New South Wales coach Brad Fittler has weighed in on the increasingly-frequent issue of players backflipping on contracts, calling for deterrents to be in place to prevent newly-contracted players from last-minute changes of heart.
Fittler was discussing the issue as part of the โFreddy and the Eighthโ on Nine after reports have continued to claim that Parramatta forward Isaiah Papaliโi is still a chance of reversing his decision to join Wests Tigers for 2023.
The issue has drawn on this week, with Papaliโi finally addressing the media to speak on the matter. He told Channel 9 that he wasnโt thinking about the issue until the off-season, but confirmed that the Tigers decision to sack coach Michael Maguire had โrattled his cageโ about the move, given how important the coach was to his decision.
Not long after, it was being reported that Papaliโi was also entertaining a return to the Warriors due to homesickness and his relationship. He made his debut for the New Zealand club in 2017.
โWe need to make contracts better, make them so players canโt not goโ,โ Fittler told Andrew Johns and Matt Thompson.
โIf you sign it, youโre there โ or you (should have to) forgo something. Itโs insane.
โI know how hard it is to put salary caps together. You look at clubs and how much effort, energy and time they put into a salary cap and getting a team together, getting a club together. Itโs so hard. I hope (Papaliโi) goes.โ
Though the issue is by no means a new one in rugby league, the increased value and focus on salary caps and player contracts has become a constant source of speculation โ but players have admitted to letting these games play out in the media in the hopes of securing a better offer.
Following his controversial backflip on his contract with the Gold Coast Titans in 2015, Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans admitted that he leveraged that new-contract and public attention in the hopes of attracting a better offer to stay on the Northern Beaches.
โI definitely left the door open for that speculation to continue because, to be honest, I was always curious to know what the offer was going to be from Manly,โ he told NRL.com at the time.
โJob security in rugby league is something many donโt have, and it was something I was offered and something I was more than happy to take up. Itโs been a tough decision to make (to backflip), but itโs one Iโm comfortable with.โ
After his non-committal media appearance during the week, Tigers fans will be desperately hoping Papaliโi isnโt doing the same.
