Good shoulder charge tho....
Straight Red!
E + R + O
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Someone tried that on our keeper in a masters game the other week... if I was picking one person in our side not to do that to it would be the Goalkeeper with shoulder length hair and about 20 years of League between the start and end of his football career...
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I wish people wouldn't carry on about how SBW let down his team mates. I'd bet that most of them would do the same if in his shoes. In fact I'd bet that most of you reading this would also jump ship if someone offered you double your salary to do the same job for them. Of course there are considerations regarding moving overseas etc, but how much thought would you give to Sally in Accounts if you received a big offer to work down the road?
people forget that in the real world you sign a contract that says you can give 1 or 2 months notice before moving to a new employer, where in sports your contract is fixed term, like a consultant. either you work until the contract is up or you get sued. another thing different is in the real world people sign non competition clauses where you cant work for a competitor or set up in direct competition with your employer. sports is completely different you even get to take your fans with you. good luck trying to take clients from your old job to your new one.
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Some marvellous points by AllWhitebelievr on this thread and it will be very interesting to see what a judge rules on this case assuming it does go to court. I think either way it has significant ramifications for sport worldwide, and crossovers between codes and of course nations as well, which makes it an even more intriguing case.
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I think we need to remember that the restraint of trade/salary cap argument is going to be played out in Australian Courts and relate to an Australian contract and employment law.
A salary cap is a restraint of trade and the question will be whether it the restraint is reasonable regarding the interests of the parties (eg ability to earn revenue/minimise costs) and in relation to the interests of the public (eg maintaining a level competition). Other relevant issues to consider are the right to choose an employer, economic impact, and the bargaining power of the parties (player v club).
Here is a bit more information on restraints of trade in Australian sports:
http://www.sportslawyer.com.au/Text/1202776650838-7194/uploadedFiles/1204522022859-1465.pdf
I would have thought that because of the reasonableness test that a decision on the NRL salary cap wouldn�t immediately impact on the A-League or AFL cap, because these would need to be looked at on a case-by-case basis to see if each was reasonable. It would be totally different if the Australian Courts said that any salary cap is always an unreasonable restraint of trade.
Another thing to remember is that a decision in one jurisdiction does not change the situation in another jurisdiction unless that jurisdiction adopts that decision. So, a European Court decision does not bind an Australian Court, and vice-versa. However, decisions in other jurisdictions can be persuasive.
I think SBW is using the challenge to the salary cap as a form of leverage against the Bulldogs to negotiate his way out of his contract.
Where it will get really interesting (well, as interesting as this law-stuff can get) is if SBW is registered by the IRB to play union. If that happens, then all the cross-jurisdictional and between sports legal issues will kick in.
LeeP2008-07-31 13:28:56
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sonny bill will be fine. based on the doctors reports and that he could raise duress as an argument too, as in he was put under pressure to sign that 5 year deal.
it's a bit weird to force a player to play even when he doesnt want to. if he expressed his desire to leave the bulldogs (which i dont think he did) it'd be a funny organistaion that forced a player who didnt want to be there to stay. they wouldnt give any effort, why would you pay $450k a year to guy who didnt even play. id let him go to france and spend that money on someone who did want to be there. i dont think players should be able to change teams at the drop of a hat, but changing sport is like retiring from one, you wouldnt not let a guy retire because he had 2 years left on his contract would you.
the thing with his samoan passport is that in france you're allowed a certain number of exports in your team, 2 i think. but that doesnt apply to people with 3rd world country passports. hence why you see a lot of islanders and south africans in the french teams. in toulon the two imports last year were anton oliver and george gregan. matfield is a south african, mehrtens has a SA passport, and the other guys like orene ai'i have pacific island ones. so sonny bill wouldnt be an import basically.
rodfarva2008-07-31 14:29:36
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if he expressed his desire to leave the bulldogs (which i dont think he did) it'd be a funny organistaion that forced a player who didnt want to be there to stay.
Joel Porter
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Was this the reason Sonny was in a hurry?
Fears of a mass footballing exodus to the northern hemisphere have been partially allayed with the European Union this month moving to limit the number of Kolpak players allowed in its sporting competitions.
(read the whole story at:)
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I wish people wouldn't carry on about how SBW let down his team mates. I'd bet that most of them would do the same if in his shoes. In fact I'd bet that most of you reading this would also jump ship if someone offered you double your salary to do the same job for them. Of course there are considerations regarding moving overseas etc, but how much thought would you give to Sally in Accounts if you received a big offer to work down the road?
Depends on how cute she is
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Interesting statements from the PFA CEO: 95% of A League players are happy with the current salary cap structure and the other 5% are only concerned with the level not the structure.
http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/81583,no-aleague-salary-cap-revolt.aspx
However, as we've seen with the SBW saga it only takes 1 player to stuff things up.
I do think that some of Scwab's comments aren't valid. He is trying to compare the SBW issue to an international transfer in football. This comparison can't be made because SBW is not only changing clubs and countries but also sports. Football is just lucky that there is no similar sport for it's players to switch to when they feel like it.
http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/81583,no-aleague-salary-cap-revolt.aspx
However, as we've seen with the SBW saga it only takes 1 player to stuff things up.
I do think that some of Scwab's comments aren't valid. He is trying to compare the SBW issue to an international transfer in football. This comparison can't be made because SBW is not only changing clubs and countries but also sports. Football is just lucky that there is no similar sport for it's players to switch to when they feel like it.
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why do people want contracts to be so airtight and binding? companies over individuals? ... i don't get why people want to defend a club thats main ambition is to profit off its players (regardless of how much they pay them)Cosimo2008-08-01 16:21:42
I like tautologies because I like them.
