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Toulon snares Semi Rad-Rah-Rah

12th January, 2017
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Semi Radradra is off to France. Bon voyage! (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Expert
12th January, 2017
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Semi Radradra? Of course he’s going to France. Why wouldn’t he? There’s money in France, heaps of it.

And good player like him, with his skill-set – running very fast in a powerful, fluid fashion, capable of going 80 at speed and exciting the people – rugby union will always covet that sort of player. And rugby league can’t compete. Rugby league is a small fish in a mighty big bowl.

Rugby league doesn’t of course think it’s a small fish given the relative ratings and mega-money of State of Origin, for instance, and the fact that four of the five highest-rating TV shows for 2016 were rugby league matches.

And rugby league just signed a $1.8 billion television deal, and one day the clubs will work out how much their governing body will give them.

But rugby league should know its place. Doesn’t have to like it. But it should be realistic about it.

Its place?

Rugby league, in terms of money – which is, you know, quite a large bargaining chip in the greater schema of man-movement that is the buying and selling of top football players – can’t compete with rugby union.

If rugby union wants a league man, rugby union will get that man, just as American football would, and just as Australian rules would were the AFL to ever countenance the idea of going down the path of Israel and Karmichael again – one would doubt it, but never know, moneyball is a cut-throat game of thrones.

Rugby league, you see, has a ceiling – let’s call it a “cap” – on salaries, on how much it can play its employees. It’s in part dictated by the size of the Australian market, which by international standards is small – and in another part to stop the clubs from pissing the money against the wall in the arms race for top players.

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And $1.5 million for Semi Radradra for two years is not a lot of French francs in the greater schema of international Rah-Rah.

Consider, just for instance, the Hong Kong Sevens. It’s run by the Hong Kong rugby union which comprises a six-club ‘Premier League’ and a bunch of what could be called ‘Subbies’ clubs in lower divisions.

And each year – because of the Hong Kong Sevens tournament held across one weekend in April – this non-profit organisation ploughs millions back into itself. There is a facilities fund worth $US20 million. The HKRFU has $US35 million worth of assets. Not bad for a few days on the piss.

Hence the ARU’s Sydney Sevens.

This journo’s heard from a couple of figures within ARU that Asian business types, looking to capitalise on the popularity of the Hong Kong Sevens are researching the viability of a franchise-based sevens competition in the mould of the IPL and BBL T20 cricket comps.

Played in Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, maybe Darwin. Franchise-based, full of stars, 6-8 week tournament. Bunch of matches on the telly every night. Heap of money. Bob is your father’s brother.

Parramatta Eels winger Semi Radradra

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Can’t tell you where it’s at. But the money men are thinking about it, and working out how to make it sexy enough to sell.

You reckon a bunch of the NRL’s best off-contract stars wouldn’t fancy a dabble? Still money for six weeks muck-about?

That it wouldn’t entice their managers to make flying stops across Asia?

Maybe the NRL could enter a team? Two teams! Queensland and the Blues! Prove global supremacy…
Maybe not.

But the Rah-rah’s “product” – the league men are watching. I texted an NRL player about whether he’d consider playing on the wing in French rugby for $1.5 million, he texted back: “F*** oath.”

Granted, rugby union couldn’t get Andrew Johns because Andrew Johns, for rugby league and Channel Nine, was too big to fail.

But it was quite bloody close. And rugby union, at least for Johns’ first few forays out onto ANZ Stadium in a sky-blue Waratahs top, would’ve owned the airwaves.

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By some estimates the value of the publicity Johns would’ve generated would’ve seen the ARU recoup their outlay in three matches.

Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri and Mat Rogers were similar draw-cards.

But then rugby union didn’t try hard enough to secure Holy Joseph. It went hard, for sure. Old mate John O’Neill most often gets his man.

Yet some decision-makers within the code argued that Johns was too old, too prone to injury and too, shall we say, loose on the juice (as Johns would admit, and does).

So rugby union didn’t pay mad overs for Joey.

But old mate Mourad Boudjellal, President of Rugby Club Toulonnais, he would’ve. And Joey would be his kind of guy: capable of filling footy stadiums; very good at rugby XIII; a little bit interesting.

Should rugby league worry about a potential player-drain to cashed-up-and-crazy rugby union clubs in Europe and Japan and Hong Kong and Dallas Cowboys?

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No. Some will go, sure. Every year there’ll be a couple, maybe four, off-contract guys who’ll be offered twice what they can get in Australia, and they’ll go to rugby union.

A few will flirt with the NFL. Because NFL.

Rugby league isn’t a private night-club. Europe and Japan can see in. And the agents are out there spruiking their men in different languages, testing the waters of the world.

Radradra still has the not-so-small matter of a domestic violence charge hanging over his head and may not even play for Parramatta anyway.

In front of the cameras Parramatta Eels chief executive Bernie Gurr sounded relatively sanguine about losing the star wing man. But then by Parramatta Eels standards losing a star player may be something to be relatively sanguine about given the club’s travails in recent times.

Anyway. Old rugby league continues to provide storylines and TV still loves the maggoty old bad-boy.

Meanwhile, rugby union’s Sydney Sevens is on February 3-5, and it’ll be really, really hot.

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And as Jarryd Hayne did last year, there’ll be the odd league man having a look over the fence.

There always will be.

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