Suspect you're right and this is really the start of the negotiations. Leeds, Segeyaro and whichever club he ends up at will all be aware of this. Leeds will end up with a settlement that essentially takes the p1ss but allows them to save just enough face for it to be accepted.

If they get a transfer fee then they at least get something and as mentioned above, if we & Cas just roll over and let these players go to save us the hassle then all it does is encourage others to do it. If we manage to make players think twice about trying these tricks then it is a good thing all around for the sport.

Key thing as I said last week is, are Cronulla THAT interested in him? It's one thing to be interested when you think you get somebody for free, another thing if a transfer fee is needed. If Cronulla turn decide they aren't THAT interested in him then Segeyaro is left pi$$ing in the wind and we'll have to see if he's prepared to back up his threat of not returning to the UK.

Will he be prepared to lose money and not be playing rugby at all? Isn't that the reason he signed with Leeds anyway and not go back to Aus a free agent? Because he didn't want to be without those things?

Personally, I don't want a player dragged back who doesn't find it an honour to play for our great club..he can rot for me now, i just think the whole breach of contract in this way needs addressing.

Fair point but you could just as easily argue that he gave it try and found it wasn't for him. It happens.

But I'm sure he would have been fine staying in the UK if no NRL club were sniffing around.

If he wants to leave, you put a transfer request in and play for us until a suitable fee or replacement can be found. You don't act like a teenager and just don't turn up for work.

Not for a minute saying you're wrong, either factually or morally. What I am saying is that it's not relevant to the outcome. Leeds can bang on about a £250k fee all they like but there's no way on god's earth they'll get it, or anywhere near it. And they know this. IMO of course.

Worked for Joel Moon when he engineered his move to Leeds

Do we then try and re-open dialogue with c*s with regards to Adam Milner?

Tbf though it should be pointed out that he was nothing but complementary about the club in his interview. How many of our squad wouldn't want to go play for the reigning NRL champions if they had the chance?

Remember Stevie Ward asked to go to Australia in 2014 and Jordan Baldwinson criticised the clubs offer to him and went off to New Zealand only to come crawling back when it didn't work at for him and I don't see people having issues with them. Granted the way Segeyaro has gone about it, potentially guided by his agent and others is very poor but has been mentioned he'd happily come back if he didn't have the Cronulla offer so it's not an out and out issue with our club. He didn't want to come over in July really but it didn't stop people making up chants for him or taking up issue with him playing then.

Cas have a very promising young hooker called jacques O'Neill and may be looking to start bringing him through which might help make this possible. I have never taken much notice of Milner so not sure how good he is.

As well as a tackler, we need someone to add a bit in attack , Lunt could do a job but not sure GH goes back for people who have said no in past because of coin.

Options look fairly thin. I worry metal Mickey comes home from Wigan with an empty tank.

Legal threat is just start of negotiation for his exit. We will badly miss his quality imo.

lunt said yes, for some reason paul anderson wanted him out then changed his mind at the last minute.

I agree that we should ask a fee for him but the liklihood is we wont get anywhere near the £250,000 likewise we wont get the £300,000 we wanted for Zak either.
What we do need is someone to take his place and that person needs to be of a similar quality otherwise we go down the long list of excuses why we didn`t make the top 8 again.
No floods, no SPOTY, no game against the Kiwis or a WCC match to hide behind but we can say we had no recognised hooker.
What if we go and sign a top class replacement not sure where but we do.
Then Segeyaro decides he wants to come back and play for us.
We can no longer fit him under the cap yet his contract is in tact.
Can he do us for breach of contract?

Please someone correct me if I am wrong:

We tried to offload Hardaker and ended up loaning him out till end of last season

We get Segeyaro on same terms

Segeyaro goes well enough to earn three year contract

Hardaker returns from loan remains on our books and go to Cas on a season long loan with option to buy at pre-determined price.

Segeyaro decides he wants out of his contrasct and stays in Australia.

So in effect we tried to get rid of one troublesome asset and ended up with two players who won't play for Leeds this season and we have trouble selling? Fantastic bit of business there!

GH always states before he signs a player he looks into if is right for the club not just ability ,how will he fit in and settle? etc and more or less this has worked .He's obviously had an offer from a certain club which far exceeds what he will be getting at Leeds .Leeds have made the first shots across the bough and they still need a hooker

Could be wrong but wasn't it Nathan Brown who wanted rid? He then ended up being retained by Anderson when he took over at hudds.

In what way has he breached his contract? He is on leave until Jan 3rd.

Am i missing something?

Well he obviously hasn't breached it YET. It more a case of planning for when/if he does. If Cronulla step up with an offer then that part will go away, if we reach January the 3rd without no deal being made then it'll be interesting to see if Segeyaro is prepared to put his money where his mouth is and stay in Aus and risk the financial implications.

Exactly Printer. Not sure why Leeds are being so public about this. Hes a Leeds player, is contracted to Leeds and Leeds should just be saying hes expected to back on Jan 3rd in my opinion.

By GH being so vocal and McD press conference it is just making it harder for Segeyaro to return if no deal is secured.

I think that Leeds won't get near to the price tag. But Leeds do hold a good hand in this if they choose to take the battle, whether they have the stomach for it is another matter . By taking a hard approach we send a message to NRL clubs that players won't just be released and you can't just tap them up weeks after they sign a contract. The message to the player is that you can't just walk out on a contract, especially when you have used your extended leave generously given to you to feather your next nest. If leeds are prepared to foot the bill of his wages for up to 2 years, then they can refuse to let him go to anyone who doesn't put an acceptable bid in. It will test how much Cronulla or any other NRL team wants him, and also test how homesick he really is. If he doesn't want to come back, we can refuse to pay him. 2 years in the wilderness for a player is not great for his career.

The RFL stepping in and making salaries for contract rebels exempt from the cap would be a good message to send out for the sport in this country. Without something like this I think we will have to compromise and accept a low deal because we can't afford a top band salary being taken up by a vacant shirt

This. I would like to see the RFL show some backbone...for once.

Fair enough mate, and i agree to an extent, but the whole affair is summed up by GH in this comment for me:-


“We’re very disappointed in James because he clearly came to us initially on an arrangement until the end of the season, and with a clear intent to extend that arrangement if he was happy, which he did on September 1,’’ Hetherington told The Daily Telegraph.

“James could have ended our arrangement and signed with an NRL club, but he didn’t, and gave a firm commitment to the club.’’

If contract rebels salaries was exempt from the cap how many teams would suddenly have players wanting to leave so that they could then fit another player or 2 under cap?? Its open to all kinds of abuse. Bad idea for me.

IMHO hits the nail firmly on the head. Tried us, liked us and re-signed, so he had more than enough time to make an informed decision. He's now just trying to mug us off, and the £250k indicates that we won't stand for. We need to dig in out of principal, or the whole system will go to rat.

Kind of a reverse Tomkins when he 'left' the Warriors to go back to Wigan.

Flip side is that he's rubbish and a crock now.

Its quite simple! If a club wants rid of a player they have to pay the remainder of his contract.

So in turn if the player wants to cut short his contract they should have to buy out his contract.

The 300k is probably 2 years wages.