The NRL should let Benji Marshall gallop off to Japan

Crosscoder, I think what you are forgetting is that Benji is OFF CONTRACT. He isn't doing it his off season, and still contracted to the Tigers. He will be off contract, no club. Your examples are not valid. If you work for the SMH, and quit your job, you can work for whoever you like. Then when you finish that job, you can come back, if the SMH wants you. Happens all the time in business. For example JON himself. Left rugby, went to soccer, now back at rugby...... Benji will be off contract and he can do what he likes, rugby, volleyball, foxy boxing...... the NRL do not own people. If Benji is such a talent, then the NRL would be silly to stop him coming back.

Fragglerocker. Agree i am sick of the whining,and hated the advent of SL.Gallop threatening other codes please.However saying that it is not a one way street, as it appears to be shown on this thread,. Suggest you check the then CEO of the ARU calling the 2000 rl world cup a mickey mouse event.Tthe same gent stating ru would be No 1 in NSW and Qld and no2 in the AFL states after the 2003RWC .The same gent bleating on about players being poached by rl,despite the players in his game did not recieve "officially" payments..it was Ok then,but if a leader of another code has a whinge ,it is suddenly the pits. Union talent spotters also attend junior rl school and club competitions, and have done so since the advent of open professionalism in 95/6 thereabouts.Ask Michael O'Connor what is his current remit with union. That same code has been doing it since the end of the war in France,bleeding rl dry at juior ansd senior level. If you think union has a record of co=operating with rival codes,you obviously ignore history : Union in France trying to kill of rl in 1941.The post war French govt refusing to allow rl to use the name rugby in its title.The poaching of players from rl during the "amateur" post war years until the game went openly pro.The double booking of grounds by French clubs tpo prevent rl being played on council owned grounds on occasions. The lobbying of Italian Govt by union officials ,to prevent rl in the 50s from securing 3rd party insurance,leading to its demise. Oh and in Japan some ru players wanted to try their hand at playing rl in that country,and were threatened with expulsion ,a few years back.Max Mannix formerly of the Bulldogs was tring to develop rl in Japan ATT. Not a bad coperative effort it would appear,the trouble is the co operation is with govts and councils. Yes both codes are professional,and even John O'neill admitted the grassroots of union had been neglected.Continuing to buy rl players is hardly a good panacea for grassroots development. Rl doesn't have a habit of cooperating with other codes, is utter nonsense.Check A League in Newcastle and Melbourne when the Victory played at OP,and there is co operation with the Titans and the new GC A League franchise as there is in Townsville.Friendly but not over teh top I might add.BTW suggest you ask the Parramatta two blues got some of their money to assist them:got it! the Parramatta rl club.

Jameswm. Glad you brought up the cases of Vickerman and Elsom.Reality check: They were not going overseas to play in the English SL.Hardly a confronting ahem, crosscode issue. John O'Neill would have handled it better.In what way? He is often spoken as being a strong leader compared to his predecessor. If you think he would let people like Lote and Mortlock have a stint in rl,whilst playing union you are kidding. So it is being narrow minded by a sport's leader ,to protect a rule in place allowing 3rd party payments to a certain level,so as not to favour one club against others.So it is being petty to ensure all clubs are viable financially and playerwise.Even John as an ex banker(although these days that profession has taken a hammering),would ensure the viability of his code and s14 clubs before an individual..That is all Gallop is trying to do IMO. Do you think Gallop would have shot off the cuff,as any person with a legal background would have discussed the issue with others within the NRL and obtained legal advice,before making the decision. Union is indeed gathering pace,as is league in this country and overseas.BTW if it is good enough to call one code league in the media,QED the same applies to rugby(union).Neither has ownership or patent rights to the name. Play it out in the media LOL.The media throws in everything they hear ,see or get on the grapevine.It is their bread and butter.The NRL IMO would have preferred this to be played in house. I too chuckle when I read some ru people talk restraint of trade,yet 100 years if you played rl you were banned from union.I am still awaiting for the sporting discrimination to end in private schools against rl.Ru has no influence in that area?

