Lote loses it with Wests Tigers signing
Roar Guru
By LeftArmSpinner, 30 Oct 2009 LeftArmSpinner is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- ARU, Lote Tuqiri, NRL, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Wests Tigers
Lote Tuqiri attempts to offload to Waratah's Lachlan Turner - Photo by Oscar Jimenez
2009 has been an Annus Horibilis for Lote Tuqiri. First he loses his $1m ARU contract, and then he can only replace it with a $400,000 deal from Wests Tigers. The value of “Brand Tuqiri” is in free fall.
And it all stems from Lote, the football player, as opposed to Lote the brand and billboard, losing sight of his primary objective.
Like every highly paid, professional sportsman, he has to keep playing not just good, but great football on the field.
First, he prepared poorly.
He was way too big for a winger. Compare his physique to any of the current back threes in either league or union and you will see that he “overcapitalised” his frame and lost his speed.
As a consequence, he played poorly for the Waratahs. For a winger, losing speed is like cutting Samson’s hair. With his speed went his confidence, in both the footrace and the collision.
Despite Deans having said repeatedly that speed is critical, Lote chose not to listen.
He scraped into the Wallabies mega-squad at the start of the 2009 international season, but week after week, he was overlooked by selectors. This must have further affected his headspace.
Already on his last chance with the Wallabies’ discipline police, he lacked the focus that game day brings and he again played up.
The farcical grandstanding and legal threats did nothing to help his brand. Rejection by several previously deep pocketed European clubs indicated that all was not well in Camp Tuqiri.
Behind the scenes, his marriage was clearly under pressure after the Canberra incident. He was on a very short leash as noises came out that he would prefer to remain in Sydney for the family.
Finally, we hear of Tuqiri’s reported decision to sign with the Wests Tigers for $400,000 per annum. This is not just another contract for him.
At 29 years old, it will be his last.
It is a pay cut on a scale never seen before, reportedly a 60 percent reduction in his pay.
It is also a massive embarrassment.
Despite supposedly being in his prime, as a player, he is a shadow of his former self and yet another example of a player not acheiving his potential, despite his natural abilities. He is now paid to sell memberships and seats.
I predict that he will not see this contract out. The Tigers will get a new coach in 2011. A new coach will need the cash to purge the Tigers squad in the same way a male lion kills the cubs of its male opponents.
Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
Rugby League articles
- Gallop and some of his precious Sydney NRL clubs must go (101)
- The NRL is back baby! (65)
- The NRL needs a vision (50)
- The NRL’s scariest players (50)
- Bulldogs setting benchmark for Sydney’s NRL clubs (46)
- Channel Nine needs NRL-cricket ODI compromise (35)
- NRL tackle count rule a surefire winner (33)
- Federal Court has it wrong on sports broadcast copyright (1)
- An open letter to Channel Nine (1)
- The NRL’s scariest players (50)
- Is the All Stars match increasing the divide? (23)
- Channel Nine needs NRL-cricket ODI compromise (35)
- The NRL needs a vision (50)
- New breed of NRL players continue to develop (22)
- Explore:
- ARU, Lote Tuqiri, NRL, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Wests Tigers
Jeff Baxter said | October 30th 2009 @ 6:03am | Report comment
An embarassment? Maybe he could dry his tears with the thousand of dollars he is still getting paid. I’m only guessing but I reckon he will somehow manage to drag himself through this crisis.
lauboy said | October 30th 2009 @ 6:19am | Report comment
If the Tigers get a new coach in 2011 then they will have lots of spare cash since Benji Marshall is likely to activiate the get-out clause in his contract
Pete said | October 30th 2009 @ 6:53am | Report comment
Talk about kicking a guy when he’s down. Lote was by far the player I most enjoyed to watch, however his image began to turnish after the Sam Norton-Knight and then the Peter Hewett incidents. Standing from the side lines he began to look as if he was getting bigger than the team. In saying that he was always there to sign autographs and spend time with kids.
I think he’ll cope playing NRL of $400K… that;s a lot more than most of the other NRL players running around in the comp get. I wish him well and look forward to seeing him run around for the Tigers.
If Dell could return as the Prodigal son after his drug indiscretions. I think Lote will fare much better.
LeftArmSpinner said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:28am | Report comment
kicking a guy when he’s down is not my style and not my intention. this is my attempt to assemble the pieces that we get from the news and try to interpret them. Several things are factual. He lost his pace, he lost his form, he wasnt in the frame for the Wallabies and he behaved badly on several, nay too many occasions.
It is not about whether he is a good guy, its about whether he is worth the money, what lessons can be learnt and a projection of the final outcome.
That he has never developed the skills and knowledge to play any position to a reasonable standard, (as opposed to filling in for an injured player) other than wing, the simplest of positions, is sadly a waste of all that time and opportunity he had at his feet.
so, not kicking, simply sadness at the waste of his talent.
Harry said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:43am | Report comment
If its really not personal, can I suggest you should have left out the stuff about his marriage then LAS, unless you are Mrs Turquiri, thats none of our business and mere specualtion.
Will be interesting to see how Lote goes in league. I think his best days are past him and he had lost that vital yard of pace … to me the death knell of his career as a world class rugby winger was sounded when he was run down from behind by the Canterbury 5/8th filling on on the wing in this year’s S14 match at Homebush.
Wendell had a great year in the NRL and there is the benchmark for Lote to perform to.
danwighton said | October 31st 2009 @ 1:11am | Report comment
On that note, while his form was relevant, I don’t think it was the reason for his falling out of favour and his non selection. And his union contract was the highest of any wallaby – at the tigers he will recieve more than all but a few in either rugby code.
