Force stars Dane Haylett-Petty and Curtis Rona will remain in Australian rugby if club is axed, says Michael Cheika

WALLABIES coach Michael Cheika has weighed in on the cutting of an Australian Super Rugby franchise and the contractual ramifications for some big names.

New Force signing Curtis Rona could return to rugby league.

WALLABIES coach Michael Cheika says Force stars Dane Haylett-Petty and Curtis Rona will not leave Australian rugby should their franchise be cut from Super Rugby.

Wallaby winger Haylett-Petty signed a contract with Force and the ARU until the end of 2019, while Rona left the NRL and Sydney club the Bulldogs to sign with the Perth franchise until the end of 2018 so he could be closer to his wife’s family.

Should the ARU cut the Force in coming weeks as expected, both stars could theoretically be free agents, however Cheika quashed those suggestions after it was put to him that Haylett-Petty does not want to play for any Australian side other than the Force.

PODCAST: Jamie Pandaram and Iain Payten dissect the ARU’s decision to cut an Australian Super Rugby team and the implications this has on the game

“He can stay in Perth and get paid if he doesn’t want to leave,” Cheika said.

“I can’t imagine he wouldn’t want to play Super Rugby. Who’s not going to want to play footy?

“Dane’s signed to play here. He’d have to have a clearance from us and we want Dane to be playing here.

“He’s a great player, [he’s] come to promise last year and we’re hoping that he’s going to build right through until the (2019) World Cup as well.”

Rona, who was called into Cheika’s Wallabies camp earlier this week after just four Super Rugby games, has publicly stated that the reason for his code switch this year was to move to Perth, and a return to league could be on the cards if the Force is culled.

New Force signing Curtis Rona could return to rugby league.

“I am confident that he will stick with rugby, I think he’s really enjoyed his footy, I’ve spoken to him at length about what’s happening,” Cheika said.

Melbourne is the other Australian team under threat and their former NRL star signing Marika Koroibete could also be targeted for a return to league although the ARU is confident of retaining him should the Rebels fold.

It was also revealed that the ARU’s salary cap of $5 million for each club will not rise after a club is axed, despite the television broadcasters’ money remaining the same for a contracted 15-team tournament.

“There will be some transition time, one year of transition time because obviously there will be some type of [roster adjustments] but after that it will go back to normal because the clear direction from this whole thing [is] being about saving money,” Cheika said.

Dane Haylett-Petty won’t be forced to play for a rival club if the Force is axed.

“I’ve listened to [ARU chairman Cameron Clyne and chief executive Bill Pulver] about that money being redirected into grassroots, which is where I come from, so they’re not going to then go ahead and raise the salary cap.”

Cheika said players at the axed club would not be forced to join rival teams they do not wish to play for.

“No one is going to be told to go anywhere, what will happen is that there’ll be a roundtable to say ‘What are we going to do with this certain group of players’, whether it be one team or the other, we know the numbers, and how is that going to reallocate,” Cheika said.

“And then the player will always have the choice of what he wants to do.

“Speaking about the numbers, there’s a natural 15 per cent attrition at the end of the season of players leaving, retiring, or not being re-signed.”