Rabbitz Comparing Bird to Benji is ludicrous. The difference is Bird is also facing a court case,and has been banned from playing for his club the Sharks and in the NRL.Just the same as for Carney.He is therefore currently repeat currently a non contracted player. Benji is currently a contracted player until 31/10,and he wants the Japan clause into an extended contract ie a contract that would be negotiated before the current one ends. The latest news is Benji would be rquired to play pre season in Japan,thereby eating into his NRL season. Flexible morality LOL has nothing to do with it.He(Gallop) is protecting his code.People seem also to forget(which Gallop) the fans and supporters of the Wests Tigers ,pay their memberships and ticketing and buy merchandise partly due to the influence on the field of star players.

Interestingly, David Gallop has supported the idea of Greg Bird playing Rugby Union (http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25083414-5001023,00.html) for Southern Districts in the Shute Shield competition. This position appears a little contradictory in regards his push to stop Marshall playing Rugby Union. I guess the difference is he wants to be rid of Bird and to keep Marshall. The cynical side of me says that Gallop has "flexible" morals in regard to Rugby Union, or maybe, he is hoping Bird will hurt the image of Union, while stopping Marshall will limit any positive media attention from his switch. Like I said it is just my cynical side....

For 100 years anybody who played rugby was banned from playing union by the union authorities. Was that ok?

Yeah Izzy should go to rugby now as he'd 10 years to win another trophy playing for the Reds and the Wallabies. The big issue here is not Benji Marshall playing a few games in the off season is the precedent it sets for other players to head off and play rugby at any time during the year - not just the off season. RL clubs could start contracting players from say round 13 until such time as their team is out of contention. I'm sure the Wests Tigers have it in their mind to rest Benji over the first few months of season '10 then ease him back in just before SOO so that he can lead the Tigers through the SOO period. It would lead to clubs contracting rugby players for 'guest appearances'. Karmichael Hunt could play for the Reds in the S14 then head back to the Broncos from June onwards. If this happens you may as well kiss the salary cap goodbye and the end of a close NRL competition making it something akin to the S14 where year after the year the same teams end up at the top of the competition and the same teams are down the bottom.

I will state I love both codes however Gallop is forever paranoid about Rugby. Every time a League player switches he goes into attack mode " Rugby can't produce there own " and have to sign our players. Absolute BS. Rugby is developing some great talent as seen in Super 14. Besides League players find Union an attractive option and obviously the Financial benefit is telling without a salary cap. The other line I find hilarious when a player switches is " He can go, there will be another so & so coming through ". That may well be the case however how many stars can they afford to keep losing ?. I don't know whether Benji would make it in Super or European Rugby. Perhaps he would excell as a winger or Fullback but that would be it. I know this argument is based around Benji playing a stint in Japan and not a full time move. I reckon the ARU will have a crack at Israel in the next couple of years. Izzy is only 20 and already acomplished so much, Premiership win, Origin Series win and played for the Kangaroos. If I am the Qld Reds I would be going all out to get him.

Yeah, Why not let every player in the NRL go to Japan or France and Play Union, whenever they want.

I'm just getting a little sick of the NRL's constant whining about having players stolen by union. There are still NRL scouts wandering around junior union games looking for kids to sign, and they've been signing players from union since Daly Messenger in 1908. They treat their supporters as an expedable commodity (The Super League War) and after all that, Gallop still has the cheek to stand in front of a camera with a straight face and try to claim he's a poor victim. Sorry Gallop, I was born in a league area (Illawarra), grew up with league and saw the 'loyalty' that rugby league showed to the Illawarra. It wasn't a merger it was a hostile takeover. The only league I watch nowadays is the English competition. I watch AFL, Soccer, NFL, Ice Hockey, Gaelic football, Hurling, basically everything but the NRL. Union has a record of cooperation with their 'competing' codes that league doesn't have. Remember the Rugby World Cup in 2003? The ARU coordinated with their rival codes to minimise disruptions due to ground conflicts and even used the event in a way that mutually supported different codes. The Australia v Ireland rugby game was deliberately scheduled in Melbourne the night after the Australia v Ireland International Rules game, and in the Melbourne Cup Week. The International Rules game had it's largest ever Australian crowd, and many supporters watched both games. All the NRL seems to do is wander around with a big stick threatening other codes, stealing players where they can and placing their spokes-muppet Gallop in front of a camera everytime someone steals one of theirs. They make me sick.

