Raiders slam ‘flawed’ transfer system after Wighton’s Souths signing

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Canberra coach Ricky Stuart claims Jack Wighton’s decision to join South Sydney is proof the contracting system is “flawed”, just as Phil Gould offered his own solution on how to fix it.

While an official signing announcement hasn’t been made, Wighton has told his Canberra teammates that he will join South Sydney at the end of the season. The move has angered the Raiders, who want the NRL to investigate why the former NSW and Australian playmaker would leave to take up a deal worth approximately $1 million less over the course of four years.

The Rabbitohs believe a number of factors, including the chance to play for a team in a premiership window, alongside great mate Latrell Mitchell, made the club an attractive proposition. The Raiders, meanwhile, have lodged their offer with the NRL and are waiting for head office to make a determination on the Souths deal.

In the club’s first statement on the matter, Stuart said the loss of Wighton after 14 years in the nation’s capital “hurt”.

“Yesterday, Jack informed the club that he would not be re-signing with the Raiders beyond this season,” Stuart said in a statement on the Raiders website.

“I want to reassure you all that the club did everything possible to keep Jack at the Raiders and we wanted nothing more than to see him reach 300 games and become a one-club player.

Jack Wighton is headed to the Rabbitohs.Credit: Getty Images

“I want to let our loyal members and fans know that I bleed green as much as you do, and as much as it hurts today, our future is still ahead of us, and we will continue on the path we best see fit to give this club the success it deserves.

“As a club, we believe the current contracting system where players can sign well out from the end of their current contract is flawed. It is not fair to you who I see as our major stakeholders, the club, and as importantly the players. I know it would have been hard for you, our Raiders fans, because I know what the feeling was like for me, to see an image of Jack in a Souths jersey [digitally altered] on the back page of a Sydney paper today.

“What we can do, is to assure you that the club will continue to invest in our successful development and pathways systems and continue to give players the opportunity to represent you and our great club, like so many have done over the last 40-plus years.

“I personally won’t rest in my drive to make this club successful for you. Rest assured the current season is still our number-one focus and priority. We appreciate all of your support, and we can’t wait to see you at the footy.”

Canberra coach Ricky Stuart.Credit: Getty

Speaking on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast, Gould called for the introduction of a draft and trade windows to help regulate player movement.

“The whole system is wrong,” Gould told wwos.com.au.

“All power is with the agent, all power is with the negotiating player.

“There is nothing being given back to the game. They have given them everything, there is nothing left to negotiate to get that back when clearly it is in the best long-term interest of the game for there to be a draft of a very strict trade windows.

“There’s a lack of trust among clubs.”

“It works in every other professional sport in the globe, but suddenly in rugby league we can’t or players won’t agree to that. Rugby league can’t agree to that, our rugby league players won’t agree to that. It’s irresponsible, it’s greedy.”

Gould explained how a draft would work; if, for instance, Wighton decided he wanted to leave nation’s capital and was looking for an annual payday of $1.2 million, he would go onto the draft. The team that finished the previous season in last place – in this instance the Wests Tigers – would get first crack to sign him. If they weren’t prepared to meet his terms, the team that finished second-last would get the next chance to sign or pass, up until he found a home.

Terry Hill launched a successful legal challenge when rugby league last attempted to introduce a draft, but Gould felt there could be a way to bring it in if certain inducements were offered.

“The salary cap and the draft were brought into conjunction together to control player payments,” Gould said.

Phil Gould wants the NRL to introduce a player draft.Credit: Getty

“The draft is illegal everywhere but every other professional sporting organisation around the globe has got one.”

Gould wasn’t aware of Souths’ offer to Wighton, or the reasons why he was seeking a change. However, he empathised with all parties affected by his decision.

“[Canberra] registered [their offer] with the league because there’s a lack of trust among clubs,” Gould said.

“There’s also a lack of trust around sometimes in what they have been told by player managers. There’s a lack of trust around [player] incidents, and I don’t think it’s as prevalent today as many years ago, but there’s a lack of trust around third-party sponsorships and money outside the salary cap.

“I think a lot of that has dried up and gone away, it’s not as prevalent, but the Raiders want the NRL to know ‘We’re in, four years, $1.1 million’.

“He suddenly turns up at old mate down the road and signs for $600,000-$700,000, they want to know why.

“I don’t know what the South Sydney deal is worth, I don’t know what they are paying him. It’s only speculation, this $800,000, that he is giving up $300,000 a year. That’s over $1 million if that is correct. But I don’t even know if that is correct.

“If he moves to Sydney, there may be other commercial opportunities out there for him … if you are in Sydney, there are greater commercial opportunities for marquee players. He’s a marquee player, an Origin player, a Test player.

“Whether or not he factored that into it – ‘I can take less money to play in Sydney because commercially I can set myself up in Sydney’ – I don’t know what he wants to do in life after football, whether he intends to go back to the country, whether he’s a country boy and whether he wants to hobby farm or what he wants to do.”

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