He said that sheens was tainting benjis opinion of Scott causing issues bc sheens hurt over Warren sacking
I passed all this to Lee and justin
Said whatever you think the perception is from player agents they think it’s a rabble
And won’t send players there
Told them they need to get Scott tim
And benji in a room
And put on a United front with agents regardless of what the truth is or we won’t sign anyone
Told them this was why Fainus had gone from preferring us to preferring other clubs
Lee said thanks for heads up
Justin said he had full
Faith in Scott
I told Justin that’s well and good but the market is concerned he won’t stick around and two they don’t think it’s United at the club
Let’s see how it goes
My opinion is that the sheens Fulton benji thing won’t last
I’ve heard from a close mate of benji he’s having second thoughts bc he walked away from a million dollar media deal bc he wanted to keep brooks and was t happy with the deadline we gave him and the $550k offer
And Scott wanted schuster which apparently benji was ok with until sheens got in his ear
Tartak then not happy over that and said well I’ll take Fainus elsewhere…
You can agree with that or not but that’s business
So you can see it’s all over the shop
Scott not happy
Benji not happy
Sheens not happy
Justin and Lee delusional if they think everyone is happy or can’t fix the mess
Agree with other comments that winning helps but it’s pretty bad atm
If that was a real concern, why did Freddy play him this year? Stefano's selection to play this year was probably earlier than we expected, but also Freddy has put him in the extended squad for a couple of years now, so he's obviously in that mix.
If Stefano's form is sufficient 2024 then he'll continue to be considered, despite whatever skulduggery people will imagine.
Lastly, if the player is actually agitating to leave or trigger clauses in their contract (whatever those clauses are) then blocking his release on a technicality (here the Origin clause) won't do us many favours. We need to continue to develop and invest in Stefano and the club such that he wants to stay, not that he's trying leverage opportunities to leave a year early. We want him to be looking at re-signing with us in 2025, and he'll only be 25 years old then.
Also, personally I'm not convinced that Roosters are in such a shape as to be able to continue to be commanding the top players based on premiership or rep opportunities. Maybe Roosters still have the financial / network pull, but I think they are facing the end of an era of dominance and there are not in any particular position to turn it around. Tedesco is aging rapidly but still their best player, they gambled and lost on Sua'ali'i, they didn't get RTS back, Keary is busted, Walker has been dropped, JWH will retire soon enough. Brandon Smith is off the rails etc. With enough losing seasons the pressure will come onto Trent Robinson, whom they have relied on for a very long time.
Anyway all these clauses seem the new way that players are negotiating, with the top-tier salaries flat-lining, they are demanding other forms of control. For example the exit clauses for Tino and Fifita based on who the coach is.