I dont think Marshall would ever really be a chance to crack the All Blacks.

You say I think John O'Neill would "wholeheartedly support it" if Mortlock wanted to do likewise? Of course not. But he would be smart enough to handle it better, and he has a record of handling it better. Look at the cases of Rocky Elsom and Dan Vickerman, who wanted similar types of sabbaticals overseas. This was handled well, though obviously the ARU wold have preferred them to stay. OK it's not a sabbatical in league, but no rugby player would do that as rugby now has more earning opportunities. Gallop is being narrow minded and petty. He's hurting RL - again. He just doesn't get it, or doesn't want to. Rugby (it's called "rugby". not "union") just collects pace every year, compared to league. I don't expect him to be happy about the RL players going to rugby, but I do expect him to have more common sense and business nous than he's displayed so far. All he'll achieve with his stance on Benji is either keep a disgruntled player in the NRL or lose him for good. Smart move. Why play it out in the media? I just sit back and chuckle, though.

Jameswm In effect you are saying if J O'Neill was in a similar situation with Mortlock and say the ESL,he would wholeheartedly support it,and by not doing so would assist rl.Amazing what the boot on the other foot would do. Gallop is doing what he is paid to do protect and grow the brand. Gasnier going to France,has not affected sponsorship with the Dragons,in fact it has more sponsors this year than last.SBW and Gallop's carrying on hasn't hindered the number of memberships for the club.Gallop has stated he doesn't want NRl players going to ru if possible,I wouldn't expect him to form a cheer squad.He is hardly doing much for union. He was in the middle of contract negotiations with the Tigers,and wanted to have the off season stint with Japan ru.Of course once he is out of contract he can play vigoro if he so chooses.That is then,this is now. OK then,but don't expect a Tigers contract until he gets back injured or otherwise. His mgr is playing a balancing act. You obviously are unaware that Les Catalans will appear on French Orange cable TV this year. Rugby league also had a renasisance in France in 1940(with over 200 clubs),which was swiftly dealt with by assistance from the FRU officials in 1941. It is therefore no surprise rugby union has had a tremendous head start in France,and of course the farce that was amateurism in that country,gave them a decent lift up. I also get regular updates in what is happening with rl in France .It is growing grassroots wise,and has Toulouse in the National conference 1 ,with other english clubs.A Toulouse sL club is a certainty down the road. treizistes is correct in one aspect,there is growing concern by local French union players,with the number of imports.At one stage there were 113 in the premier league.

Its not an anti RU thing its more a fear of opening the door for players to see if they can cut it in union I think Benji himself is going to have to make a decision.I get the impression if the All Blacks wanted him tomorrow for the same money he gets at the Tigers he would go in a heartbeat,we all know thats not going to happen Benji will risk alot if he goes to Rugby and this is where hes doubting himself,do i stay in league and probably do well in it and play out my career or give Rugby a shot and follow a dream and get paid well doing it,but it could go ass up,thats why the Japan option is a good one for him but a fear for Gallop. I know people will say "hes only going to japan for the money" Im sure he is but i also think he wants to test the water a bit and get a feel for if he could make a serious impact in Rugby Union,if it dosnt feel right he will just slot back into league and get a nice pay day. Gallop does not want to open that option up for players which is fair enough,but Gallops big problem is hes not coming up with any alternatives to keep players in the game,league needs to if its going to survive.

It's pretty obvious the administrator doing the most for rugby in this country is David Gallop. For those who liken what Benji is doing to working for a rival during your long service leave period, you're factually wrong. Benji's Tigers contract expires in October this year, at which time he'll be out of contract, and able to do what he wants. If he signs to play in Japan and comes back here say in March 2010, why shouldn't he play NRL if he wants, and start a new contract? While he's bound by that contract, he might not be able to play rugby. It's pretty basic. And I don't know that I've seen bigger example of hypocrisy than that of "Treizistes" (though there's only one of him), who complains bitterly about rugby stealing league players. And the comments on league in France are seriously misguided - I've lived over there, and league gets zero time on TV, and barely even a column in L'Equipe, their excellent daily sports newspaper. Rugby on the other hand is enjoying a real renaissance in France, with huge interest.

