April 10, 2007 12:00
BULLDOGS officials will this week demand to know exactly how much Sydney Roosters are paying Mark O'Meley in return for saving him the anguish of waiting nine weeks for his contract at Bondi Junction to be registered.
Agent Wayne Beavis has admitted he will approach the Dogs and request they waive their right to a final offer for the Australian Test prop, as provided under new player-market rules.
"Mark has been a great clubman and we will consider any request," said Bulldogs chief executive Malcolm Noad.
"Whether we grant the request will depend on whether we are in the ballpark."
Noad said the Bulldogs could only find that out by asking how much O'Meley was being offered elsewhere.
"We'll certainly be asking Wayne the question," he said.
"I think that is only fair. We need to know how close we are before making a decision."
If Beavis refuses to say what O'Meley is getting at the Tricolours, his contract will sit in a drawer at NRL headquarters until June.
While the Bulldogs have previously suggested suspect offers from rival clubs to their players would be reported to salary cap commissioner Ian Schubert, Noad said any action regarding O'Meley would be "up to Ian".
Their offer to O'Meley has been valued at $330,000, while Sydney Roosters are said to have offered him around $400,000 per season.
Beavis insists O'Meley has not yet agreed to terms with the Roosters but says it would be pointless for the Dogs to stick to the letter of the law and make him wait until after round 13 before his contract with a rival club is registered.
NRL chief executive David Gallop confirmed the league would not register a contract between O'Meley and another club until June 12 without written permission from the Bulldogs.
"The Bulldogs have been in a position to make a final offer since December," said Beavis.
"What we would do when the time is right is we would go back to the incumbent club and say 'the player has made it clear he's not staying, you've made it clear you can't afford to keep him".
"Why wait until round 13? You'd think they would be happy to have some finality rather than have this play itself out in the media.
"We'll do that in about a week.
"When a club makes it clear they can't afford to increase or extend an offer, the player is hardly going to go back there and stay for less, is he?"
But Gallop indicated the Belmore club's administration would be well within its rights to say "no", leaving O'Meley in contractual limbo at the mercy of angry fans for nine weeks.
"A player and a club can reach agreement and lodge a contract with the NRL but that contract will not be registered until the end of round 13, giving the existing club an opportunity to re-sign him," said Gallop.
Information required ... the Bulldogs want to know details of the offer made by the Roosters for powerhouse prop Mark O'Meley. / Manly: Put my name in Origin mix
BULLDOGS officials will this week demand to know exactly how much Sydney Roosters are paying Mark O'Meley in return for saving him the anguish of waiting nine weeks for his contract at Bondi Junction to be registered.
Agent Wayne Beavis has admitted he will approach the Dogs and request they waive their right to a final offer for the Australian Test prop, as provided under new player-market rules.
"Mark has been a great clubman and we will consider any request," said Bulldogs chief executive Malcolm Noad.
"Whether we grant the request will depend on whether we are in the ballpark."
Noad said the Bulldogs could only find that out by asking how much O'Meley was being offered elsewhere.
"We'll certainly be asking Wayne the question," he said.
"I think that is only fair. We need to know how close we are before making a decision."
If Beavis refuses to say what O'Meley is getting at the Tricolours, his contract will sit in a drawer at NRL headquarters until June.
While the Bulldogs have previously suggested suspect offers from rival clubs to their players would be reported to salary cap commissioner Ian Schubert, Noad said any action regarding O'Meley would be "up to Ian".
Their offer to O'Meley has been valued at $330,000, while Sydney Roosters are said to have offered him around $400,000 per season.
Beavis insists O'Meley has not yet agreed to terms with the Roosters but says it would be pointless for the Dogs to stick to the letter of the law and make him wait until after round 13 before his contract with a rival club is registered.
NRL chief executive David Gallop confirmed the league would not register a contract between O'Meley and another club until June 12 without written permission from the Bulldogs.
"The Bulldogs have been in a position to make a final offer since December," said Beavis.
"What we would do when the time is right is we would go back to the incumbent club and say 'the player has made it clear he's not staying, you've made it clear you can't afford to keep him".
"Why wait until round 13? You'd think they would be happy to have some finality rather than have this play itself out in the media.
"We'll do that in about a week.
"When a club makes it clear they can't afford to increase or extend an offer, the player is hardly going to go back there and stay for less, is he?"
But Gallop indicated the Belmore club's administration would be well within its rights to say "no", leaving O'Meley in contractual limbo at the mercy of angry fans for nine weeks.
"A player and a club can reach agreement and lodge a contract with the NRL but that contract will not be registered until the end of round 13, giving the existing club an opportunity to re-sign him," said Gallop.
Information required ... the Bulldogs want to know details of the offer made by the Roosters for powerhouse prop Mark O'Meley. / Manly: Put my name in Origin mix
