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Wests Tigers prop Josh Aloiai has taken to Instagram to mock club chairman Lee Hagipantelis following another day of drama at the club.
Aloiai, who asked for an immediate release from the club as first reported by The Herald, took to social media on Tuesday night to make fun of the chairman's pledge to make the 25-year-old mow the lawns at Leichhardt Oval before releasing him.
Aloiai posted a meme on Tuesday night with his face pasted over a man cutting the grass with the captain "I'll make sure it's a super fast track boys".
It comes after Hagipantelis told News Corp "He is either a Wests Tiger or he is mowing the lawns at Leichhardt or Campbelltown or painting the change rooms at Concord — as long as he fulfils his contract".
Josh Aloiai's social media post on Tuesday night, making fun of the chairman's pledge to make him mow the lawn before releasing him.
Josh Aloiai's social media post on Tuesday night, making fun of the chairman's pledge to make him mow the lawn before releasing him. SUPPLIED
Tigers officials were last week left gobsmacked after one of their most committed players turned on the club in the hope of securing an immediate release from the final year of his $350,000 contract to join Manly in 2021.
Sources with knowledge of negotiations told The Herald that Aloiai's manager Tyran Smith had asked for more than $600,000 a season, well above the $450,000-a-season extension the Tigers offered for 2022 and 2023. Aloiai averages almost the same metres per game as recruit James Tamou, who was brought to the club on a two-year deal worth $350,000 a season.
Josh Aloiai is looking for the exit doors.
Josh Aloiai is looking for the exit doors. NRL PHOTOS
After weeks of discussions, the Tigers recently put a one-day deadline on Aloiai to make a decision after learning he had all but struck a deal to join Manly. The Tigers will meet Smith on Wednesday.
Fed-up Wests Tigers officials have called a meeting with the NRL to discuss the role of managers in the sport after prop Josh Aloiai dropped a bombshell on the club
Hagipantelis is ropeable with the situation and implored the NRL to take a stance against players and agents who agitate for a release to gain a financial advantage at another club.
"If there is indeed a genuine welfare concern that warrants our intervention in the current contractual relations, then the player should not be permitted to seek a commercial gain elsewhere," Hagipantelis said.
"If you are contracted to play for a certain salary for a club, then released on compassionate grounds, if that is indeed what they are, then you should be bound to the terms of the original contract. I am so concerned by such behaviour that I have instructed my CEO Justin Pascoe to raise our concerns with Andrew Abdo."
Aloiai's fierce tirade against the Tigers comes six weeks after his manager approached the club for an extension, and two weeks after Smith emailed the club to tell them how well Aloiai had developed under coach Michael Maguire.
The sudden change of heart has caught the Tigers by surprise, especially considering how vocal Aloiai had been in support of the besieged Maguire throughout a turbulent season for the club.
"I find it very perplexing that only some four weeks ago, the player sat opposite to me and professed his love of the club and commitment," Hagipantelis told The Herald.
"The days of players, or others, thinking that they can use the Wests Tigers as a stepping stone are over"
Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis
"Now we have a situation where a form of release has been sought, with a view to taking up a contract elsewhere obviously for more money. It is curious as to how that seems to generate welfare concerns."
Aloiai's manager also looks after Addin Fonua-Blake, who was granted a release from Manly to join the Warriors on one of the most lucrative deals for a prop in the history of the sport.
Sources within the game were shocked Manly were willing to release Fonua-Blake, the best prop in the game as voted by the players in a Sydney Morning Herald poll earlier in the year, for personal reasons without a replacement. However the recent events involving Aloiai could explain why.
"It is my understanding that he has agreed to terms with Manly for 2022 and 2023, but that is contingent upon a release in 2021," Hagipantelis said of the New Zealander who has played 90 games for the club since debuting in 2016.
Benji Marshall and Josh Aloiai at training together last year.
Benji Marshall and Josh Aloiai at training together last year. GETTY
"In my view he has a contract with the Wests Tigers which he will fulfil in 2021 unless I can leverage a commercial advantage for the club. The days of players, or others, thinking that they can use the Wests Tigers as a stepping stone are over."
The Tigers are still reeling from missing out on Josh Addo-Carr's services last week after his manager, Mario Tartak, managed to use the club's four-year offer to extract an upgrade from the Storm, despite the winger requesting a release on compassionate grounds to be closer to family.
RELATED ARTICLE
The way the Stephen Crichton (right) extension has been handled could explode in the coming days after the centre admitted to a handshake deal with Ivan Cleary (left).
NRL 2020
'Yeah, yeah': Crichton confirms handshake deal with Penrith
It's likely the recent antics of Aloiai and his manager will make his position at the club untenable, but the Tigers will follow Melbourne's stance with Addo-Carr and refuse to release him until they get an outcome they are happy with.
The Tigers have no shortage of front-rowers with young Eels prop Stefano Utoikamanu and Penrith captain James Tamou set to join the team when they return to pre-season training, bolstering a pack that also includes props Zane Musgrove, Alex Twal, Thomas Mikaele and Russell Packer.
