Jai Arrow on target to become Wayne Bennett’s early Christmas present

Dognacious

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By himself he wont get Titans into the 8. But they are probably hoping his signing might attract more players, which would make a difference. Kinda like Knights getting in a few big names after they got a few spoons. It hasnt got knights into the 8 yet, but lifted them off the bottom a fair bit so far.
 

GoTheDoggies

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I'm not worried. Senile Bennett's track record with signings recently is poor this one will be no different.
 

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How Titans bungled Arrow contract negotiations
Travis Meyn, The Courier-Mail
Jai Arrow should have been the captain of the Gold Coast Titans for the next eight years.

Instead, the Queensland Origin star will reconnect with former coach Wayne Bennett at South Sydney after the Rabbitohs pulled off a Christmas heist.

The Titans should never have allowed South Sydney to poach Arrow on a four-year contract worth more than $3.2 million from 2021.

But the Gold Coast left the door open for the slick Rabbitohs to pounce on the man they earmarked to replace retired English superstar Sam Burgess.

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Gold Coast local Jai Arrow will join his old coach at South Sydney. Picture: Tony Feder/Getty
Arrow, 24, is a proud Gold Coast product and the Glitter Strip is where his heart is.

He was the poster boy for a club that has constantly claimed it wants to be built on local players.

After leaving the Broncos in 2017, Arrow gave everything he had in 38 games for the Titans during former coach Garth Brennan’s unsuccessful two-year tenure.

His performances were so impressive he earned a State of Origin debut in his first year at the Titans and has made four appearances for the Maroons, with injury costing him two more.

Arrow is the type of player you can build a team around.

His effort can never be questioned. The way he plays the game has taken a toll on his body but he isn’t the type to slow down or think of self-preservation.


Jai Arrow has become a Maroons mainstay. Picture: AAP/Darren England
The first move new Titans coach Justin Holbrook should have made was to sit Arrow down, tell him he was the man to lead the team and give him the Gold Coast’s captaincy.

But the Titans’ decision-makers called Arrow’s bluff, believing he wouldn’t leave the club and refused to engage in a bidding war with South Sydney.

Arrow has been unfairly criticised for his decision to leave the Titans.

The Titans’ final offer to Arrow was worth, on average, $675,000-a-season over four years. The club only matched the four-year tenure offered by South Sydney late in negotiations after initially offering three years.

The Rabbitohs deal came in comfortably above $800,000-a-season over the life of the contract.


Jai Arrow playing for Australia at the World Cup 9s. Picture: Brett Hemmings/Getty
That’s at least a $500,000 difference in the total value - a sacrifice few would be willing to make in any industry, let alone the brutal world of rugby league.

The plight of Burgess, forced into retirement by a shoulder injury at the peak of his career, was a warning for Arrow.

Arrow would have stayed at the Titans if there was not such a discrepancy in the deals, but the final offers were worlds apart.

South Sydney’s acquisition of Arrow was a slick operation.

Rabbitohs boss Shane Richardson flew to the Gold Coast to meet Arrow, outlining the club’s vision and where he would fit into their NRL premiership plans.

Richardson’s words were backed up by the figures on the formal offer and when Bennett spoke publicly about his desire to have Arrow at Redfern there was no doubt South Sydney was serious.

But the Titans, scarred by a series of recruitment blunders over the years, refused to believe Arrow would walk.


Jai Arrow with model girlfriend Taylah Cannon.
The Gold Coast’s salary cap is in dire straits, partly due to the work of previous employees but also the decisions of some still involved in the club.

Halfback Ash Taylor will be paid $1 million next year. Hooker Nathan Peats is on more than $600,000, the same with forwards Jarrod Wallace and Kevin Proctor.

The signings of Penrith trio Bryce Cartwright, Leilani Latu and Tyrone Peachey, a combined $1.5 million-a-year, has so far been a disaster.

One of the most painful for the club to cop has been the signing of Canberra prop Shannon Boyd, also on a deal worth north of $600,000-a-season.

Boyd and Arrow share the same manager and Titans recruitment chief Mal Meninga has vowed the club will no longer pay overs for players.

It’s a fair stance to take in light of past decisions, but in this case the Titans picked the wrong player to play tough with.


Wayne Bennett snatched Arrow from the Titans. Picture: AAP/Joel Carrett
At the same time they were playing hardball with Arrow, the Titans signed highly-rated Melbourne teenager Tino Fa’asuamaleaui on a $2 million contract for three years.

A Gympie product, Fa’asuamaleaui has played five NRL games and will depart the successful Storm system to link with the Titans on $650,000-a-season.

The money for Fa’asuamaleaui was so much the Storm released a statement saying they couldn’t match it for such an inexperienced player.

While Fa’asuamaleaui could yet be a revelation for the Titans, the club has lost the man that should have been leading them out for best part of the next decade.

