South Sydney have welcomed the decision of Greg Inglis to come out of retirement and sign for Super League club Warrington in 2021.
South Sydney CEO Blake Solly says the club are fully behind Greg Inglis’ decision to come out of retirement and sign for English Super League club Warrington.
Inglis has been employed by the Rabbitohs as a development coach since his retirement from the NRL last year after long-running battles with knee and shoulder injuries.
“I can’t wait to get over there and play for a club that has so much rich heritage,” Inglis said.
“I’ve played over in England many times in representative footy and love how passionate and vocal the supporters are.
“To get the opportunity to live in the UK, to play for such a powerhouse club that I believe is on the rise is something I’m looking forward to and hopefully I can add value to the team.”
Widely regarded as one of the best players of the last two decades, Inglis played 263 NRL games, made 32 State of Origin appearances for Queensland and logged 39 Tests for Australia.
Inglis will finish his coaching commitments with the Rabbitohs this season and Solly said he has full confidence his decision is the right one.
“Greg has made a wonderful contribution to this club, both on and off the field, and following our discussions with him, we believe it is in his best interests for him to resume his playing career with Warrington next year,” said Solly.
“We have a wonderful relationship with Warrington so we know he is heading to a strong and well-run organisation under the guidance of co-owner Simon Moran, CEO Karl Fitzpatrick and head coach Steve Price.
“We wish Greg the best of luck for 2021 in England and we look forward to seeing Greg around Redfern Oval this year before finishing his current tenure with the Rabbitohs at the end of this season.”
matth
Roar Guru
And as a proud Queenslander I'm happy he scored so many tries against NSW and set up just as many for Darius Boyd. So we are both happy ...
matth
Roar Guru
I wonder if he still has that boat ...
Superspud
Roar Rookie
Are we 100%ruling out Burgess doing the same thing?
Clanger McClunk
Roar Rookie
It's been reported GI will get, I almost wrote earn, 600k for his one season stint in England. Good money for a retiree. It says a lot about the standard of Super League if they are keen on a soon to be 34 yo with bunged up knees. It says a lot also about Kevin Walters saying Greg would be considered for SOO if his form warranted it. Boxing used to be the sport where some would say a fighter went one fight too many and disgraced themselves. Let's hope Inglis plays well so as not to tarnish his legacy.
Succhi
Roar Rookie
I have mixed feelings/opinions on this. It is sad that UK Super League needs to sign a retired and injured player, I worry about Greg’s mental health issues and UK is probably not the best place to be, BUT I would never begrudge any player from wanting to keep on playing.
Tony
Roar Guru
There's a certain symmetry here - GI kicked off rorting the salary cap (who could forget the boat) and ends the same way. And who could forget his ignominious stint as Kangaroos captain. He's also obviously done a great job as role model for Walker, Mitchell and Roberts at Souths during the last year (except of course when he was in rehab). Always overrated in my book. As a proud New South Welshman I'm happy that he was a Queenslander.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
Haha. I do that regularly :thumbup:
Simon G
Roar Rookie
I may have went off a bit early this morning...
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
Facts rarely come into play in a good NRL argument on The Roar... :stoked:
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
Disagree GI's injuries were deemed not to be career ending hence why his was a retirement not a medical retirement This will not impact on any genuine medical retirement
Paul
Roar Guru
Souths argued successfully he had to finish playing thanks to his injuries and as a result gained a significant financial advantage. I called it a medical exemption, you can call it what ever you like, but the bottom line is, his re-appearance on the footy field is going to make it tough on every other Club & player who wants to same sort of financial treatment if they have career ending injuries.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Wonder how long the negotiations have been going on? Did his mate Mal (cultural & performance? officer at Titans) provide him with another reference?
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
A) people make mistakes B) it's called negotiation C) it's been 2 years, even you said people change their minds. It won't be "paid back" because it wasn't paid and therefore wasn't given back. It was future wages..
Pickett
Roar Rookie
Haha Should be GII Gigantic Invisible Income
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Does GI stand for "Gigantic Income"?
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
No, but they were given salary cap relief for this year, allowing them to sign Mitchell. Now that Inglis isn't retired Souths should be forced to pay his salary. Very dodgy
Dutski
Roar Guru
Good luck GI. Hope it's a good move. And good luck NRL trying to not look like dunces for the decision to grant Souths salary cap relief. Totally wrong decision then and proven so now...
Andrew
Guest
Inglis announced he was retiring and the NRL had to approve givng Souths salray cap consessions for the next 2 seasons. It happened. From AAP: The NRL argue their decision is fair and reasonable. "We are comfortable that Greg genuinely had had enough," said NRL chief operating officer Nick Weeks. "If you accept that that's right, and we do, we think it's a good thing for him to remain involved in the club and in the game." The NRL's ruling could pave the way for the Rabbitohs to keep off-contract prop George Burgess, who the club has seemed resigned to losing. The Rabbitohs had been linked to Brisbane star James Roberts, however coach Wayne Bennett has ruled out the incumbent NSW Origin centre returning to Redfern. The amount of the Inglis salary added onto the Rabbitohs' 2020 cap will depend on his work regime, including whether he can prove he is committed to pursuing his new career. A) Weeks was wrong B) Bennett lied (surprise surprise) about Roberts - they got him 5 weeks after GI retired because the NRL gave them back GI's money C) Hard to say you are committed to your new career in coaching and corporate when you are going back to playing. He is allowed to change his mind, but Souths need to pay up.
Pickett
Roar Rookie
And Souffs call us Rorters!
Pickett
Roar Rookie
Inglisgate!