Shattered... Orford here we come *face palm*
-Storm football operations manager Frank Ponissi said yesterday he had told Eels chief executive Paul Osborne that Cronk was off limits.
''He [Cronk] will not be released. Absolutely no chance,'' Ponissi said.
''It's that black and white. It won't change, irrespective of what happens with the [NRL's audit] report.''
Osborne said any team would be interested in Cronk but accepted that the 26-year-old, who is contracted with the Storm until 2013, would not be available.
''The Storm indicated that they wouldn't be letting him go, so we've moved on,'' he said. ''We're looking around … we're always looking at options.''
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I'd say it means that Kimmorley is a moral to be in blue and gold next year..... Don't ask me what we do in 2012.....
How depressing.
Surely we have to look very hard at Kimmorley now.
I have a really bad feeling that we are going to sign Orford now, it was confirmed we tried to get him here before June 30, but the finer details couldn't get sorted. Now that he's back in Oz he will have plenty of time to get his contract sorted. Kimmorley won't play against the Doggies and IF he chose to play on, I think the only club he would go to would be the sharks considering Sticky will be leaving.
I am hoping that the Eels heavily consider Micheal Dobson, he isn't a superstar but has matured into a quality halfback and actually plays very similar to Cronk. He indicated a few months ago (http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/sport/rugby-league/dobso...) that he is keen to return to Australia preferably to the raiders, surely though we have more coin to throw at him than them.
I honestly don't see any other options for us........... sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
If after the audit, it emerges that multiple contracts were signed by a few players. If the NRL demand that those contracts, regardless of when they are due to expire, be terminated and new contracts drawn up and registered, what would be to stop other clubs still making offers??? Like Bourbon Man says, it's all well and good for Ponissi to say that Cronk won't be released, but surely if his current contract was deemed illegitimate, then it's game on and his agent would have no option than to at least listen to other clubs offers? If it emerges that the Storm can only afford to pay him $350K a year and another club were prepared to pay $500K then it would be derelict of Cronk and his manager to reject these offers outright.
I'm sick to death of the "I heard this and I heard that" shit when it came to Cronk..I also heard the same thing and I always knew this would end in tears, it was never going to happen.
we've screwed our recrutiment for next year becauyse other clubs have not been sucked in by the storm situation and when about their business as a consequence, they've now got the jump on us and now clubs like the dogs, Newcastle and the roosters who are struggling this year have now got something to look forward to..
we've fucked up big time I don't care what anyone says.
On a serious note we have no hooker with any vision who can make the halves job a hell of a lot easier. Thats probly what we need more than a half. Look how good Kngston made Robson look last year and this year he makes a average half like luke walsh look like a genius. A good number 9 keeps the defence guessing which gives more time for the halves to do their bit.