Despite justified criticism aimed at the club for the big money offer to previous players, the Tigers have since internally recognised their past errors and adjusted the way they do business
Aloiai, who asked for an immediate release from the club as first reported by The Herald, took to social media on Tuesday night to make fun of the chairman's pledge to make the 25-year-old mow the lawns at Leichhardt Oval before releasing him.
Aloiai posted a meme on Tuesday night with his face pasted over a man cutting the grass with the captain "I'll make sure it's a super fast track boys".
It comes after Hagipantelis told News Corp "He is either a Wests Tiger or he is mowing the lawns at Leichhardt or Campbelltown or painting the change rooms at Concord — as long as he fulfils his contract".
Josh Aloiai's social media post on Tuesday night, making fun of the chairman's pledge to make him mow the lawn before releasing him.
Josh Aloiai's social media post on Tuesday night, making fun of the chairman's pledge to make him mow the lawn before releasing him. SUPPLIED
Tigers officials were last week left gobsmacked after one of their most committed players turned on the club in the hope of securing an immediate release from the final year of his $350,000 contract to join Manly in 2021.
Sources with knowledge of negotiations told The Herald that Aloiai's manager Tyran Smith had asked for more than $600,000 a season, well above the $450,000-a-season extension the Tigers offered for 2022 and 2023. Aloiai averages almost the same metres per game as recruit James Tamou, who was brought to the club on a two-year deal worth $350,000 a season.
Josh Aloiai is looking for the exit doors.
Josh Aloiai is looking for the exit doors. NRL PHOTOS
After weeks of discussions, the Tigers recently put a one-day deadline on Aloiai to make a decision after learning he had all but struck a deal to join Manly. The Tigers will meet Smith on Wednesday.
Fed-up Wests Tigers officials have called a meeting with the NRL to discuss the role of managers in the sport after prop Josh Aloiai dropped a bombshell on the club
Hagipantelis is ropeable with the situation and implored the NRL to take a stance against players and agents who agitate for a release to gain a financial advantage at another club.
"If there is indeed a genuine welfare concern that warrants our intervention in the current contractual relations, then the player should not be permitted to seek a commercial gain elsewhere," Hagipantelis said.
"If you are contracted to play for a certain salary for a club, then released on compassionate grounds, if that is indeed what they are, then you should be bound to the terms of the original contract. I am so concerned by such behaviour that I have instructed my CEO Justin Pascoe to raise our concerns with Andrew Abdo."
Aloiai's fierce tirade against the Tigers comes six weeks after his manager approached the club for an extension, and two weeks after Smith emailed the club to tell them how well Aloiai had developed under coach Michael Maguire.
The sudden change of heart has caught the Tigers by surprise, especially considering how vocal Aloiai had been in support of the besieged Maguire throughout a turbulent season for the club.
"I find it very perplexing that only some four weeks ago, the player sat opposite to me and professed his love of the club and commitment," Hagipantelis told The Herald.
"The days of players, or others, thinking that they can use the Wests Tigers as a stepping stone are over"
Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis
"Now we have a situation where a form of release has been sought, with a view to taking up a contract elsewhere obviously for more money. It is curious as to how that seems to generate welfare concerns."
Aloiai's manager also looks after Addin Fonua-Blake, who was granted a release from Manly to join the Warriors on one of the most lucrative deals for a prop in the history of the sport.
Sources within the game were shocked Manly were willing to release Fonua-Blake, the best prop in the game as voted by the players in a Sydney Morning Herald poll earlier in the year, for personal reasons without a replacement. However the recent events involving Aloiai could explain why.
"It is my understanding that he has agreed to terms with Manly for 2022 and 2023, but that is contingent upon a release in 2021," Hagipantelis said of the New Zealander who has played 90 games for the club since debuting in 2016.
Benji Marshall and Josh Aloiai at training together last year.
Benji Marshall and Josh Aloiai at training together last year. GETTY
"In my view he has a contract with the Wests Tigers which he will fulfil in 2021 unless I can leverage a commercial advantage for the club. The days of players, or others, thinking that they can use the Wests Tigers as a stepping stone are over."
The Tigers are still reeling from missing out on Josh Addo-Carr's services last week after his manager, Mario Tartak, managed to use the club's four-year offer to extract an upgrade from the Storm, despite the winger requesting a release on compassionate grounds to be closer to family.
RELATED ARTICLE
The way the Stephen Crichton (right) extension has been handled could explode in the coming days after the centre admitted to a handshake deal with Ivan Cleary (left).
NRL 2020
'Yeah, yeah': Crichton confirms handshake deal with Penrith
It's likely the recent antics of Aloiai and his manager will make his position at the club untenable, but the Tigers will follow Melbourne's stance with Addo-Carr and refuse to release him until they get an outcome they are happy with.
The Tigers have no shortage of front-rowers with young Eels prop Stefano Utoikamanu and Penrith captain James Tamou set to join the team when they return to pre-season training, bolstering a pack that also includes props Zane Musgrove, Alex Twal, Thomas Mikaele and Russell Packer.
Despite justified criticism aimed at the club for the big money offer to previous players, the Tigers have since internally recognised their past errors and adjusted the way they do business