I think he will be worth it in league, not only on the field but off it in terms of memberships and crowds.
Bill said | October 30th 2009 @ 7:11am | Report comment
Lote seems to love protracted contract negotiations, trying to squeeze every extra dollar he can get from interested clubs. Wanting to head over to Europe for a short stint in rugby before the start of the 2010 season is not in the NRL’s interests. It will be interesting to see if he can get his way.
Bay35Pablo said | October 30th 2009 @ 7:53am | Report comment
I always though Dell’s size, offloads and leg drive suited him more to 13 than wing in union. With Lote bulking up, he is starting to resemble Dell before he got caught on the Colombian marching powder.
Dell has done all right in returning to league, so I suspect Lote will do all right. He’ll see more of the ball in league, and not have to worry about recycling ball, so it may suit the way his game has “developed” in the last year or two.
LeftArmSpinner said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:34am | Report comment
well said. less is more. had he been more mature, and put in during his time with the ARU, he would be earning 150% per year more!!!
LeftArmSpinner said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:38am | Report comment
pwablo, (not a spelling mistake), you have to admire dell, he went off the rails and after a period of denial, took his meds, and was rescued. he has made every post a winner, and good luck to him. I personally wouldnt want to play with him, a serial pest that he is, but maybe he is good for the team.
Lote is not yet to recognise that he is off the rails, let alone go through denial and pop out the other side. he may as he has to trim his lifestyle. I suspect there is more bad news to come for Lote and so too for Willie!!!! begging for his future at sydney is embarrassing.
Paul J said | October 30th 2009 @ 7:54am | Report comment
Lote scored a try in every game in the SOO series and was considered hot property but that was back in 2002. Father time has played a big part in his decline.
His reduction in his pay is due to him being overpaid by the ARU and that the NRL clubs can not pay anyone more that $500K due to the salary cap unless they are considered the best player in the world.
LeftArmSpinner said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:40am | Report comment
paul, he is only 29, hardly over the hill. he should be in his prime. all he can show for it is a big set of pistols!
M1tch said | October 30th 2009 @ 9:36am | Report comment
and he is fresh after touching the ball twice all super rugby season
AndyRoo said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:55am | Report comment
400k is a lot for an NRL winger. He got a big chunk of money from the ARU when they terminated his contract so this extra deal with Wests Tigers is like a bonus contract.
He has done pretty well for himself, the fact at one stage the ARU was giving a winger 1 million dollars a season say more about the ARU than anyone else.
M1tch said | October 30th 2009 @ 9:36am | Report comment
the 3rd party agreements, the extra members and merchandise he will sell, its a very good investment for the Tigers
Hansie said | October 30th 2009 @ 9:31am | Report comment
I think this is an embarassment for Tuqiri. After 4 months of noise about large contracts all around the world, all he has delivered is a reasonable size league contract. And the numerous indiscretions of the last couple of years have adversely affected his reputation.
Bay35Pablo said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:41pm | Report comment
There was talk of him going to Leicester Tigers or London Irish. When I saw the headline he had gone to the Tigers, I assumed Leicester before Wests. And I’m a Balmain fan!!
I suspect he wants to be home with the family. The wife and kids won’t want to move, and he might not be trusted to be overseas on his own without them.
Trying telling the family they’re worth less than an extra $200-600K a year. You’ll take your $400K, get your pocket pissed in for coming back to league, and be happy. And still be looking at a couple of years in Japan when he retires from the NRL I’d tip ….
Ben said | October 30th 2009 @ 11:03am | Report comment
How about some relativity here – he is playing rugby/rugby league ? $1m or 400k ? It is all good. He is not doing anything noble, just playing sport so I am hardly feeling bad for him. He was playing crap rugby and like someone said, is massive with good leg drive at close quarters, like Dell, so will suit going back to NRL. Like Dell also, he was a great ambassador for rugby at a basic level but like all league players (except Dell), incoherent and immature so pretty useless to ARU and sponsors.
The Tigers will get the “Dell” factor from Tiquri from marketing and will fix him up in “3rd party deals”. If the NRL had any brains, however with David “sorry for that indescretion” Gallop (resembles Kevin Rudd in that way, full of apologies, total inaction) it will never happen, they would educate their players to be decent ambassadors at the top level and maybe the bucks would roll in, like in Union.
Jeff Baxter said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:34pm | Report comment
Decent ambassadors except for the cheating, drug taking and occasional murder? Meanwhile six NRL lads are in rwanda working their butts off to rebuild some housing for victims of the genocide. Well we focus on what we want i suppose, but i doubt very much it has much relation to what money is in each code.
John Ryan said | October 30th 2009 @ 11:47am | Report comment
Yes Ben that why more watch Rugby League on TV and general crowds than watch the ARU games in a month of Sundays,good god you cant even beat the U 20s on pay TV a lot of the time,I love the bit about incoherent to when in doubt Rugby Union supporters revert to type,and play the class card
Ben said | October 30th 2009 @ 1:57pm | Report comment
Slow down mate.
I was not playing any card.
League is great and I am glad it is back however the NRL could do a little more work with its players and it would have more cash to play with as sponsors would see the players are useful to their respective organisations.
I loved Dell in Union however he goes better in league and given the lack of foresight of the NRL and the churlish nature of the game, be it the Footy Show and all the silly antics, Dell is one of the few respectable types to promote the sport.
I cringe about the lack of maturity and respect of NRL players as much as I cringe about the lack of hardness of Wallabies in confronting ABs and Springboks. We are better than this on all counts.