Date March 13, 2015 - 1:17AM
Andrew Webster
Chief Sports Writer, The Sydney Morning Herald
Angry clubs are concerned South Sydney are snuggling into the warm bosom of the NRL because the premiers want Dave Smith to open the purse strings to ensure Greg Inglis stays in the game.
And, yes, you're right, now it's getting ugly.
There has been talk of a revolution in rugby league for about a year, with some disgruntled NRL clubs ready to take on the ARL Commission, or at least throw some sizeable stones at it.
A new battle is looming, and sadly it's between old friends.
In one corner, you'll find Nick Pappas, the urbane Rabbitohs chairman who took on News Limited and isn't afraid of a fight.
In the other, you'll find Roosters chairman Nick Politis and Bulldogs chairman Ray Dib, who head a handful of other clubs who are also said to be unhappy with the direction of the game.
Colleague Brad Walter quoted Pappas in the final paragraph of a story in the Sun-Herald on Sunday about the grievances of some club bosses about how much money the NRL is giving them.
"Those that appear aggrieved did not even turn up to ask a question at the AGM," Pappas was quoted as saying in the story. "Instead they wage a nameless campaign through the media. We are light years away from where we were as a game and some have very short memories of just how far we have come. We all now need to focus on how we can improve our own businesses rather than publicly ravaging our code."
Kaboom!
If the comments were supposed to rattle a few cages, believe us, the cages were rattled. Politis is said to be so furious he won't speak to Pappas, wary of what might come out.
There is certainly a belief among rival clubs and, indeed, some player managers, that Souths are cozying up to the NRL because they want help in convincing Inglis to stay. Smith fuelled that fire late last month when he said the game could not afford to lose the Rabbitohs captain, who is seemingly fielding interest from everyone but the Dallas Cowboys, and hinted he could use his discretionary powers – in other words, cash – to keep him.
"Greg is an absolute superstar, a terrific player," Smith said at the time. "He is a wonderful human being, he is a fantastic player, he is exactly the sort of superstar, and there are many, many, many of them, we want to keep in our game. But these are not players we want to lose, of course we want to keep them in the game."
We were assured on Thursday afternoon by Souths and the NRL no deal had been struck, no words had even been spoken, although dialogue between Smith and Inglis' manager, Allan Gainey, was expected to happen soon.
Believe us, rival clubs are warming their throats, claiming if GI is thrown an extra $300,000 and loose change, so too should the other NRL clubs.
As we said, now it's getting ugly. It should make for an interesting dinner between the club bosses next week.
Andrew Webster
Chief Sports Writer, The Sydney Morning Herald
Angry clubs are concerned South Sydney are snuggling into the warm bosom of the NRL because the premiers want Dave Smith to open the purse strings to ensure Greg Inglis stays in the game.
And, yes, you're right, now it's getting ugly.
There has been talk of a revolution in rugby league for about a year, with some disgruntled NRL clubs ready to take on the ARL Commission, or at least throw some sizeable stones at it.
A new battle is looming, and sadly it's between old friends.
In one corner, you'll find Nick Pappas, the urbane Rabbitohs chairman who took on News Limited and isn't afraid of a fight.
In the other, you'll find Roosters chairman Nick Politis and Bulldogs chairman Ray Dib, who head a handful of other clubs who are also said to be unhappy with the direction of the game.
Colleague Brad Walter quoted Pappas in the final paragraph of a story in the Sun-Herald on Sunday about the grievances of some club bosses about how much money the NRL is giving them.
"Those that appear aggrieved did not even turn up to ask a question at the AGM," Pappas was quoted as saying in the story. "Instead they wage a nameless campaign through the media. We are light years away from where we were as a game and some have very short memories of just how far we have come. We all now need to focus on how we can improve our own businesses rather than publicly ravaging our code."
Kaboom!
If the comments were supposed to rattle a few cages, believe us, the cages were rattled. Politis is said to be so furious he won't speak to Pappas, wary of what might come out.
There is certainly a belief among rival clubs and, indeed, some player managers, that Souths are cozying up to the NRL because they want help in convincing Inglis to stay. Smith fuelled that fire late last month when he said the game could not afford to lose the Rabbitohs captain, who is seemingly fielding interest from everyone but the Dallas Cowboys, and hinted he could use his discretionary powers – in other words, cash – to keep him.
"Greg is an absolute superstar, a terrific player," Smith said at the time. "He is a wonderful human being, he is a fantastic player, he is exactly the sort of superstar, and there are many, many, many of them, we want to keep in our game. But these are not players we want to lose, of course we want to keep them in the game."
We were assured on Thursday afternoon by Souths and the NRL no deal had been struck, no words had even been spoken, although dialogue between Smith and Inglis' manager, Allan Gainey, was expected to happen soon.
Believe us, rival clubs are warming their throats, claiming if GI is thrown an extra $300,000 and loose change, so too should the other NRL clubs.
As we said, now it's getting ugly. It should make for an interesting dinner between the club bosses next week.
Rival clubs fear South Sydney want NRL help to keep Greg Inglis
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