"One more mess up and I am out, my contract is up": Fifita's fears for his career

Sorry but he's actually the first person to publicly support someone who is a murderer. It is not okay to do this. If any TV personality came out and supported a murderer, paedophile, any other kind of grub they would lose their job - no questions asked, no second chances (or third or fourth). Missing out on kangaroos jersey is the least of his worries.

Yes it would have been interesting if Jonathan Thurston had come out in support of an Aboriginal prisoner. I know it's only hypothetical , but would he be judged differently. My gut instinct says yes.

Well said...

Hard Yards made all the relevant points for me . Maybe if the NRL started treating its players as adults in these situations they may start to act like adults . We can hope at least . Everyone seems to think the NRL is different to life . Eg . If you get drunk and make a jerk of yourself at an office Christmas party ,you may not get the sack ,but you may never get to feel the same about working there again . The integrity units drawing out of its investigation , Kangaroo non selection etc says to me they would love for Fifita to walk away they just don't want to be held accountable and open to litigation . If he leaves of his own accord , problem solved . Where's the revelation in that course of action ? Fifita may know the game of league like the back of his hand and be really good at it , but unfortunately he hasn't had good guidance regarding the politics of it . Thats just the way it goes sometimes . Sometime you just have to pull your head in . If you choose not to , that's fine too , just learn to live with the consequences . He isn't the first to find himself in this situation and won't be the last .

I was wondering the same. Consorting with criminals is what they are calling it, lol. Is Oz turning into a fascist state? Apparently Fifi visited this crim in the clink one time only, at the request of family members of the crim, who were worried that he might harm himself, or worse. I really fail to see how this can possibly be anyone else's business. I suspect some ratbag must have leaked it to the media. I would like to think that in bygone days the story would have been left alone, for the dignity of those involved, be it the relatives of the victim, or of the person convicted of the terrible crime. But we seem to be living in different times, it is the era of the internet, social media, and SJWs, were the act of vilifying people is viewed as proving oneself to be morally superior to others.

FWIW. The Barry is the best voice of reason in this. Hes not condoning the actions of Fifita, hes condemning the inaction and lack of transparency of the NRL and the IU. Before we go all witch hunt and angry, lets take a step back and think about whether the process that the NRL has chosen to take is fair. This could have been dealt with long ago, rather than dragging into the offseason and overshadowing the CSSFC first premiership Whether its Free/For/Forgive lets just take a minute before we keep raging on based on our hatred.

Fifita signed a letter of intent with Wallyb's a few years ago, he then said how he would prefer to stay in League but was doing it for the money and the ARU tore up his offer, they wanted serious players not mercenaries. The ARU have enough problems without Fifita.

You didn't disagree with me... Accusing someone you've never met of being a liar and suggesting she's intimidated by her husband without one shred of evidence is worse...

The media need to leave this guy alone. He's clearly got mental health issues and sounds unstable. What if the unthinkable happens and he offs himself? For his part he needs to stay away from all media and spend time with those important to him.

He certainly will escape the negative headlines there.

You are not much of a guru if you have to resort to using foul language and calling people names when they do not agree with you.

Wallabies are in dire need of a quality number 8. Fifita obviously fits the bill, moreover he played rugby as a teenager, indeed he was in the Brumbies development squad.

Scared of him? And f-wits like you have the nerve to call players grubs.

she is his wife and is just sticking up for him or is scared of him.

No one will sack him until he chooses to stuff up Thats the problem Don it could be an extremely minor offence that they somehow find just to sack him. Lets face it if they cant investigate a simple wrist lettering in whats been 8 weeks or more then when will it be sorted. Just after SOO selection maybe?

I can't see what you guys are complaining about tbh. As long as they stay consistent and the next blokes are treated in the same manner I think it's long overdue and a precedent has been set. I just hope they stick to it now.

The reason it keeps dragging on in the media is the NRL hasn't dealt with it. Once it's finalised for good or bad it will be out of the news cycle. The NRL has kept it front and centre. It's still not dealt with.

I agree with all you've said The Barry, the NRL has abysmally handled the distinctions and reasons between handing out punishments for bringing the game into disrepute and saying the courts/police handled that one so we don't think there needs to be additional punishment. And the proportions of punishment and lack of game suspensions handed to other players is wholly inconsistent with the current applications. Regarding the broncos players, I believe it was the Broncos themselves that fined them around 120K and the NRL did not much, similarly with inglis I believe it was the storm who stood him down for the two weeks not the NRL. Both certainly incidents that bring more disrepute than some strapping for sure. From an image point view this Fifita stuff feels to me to have dragged on more in the media -for whatever strange reasons - than those incidents did, which I'd imagine factors into the NRL decision making process about reputation damage - (not sure if NRL and decision making process can go in the same sentence though). Likewise with pearce it seemed like a firestorm of media and social media attention. I may have written my point poorly and it may have been better placed after comments I've seen from others. What I was trying to say is that regardless of our opinions on if a punishment was handed down or was sufficient, some reprimand in some shape did occur from a body, be it the courts, NRL or club. And without a public appeal that is all we have to go forward with whether we agree to the ruling or not. I felt a trend in comments (not from yourself The Barry) I've read in a number of different articles that were trying to say that Fifta's past should't count against him but other players past should. - Not to trying to suggest which was the biggest c#ck up or what sufficient punishments should be. Bottom line for me is we are all just fed up with the total lack of due process and consistency particularly with incidents brining the game into disrepute. Hopefully this 'new' stand about player standards will be consistent into the future, though you're right about the hollow ring it has.

It's about perception. Fifita advertised on national tv his support for an ex bikie one punch killer. I don't think it could be worse. He needs to think about who he chooses to be friends with. I agree wiht the NRL.

Congratulations on your brilliant and meaningful contributions on matters Fifita. My favourite rake, Jake Friend, had a chequered start to his career. Contract extensions are the topic of the week and Jake had a lengthy spell as a dishwasher, which helped him on the path to straight thinking and a contract extension and captaincy to boot. Lucky is the man with talent to play NRL. A summer at the sink may help Andrew's career from going down the gurgler.