Canberra Raiders and George Williams agree on release

[GreenMachine]

Look, I think it is telling that George's old man thinks his son could ha handled things better...

We all agree the Club could have handled it better too.

However, I support the action the Club took ...in fact if there are more unhappy players they should be allowed to leave without impact to our cap...
Were simply wasting our time with any head coach that has unresolved issues with an unhappy playing group.

That MUST be sorted first so that we can move forward with our current coach....or find a new coach (unrealistic in my view).

I agree that the whole thing has looked unsavoury for the club and while George is definitely a talented footballer, I'm not one of those who rated his performances as highly as others....now maybe that's on Ricky too given our clunky attack but we'll never know...

Anyway, hopefully we see something change for the positive otherwise this whole experience has been for nothing.

[greeneyed]

Blues star Jack Wighton keeps George Williams talk in house



NSW Blues utility Jack Wighton says enough has been said on George Williams' exit from the Canberra Raiders and he felt all the talk should have been kept in house.

"I've got no comment on that. I think the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much so I won't be commenting on that. It's something we've got to keep a little more in house. I've got not much to say on that."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280

Andrew Johns, Darren Lockyer write off Raiders' season: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/andrew-joh ... 2f31c046a4

[benda]

Look, I think it is telling that George's old man thinks his son could ha handled things better...

We all agree the Club could have handled it better too.

However, I support the action the Club took ...in fact if there are more unhappy players they should be allowed to leave without impact to our cap...
Were simply wasting our time with any head coach that has unresolved issues with an unhappy playing group.

That MUST be sorted first so that we can move forward with our current coach....or find a new coach (unrealistic in my view).

I agree that the whole thing has looked unsavoury for the club and while George is definitely a talented footballer, I'm not one of those who rated his performances as highly as others....now maybe that's on Ricky too given our clunky attack but we'll never know...

Anyway, hopefully we see something change for the positive otherwise this whole experience has been for nothing.

After hearing all the commentary and reading all the perspectives here.. the only aspect i think the club could have handled better is the communication. Furner should have held a team meeting to communicate the reason behind the decision.

Ultimately George didnt want to be at the club anymore. Simple as that. And not wanting to train because of home sickness is not good enough (i am yet to hear anything to the contrary). This is a serious business. Not Saturday afternoon footy with mates. Being homesick isnt great but its not a serious problem. And that's simple too.

So i agree with you wholeheartedly.. if players dont want to stay at the club they go elsewhere where they would put up with players who want to leave.

My 2 cents.

[The Nickman]

Blues star Jack Wighton keeps George Williams talk in house



NSW Blues utility Jack Wighton says enough has been said on George Williams' exit from the Canberra Raiders and he felt all the talk should have been kept in house.

"I've got no comment on that. I think the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much so I won't be commenting on that. It's something we've got to keep a little more in house. I've got not much to say on that."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280

Andrew Johns, Darren Lockyer write off Raiders' season: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/andrew-joh ... 2f31c046a4

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

[greeneyed]

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

You clearly didn’t read the quote: “the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much”.

[Ruben Daley]

From my personal experience when my wife was having our baby, you do need that support network of close friends and family. My parents at the time were also able to fly up from Australia just before the birth. I had World Cup 2010 football tickets for the Semi Final and Final in South Africa, but didn't go so I could support my wife.

But this issue here was he was looking for a club in Sydney " for the full Australian experience" in the summer of 2020. So you can deduce what you want to from that.

All I would infer from that is he had an agent, who was doing his job by shopping his client around to make sure that they knew what his market value was at all times. Then he and his partner become expecting parents, and that becomes irrelevant.

That doesn’t make sense. ‘Shopping around’ is how you assess market value when you’re looking to go to market. You don’t need to do it 18 months before the end of the player’s contract.

There is no reason to know what George is worth in April or May 2021 because it’ll change enormously between now and when the agent is actually negotiating. Just consider how much Hodgo would’ve been worth at the end of 2019 compared to now.

If the agent wants a ballpark for his own interest, he can estimate using the salaries offered to other players in comparable positions, e.g. Reynolds, Townsend, Moses.

If this rumour is true, and it feels like it’s got some legs, most notably because George hasn’t denied it, then it can’t be written off as fair play for the agent. He was looking to do something against the current contract that is less than half complete.

