitment process with players.”
But with the Waratahs training in their eastern suburbs hub of Daceyville, rents close to the facility are pricey.
There was also the extended time RA took to appoint McKellar – confirmed last week after Darren Coleman was sacked in May – that led players to consider NSW an unstable club.
This masthead has learned one player has already taken up a lease in Brisbane, despite RA hoping he will join NSW.
There are several who are so adamant they won’t be forced to sign with the Tahs, they will play club rugby in 2025, earn their wages from RA, but miss the chance of representing the Wallabies against the British & Irish Lions.
There is a precedent. When the Western Force were axed from Super Rugby in 2017, Robbie Coleman spent the following year playing for Gordon in the Shute Shield, before signing a deal in French rugby.
RA has previously told the players they will not be forced to join any club.
But the NSW market is crucial for their bottom line. It is the biggest in terms of participation and population, and RA needs a winning Waratahs team to increase match attendances and more importantly television viewership, as they embark on broadcast rights negotiations.
RA took over the operations of the NSW Waratahs earlier this year, and this week announced a similar alignment with the Brumbies, after both clubs faced financial difficulty.
RA is quietly hoping that now the coaching and high performance appointments have been finalised, they can sell their vision for NSW Rugby and convince some of the players to change their minds.
Wallabies outside back Filipo Daugunu and rising second row star Josh Canham have already inked deals with Queensland. Daugunu is signed for 2025 while Canham has a two-year deal until the end of 2026.
Rebels playmaker Carter Gordon and hooker Jordan Uelese have already obtained early releases from RA. Gordon has signed with NRL club Gold Coast Titans while Uelese has joined French club Montpellier.
The Waratahs have two major signings on board for next year; NRL superstar Joseph Aukuso-Sua'ali'i, and Wallabies outside back Andrew Kellaway.
But they have lost multiple players to overseas clubs including Test capped Izaia Perese, Ned Hanigan and Lachie Swinton, while winger Mark Nawaqanitawase will join NRL club Sydney Roosters upon his return from the Paris Olympics rugby sevens campaign.
The development comes on the eve of the Wallabies’ first match in Melbourne since the Rebels were shut down. They face Wales at AAMI Park on Saturday night, having won the first match in Sydney last weekend.