HOW THE WORM TURNS!!.

15 years ago, we Rugger Buggers were still putting up with the headline.."Rugby Star defects to League...

"..I used to hate that, but I always sort of knew that one day the worm would turn....the boot would be on the other foot, so to speak.

However, many of those guys who 'went across" were blokes like Michael O'Connor, Wally Lewis, Ricky Stuart, who had all been junior league players, anyway. It's not like they had never played league..

But now, there is a big difference...not too many Rugby players have gone across to League in the last few years - Name One??!!

So, I really got a boost out of reading this article...Does anyone seriously believe that Benji would come back to RL, when, having played a season of Rugby, the All Blacks or one of the S14 franchises wouldn't be throwing out feelers, or the French or other Japanese Rugby Clubs?? Let's get serious here, RL is fast becoming the poor relation, and it can only get worse for them.. Yay!!! How good do us tragics feel about this?

February 27, 2009

Article from: The Australian

BENJI Marshall's quest to spend an off-season in Japanese rugby union gained impetus last night when one of the country's leading sports lawyers suggested he stood a good chance of launching successful legal action against the NRL.

Marshall and his management have raised the prospect of allowing his existing contract to lapse at the end of the season, the precursor to spending several months in Japan before returning to re-sign with Wests Tigers.

The move, which has the support of the Tigers, has been condemned by NRL chief executive David Gallop.

Gallop has previously stated Marshall would not be allowed to sign with an NRL club if he played rugby in Japan.

However, that stance could backfire on the NRL given leading sports lawyer John Mullins suggested Marshall had a good chance of successfully challenging any attempt to block him returning to rugby league.

"His contract is over," Mullins said. "There is no ongoing obligation to them (the Tigers and NRL).

"He is going somewhere else in the world, he's going to do something over there and he's going to get paid for it.

"Then he might or might not come back and hope to get a contract again to do something.

"It's hard to imagine how (banning Marshall) could possibly be lawful, particularly seeing his contract is over.

"What would be the basis for them to refuse to register him? That he had the temerity whilst he was off contract to work for somebody else?

"Surely that can't be lawful?"

The Tigers have been contacted by several lawyers offering to handle the case should they elect to challenge the NRL on Marshall's behalf.

The players' union has also give Marshall its backing.

"I think it would be completely different if the Tigers were releasing Marshall in the midst of his contract period," Mullins said. "That would be a different situation."

Gallop has compared the Marshall situation to an employee from Coke going to work for Pepsi for a few months. Mullins failed to see the logic in that argument.

"What's happening here in that analogy is your employee has quit his job at Coke, gone and got a job at Pepsi, and at some stage in the future he might come back to Coke wanting a job - and Coke might or might not give him a job," Mullins said. "What Coke is saying here is we may not let you work in the soft drink business if you go and work for Pepsi."

Legal action would have far-reaching ramifications for the NRL. If Marshall were to challenge the NRL successfully, it could open the floodgates for other players to follow his lead.

Players and managers across the NRL are already exploring their options in Japanese rugby. Cronulla sacked Fraser Anderson this week after the backrower announced he had negotiated a lucrative deal with Japanese club Kobe.

Although Anderson's manager Lance Thompson denied a deal had been struck, an announcement is expected today.

The Australian learned yesterday that Willie Mason - via his manager Greg Keenan - had asked the Sydney Roosters in the off-season for permission to investigate the prospect of a guest stint in Japan.

The Roosters, however, refused to grant Mason permission.

Mason is among a host of players being shopped around Japan. Brisbane star Karmichael Hunt and Melbourne fullback Billy Slater have also been mentioned as potential targets.

Japanese rugby has suddenly taken over from French rugby as the biggest threat to the code. The issue will be discussed at a meeting of club chief executives in Sydney next week, with Marshall's situation likely to be a focal point of that debate.

By then, Marshall's future could be decided. His manager, Martin Tauber, will hold further talks with the Tigers tomorrow, where it is expected the club will table a revised offer for the New Zealand international.

Should Marshall agree to a new contract today, any move to Japan would be off the table. However, should the Japanese offer come to fruition, and Marshall follow through on his threat to play there later this year, the NRL could create itself a headache.

Club bosses are far from unified in their approach to Japanese rugby.

What they do agree on is that the threat is nowhere near as bad as some have suggested.

"I don't think there's a threat," Cronulla chairman Barry Pierce said.

"I think they're just isolated cases at this stage."

Tigers chief executive Scott Longmuir warned the NRL was getting into dangerous areas by threatening to stop Marshall playing in Japan.

He said the issue needed to be discussed next week.

"All we're saying is let's make sure we take a good look at it," Longmuir said.