It undermines the current contract and causes loss of trust with the current club.

To me, observers can take two general views: the agent wasn’t shopping George to Sydney clubs or he was which is really poor form and supports the club’s position that George wasn’t committed.

We can’t just accept it as true but okay.

[greeneyed]

You’re not even permitted to do it, with two years left on a contact.

[Botman]

Suggesting that shopping a player around 2 years out from his ability to move clubs and framing it as due dilligance is really quite something. Im very pro player, my thoughts on this are well documented, but come on now... let's be intellectually honest here and call a spade a spade
the guy didnt want to be here, he'd have rather been in warmer climate and now his situation has changed and he'd rather be home with the support of family for the next stage in his family life.

he's entitled to do what is best for him, he should do what is best for him. So too should the club. It would be nice to support a club who handles these matters professionally and keep things in house even in the event they "feel" the player is not acting professionally. The club cannot control how others act, they have total control how they act.

[The Nickman]

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

You clearly didn’t read the quote: “the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much”.

“It’s something we need to keep a little more in house”. The very next line.

You obviously didn’t read it either.

[greeneyed]

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

You clearly didn’t read the quote: “the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much”.

“It’s something we need to keep a little more in house”. The very next line.

You obviously didn’t read it either.

I read it alright.

[The Nickman]

Doesn’t sound like it.

[gangrenous]

Yup, the club overreacted and handled this HORRIBLY! It has all the hallmarks of a traditional Rocky Stewart dummy spit.

Yeah i don’t actually disagree with the clubs decision to release him early
For mine this season is absolutely gone now, he’s not coming back in 2022 and is suffering mental health issues
It’s time for him and us to part ways. I know he wants to go on until the end of the year but we can’t allow that when it’s causing such distress that he struggling to play or train

However there was a very simple and easy way to manage this, the club could have given him the week and used the bye week to negotiate terms on an immediate release that could include some money beyond what has been paid already, maybe 2 months pay to cover him whilst he arranged his trip home
And for us, it affords us time to assess in house options, it would involve an agreement that he can’t play for another nrl club in 2021 or 22 and everyone moves on

They handled business like children throwing the toys out the pram. Which is not ideal at all

I think the problem with this is probably the club needing him off the books as early as possible to be able to play salary cap games to help recruiting.

They’d probably prefer legal fees in a battle because they wouldn’t count on the cap.

[greeneyed]

Doesn’t sound like it.

What makes you think so?

[Vintagecrop]

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

You clearly didn’t read the quote: “the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much”.

“It’s something we need to keep a little more in house”. The very next line.

You obviously didn’t read it either.

GE's got it right.

[Vintagecrop]

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

You clearly didn’t read the quote: “the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much”.

“It’s something we need to keep a little more in house”. The very next line.

You obviously didn’t read it either.

GE's got it right.

[Vintagecrop]

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

You clearly didn’t read the quote: “the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much”.

“It’s something we need to keep a little more in house”. The very next line.

You obviously didn’t read it either.

GE's got it right.

[Vintagecrop]

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

You clearly didn’t read the quote: “the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much”.

“It’s something we need to keep a little more in house”. The very next line.

You obviously didn’t read it either.

GE's got it right.

[Vintagecrop]

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

You clearly didn’t read the quote: “the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much”.

“It’s something we need to keep a little more in house”. The very next line.

You obviously didn’t read it either.

GE's got it right.

[Vintagecrop]

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

You clearly didn’t read the quote: “the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much”.

“It’s something we need to keep a little more in house”. The very next line.

You obviously didn’t read it either.

GE's got it right.

[Vintagecrop]

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

You clearly didn’t read the quote: “the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much”.

“It’s something we need to keep a little more in house”. The very next line.

You obviously didn’t read it either.

GE's got it right.

[gangrenous]

Not sure if it’s just me, but I think GE’s got it right.

[greeneyed]

That’s seven times. GE’s got it right. I’m leaving that up for now.

[Canberra Milk]

If anything, sounds to me like he's in the Ricky camp (unsurprisingly) and having a go at players who spoke publicly (Hodgson)

[Canberra Milk]

That’s seven times. GE’s got it right. I’m leaving that up for now.

