Samantha in strife (and medical retirement rorts)

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Ah thanks, forgot about that.
So, is there anything remotely plausible in what he says about Burgess? And Gillett??
Gillett's case seems even more unlikely than Burgess, if that was even possible.
 
Ah thanks, forgot about that.
So, is there anything remotely plausible in what he says about Burgess? And Gillett??
Gillett's case seems even more unlikely than Burgess, if that was even possible.
He doesn't offer any opinion on the veracity of the claims, only the nature of their injuries. The criteria is as follows according to him

Exact NRL criteria for medical retirement: "Player had no similar injury or medical condition to that area of the body that either has or could reasonably be predicted medically to lead to a degenerative condition of that area of the body prior to signing his last NRL contract"

I think he missed an important step in the the NRL process. "Is the player contracted to Manly ?"

Yes - deny claim and include in salary cap
No - continue assessment of claim

The Gillett one is laughable if you believe the injury history quoted

Matt Gillett 2012 - Right shoulder reconstruction surgery 2018 - 2nd right shoulder reconstruction 2019 - Suffers right shoulder injury in Rd23, finishes season then scans reveal serious nature of damage. Considered career ending injury, forces retirement
 
Richardson feels he's got to justify the NRL decision to the media because it's so patently unjust. His assertion that they should not be penalised because Burgess is a great player doesn't hold water. Snake was arguably the greatest fullback in the game at the time. I don't even see how that's applicable...
Shane Richardson slams claims Rabbitohs win in Sam Burgess saga
South Sydney general manager of football Shane Richardson. Picture: Getty ImagesSouth Sydney general manager of football Shane Richardson. Picture: Getty Images
South Sydney general manager of football Shane Richardson has rubbished claims the Rabbitohs have emerged unscathed from the sudden retirement of Sam Burgess, and insisted the club needs to be smart in replacing one of the greatest players in their history.
Rival clubs and supporters have poured scorn on the NRL over their handling of Burgess’s retirement, questioning why Souths were allowed to have the remaining $3.5m of his salary removed from their cap.
The NRL, in anticipation of a backlash, offered to take club officials through the process that led to their decision. Richardson, who confirmed the club was only days away from making a formal offer to Gold Coast forward Jai Arrow but was yet to signal an interest in Latrell Mitchell, slammed criticism of the Rabbitohs.

“I don’t understand that — we have lost one of the great players in the game,” Richardson said.
“Sam Burgess, the captain of our club. We saw him as the leader of our club for years to come. No matter who we bring in, you can’t replace him. It would be like the Roosters losing (James) Tedesco or Melbourne losing Cameron Smith. Those sort of players are impossible to replace.
“I was happy with our plan for Sam to lead us for the next four years. I don’t get it. It’s not a positive for us financially.
“I don’t see where the positives come out of it for us. The only positive is we’re able to replace him.
“But you don’t want to lose these guys. They are champions. To say we have an advantage out of it, I don’t get it. We have lost the greatest leader in our club.”
Burgess was forced into retirement due to a shoulder problem, independent medical advice confirming the Rabbitohs’ claim that it was a fresh injury caused by an infection that ate away at the bone.
Burgess is expected to stay with the club and receive the money that is owing to him in instalments over as many as 10 years. The Rabbitohs will be forced to carry his salary on their books for the foreseeable future.
Even so, some officials at rival clubs have viewed the NRL’s decision with suspicion, suggesting the Rabbitohs were given preferential treatment because they are one of the game’s glamour clubs, driving broadcasting revenue, creating interest and are owned by Russell Crowe and James Packer.
“It’s unfortunate what has happened,” Richardson said.
“We had a plan under the rules. We handed all the medical information in. They got their own medical people to look at it.
“There was no way it could have gone through if it wasn’t correct. It’s rubbish to say that.”
The next challenge for Richardson is to ensure the Rabbitohs don’t fritter away the money they now have to spend.
Arrow is at the top of their wish list and club officials have already held talks with the Gold Coast forward and his management.
The Rabbitohs will make him a competitive offer — suggestions are it could be worth as much as $2.8m over four years — but they won’t be held to ransom.
They could yet look at Mitchell, although that will largely be contingent on whether Cody Walker agrees to a contract extension.
Richardson is in no rush. He knows the next decision is crucial to a premiership tilt.
“We have got a lot of structures in place,” he said.
“We have to come up with a couple of players who are going to complement the guys we have already got. It is important we get it right.
“We don’t have to panic about it. We’re interested in Jai. We haven’t made him an offer. It’s just not a matter of going out and spending all the money.
“It’s given us the ability to move the Rubik’s cube the way we want to move it. We have not made any move on Latrell Mitchell. We haven’t spoken to anybody about Latrell Mitchell.
“We’re chasing a forward. We have to get it right. We lost the captain of our club, the Clive Churchill medallist and an inspirational leader.
“We have to be smart.”
 