I trust it will be resolved to the benefit of both parties. Tauber at least should be aware(but as a mgr conveniently ignores) comparing Rogers,Sailor etc is a tad different.Their situation was simply they finished one code,then played another the following year.Benji wants a piece of both cakes in the same year.The club is ready to accept the 3.5m grant from the NRL,and then wants it to be flexible on off season jaunts.The other clubs would want to jump on the bandwaggon,and there would be a 3 ring circus. Gallop is doing what any CEO worth his salt would do protect his brand name and that includes those who continue to create it. I wonder ,if John o'Neill would be accepting of Stirling Mortlock playing in the English Super league, during the off season for a short stint.I think absolutely not. To somehow suggest that as SBW et al are playing union overseas and ATM there is little publicity,funny that Danny Weidler brings their situation up contantly.And of course there is the next stage if Gasnier and SBW play for their respective countries in union upon their return.Who gets the free publicity/ not the NRL. We get complaints from players,Cameron Smith of the Storm wo complained to gallop that the players in the NRL are playing too many games ATM.Yet we have Benji who had a dickie shoulder,play more games in toto than the likes of C Smith. When I keep getting the restraint of trade jazz thrown up and the SL league atrocity and breakiing of contracts ,I am reminded of the poor French leaguies who couldn't play the game during the occupation years,as it was a requirement to play rugby union instead.They were denied to play the game they loved. No code can claim the moral high ground on that one.

A Union player could play any sport even a pro sport whilst it was an amateur lol sport bar Rugby League (yes spiro, even League has Rugby in the title, how about using once in a while). Funny that huh? Now you guys want all the Leaguies to play your game and you don't care how your mob goes about it, I think the 100 year crusade of the Unionites against RL players didn't end in 1995, I think union going pro was another way these warped people thought they could finally kill off the bastard code. Let him play I say, because each time the Union code signs another Rugby League player, it drives another nail into its coffin out here in Australia, no amount of spin can fix the game out here, and each Rugby player that heads to union for their 30 pieces of silver obviously only does it for the $$$, the normal sports fan out here can see it, it's only the media who talks up how great it is even though everyone else knows different. Heck, let him go to France with the other players, more fool the FFR. They are driving their own players out and soon they'll have no where to go bar Rugby League. Yes, that RL code is still kicking and growing over there and without the vichy style FFR puppets there to stop it now, Union players are free to do what they like. So use Benji, hell, sign a whole bloody team and get it over with quick smart, it's only damaging thew union code in the long run and it's also giving RL excellent exposure. Pip pip.

Spiro - forget Benji being a past Touch star, he played for Wests in the Touch State Cup last year in Port Macquarie in December. There's even NBN TV footage of him on-line. Perhaps Touch isn't a 'competitor'??!!! Gallop's agenda seems to be a broader one, he wants to stop other players from doing this, regardless of the mertis of Benji's case. Personally the NRL doesn't have a leg to stand on with this one.

Gallop had said about player burn out being an issue. Benji doesn't play SOO, and plays only 1 or 2 tests a year. A far cry from player burn out. Gallop is clutching at straws. There is no direct link of competition. You just have to look at SBW to see that. Sure there was media hype when he switched, played his first game, but now the media articles have dried up, and unless your living in France then you won't even know whats happening each day with the French club scene, unless your a devoted fan who checks it up on the net. Benji has been smart over this whole affair. He knew that he wouldn't be able to play while still under a contract, so he is going to wait until his contract expires then play. If the Tiger's still want him after his stint in Rugby then he can re-sign, providing that he re-signs before the end of trade week. As for the cash being breach of salary cap, there is none because he is not selling "Benji NRL" player, but "Benji Football Star". I say good luck to Benji, and hope it all comes off.