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sonny bill will be fine. based on the doctors reports and that he could raise duress as an argument too, as in he was put under pressure to sign that 5 year deal.
it's a bit weird to force a player to play even when he doesnt want to. if he expressed his desire to leave the bulldogs (which i dont think he did) it'd be a funny organistaion that forced a player who didnt want to be there to stay. they wouldnt give any effort, why would you pay $450k a year to guy who didnt even play. id let him go to france and spend that money on someone who did want to be there. i dont think players should be able to change teams at the drop of a hat, but changing sport is like retiring from one, you wouldnt not let a guy retire because he had 2 years left on his contract would you.
the thing with his samoan passport is that in france you're allowed a certain number of exports in your team, 2 i think. but that doesnt apply to people with 3rd world country passports. hence why you see a lot of islanders and south africans in the french teams. in toulon the two imports last year were anton oliver and george gregan. matfield is a south african, mehrtens has a SA passport, and the other guys like orene ai'i have pacific island ones. so sonny bill wouldnt be an import basically.
exactly - why would an employer want an employee that hates his/her job? it's lose/lose
I like tautologies because I like them.
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Interesting statements from the PFA CEO: 95% of A League players are happy with the current salary cap structure and the other 5% are only concerned with the level not the structure.
http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/81583,no-aleague-salary-cap-revolt.aspx
However, as we've seen with the SBW saga it only takes 1 player to stuff things up.
I do think that some of Scwab's comments aren't valid. He is trying to compare the SBW issue to an international transfer in football. This comparison can't be made because SBW is not only changing clubs and countries but also sports. Football is just lucky that there is no similar sport for it's players to switch to when they feel like it.
The rugby to rugby league switch is a difficult one for both codes and problematic bc of the similarity of the sports and transferability of skills and players. Its not too far a situation in which you have what is effectively the same sport being controlled by two competing jurisdictions, which would create headaches, and could conceivably happen to football, albeit FIFA looks pretty secure.
http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/81583,no-aleague-salary-cap-revolt.aspx
However, as we've seen with the SBW saga it only takes 1 player to stuff things up.
I do think that some of Scwab's comments aren't valid. He is trying to compare the SBW issue to an international transfer in football. This comparison can't be made because SBW is not only changing clubs and countries but also sports. Football is just lucky that there is no similar sport for it's players to switch to when they feel like it.
In fact, I dont think its so much whether you are changing sport so much as whether you are changing sporting jurisdiction that is significant. Rugby League to rugby league transfers, and the rules around who can do what/when etc are governed by the International Rugby league board etc. Similarly, rugby to rugby governed by IRB. Footy to footy by FIFA. Where things could get interesting is, for instance, what happened with cricket, whereby somebody sets up a rebel 20/20 league outside the jurisdiction of the ICC and where there is no agreement between the rebel league and the ICC as to how contracts are to be enforced etc.
It is conceiivable that some crazy Russion gazillionaire could decide to challenge FIFA's control of the game by setting up some rebel football comp and start inviting players to walk out on their existing contracts - but i suspect, somewhere along the line, there would have to be generic contrcact law issues that would come into play.
that is a pretty random ramble. end of
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I wish people wouldn't carry on about how SBW let down his team mates. I'd bet that most of them would do the same if in his shoes. In fact I'd bet that most of you reading this would also jump ship if someone offered you double your salary to do the same job for them. Of course there are considerations regarding moving overseas etc, but how much thought would you give to Sally in Accounts if you received a big offer to work down the road?
people forget that in the real world you sign a contract that says you can give 1 or 2 months notice before moving to a new employer, where in sports your contract is fixed term, like a consultant. either you work until the contract is up or you get sued. another thing different is in the real world people sign non competition clauses where you cant work for a competitor or set up in direct competition with your employer. sports is completely different you even get to take your fans with you. good luck trying to take clients from your old job to your new one.
Personal Trainers often have to take their clients with them but this is becasue they are basically self employed contractors so it's a bit different, otherwise I agree with you.
I somewhat feel for SBW, if your boss didn't pay you what you're worth, you would be pissed especially if you had to stay there for another 4 years, however I'm sure most football contracts of a similar length have a buyout clause so this benefits both the player and the club. If the player thinks they're hot sh*t and can get paid more, then they can buy out their own contract, plus they're not locked in to a long term deal. Let's face it, the guy was the face of the NRL at a very young age and if he thinks he is worth more, then good luck to him. If he fails at rugby, it's his own fault.
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Think Bosman.
But there's no lefty loony European courts down there, my guess at the ruling would be "pull yer head in digger, if yas don't like it, f off! League's a poofs game anyway"
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[QUOTE=Huddlestone
I somewhat feel for SBW, if your boss didn't pay you what you're worth, you would be pissed especially if you had to stay there for another 4 years, however I'm sure most football contracts of a similar length have a buyout clause so this benefits both the player and the club. If the player thinks they're hot sh*t and can get paid more, then they can buy out their own contract, plus they're not locked in to a long term deal. Let's face it, the guy was the face of the NRL at a very young age and if he thinks he is worth more, then good luck to him. If he fails at rugby, it's his own fault.
[/QUOTE]
It's not that he wasn't being paid what he was worth - I too agree he was worth much more. However, he was paying what he AGREED he was worth. If SBW didn't think he was worth 450k/yr, then he wouldn't have signed the contract. He'd have demanded more and not signed until he got it. He has no justification to using "I was underpaid" as an excuse.
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