Nelson Asofa-Solomona has turned his back on up to seven NRL clubs interested in his service, quitting the NRL to take up a full-time deal in boxing.
News.com.au can exclusively reveal the NRL’s biggest man has quit rugby league indefinitely to pursue his dream of becoming a heavyweight boxing champion.
The 115kg enforcer has also become the first off-contract player to shun the mega bucks of R360 and also the riches on offer in the English Super League.
The former Melbourne Storm forward has signed a full-time boxing deal and could earn up to $1m a year in his new sport.
Plans are already underway for a rugby league super fight with another high profile NRL behemoth.
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I've been involved in some big cultural change regimes, big picture stuff effecting massive organisations. One thing rings true time and time again no matter how big or how small the organisation that you are trying to change. It all begins when selling a vision for the future.
Sell the vision and people buy in. Gus at the Dogs, Politis and Co at the Rorters, Cleary at the Riff. They sell a vision to start with. The Eels have changed since Ryles came in, no doubt. Some see the vision and buy in Addo Carr is a prime example, Mitch another one, others not so. I have some serious doubts though that selling the vision is not as good as it should be when recruiting targeted in demand stars of our game from other clubs.
It feels like we nearly fall into them or we are the last man standing with salary cap space and we fit the players short term desperate need. There is something or someone still missing from our Management jigsaw that can close a contract.
The real Blueprint is an interesting argument as well HOE. A lot can be said for the Penrith model, but a lot can be said for the Melbourne, Rorters and to a degree the Brisbane models as well. I'd like to see the Eels embrace all models , develop youngsters continuously but also buy when it suits us. In recent times the Riff have had to buy players themselves, they havnt relied on just from within, Think Our own Blaize Talangi or Isaiah Papalii "wests". Even they need to compliment the conveyor belt of players they produce at times, I feel we too must buy at times.
Great post, Bluey.
Fan perception and reality are two different things. Patience is another matter altogether.
By "we too must buy" using the Panthers example, I think you mean Hollywood "big names," right? To be more like the Broncos, Roosters, Souths, Dogs, or Storm? Which we aren't. We don't have easy way outs with deep-pocketed sugar daddies.
Because buy we certainly have been.
In 18 months Ryles has effectively turned over most of the squad, mainly through buying. Iongi, Williams, Fox, Lomax (gone), Ryley Smith (2024), Walker, TDS, Kautoga, Little Pap, Hawkins, Pezet. Are we not buying? Who among that group did fans actually rate when we bought them? Tell me how many coaches would have been as bold as Ryles with the shake up he has done at the club? And it's his first year. That takes balls from him and up top.
When I say the Panthers are the blueprint, I'm referring to buying and having "big names" — the stuff fans desperately crave and perceive as the gold standard — the Broncos, Roosters, Dogs, Storm, Souths. The sugar daddy clubs. The easy way out. No deep-pocketed sugar daddies, no big buys.
Matt Cameron is our savior now (despite our site calling the former woodwork teacher "rubbish" in 2012 when he left). But what big name has he bought? How many big names has he lost? More than any other club. Despite more success than any club in recent times. Despite a great coach. They build from the inside out. I'm not saying duplicate them. They have a far bigger junior base than us and a community that is more hardcore traditional RL heartland. We are a $200m organization. So we probably need to buy a little more than them, for starters, even if we're also building from the inside out. Let's not even talk about the irony when it comes to that.
Whether it's popular, unpopular, unicorn or not, I don't give a hoot. I support the Ryles era for three reasons, in no particular order.
One, I see alignment up top, more than at any time I can recall. Mutual respect and a common cause. This will make them better than the sum of the parts. Like the Storm, they believe in "you can disagree, but be committed to the cause." Like the Panthers, we're "coach centric," where footy strategy is head coach driven, almost like football managers in the Premier League, and they believe in "trust in vulnerability," a point Cleary and Cameron often make. And like the Panthers, Dogs, Storm, and most clubs, they're investing heavily in pathways and development on unprecedented levels.
Two, many players seem to be buying into Ryles. As did the club up top. If players don't buy in, it's game over no matter who you buy or your pathways. Ryles, like Cleary, has picked up his coaching education from eclectic sources. Again, duplication is impossible. An illusion alongside equality.
Three, not jumping to conclusions based on assumptions. The old Aussie fair dinkum "give them a chance" and don't overstretch judgements. This is actually a bigger problem for us than we realise. Blindspots. If we don't show continued improvement in time, and if we see the kind of free fall in attitude and defence we saw from 2020-2024, I will need to revise my views. How we avoided another spoon or two is a minor miracle. Don't forget the Panthers took ten years. Growing breasts isn't an overnight process.
Don't forget release story about how Ryles didn't want said player we missed out on anyway, and how bold and brave it was to have pulled out of the chase.
someone think of the juniors!!!
This is good news. Nelson would have been a huge liability imo. However, we do need another forward and winger to bolster the squads. Going into the season with just JAC and Simmo is a massive risk, unless they plan to have Joash and Twiddle backup as wingers.
Joash I don't mind putting on the wing he can really break a game open. Everyone else has me confused or worried as a fan.
Nah man Joash will get eaten on the wing and him bringing it out of yardage yeah nah.
Depth he's an ideal depth piece much like Russell but he's starting and making a fist of it.
I like Joash but when did he break a game open?
Joash had a good debut on the Wing but full-time? He would not last. His size would get him. Yeah at 5/8 he was fine but he is not expected to take the runs like he is on the Wing.
Havnt heard much about that schoolboy superstar foward from Brisbane lately I hope that's still happening
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