How close Greg Inglis came to joining AFL giants Essendon
AFL giants Essendon have broken a near decade-long silence to reveal just how close South Sydney superstar Greg Inglis came to a shock defection to Australian rules.
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AFL giants Essendon have broken a near decade-long silence to reveal South Sydney superstar Greg Inglis was just 15 minutes from a shock defection to Australian rules.
On the eve of Friday night’s opening qualifying final between Inglis’s Rabbitohs and his former side the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park, The Daily Telegraph can reveal how close a 2010 meeting with the Bombers almost delivered the AFL its most telling blow in the rivalry with rugby league.
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Inside a Melbourne CBD office, Inglis sat across from former Bombers coach James Hird, CEO Ian Robson and list and recruiting general manager Adrian Dodoro, ready to sign.
“The meeting was on a Friday afternoon,” a well-placed source close to Essendon said.
The Bombers had completed a background check on Inglis and briefed the AFL about his impending defection.
Inglis, then 23, was becoming increasing angry the NRL was refusing to register his contract with South Sydney, amid concerns over third-party agreements.
So much so he is alleged to have said in the meeting: “I’m playing AFL.”
“There had been a number of discussions. The AFL was on board with it,” the source said.
“Inglis was told he wasn’t going to get the clearance to play for Souths due to salary cap reasons. We agreed that if he didn’t, he was playing for the Bombers. We had a verbal agreement.”
NRL chief executive at the time, David Gallop, was told over the phone he had 30 minutes to register the Inglis deal at Souths or he would join Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt in quitting rugby league for AFL.
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Multiple high-powered calls ensued inside NRL headquarters, where officials were aware of the impact Inglis’s departure would have had on the game.
“They were in the room, off site in the city, and the NRL was told they had half an hour to make up their mind or Inglis would be playing for Essendon next season. It was all systems go from Essendon,” the source said.
But with 15 minutes until the deadline, the situation was saved.
“The NRL rang up at the last minute and he stayed in rugby league,” the source confirmed.
“It went right down to the wire.”
Former Australian rules player and respected official Graeme ‘Gubby’ Allan had no doubt Inglis would have succeeded in AFL.
“He is a super athlete who would have made a great Aussie rules player,” Allan said. “I think he could have played centre half-back or centre half-forward, he would have been a key position player.”
Inglis was forced out of the Storm following the club’s 2010 salary cap scandal. He will return to Melbourne for this evening’s big match at AAMI Park.
The big centre made his comeback from a broken thumb last week and looks in menacing form ahead of the finals.
Inglis finally joined Souths and has created his own history at Redfern, including his key role in the club’s 2014 grand final win.
He told The Daily Telegraph this week he couldn’t have made a better decision in 2011 than to join South Sydney.
“I felt like I walked straight into a family environment when I joined Souths, to be honest,” Inglis said. “To me, that was very important. I felt at home. The ride I’ve had at Redfern has been quite interesting. I love the place and everything that it stands for.
“I love the community. It won’t be long until we move to Heffron (Park, the club’s soon-to-be opened Centre of Excellence) but we will always go back to Redfern and train every now and then.
“I still have another few years left here and, who knows, I might sign on for another one or two seasons and call it quits after that. You never know.”
Inglis briefly opened up on Essendon last year during an interview on Fox Sports, saying: “I was very close to signing. I didn’t want to leave Melbourne and Essendon approached my manager.
“I was sitting in the Essendon board room with James Hird and the Essendon CEO and training staff.
“We were going through a few things and how much weight they wanted me to lose.”
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Originally published as How close Greg Inglis came to joining AFL giants Essendon
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