So many folks reckon Tigers cop a belting in the paper, but Souths this year after they had a go at Bennett for the restaurant, The Australian did an expose on Sam Burgess and now Webster from SMH is after them for Suaalii.
This is despite them coming Top 4 and having coach Bennett who can basically print what he wants in the DT via Crawley.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/how-did-south-sydney-let-joseph-suaalii-slip-through-their-fingers-20201028-p569i7.html
>For the past few years, South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly has considered himself so good at his job he reckons he should be running the NRL.
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>As it stands, he’s the club boss who’s about to let Joseph Suaalii – a once-in-a-generation teenage footballing sensation — slip through his fingers.
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>Joseph Suaalii is reportedly locked in a standoff with Souths as the teen pushes for a multi-year deal with clauses in his favour.
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>And not to a rival code but most likely to arch-rivals the Roosters. Talk about a knock-on with the line wide open.
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>Souths have been throwing money at this kid since he was, well, a kid, including a revised $2.5m offer to secure him beyond next year when his development contract with the club expires.
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>They wooed him and his mum at Russell Crowe’s farm, asked the NRL to bend the rules so he could play next season even though he’s only 17, and also played dirty pool by throwing out bogus figures about what Rugby Australia was offering him.
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>Souths still didn’t get their man. If you're a Rabbitohs member you have every right to ask ... how?
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>Until recently, Suaalii’s name featured prominently on a whiteboard at Redfern Oval.
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>The whiteboard belonged to former football boss Shane Richardson and provided a preview of South Sydney’s future squad goals for years to come.
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>Because of the very nature of the salary cap, the smart clubs work years in advance when securing their talent long-term.
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>Nobody in rugby league should ever write anything in permanent marker but Suaalii has long been considered Souths’ fullback from 2022 onwards.
South Sydney had Joseph Suaalii front of mind even when they signed Latrell Mitchell.
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>Even the surprise signing of Latrell Mitchell didn’t shake the Rabbitohs from that belief.
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>It’s one of the reasons Mitchell was only signed on a one-year deal with the option for a second in the club's favour.
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>Why Suaalii went cold on Souths isn’t entirely clear, but it was a sure sign he wasn’t serious when he asked for a five-year deal with get-out clauses.
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>We’ve been told the Suaalii family felt it was being played by colourful art dealer and Souths tragic Steve Nasteski, who has been shopping the poor kid all over the place in recent months.
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>Solly thought he had the inside run to Suaalii because he’s close to the cashed-up Nasteski, but things turned dramatically earlier this month when the teenager’s family reached out to the Roosters.
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>The Roosters denied the interest when it was first revealed in the Herald and remain cagey about the issue.
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>They're awaiting a release from Souths before signing Suaalii on a development contract. After that, they'll sign him on an NRL contract but the first year will be at minimum wage of a likely three-year deal because it's no secret the club is feeling salary cap pressure.
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>The Roosters remain hopeful, though, they won’t have to shed players, or pay players like Angus Crichton less, to secure Suaalii.
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>Both the Wests Tigers and the Broncos have also been sniffing around the teenager, but he wants to join the Roosters because he's a fan of the likes of James Tedesco and Luke Keary, and respects coach Trent Robinson.
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>It's also no surprise that the Suaalii family, which does charity work in the Penrith region, became interested in the Roosters at the same time The Australian's investigation into the alleged shenanigans of former captain Sam Burgess came to light.
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>Which brings us back to Solly, who considers himself a future boss of the NRL if his constant sniping in chief executive meetings about how the game has been run is any indication.
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>We wait with interest to see what the NRL integrity unit uncovers in relation to Phoebe Burgess’ concerning allegations about her former husband. Who knew what at Souths?
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>It was rather worrying how Solly, who has since denied any knowledge of the allegations, ran for cover after The Australian’s yarn dropped.
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>A strong chief executive would’ve fronted a media conference and answered some hard questions. I mean, all this apparently happened on his watch.
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>Instead, Solly jammed out a statement and then provided some prosaic remarks to News Corp.
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>The culture of silence at Souths around Burgess is indicative of Solly’s media strategy.
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>He’s been pushing at CEO meetings for less access to players.
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>Earlier this year, the club tried to cancel at the last minute a Herald interview with Cody Walker for Indigenous Round. To Walker’s credit, he stuck solid and told a beautiful story about how his sons helped him reconnect with his culture.
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>Solly has also floated the idea of denying broadcasters Nine (which publishes this masthead) and Fox Sports access to the dressing-room after matches so they can’t show the singing of the team song.
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>That “content”, Solly has argued to the NRL, belongs to the club.
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>It actually belongs to the players. To the fans. To the game. And never mind the hundreds of millions of dollars the broadcasters tip into the game.
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>So perhaps Solly and others at Souths should concentrate on the things that really matter — like securing a player like Joseph Suaalii.
