St George Illawarra rocked by Jason Saab’s request for release from contract
St George Illawarra have turned down boom rookie Jason Saab’s request for an immediate release from his contract, saying they ‘consider him a long-term player at the club.’
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The Dragons have rejected rising star Jason Saab’s request for an immediate release from his contract.
St George Illawarra - already reeling after last weekend’s loss to the Warriors - plunged into further chaos after 19-year-old wanted an early exit.
Five clubs including Manly, South Sydney, Wests Tigers and Melbourne are after the 19-year-old while the Warriors are also keen.
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Four of those clubs have premiership-winning coaches.
Saab officially asked for a release from the final two years of his contract on Thursday.
However, on Friday morning, the Dragons – who re-signed half Adam Clune – rejected the request declaring Saab is held in “high esteem and consider him a long-term player at the club.”
Saab was a rare shining light for the Dragons last year, scoring three tries from as many matches after making his debut in round 19.
Shoulder and foot injuries ended his season prematurely but the NSW under-18s and 20s and Australian Schoolboys representative has been overlooked for an NRL spot this year despite the Dragons lacklustre start to the year. That and constant travel from his western Sydney home to Wollongong has led to his request for an early exit.
At 199cm he stands 3cm taller than the likes of Daniel Tupou and Edrick Lee making him an obvious aerial threat particularly under the new rules where attacking players cannot be tackled in mid-air.
The Warriors have also expressed an interest in potentially loaning Saab for this season.
SHARKS WON’T MOVE
Cronulla have instantly dismissed any plans to be part of a Southern Sydney stadium hub if Kogarah Oval is the beneficiary of any major upgrade in the region.
St George Illawarra’s home ground of Netstra Jubilee Oval has been identified as one of four venues which could be turned into a marquee boutique ground under the NRL’s plans to spend the government money which was originally slated for the redevelopment of ANZ Stadium. Now with that plan on hold the NRL is hopeful the government will upgrade Kogarah, Campbelltown, Brookvale and Penrith and have multiple teams playing out of those venues.
However, Cronulla boss Dino Mezzatesta said there was no way his side would call Kogarah home.
“The answer is categorically no,” Mezzatesta said. “We own our stadium. I have an obligations to my members and sponsors. There is no incentive for us to play at Kogarah.
“The Dragons only play four games there and Sydney FC are only using the ground because the SFS is being redeveloped.”
The Sharks will use Kogarah as its temporary base until the end of next season as their home precinct undergoes renovations. They are also in the unique situation where they own their home ground.
Mezzatesta wants to speak to the NRL about potential options for PointsBet Stadium, including hosting rivals at the venue.
“Maybe together the Sharks and the NRL could come up with a commercial model for our stadium that could be advantageous for other clubs,” Mezzatesta said. “We aren’t a council so we won’t be charging through the nose for people to use the venue.
“I would look at soccer and rugby union who could also use our asset.”
The Rabbitohs and Bulldogs are awaiting word from the NRL and the state government after their hopes of a redeveloped ANZ Stadium were quashed.
TUSSLE OVER TAMOU
Rival clubs are circling Penrith skipper James Tamou, with the ex-Kangaroos prop after a longer-term deal than the one year the Panthers have offered.
Tamou had discussions with the Panthers weeks ago but the 31-year-old is yet to hear back about his wish for a three-year extension.
Meantime, several NRL and Super League clubs have expressed interest in signing Tamou on a multi-year deal.
After a patchy 2018 season, Tamou returned to his best last year when appointed Penrith captain and has no shown no signs of slowing down with a strong showing in his opening three games as he prepares to play his 249th NRL game on Friday night.
Tamou is in the final year of the rich four-year deal he signed to join the Panthers after a successful eight-year stint with North Queensland where he won a premiership and rose to become a Kangaroos and NSW regular.
BRONCOS LEFT WANTING
Just a week after releasing experienced rake Andrew McCullough, Brisbane are now desperately scrambling to find a dummy-half.
The Broncos have reached out to the Dragons to inquire if they’d let go back-up hooker Issac Luke, while out-of-favour Titans duo Nathan Peats and Mitch Rein have also been mentioned as replacements.
It comes as the Broncos’ first-choice hooker Jake Turpin will miss at least six weeks with a broken leg.
Luke is just two games into a one-year stint at the Dragons but was overlooked for their last-start loss to the Warriors given skipper Cameron McInnes’ return.
He joined the club on a cut-price deal so the Broncos would be easily able to accommodate him under their salary cap.
Rein and Peats have been punished for the Titans’ winless start to the season, axed in favour of inexperienced Kiwi Erin Clark.
RANDOM SOUTHS GUY
Stephen Howse is the ultimate “random Souths fan.”
The train driver from Cootamundra can be spotted in his Rabbitohs jersey anywhere between home and Benalla, Victoria, humming “Glory, Glory to South Sydney.”
But how did a bloke living 377km from Redfern end up a Bunnies fanatic?
“A lot of very good players used to come to the bush and play, one of them was Bunnies legend Bernie Purcell,” Howse said. “Bernie and dad were great friends. He gave us a Souths jersey, it got passed down through all my brothers, except the one who’s a Manly fan. He got dropped on his head.”