Richardson feels he's got to justify the NRL decision to the media because it's so patently unjust. His assertion that they should not be penalised because Burgess is a great player doesn't hold water. Snake was arguably the greatest fullback in the game at the time. I don't even see how that's applicable...
Shane Richardson slams claims Rabbitohs win in Sam Burgess saga
South Sydney general manager of football Shane Richardson. Picture: Getty ImagesSouth Sydney general manager of football Shane Richardson. Picture: Getty Images
South Sydney general manager of football Shane Richardson has rubbished claims the Rabbitohs have emerged unscathed from the sudden retirement of Sam Burgess, and insisted the club needs to be smart in replacing one of the greatest players in their history.
Rival clubs and supporters have poured scorn on the NRL over their handling of Burgess’s retirement, questioning why Souths were allowed to have the remaining $3.5m of his salary removed from their cap.
The NRL, in anticipation of a backlash, offered to take club officials through the process that led to their decision. Richardson, who confirmed the club was only days away from making a formal offer to Gold Coast forward Jai Arrow but was yet to signal an interest in Latrell Mitchell, slammed criticism of the Rabbitohs.

“I don’t understand that — we have lost one of the great players in the game,” Richardson said.
“Sam Burgess, the captain of our club. We saw him as the leader of our club for years to come. No matter who we bring in, you can’t replace him. It would be like the Roosters losing (James) Tedesco or Melbourne losing Cameron Smith. Those sort of players are impossible to replace.
“I was happy with our plan for Sam to lead us for the next four years. I don’t get it. It’s not a positive for us financially.
“I don’t see where the positives come out of it for us. The only positive is we’re able to replace him.
“But you don’t want to lose these guys. They are champions. To say we have an advantage out of it, I don’t get it. We have lost the greatest leader in our club.”
Burgess was forced into retirement due to a shoulder problem, independent medical advice confirming the Rabbitohs’ claim that it was a fresh injury caused by an infection that ate away at the bone.
Burgess is expected to stay with the club and receive the money that is owing to him in instalments over as many as 10 years. The Rabbitohs will be forced to carry his salary on their books for the foreseeable future.
Even so, some officials at rival clubs have viewed the NRL’s decision with suspicion, suggesting the Rabbitohs were given preferential treatment because they are one of the game’s glamour clubs, driving broadcasting revenue, creating interest and are owned by Russell Crowe and James Packer.
“It’s unfortunate what has happened,” Richardson said.
“We had a plan under the rules. We handed all the medical information in. They got their own medical people to look at it.
“There was no way it could have gone through if it wasn’t correct. It’s rubbish to say that.”
The next challenge for Richardson is to ensure the Rabbitohs don’t fritter away the money they now have to spend.
Arrow is at the top of their wish list and club officials have already held talks with the Gold Coast forward and his management.
The Rabbitohs will make him a competitive offer — suggestions are it could be worth as much as $2.8m over four years — but they won’t be held to ransom.
They could yet look at Mitchell, although that will largely be contingent on whether Cody Walker agrees to a contract extension.
Richardson is in no rush. He knows the next decision is crucial to a premiership tilt.
“We have got a lot of structures in place,” he said.
“We have to come up with a couple of players who are going to complement the guys we have already got. It is important we get it right.
“We don’t have to panic about it. We’re interested in Jai. We haven’t made him an offer. It’s just not a matter of going out and spending all the money.
“It’s given us the ability to move the Rubik’s cube the way we want to move it. We have not made any move on Latrell Mitchell. We haven’t spoken to anybody about Latrell Mitchell.
“We’re chasing a forward. We have to get it right. We lost the captain of our club, the Clive Churchill medallist and an inspirational leader.
“We have to be smart.”

What a total F-wit.

