Stuart saga: do contracts even matter anymore?

Of course contracts matter, contractual disputes keep solicitors rich and the courts busy.Stuart obviously had escape clauses built into his contract and Parramatta would have been well aware of that.

From all the posts it seems like Ricky's got better contracts lawyers than the Parra club, which is surprising because usually it goes with where the money is... So if the Parramatta Board want some help with their contracts I'd be happy to help out.

Dene on $350k? Doubt it. Who is Turner? There are 25 players in the cap, so if they dump 4, they have to get 4...

A dog decision by a big fat fibber ( Dog without the canine loyalty) ... Simple. How dare he play Victim/Family reasons card, total BS Dream Club, better deal, better Roster, better Youth team, better facilities, more united board. He's shown he has no integrity, no loyalty and totally pooped his pants, at the magnitude of the job. Ricky knows that, Para knows that and Fans know that. Be honest at least, you owe the fans and players that. The End

No barba no Dane no Martin no tuner their is your 1 million. Benny on 350,000 Dane on 350,000 Martin on 150,000 Turner on 200,000

No argument there. As adults we all make decisions. We gain or lose from each decision, but we have to live by that decision. An NRL contract is not like real life, where one can just up and leave when stuff doesn't suit. I hear there are 140 people working at the NRL - when we they DO SOMETHING in regard to making contracts as water tight as possible? A person can walk away from the contract, but it has to be at their cost and they don't play or coach till the contract they signed is completed. There are of course "get-out" clauses, but they shouldn't be allowed any more. It's all in or all out. We fans really care about our clubs, and it seems obvious that we care a whole bunch more than most of the players. Sam Ayoub was blasting the Raiders for not releasing Milford to the Broncos because his Dad was sick, as he has been for some time unfortunately. Said sickness is not as important now that Barba has beaten them to the punch in going to the Broncs, so maybe there's not as much money to be had there now. I don't think any team can afford to have two small, off the cuff, players on the field at the same time due to defence issues plus their teammates would have no idea what's going on in attack. If one of them were shaped like GI, that's a different matter.

First, it should be noted that Ricky's contract was drawn-up with a "get-out" clause...he simply exercised that right to get out. But his decision to leave is made all the worse by the fact that he took a chainsaw to Parramatta...and then left before he could rebuild it. It's now someone else's problem...they come in to restore much of what Ricky tore down (in terms of the playing list). Ricky looks terrible in all this - and the calls of "hypocrite" in relation to his criticism of Folau, seem pretty spot on. And his generous treatment by the Sydney media seems completely at odds with his ordinary coaching record. Ultimately, there just needs to be more rigour in all NRL contracts. They hardly seem worth the paper they're written on. If you wanna leave your club...no problem...you just leave.

First in, best dressed. You have to pay more than market rate at times. They also have hardly any juniors, and the ones they do half were culled. If someone is happy at one club, you obviously have to pay more to lure them away. So if you buy a bunch of players who were happy where they were, you need to pay overs. If you have 4-5 players on $50-75k a year starting out, then that leaves a lot of room in the cap vs 4-5 players on $150k. DCE and Foran were both dirt cheap & new back when Manly won in their first year. Broncos for instance, Yow Yeh was cheap, Hoffman etc. You get a junior who punches well above their weight, then come renewal you have to pay them more or lose them. That's when it gets tight, when you have all these senior players on the big money, and no-one coming through who plays well but still a junior/cheap. How many other clubs have a useless $500k/year half? Add dunno, $500-750k for misses-half-the-season Hayne, and that's a good chunk gone. Their current fullback is quite good and would be on low money.

Well said Adsy. You're absolutely spot on! Be sure to send your comments to all existing and past Board Members (over say last four years) as well as Fitzgerald. As I see it, Parra's problems are much the same as the Labour Party with Fitzgerald (aka Rudd) and Spagnalo (aka Gillard) still thinking they as individuals with big egos are bigger and better than the CLUB. Get someone like John Quayle to act as "Administrator" of the Board so as to keep control of the big egos of individual Board Members. On a brighter note we do have a wealth of playing talent coming through the ranks and next year will be the strongest playing squad we've had in years -- more success is assured provided the Board (as a group) is fair dinkum and united and tell Spags and Fitzy to pee off!

