Luciano Leilua's early move to the North Queensland Cowboys is anything but confirmed, with the shock revelation that the club may not be able to afford him for the remainder of the 2022 season.
Leilua was yesterday released by the Tigers for the remainder of the season, having already confirmed a new contract with the North Queensland Cowboys for 2023 and beyond.
The Cowboys have reportedly made previous requests for the release of Leilua, who has been well off his top form at the Tigers over the first half of the 2022 season.
The release from the joint venture followed the season-ending injury to Heilum Luki, who has started in Townsville for the past couple of weeks with Jeremiah Nanai playing Game 1 of the State of Origin series, then being rested against the St George Illawarra Dragons in the game directly afterwards.
Tom Gilbert is also currently out with an eye injury.
It was tipped the release was set to see him link up with the Cowboys immediately, however, the move to Townsville is not so certain.
Cowboys' director of football Michael Luck told SEN Radio on Wednesday morning that Leilua is not locked into the Cowboys for the remainder of 2022 yet.
“We’ve asked the question, that’s where it’s at, at the moment,” Luck said on SEN Radio’s Pat and Heals show.
“There’s still a bit of water to go under the bridge at the moment, there’s nothing in writing anywhere.
“We’d love to get ‘Luc’, he makes us a better team particularly with the injuries now we had with Heilum and Tommy Gilbert especially this week and a couple more.
“We’re a club that likes to do our due diligence that makes sure every box is ticked.
“We’re going through that process, we want to get Luciano up here but it’s not a done deal yet.”
It's understood salary cap pressure is to blame for the Cowboys, although it makes the release from the Tigers all the more confusing.
Like Matt Lodge, there will be an NRL-set minimum value that Leilua can be signed on, which will reduce with each passing week.
It's understood the Parramatta Eels are interested in Lodge, however, as of yet are unable to afford him, although that situation could change in the coming weeks ahead of the August 1 trade deadline.
If Leilua has left the Tigers on the understanding that the Cowboys are ready and willing to sign him, and it all falls through, then I surely he has sufficient grounds for terminating the contract with his manager.
What is the manager’s purpose in life other than to sort out money and contracts? (Sure as hell they are never to be seen when a player ends up in court or has family / mental problems – it’s always the club that has to stand by the player).
In this particular situation the manager should have:
a) confirmed with Leilua that he still wanted an early release to join the Cows
b) confirmed with the Cows that they still wanted Leilua
c) checked how much the Cows were offering for the rest of the season and obtained that figure in writing, together with a confirmation that the Cows had sufficient room under their salary cap
d) checked with Leilua that he was happy with that amount
e) checked with the NRL that they would register the contract under those terms.
Step e) is essential, given the NRL and the Cows may have different views on how much of their cap remains, and also because only a week before the NRL had said that there would be a minimum value for any Matt Lodge contract for the rest of 2022 season.
This is not rocket science; it’s just common sense!
If the Manager has failed to do this, then Leilua is may be able to sack him for failure to complete the actions he has contracted to provide for his 7% (or whatever) of Leilua’s salary.