He always has to support the nrl, I guess, for when they gave him that 1 year job for 750k to produce some 'footy blueprint' that was never introduced.
 
Holy poop on a stick .... that is the whole point you punchie .... you were able to replace him ... as oppossed to having him sit on the sidelines eating up millions of your salary cap like Stewart and Matai ..... FFS !
Exactly the point yet Richo completely missed it :banghead:

Manly had to replace Snake and Matai too, but had to keep their positions vacant for the duration of their contract :swear:
 
Exactly the point yet Richo completely missed it :banghead:

Manly had to replace Snake and Matai too, but had to keep their positions vacant for the duration of their contract :swear:

We didn't actually replace them as such. Both were still included in the squad of 30 so essentially we only had 28 players.

Funny how when Snake and Skivvy were on the sidelines and the NRL kept on saying no was the same time that the salary cap witch hunt was going on. Coincidence??? I think not.
 
Correct ,just another attempted pincer move by that low life cowardly grub who runs the NRL .In fact yet another blatant example of the corrupt bias our mighty club and a few others , has had to endure over the time this complete charlatan and starry eyed arse licking captive of the rich and powerful has been in charge.
Rid the game of this white ant
 
Nothing like another scandal to make the public move on from a current one... Oops I mean a totally legit medical retirement where nothing dodgy went on.
 
Richardson feels he's got to justify the NRL decision to the media because it's so patently unjust. His assertion that they should not be penalised because Burgess is a great player doesn't hold water. Snake was arguably the greatest fullback in the game at the time. I don't even see how that's applicable...
Shane Richardson slams claims Rabbitohs win in Sam Burgess saga
South Sydney general manager of football Shane Richardson. Picture: Getty ImagesSouth Sydney general manager of football Shane Richardson. Picture: Getty Images
South Sydney general manager of football Shane Richardson has rubbished claims the Rabbitohs have emerged unscathed from the sudden retirement of Sam Burgess, and insisted the club needs to be smart in replacing one of the greatest players in their history.
Rival clubs and supporters have poured scorn on the NRL over their handling of Burgess’s retirement, questioning why Souths were allowed to have the remaining $3.5m of his salary removed from their cap.
The NRL, in anticipation of a backlash, offered to take club officials through the process that led to their decision. Richardson, who confirmed the club was only days away from making a formal offer to Gold Coast forward Jai Arrow but was yet to signal an interest in Latrell Mitchell, slammed criticism of the Rabbitohs.

“I don’t understand that — we have lost one of the great players in the game,” Richardson said.
“Sam Burgess, the captain of our club. We saw him as the leader of our club for years to come. No matter who we bring in, you can’t replace him. It would be like the Roosters losing (James) Tedesco or Melbourne losing Cameron Smith. Those sort of players are impossible to replace.
“I was happy with our plan for Sam to lead us for the next four years. I don’t get it. It’s not a positive for us financially.
“I don’t see where the positives come out of it for us. The only positive is we’re able to replace him.
“But you don’t want to lose these guys. They are champions. To say we have an advantage out of it, I don’t get it. We have lost the greatest leader in our club.”
Burgess was forced into retirement due to a shoulder problem, independent medical advice confirming the Rabbitohs’ claim that it was a fresh injury caused by an infection that ate away at the bone.
Burgess is expected to stay with the club and receive the money that is owing to him in instalments over as many as 10 years. The Rabbitohs will be forced to carry his salary on their books for the foreseeable future.
Even so, some officials at rival clubs have viewed the NRL’s decision with suspicion, suggesting the Rabbitohs were given preferential treatment because they are one of the game’s glamour clubs, driving broadcasting revenue, creating interest and are owned by Russell Crowe and James Packer.
“It’s unfortunate what has happened,” Richardson said.
“We had a plan under the rules. We handed all the medical information in. They got their own medical people to look at it.
“There was no way it could have gone through if it wasn’t correct. It’s rubbish to say that.”
The next challenge for Richardson is to ensure the Rabbitohs don’t fritter away the money they now have to spend.
Arrow is at the top of their wish list and club officials have already held talks with the Gold Coast forward and his management.
The Rabbitohs will make him a competitive offer — suggestions are it could be worth as much as $2.8m over four years — but they won’t be held to ransom.
They could yet look at Mitchell, although that will largely be contingent on whether Cody Walker agrees to a contract extension.
Richardson is in no rush. He knows the next decision is crucial to a premiership tilt.
“We have got a lot of structures in place,” he said.
“We have to come up with a couple of players who are going to complement the guys we have already got. It is important we get it right.
“We don’t have to panic about it. We’re interested in Jai. We haven’t made him an offer. It’s just not a matter of going out and spending all the money.
“It’s given us the ability to move the Rubik’s cube the way we want to move it. We have not made any move on Latrell Mitchell. We haven’t spoken to anybody about Latrell Mitchell.
“We’re chasing a forward. We have to get it right. We lost the captain of our club, the Clive Churchill medallist and an inspirational leader.
“We have to be smart.”
@:cry:@:cry:@:cry:@:cry::finger::finger:
 