Parra co-signed a contract that allowed Stuart to leave at any time. It was there because the administration is a basket case, with all the in-fighting and lack of commitment to one goal (i.e. winning games). I'm pretty sure he would have been sacked by Parra within 6 months, so he got out when he had a better opportunity. The NRL needs teams like Parra to be competitive. Parra no doubt use all of their salary cap on their players. Maybe the NRL should be asking, how come Parra have only one star (and why are there rumours he'll leave?), while other teams have multiple Internationals - all under the same cap? If it's not hard enough to believe that their current group of stars can fit into the cap, how is it that these teams with multiple International players get to recruit any new star that comes along? Is Ferguson going to go to Parramatta, no, he'll go to a team that already has a great roster. The salary cap in theory is great but in reality it's a joke. It's just not an even playing field.

All parra had to do was not let him out o the contract, simple. Pay him to do the lawns or something. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.

I am an Eels fan; only NRL team I have ever supported. So I know hard times, I know frustrating times, and certainly times of disbelief. Queries about Stuart's credentials arrived with his signing and while some spoke of a 'Messiah' the majority wanted to see how it would pan-out with some on-field talk. It's been a tough season...really tough. Some calls were made [dumping Sandow, terminating contracts, players out of position etc] however fans were asked to buy-in to the long-term plan. We were asked to buy into a strategy, a direction. Stuarts decision to use his 'get-out' clause is very disappointing given the long-term impact of his decisions this season, however I am more angy at the parra administration. We are currently the laughing stock of the NRL. And the venemous, mediocre and immature manner in which the officials at Parramatta have conducted themselves in recent seasons has filtered through to the way the club conduct themselves, more recently on the field. The administration have become so absorbed by power-playing they have forgotten the reason we all support the beloved blue and yellow. They have made it easy for Stuart to make the decision he has. Is Ricky a hypocrite - Possibly. Has he deserted Parramatta? No, he just cut & run before he became part of the problem. I honestly think Parramatta are deserting their fans. We need some leadership both on and off ther field. Stuart can go to Canberra. Bring me a Coach who can eyeball an official and ask for performance off the filed as well as on. I don't want to live in the 80's anymore, I want a club to be proud of for the now. I want players who bleed and fight for the jersey. Is it too much to ask the same of our Administration...

The introduction of the RL Commission was supposed to cure all wrong with the code ,if you listen to Gus that Is.Just maybe Gallop was doing a reasonable job. The reffing debacle is easily fixed---just ref the bloody rules without pandering to the players. We all know if your penalised instead of being told your offside you will stop doing it.

Yes oikee, we get it - you don't like the NRL administration. But this is a purely Parramatta and Ricky Stuart issue. Nothing to do with the NRL. Firstly, the club's administration (not the NRL's fault) should never have signed Stuart in the first place and should never have allowed him to include the get out clause. Secondly, Stuart should have manned up and seen the contract out, and not cut and run as soon as the job got a little difficult. How any player can be expected to show him any respect is beyond me.

Just more handshake deals to juggle superstars around to keep clubs afloat, what a rabble this code has got itself into, wait to you see where Fergo pops up. He is like Mary Poppins Fergo, now you see him, now you dont, hey look, i am over here now, no i'm not, i poped up over here, too late i gone again.

Any weight behind Bulldogs offering Hayne a big contract rumours? As if things couldn't get any worse for Parra... Where in the world Bulldogs would find a million bucks from in the cap is beyond me unless they've got a few coming off contract.

Hypocrite ie Folau and when things get tough run for the hills. Administration that agreed to that contract should be removed. You could have secured a superstar for that worthless contract.

Good news for the Eels next season, they will not be the wooden spooners, that will be the Raiders trophy.

Contracts are just another disaster that has been created thanks to the way the code has been run. The kids are in charge of the bighouse, and players agents are writing the scripts, the commission has lost the floor.

some very good points and I definitely would not want Ricky coaching my team. there was a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave parra - so yes they are worth something. he did not break his contract. maybe we should be asking what is the point of contracts with so many get out clauses?