And few are more disappointed about that than Arrow himself.

Originally published as How Titans bungled Arrow contract negotiations
 

CrittaMagic69

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How Titans bungled Arrow contract negotiations
Travis Meyn, The Courier-Mail
Jai Arrow should have been the captain of the Gold Coast Titans for the next eight years.

Instead, the Queensland Origin star will reconnect with former coach Wayne Bennett at South Sydney after the Rabbitohs pulled off a Christmas heist.

The Titans should never have allowed South Sydney to poach Arrow on a four-year contract worth more than $3.2 million from 2021.

But the Gold Coast left the door open for the slick Rabbitohs to pounce on the man they earmarked to replace retired English superstar Sam Burgess.

Watch over 50 sports LIVE on Kayo! Stream to your TV, mobile, tablet or computer. Just $25/month, cancel anytime. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >


Gold Coast local Jai Arrow will join his old coach at South Sydney. Picture: Tony Feder/Getty
Arrow, 24, is a proud Gold Coast product and the Glitter Strip is where his heart is.

He was the poster boy for a club that has constantly claimed it wants to be built on local players.

After leaving the Broncos in 2017, Arrow gave everything he had in 38 games for the Titans during former coach Garth Brennan’s unsuccessful two-year tenure.

His performances were so impressive he earned a State of Origin debut in his first year at the Titans and has made four appearances for the Maroons, with injury costing him two more.

Arrow is the type of player you can build a team around.

His effort can never be questioned. The way he plays the game has taken a toll on his body but he isn’t the type to slow down or think of self-preservation.


Jai Arrow has become a Maroons mainstay. Picture: AAP/Darren England
The first move new Titans coach Justin Holbrook should have made was to sit Arrow down, tell him he was the man to lead the team and give him the Gold Coast’s captaincy.

But the Titans’ decision-makers called Arrow’s bluff, believing he wouldn’t leave the club and refused to engage in a bidding war with South Sydney.

Arrow has been unfairly criticised for his decision to leave the Titans.

The Titans’ final offer to Arrow was worth, on average, $675,000-a-season over four years. The club only matched the four-year tenure offered by South Sydney late in negotiations after initially offering three years.

The Rabbitohs deal came in comfortably above $800,000-a-season over the life of the contract.


Jai Arrow playing for Australia at the World Cup 9s. Picture: Brett Hemmings/Getty
That’s at least a $500,000 difference in the total value - a sacrifice few would be willing to make in any industry, let alone the brutal world of rugby league.

The plight of Burgess, forced into retirement by a shoulder injury at the peak of his career, was a warning for Arrow.

Arrow would have stayed at the Titans if there was not such a discrepancy in the deals, but the final offers were worlds apart.

South Sydney’s acquisition of Arrow was a slick operation.

Rabbitohs boss Shane Richardson flew to the Gold Coast to meet Arrow, outlining the club’s vision and where he would fit into their NRL premiership plans.

Richardson’s words were backed up by the figures on the formal offer and when Bennett spoke publicly about his desire to have Arrow at Redfern there was no doubt South Sydney was serious.

But the Titans, scarred by a series of recruitment blunders over the years, refused to believe Arrow would walk.


Jai Arrow with model girlfriend Taylah Cannon.
The Gold Coast’s salary cap is in dire straits, partly due to the work of previous employees but also the decisions of some still involved in the club.

Halfback Ash Taylor will be paid $1 million next year. Hooker Nathan Peats is on more than $600,000, the same with forwards Jarrod Wallace and Kevin Proctor.

The signings of Penrith trio Bryce Cartwright, Leilani Latu and Tyrone Peachey, a combined $1.5 million-a-year, has so far been a disaster.

One of the most painful for the club to cop has been the signing of Canberra prop Shannon Boyd, also on a deal worth north of $600,000-a-season.

Boyd and Arrow share the same manager and Titans recruitment chief Mal Meninga has vowed the club will no longer pay overs for players.

It’s a fair stance to take in light of past decisions, but in this case the Titans picked the wrong player to play tough with.


Wayne Bennett snatched Arrow from the Titans. Picture: AAP/Joel Carrett
At the same time they were playing hardball with Arrow, the Titans signed highly-rated Melbourne teenager Tino Fa’asuamaleaui on a $2 million contract for three years.

A Gympie product, Fa’asuamaleaui has played five NRL games and will depart the successful Storm system to link with the Titans on $650,000-a-season.

The money for Fa’asuamaleaui was so much the Storm released a statement saying they couldn’t match it for such an inexperienced player.

While Fa’asuamaleaui could yet be a revelation for the Titans, the club has lost the man that should have been leading them out for best part of the next decade.

And few are more disappointed about that than Arrow himself.