[Coastalraider]

Blues star Jack Wighton keeps George Williams talk in house



NSW Blues utility Jack Wighton says enough has been said on George Williams' exit from the Canberra Raiders and he felt all the talk should have been kept in house.

"I've got no comment on that. I think the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much so I won't be commenting on that. It's something we've got to keep a little more in house. I've got not much to say on that."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280

Andrew Johns, Darren Lockyer write off Raiders' season: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/andrew-joh ... 2f31c046a4

Jack’s comments are consistent with Hodgson’s and Bateman’s that they’re sick of all this **** being leaked out to the media.

I just wonder who is telling all this crap to Paul Kent and Hooper!

Hodgo and Bateman were so over it leaking to the media, they went and started talking to the media and kept the cycle refreshed.

You constantly ask who is leaking this. And I constantly reply, everyone. It’s how the game of narrative control works.

[The Nickman]

Not sure if it’s just me, but I think GE’s got it right.

Yeah, well I’ve changed my mind, now that well liked and respected poster *checks notes* vintagecrop has drilled it into me. I suspect GE’s maybe got it right after all.

[GreenMachine]

That’s seven times. GE’s got it right. I’m leaving that up for now.

Have you ever been so right?

[FROG]

It just dawned on me that we cannot replace George until he signs the release. I'm assuming no update here?

[Canberra Milk]

It just dawned on me that we cannot replace George until he signs the release. I'm assuming no update here?

So we can sue him for damages. Unless he has actual evidence of mental health issues, in which case I wonder if there's any dispensation from the NRL

[Pete Cash]

I mean you can sue people for any reason you want (suing isnt winning) but I would doubt the standard player contract doesn't include provisions for sick days. If he was smart enough to immediately talk to the RLPA they would have told him to go to an independent doctor who would sign out a person as ill because of mental health as soon as a patient says "i am feeling depressed". As I mentioned before I have suffered mental health issues my entire life and whenever I have needed a sick note for it (mostly during uni) doctors will sign it no problem at all.

I also think it would be wiser to negotiate a payout as close to the clubs desire (zero dollars) than Georges desire (his entire 2021 contract) as possible. While he may have breached his contract i believe due to the fact the players appear to believe he is genuinely going through mental health issues it would be smarter to just sort this out behind closed doors. I also think it would be a bad look to sue a player for future recruitment. We are undesirable enough as is. Nico Hynes for example had his career derailed by mental health issues early on. Would suing Williams here make us more or less desirable to him ?

[Elcaptcroker]

I’m in agreement with Wighton, let this thing die already.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Canberra Milk]

Well if the mental health issues are that bad, that's why I wonder if we can get salary cap dispensation from the NRL. Anyway the club should just negotiate a payout deal asap. I'm not saying we should actually sue him, just that there's risk on his side too. He'd similarly be wise to negotiate a deal asap

[Roger Kenworthy]

Blues star Jack Wighton keeps George Williams talk in house



NSW Blues utility Jack Wighton says enough has been said on George Williams' exit from the Canberra Raiders and he felt all the talk should have been kept in house.

"I've got no comment on that. I think the team and everybody else has already talked about it too much so I won't be commenting on that. It's something we've got to keep a little more in house. I've got not much to say on that."

Read more: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/ ... /?cs=14280

Andrew Johns, Darren Lockyer write off Raiders' season: https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/andrew-joh ... 2f31c046a4

Really going out on a limb there.

[Get back the Ten]

Well if the mental health issues are that bad, that's why I wonder if we can get salary cap dispensation from the NRL. Anyway the club should just negotiate a payout deal asap. I'm not saying we should actually sue him, just that there's risk on his side too. He'd similarly be wise to negotiate a deal asap

You can sack a player who doesn’t turn up to training
Training is contractual it non negotiable in professional sports.
The Raiders will win this one


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The Nickman]

Well if the mental health issues are that bad, that's why I wonder if we can get salary cap dispensation from the NRL. Anyway the club should just negotiate a payout deal asap. I'm not saying we should actually sue him, just that there's risk on his side too. He'd similarly be wise to negotiate a deal asap

You can sack a player who doesn’t turn up to training
Training is contractual it non negotiable in professional sports.
The Raiders will win this one


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So there's no such thing as sickies or mental health days??

Let me get this straight, the purpose of the "wellness officer" is if you message him to say you're not up to training then you get sacked?? Wow, what a job.