@NTA said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
@mariner4life said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
this photo sort of looks like they couldn't afford the fee to get photographed on the steps so they snuck in to the park and snapped one through the fence real quick
The marketing pigeon needs to cut costs.
Also, three of them are looking at the camera, and the other three must be looking at something else
Security guard approaching?
McLennan loved a "verbal commitment".
It’s been widely speculated that McLennan was able to secure verbal assurances from private benefactors linked to the Australian Rugby Foundation (ARF), an arm of RA established in 2014 to attract greater private investment.
McLennan’s pitch to the board was that Suaalii’s costs should be roughly divided by three and financed by the Wallabies, NSW Waratahs and the ARF.
It was based on a verbal commitment from a wealthy benefactor – a close contact of McLennan – who was willing to put in close to $500,000 a year to help fund Suaalii’s salary.
Any financial assistance McLennan was banking on disappeared when he was removed as chairman. The funds have not materialised nor been sourced by the current RA administration, leaving head office (which now also owns the Waratahs) to cover Suaalii’s multimillion-dollar deal from its own coffers.
Waugh insists RA has the means to finance Suaalii’s lucrative deal without jeopardising the future of the sport, even though RA recently engaged in brief conversations with the Roosters about a potential loan deal in 2026 to ease the financial burden of his contract.
“My view on where we are financially is that we have a revenue challenge more than a cost challenge,” Waugh said.
“What we need to do is drive interest, and drive an audience and drive the revenue line by attracting commercial partners and connectivity to the public. Between now, the Lions and the World Cup we need to maximise our revenue. Athletes such as Joseph allow us to maximise our revenue.
“We’re disciplined in here around our finances. We’ll fund [Suaalii’s contract] through whatever means we need to, to meet our financial obligations in our contracting model.”
When RA announced it had won the signature of Suaalii, it was only spruiked as a three-year deal. But last month this masthead reported that the contract also included a secret clause – worth between $3.5 million and $4 million – that could extend Suaalii’s time in rugby union until the end of 2029.
The deal struck by McLennan and Waugh – and signed off by the board – included a player option that gave him the right to trigger two further years on his contract at the value of at least the amount of the third season of his deal.
It could take the contract’s total value to almost $8.5 million over five years. The revelation of the player option – worth nearly $500,000 more per season than that of the highest-paid player in the NRL (Kalyn Ponga) ended the Roosters’ interest in pursuing a deal to bring Suaalii to rugby league.
Tahs 2025 squad by position:
Dan McKellar – Head Coach
Mike Catt – Assistant Coach (attack)
Lachie McCaffrey – Assistant Coach (defence)
Dan Palmer – Assistant Coach (set piece)
Hooker:
Dave Porecki, Julian Heaven, Ethan Dobbins, Mahe Vailanu
Prop:
Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou, Isaac Kailea, Siosifa Amone, Dan Botha, Tom Lambert, Adrian Brown, Brad Amituanai, Jack Barrett
Lock:
Miles Amatosero, Hugh Sinclair, Fergus Lee-Warner, Ben Grant, Angelo Smith, Ale Aho, Clem Halaholo
Backrow:
Langi Gleeson, Charlie Gamble, Rob Leota, Leafi Talataina, Mesu Kunavula
Scrumhalf:
Jake Gordon, Teddy Wilson, Jack Grant
Flyhalf:
Tane Edmed, Jack Bowen, Lawson Creighton
Centre:
Lalakai Foketi, Joseph Sua'ali'i, Joey Walton, Henry O'Donnell, Jackson Ropata
Wing:
Darby Lancaster, Triston Reilly, Archie Saunders
Fullback:
Max Jorgensen, Andrew Kellaway, James Hendren
From that you could easily pick
1 Bell
2 Porecki (captain?)
3 Tupou
4 Sinclair
5 FLW
6 Leota
7 Gamble
8 Gleeson
9 Gordon
10 Edmed
11 Lancaster
12 Foketi
13 Sua'ali'i
14 Jorgensen
15 Kellaway
16 Heaven
17 Kailea
18 ?? Amituanai I think - reserve THP a little thin...
19 Amatosero
20 Kunavalu
21 Wilson
22 Creighton
23 O'Donnell
@NTA said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
From that you could easily pick
1 Bell
2 Porecki (captain?)
3 Tupou
4 Sinclair
5 FLW
6 Leota
7 Gamble
8 Gleeson
9 Gordon
10 Edmed
11 Lancaster
12 Foketi
13 Sua'ali'i
14 Jorgensen
15 Kellaway16 Heaven
17 Kailea
18 ?? Amituanai I think - reserve THP a little thin...
19 Amatosero
20 Kunavalu
21 Wilson
22 Creighton
23 O'Donnell
A very strong 15 but no real depth to speak of. If they can all stay fit, should be pushing for a top four finish.
@NTA said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
From that you could easily pick
1 Bell
2 Porecki (captain?)
3 Tupou
4 Sinclair
5 FLW
6 Leota
7 Gamble
8 Gleeson
9 Gordon
10 Edmed
11 Lancaster
12 Foketi
13 Sua'ali'i
14 Jorgensen
15 Kellaway16 Heaven
17 Kailea
18 ?? Amituanai I think - reserve THP a little thin...
19 Amatosero
20 Kunavalu
21 Wilson
22 Creighton
23 O'Donnell
Imagine 18 to be Siosifa Amone.
I've often thought that, upon winning the lottery, I could set up an investment account that puts any returns into our club e.g. Win $20M, put $1M into the fund, generate ~6% per annum = $60k to run the club.
Would more than cover our expenses.
Why aren't all the Good Rugby People doing this with their white collar corporate power structures?
(And, of course, should anyone here have made enough money on PolishChicksRUs.com - please consider setting up an annuity for Renegades Rugby. We only need about $20K so that's a lazy $330K starter)
Did any of you with Stan watch the Australia A games? A draw with Bristol and a big loss to England A wouldn't have been what was hoped for.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s hopes of finishing his first Wallabies tour with a flourish against Ireland are still alive after a positive update on the injury blow he suffered against Scotland.
The code-hopping superstar thankfully avoided breaking his right arm
@Bovidae said in Aussie Pro Rugby:
Did any of you with Stan watch the Australia A games? A draw with Bristol and a big loss to England A wouldn't have been what was hoped for.
Nope, but when you throw together teams you sometimes get this.
I think the "A" program was mainly to support the touring Wallabies, given we're out of time for people to shine at rep level prior to Lions 2025.
If we had a proper third tier that wouldn't have been such a concern IMHO. Right now a lot of our pro players go back to club land and finish up in September, then twiddle their thumbs for a couple of months until provincial preseason.
Probably for the exodus thread or even NFL