South Sydney has announced a new deal for a fan-favourite star, but the conditions of the contract show some very interesting inconsistencies.
South Sydney has announced cult hero Mark Nicholls has signed a new two-year contract extension with the club.
The workhorse forward’s new deal is being celebrated by Rabbitohs fans, but it has raised questions about the club’s apparent backflip on its public declaration not to offer multi-year deals to players at the back end of their careers.
The stance famously cost the Rabbitohs the signature of favourite son Adam Reynolds — a move that left fans furious.
The Broncos snared the 31-year-old on a three-year deal reportedly worth more than $2 million after the Rabbitohs had concerns about his age.
The decision to hand Nicholls, 31, a two-year deal is very interesting.
The announcement came after public declarations recently the club wants to re-sign star five-eighth Cody Walker on a long-term deal.
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Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly revealed to The Daily Telegraph the club wants to keep Walker “for as long as he wants to keep playing”.
This is despite Walker actually being six months older than Reynolds.
“We will sat down with Cody and sort of map out what he wants,” Solly said earlier this month. “In some ways we will be guided by Cody, his expectations, and desire.
“The short answer is we want Cody here for as long as he wants to keep playing.
NRL 360 host Paul Kent said at the time the club’s call on Walker is “not really consistent” with its stance on Reynolds.
“The concern for me is that it’s only emerged today that they’re going to open talks to re-sign Cody Walker on a three-year deal,” Kent told NRL 360 last week.
“They see him as a part of the future, he’s the same age as Adam Reynolds, yet they were telling (Reynolds) that the justification for not offering a three-year deal was that he was too old.
“I think it’s terribly sad and it’s not really consistent, I tend to think there might be more to it.”
The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield questioned who made the call on Reynolds and believes it’s a “really sad” story the Redfern local has been forced out.
“I’m really disappointed that it’s ended this way. I think he should have been a ‘lifey’ at Souths, he should have never had to leave, they should have given him two years,” Rothfield said after the Rabbitohs’ grand final loss.
“To see him after the game last night, not just losing a grand final, but understanding that it’s all over. I think it’s a really, really sad rugby league story that he’s basically been forced out to feed his family for the next three years.”
It’s been suggested the Rabbitohs may introduce rookie Blake Taaffe into the halves next season as a direct replacement for Reynolds.
With foxsports.com.au
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