Todd Carney’s manager says winning a wrongful dismissal case against Cronulla isn’t necessarily the start of the disgraced star’s return to the NRL.
The Sharks were deemed by the NRL appeals committee to have failed to follow due process before they sacked Carney after a photo of him attempting to urinate in his mouth appeared on social media last year.
The committee has ruled the Sharks should have allowed Carney to plead his case before the club’s board.
Since the decision Carney has signed a two-year deal with French-based Super League side Catalans and his manager David Riolo says there’s no concrete plans on making a bid to return to Australia.
“The finding’s come down that the decision to sack Todd, the process was flawed, that’s been vindicated,” Riolo told AAP.
“What that means all means mate? We’ll know in time but we’re in no hurry. It’s taken nine months this far to get a result so I don’t think the wheels are turning that quickly.
“It’s a step in a process. I’ve got to meet with Cronulla and talk to them, then obviously we’ve got to talk to the NRL and work out what their thoughts are about his future.
“He’s contracted to Catalans now for two years and, for the moment, that’s where he’s at.”
Sharks captain Paul Gallen said he’d love to see the playmaker back in the NRL but admitted there would have to be conditions put in place.
The key to those would be a ban on alcohol, but Gallen believes the Dally M medallist could adhere to such a restriction.
“If he wants to come back to the NRL, he has to sign a strict contract saying if anything happens that’s (to do with) alcohol-related incidents, you are banned for life,” Gallen told Triple M radio.
“He should be allowed to come back. I want to see him back in the NRL, but I think he needs an absolutely strict contract along those lines that says if you are caught doing any misdemeanour where alcohol is involved then you will be banned from the NRL for life.”
Cronulla have indicated they accept the appeals committee’s decision with chairman Damian Keogh telling News Corp that although the process was flawed, he was confident the final decision to sack Carney was inevitable.
“The big oversight was that someone needed to check that the process being followed was correct,” Keogh said.
“What’s important to remember here is that it’s not a question of the facts, it’s a question of the process, but the reality of the situation is, the decision would likely have been the same.
“I wouldn’t rule out Todd Carney returning to the NRL one day, but from my point of view there has been a lot of water that has flown under the bridge since last June.”
fishes
Guest
Never thought I'd say it either but I think I agree. Seems like we won't get a sponsor until flanno and gal are gone, and Flanagan is worse at picking a side than the english cricket team
Mals
Guest
Good fit for Drugcastle more like it.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
Manly will think about it
PGNEWC
Guest
So a Perfect Fit for Manly then!
The Barry
Roar Guru
Alex, from my perspective it was just the straw that broke the camels back. "He's done what now?!" I went in to bat for Carney plenty of times and actually wrote a roar article about his sacking from the Roosters being unfair. Everyone I guess has a breaking point and that was mine. Some people will go feral if Carney gets let back in the NRL. That won't be me but at the same time I wasn't disappointed to see the back of him.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I've moved away from thinking it's unfair on the clubs. Carney was out of the game for 12 months after the Raiders sacked him. The Roosters and in particular the Sharks went into the deal with him eyes wide open, knowing that it could blow up in their face. Likewise if he comes back into the NRL any club that signs him can't cry poor me if he plays up.
cecil
Guest
It was no PR move by Cronulla. Sacked from 3 clubs that enough chances.
Squidward
Roar Rookie
No way. They're fine were they are
cecil
Guest
Spot on Epiquin, how many chances does he get? It is unfair to the 3 clubs that already have sacked a player of his quality and also a bad example will be set for the kids if he gets another chance.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Sure, there are plenty of players that have done some of those things, but can you name another player that has done ALL of those things and is still running around for a top tier club? Plenty of players have done stupid stuff, but the difference seems to be that most of them can apologise and then keep their nose out of trouble.
The eye
Guest
Well,thankfully Brett Stewart,James Tamou,Jacob Loko and as recent as last month Kane Linnett has never done any of those..oh,wait a minute ! You can risk lives once and everything's rosy..but,the line is drawn at a comedy act ?
Alex L
Roar Rookie
I suppose my point is, if it's the rap sheet he's being kicked out for, why was he not given the boot ages ago. Realistically though he got the boot as a PR move by the NRL because the bubbler incident went viral.
The Barry
Roar Guru
And multiple DUIs And a reckless driving charge And about 7 years of being disqualified from driving And driving while disqualified And failing to stop for police And leaving the scene And a negligent driving charge And urinating on someone And jumping on cars And vandalism charges And setting someone on fire It's not just the bubbler and breaking curfews. Every time he does something like this it reflects badly on his club and the game as a whole.
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
Sure, but he has been done for drink driving. While he was disqualified. Simply blind luck someone wasn't hurt or killed while he was doing that.
astro
Guest
Geoff Toovey today: "We're obviously in the market for a replacement half," Toovey told Fairfax Media. "There are many candidates out there and Todd is one we will be interested in. We'll just let things settle a bit. We don't want to do too much with our focus on Foran. We'll look at what our options are and he's [Carney] one of them." Incredible...
Epiquin
Roar Guru
He also drove drunk (multiple times), led a police chase before fleeing on foot, urinated on a bloke in a nightclub, received a 12 month good behaviour bond for vandalism, set a bloke on fire and broke his team's alcohol ban. He wasn't let go because of the 'bubbler' incident. He was let go because he can't stay out of trouble and is a liability to any team he plays for.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
Set a person on fire? Big whoop! Drink driving and putting others' lives at risk? Big whoop. A player who can't stay out of trouble for five seconds despite the huge number of second chances he'd been afforded? Big whoop. I agree on Packer, and to some degree the Gold Coast Five, but guys like Wicks and Ma'u have made the most of their second chance. Their offenses may have been more serious in your eyes, but guys like them have paid their debt to society and demonstrated that they have turned their lives around, so I'm happy to see them get their second chance. How many chances does this make for Carney?
Skinnyman
Roar Rookie
Spot on Kaks
Alex L
Roar Rookie
The Bloke pissed in his own mouth, he didn't, say, beat a woman.
The eye
Guest
But on the grand scale of what Packer,Wicks and the Titans are about to allow the worst thing Carney has done has simulated drinking his own urine,betrayed by a friend,and broken some club curfews..big whoop,make him a lifer......I'm no Carney fan by any means but save the heavy bans for the felons..