Former South Sydney captain Sam Burgess has pleaded not guilty to intimidating his father-in-law at the latter's Southern Highlands property earlier this year.
The retired NRL player was not present at Moss Vale Local Court, where his solicitor Bryan Wrench entered the plea on his behalf on Wednesday.

The recently retired Rabbitohs 2014 premiership winner celebrated his 31st birthday in the company of his two children in the midst of a high-profile separation with his estranged wife Phoebe, whose father Mr Burgess is alleged to have menaced during a confrontation at Mr Hooke's Glenquarry home on October 19.
Burgess went to the home to visit his children and was asked to leave after tensions escalated and police were called.


blah blah yadda yadda yadda etc lawyer talk lawyer talk, toddy says everything is ok.


-Much like my response from the nrl when I questioned them about sam's dodgy retirement gift
 
I know our collective attention span means the nrl has got away with the sam retirement case. "As long as we wait it out, the punters go away" should be their motto, but in case I missed it:

Did we get told who this 'independent' doctor was? If everything is sooooo above board then are we allowed to know who it was?

I'd hate to think it was just a mate of the souffs doctor, or one of Todd's mates.


On a side note I did write to the nrl about the incredulity of the decision and basically said:

Decision is rubbish. I'm tired of trying to grow the game in Canada with some of my friends and constantly trying to defend the indefensible. I'll follow Manly, have cancelled watchnrl and will concentrate on toronto.

Their response: - Everything was above board, hope you support us again soon.

lol, touching.
 
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For what it's worth (not much probably) even Fox sports news is carrying this little gem, among their very few NRL stories atm. Probably trying to cash in on NSW fans' dislike of Bronco's special treatment, but certainly some anti-Greenberg anti-NRL sentiments quoted, which are normally not publicised
 
Gee some of these managers are great spin doctors. Obviously they've been learning their skills from Politis and Greenberg, the masters of the craft
 
Can someone explain to me again Richardsons logic that Sam Burgess not being included under their cap didn't benefit Souths...

State of Origin star Jai Arrow to leave Gold Coast Titans after signing four-year deal with South Sydney
Travis Meyn, EXCLUSIVE, The Courier-Mail
December 24, 2019 1:56pm


The Gold Coast Titans have been dealt a cruel Christmas blow after South Sydney snared Queensland Origin star Jai Arrow on a $3.2 million deal.
News Corp can reveal Arrow has agreed to terms on a four-year contract with the Rabbitohs from 2021 which will see him replace retired English legend Sam Burgess.

Arrow could seek a release from the final year of his Titans contract to join the Rabbitohs immediately for the 2020 season, making it a five-year tenure worth $4 million if the Gold Coast let him go.
Arrow is understood to have informed Titans coach Justin Holbrook and recruitment chief Mal Meninga of his decision to leave the club.

The signing of Arrow is a major blow to the Titans, who will lose arguably their best player after finishing the 2019 season with the wooden spoon.

Jai Arrow is set to join South Sydney Rabbitohs and could be on the move as soon as next year.


Arrow, 24, had a desire to remain at the Titans, but the Rabbitohs presented a compelling pitch and the $800,000-a-season deal proved too good to knock back.

The lure of playing under seven-time premiership winning coach Wayne Bennett, who gave Arrow his NRL debut at the Broncos, and for a proven NRL title contender were decisive factors.

Arrow is desperate to play NRL finals football and the Rabbitohs presented their premiership plans to the four-game Maroons representative.

He will fill the void left by Burgess, who was forced to give away the game at the end of last season due to a shoulder injury.
 

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