Without footy, the 51-year-old was lost on weekends — he worked extra shifts and even built his wife a hot house for her plants. But footy is back, and Howse believes it will bring life back to the bush.
“Rugby league in Cootamundra has been around since 1922. It has history in this region, we’ve produced from big name players,” Howse said.
“Come Friday afternoon after work, you’re excited for the weekend of football … it’s massive for mental health, it’s something to do on the weekend.”
Last week, as the train driver completed 11-hour shifts moving sleepers for the new Inland rail, all he could think about was NRL and the Bunnies.
“Soon the pub restrictions will be lifted in Coota, there’ll be plenty of people booking tables at the Family Hotel and the Central Hotel,” Howse said.
“I can’t wait to sit down, have a beer and watch the footy.”
INJURY CRISIS HAS WARRIORS CALLING
The wounded Warriors were hitting the phones to rival NRL clubs late Thursday searching for a loan player after star winger Ken Maumalo suffered a serious hamstring injury at training.
The winger now faces a long stint on the sidelines to add to the Warriors’ already long list of injuries.
They received Poasa Faamausili from the Roosters for a month and he will make his club debut on Friday night. The Warriors are already without backs Peta Hiku, David Fusitu’a, Adam Keighran and Taane Milne for their clash against the Panthers. Only Fusitu’a looks likely to return in the short-term.
Adam Pompey is expected to come into the side to replace Maumalo on the wing.
LISTEN! This week on The Daily Telegraph podcast Mobbsy, Mick and Buzz talk through financial irresponsibility of clubs after just one round, Paul McGregor’s St George Illawarra future, Dean Pay being under pressure at Canterbury PLUS John Bateman’s injury and what it means for the Canberra Raiders’ premiership hopes
TESTING TIMES
There is uncertainty over Test matches being played this year after the cancellation of the Kangaroos tour. The tour was an obvious no-go because of the coronavirus but plans to stage an Origin-type series between New Zealand and Tonga, with the winner playing Australia, is now uncertain. NRL boss Andrew Abdo is heading up a new committee to work out if matches are feasible this year and what a long-term international calendar would look like.
POLICING THE PLAYERS
The NRL’s “COVID-cops” include a couple of premiership winners with a sprinkling of international matches.
And it was the Jillaroos coach who almost stopped Brisbane halfback Brodie Croft from playing in the season resumption last Thursday.
Each club has been assigned a compliance officer to ensure the club and players are sticking to the NRL’s strict bio-security protocols.
Ex-Kangaroos prop Mark O’Meley has been assigned to the Warriors while his 2004 premiership-winning Canterbury teammate Adam Perry is overseeing the Raiders. Wests Tigers grand final winner Dene Halatau has been inside Cronulla’s bubble. The rest of the COVID-cops are generally made up of NRL staff members.
Jillaroos coach Brad Donald works at Suncorp Stadium and does temperature checks on all the players upon arrival. He recorded the high temperature of Croft which almost ruled him out last week before he was re-checked 15 minutes later.
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BLAST FROM THE PAST
Matt Rodwell, 1990-2001, 178 NRL games (Newcastle 44, Western Reds 57, St George 25, St George Illawarra 8 and Penrith 44)
Angry fans circled, rocking Matt Rodwell’scar. He was just a handful games into his stint as Warrington captain when a lack of results on the field started to turn ugly off it.
“They were calling for blood,” Rodwell said. “As I walked through the crowd they were just yelling out songs about getting rid of the Aussies. Then the crowd followed me to my car and started rocking it. I had my mother-in-law, my wife and my two young girls in the car. The next day I walked into the office and said it was unacceptable and I wasn’t going to cop it. I played a few more games and that was it.”
Warrington was a long way from the fields of Toronto where Rodwell was scouted by Knights officials. He impressed so much at an open trial Newcastle coach Allan McMahonoffered Rodwell a contract on the spot and a surprise debut a year later.
“We’d have 10-12 blokes (on bench),” Rodwell said. “It hadn’t crossed my mind playing, I hadn’t trained with the squad. I was starving at the time and was just hoping they’d use their four reserves so I could go grab a feed.
“Next thing … I got the call up with 10 minutes to go and Allan said ‘go out and win it for us’. I threw a poor pass and Balmain scored. I didn’t win it for them.”
Rodwell didn’t play first grade the following year but starred in 1992 to win the game’s rookie of the year. In the lead-up to the 1994 season he was told by coach David Waite he would start in the No.7 despite a rising Andrew Johns. But he tore his ACL in the pre-season and never played for the Knights again. After three years at the Western Reds he reunited with Waite at St George in 1998.
“There were a lot of politics behind the scenes in how to balance the numbers in the starting 17 from Illawarra and St George,” Rodwell said. “Trent Barrett was a terrific player, but hadn’t trained all off-season. I thought I was going to be selected alongside Anthony Mundinein the halves. David Waitecalled me in and said he was selecting Trent and Anthony. I was gobsmacked.”
Originally published as St George Illawarra rocked by Jason Saab’s request for release from contract