Comment: Jack Wighton’s decision to sign with Souths is NRL’s worst signing ever
Jason Demetriou’s sacking at South Sydney has exposed an all-time NRL blunder - and it’s only going to get worse from here.
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COMMENT
The knifing of Jason Demetriou has not only crowned South Sydney’s season the most shambolic since the 1999 Magpies, it’s laid bare the ghastliest decision in NRL history.
It’s not the Rabbitohs’ decision to inhumanely prolong his sacking, nor the one to extend his contract only five minutes earlier.
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It’s not even their original idea to blame the whole thing on Sam Burgess.
Nope, the most woeful move exposed by the Demetriou saga has been the Jack Wighton signing, a decision now officially the most insane in history.
Don’t get me wrong; Souths’ decision to sign Wighton hasn’t been a shocker - he’s been a standout this season - but Wighton’s decision to join Souths has.
Spare a thought for the wholehearted former Raider.
He left Canberra expecting to challenge for a premiership, and all he’s received is twice the traffic gridlock, three times the media speculation and seven times the frostbite on an edge that sees less life than Antarctica.
Not only did the Clive Churchill Medalist snub a $4.4m four year deal from Canberra to join South Sydney - a decision in hindsight rueful enough in itself - he signed until 2028 on a reported $200,000 per year less.
Considering he’ll leave almost a million dollars on the table and he’s duking it out for a wooden spoon, even the maniac who signed Josh Schuster would have to label this the NRL’s worst ever signing.
Sure, Wighton stated that he joined Souths for its “family vibe” and because he “wanted a change”, and fair enough.
After all, you can’t blame a man for dodging another year getting blasted in Canberra by arctic winds and Ricky Stuart.
But you can’t tell me he’s waving away an extra $200k per annum purely for WAG camaraderie and three extra months of T-shirt weather.
While not explicitly specified by Wighton, the major appeal of joining Souths was undoubtedly the allure of a premiership window.
And make no mistake, the chance to be the final jigsaw piece in a powerhouse squad would’ve been a primary selling point for Souths, with administrators surely selling the sizzle rather than the sausage when spruiking their comparably modest deal- and fair enough too.
After years outlaying kings ransoms for guys like Bryan Fletcher and Adam MacDougall, it’s no secret that years of strong on-field results have positioned the foundation club as one of the game’s destinations of choice for free agents seeking the idyllic top four dream.
Souths offer the Sydney lifestyle and guaranteed finals football, plus the Russell Crowe Effect and its potential for weekends of quadbikes and frothies at Nana Glen.
But despite these promises, Souths have delivered Wighton nothing but a workplace so discombobulated that even Crowe can have your back and you’re still toast.
In fairness, Wighton’s not the first well-meaning bloke to be scammed.
But while Aussies everywhere are falling victim to phishing and charity fraud, nothing’s as criminal as being deceived in to weekly thrashings and ghoulish commutes to Homebush.
In summary, Wighton’s signing is so calamitous that somebody should throw him a brown paper bag purely out of pity.
With all due respect to his former club, he’s got every right to assume he’d left behind his life of underachieving, especially after retiring from NSW duties.
Thankfully there’s plenty of time to recoup his investment in Souths, or at the very least, report the club to Consumer Affairs.
- Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He’s never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.
Originally published as Comment: Jack Wighton’s decision to sign with Souths is NRL’s worst signing ever
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