Originally published as How Titans bungled Arrow contract negotiations
Lol Arrow was never staying
 

doggieaaron

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I find it odd they pay an unknown kid from the storm $650k a year but offered jai $675k
 

bradyk

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Only offer Arrow 675k a year but offer Tino 650k? They deserve to lose him... I think he was gone regardless unless they offered 1m or close to it anyways.
 

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I find it odd they pay an unknown kid from the storm $650k a year but offered jai $675k
It is odd I just think they were resigned to the fact they were losing him and took a punt on a rookie in the storm system... hoping he’s the next Solomona or Bromwich etc...
 

NPC83

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Only offer Arrow 675k a year but offer Tino 650k? They deserve to lose him... I think he was gone regardless unless they offered 1m or close to it anyways.
Merry Christmas mate hope you had a good day.
 

Roll the Bones

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Well, the captain of 'The Burrow' seems happy with this signing;

78857399_10156818901059033_6666260238095613952_n.jpg
 

B-Train

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That salary cap sure is doing a good job of distributing the talent evenly...
 

MatstaDogg

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That salary cap sure is doing a good job of distributing the talent evenly...
That's cuz the NRL is only made up of 4 teams, South's, East's, Melbourne and Brisbane. The rest are fillers!!

But yeah, it's obviously not working. In fact the whole system doesn't work while TPA's are involved.
 

B-Train

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That's cuz the NRL is only made up of 4 teams, South's, East's, Melbourne and Brisbane. The rest are fillers!!

But yeah, it's obviously not working. In fact the whole system doesn't work while TPA's are involved.
No doubt.. I'll keep saying it til something is done about it... The rest of the league are feeder teams for the top 4 and the gap is widening more and more.

That's what makes what Canberra did so impressive because they broke into the top 4 and bucked the trend despite the uneven playing field..

I'm astonished that the other clubs never complain about the disparity and unfairness of the competition. When you have the wooden spooners over the cap and losing their best player to a top 4 team that magically has cap space, then you know something doesn't add up.

But no one seems to care and no one in the media ever points out the bleeding obvious. Soon more and more fans wil desert the game as frustrations mount.
 

MatstaDogg

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No doubt.. I'll keep saying it til something is done about it... The rest of the league are feeder teams for the top 4 and the gap is widening more and more.

That's what makes what Canberra did so impressive because they broke into the top 4 and bucked the trend despite the uneven playing field..

I'm astonished that the other clubs never complain about the disparity and unfairness of the competition. When you have the wooden spooners over the cap and losing their best player to a top 4 team that magically has cap space, then you know something doesn't add up.

But no one seems to care and no one in the media ever points out the bleeding obvious. Soon more and more fans wil desert the game as frustrations mount.
The game is slowly dying. Between team favoritism, blatant rorting, continual rule changes, inconsistencies throughout the league, shit referees and so on and so on people are getting fed up. It's no wonder the crowd numbers are getting lower and lower, fans are walking away from the game.
 

Tazer

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That salary cap sure is doing a good job of distributing the talent evenly...
Not sure you can blame the Cap rules for this one. Seems like the Titans just fucked up. The Bunnies were always going to be in the market for a Sam B replacement.....not sure why they were so surprised.
 

B-Train

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Not sure you can blame the Cap rules for this one. Seems like the Titans just fucked up. The Bunnies were always going to be in the market for a Sam B replacement.....not sure why they were so surprised.
The Titans did cap fuck themselves with some dubious signings no doubt.

But when the bottom clubs have to overpay drastically because no one wants to sign with them and they can't compete with the big boys, then this sort of thing is bound to happen.

Maybe if the big clubs didn't always somehow have a spare million in cap space or obliterate the other clubs with TPAs, then there would be a more level playing field where teams like the Titans and Tigers didn't have to make such bad desperation signings.
 

Tazer

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The Titans did cap fuck themselves with some dubious signings no doubt.

But when the bottom clubs have to overpay drastically because no one wants to sign with them and they can't compete with the big boys, then this sort of thing is bound to happen.

Maybe if the big clubs didn't always somehow have a spare million in cap space or obliterate the other clubs with TPAs, then there would be a more level playing field where teams like the Titans and Tigers didn't have to make such bad desperation signings.
Fair enough. I don't think the Titans are a very good example though.....they are paying a bloke 1 million a year who has trouble even breaking into 1st grade. When you add players like Peats on 650K and Cartwright on God knows how much, then you start to see where the problem lies. The reason they couldn't offer Arrow more money is that they are paying ridiculous money for non-performing players. How did they ever think Taylor was worth a million a year FFS? He had achieved nothing whatsoever at that stage and suddenly the Titans are throwing money at him. Seems to me most of their problems are self inflicted. They are a total basket case and the franchise should be wound up and shifted somewhere else imo.
 
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