‘It will be a s---fight as players jump ship’: Gold Coast Rugby League coach’s dire warning

Players are faced with a difficult decision: take a wage cut potentially as high as 100 per cent, sit out the season, or find a new club with the resources to pay them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has opened the door for a cashed-up club to buy the 2020 Gold Coast A Grade rugby league title outright.

That was the stark warning delivered by Runaway Bay coach Nick Gleeson as GCRL officials grapple with the decision on whether to kick off the season at all.

At least one club has already told players they will not be paid for their services in 2020 as government restrictions threaten to cut gate takings to zero.

Players are faced with a difficult decision: take a wage cut potentially as high as 100 per cent, sit out the season, or find a new club with the resources to pay them.

Runaway Bay Rugby League A-grade coach Nick Gleeson. Photograph : Jason O'Brien

Multiple clubs, including Gleeson’s Runaway Bay, have admitted their preference is to write off the season completely and begin preparations for 2021.

“We’re a club that don’t want the season to start because financially we’ll just lose too much money,” Gleeson said.

“If it does start it will be s---fight for a month as players jump ship and others choose not to play.

“I told one of our high profile players there’s a chance he’d be playing for nothing and he said he’s just going to take the year off.

“If there’s a club that can afford those players there’s a real chance that a club with money can buy a premiership this year.

“Hypothetically we could offer Intrust Super Cup players $400 to $800 per week to play for us this year and win the comp.

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“We’re not a club throwing around money but there’s a chance a club could do that.”

Currumbin coach Martin Griese agreed there was cause for concern but did not believe widespread player movement would occur.

“Boys have signed-on under the understanding they’ll get certain money,” Griese said.

“If the competition is changing and sponsors are withdrawing, where does that money come from?

Premiership-winning coach Martin Griese has left Tugun Seahawks (rugby league) on bad terms and reunited with former Queensland Cup teammate Ryan Gundry at Currumbin Eagles. Photo by Richard Gosling

“When the league starts up do we have bars, canteens, crowds? Obviously that’s our revenue.

“If we can’t have that we don’t have normal revenue streams.

“I don’t think we’ll see players move from one team to another on the Gold Coast but we’ll see players go, ‘No I’m not playing for nothing’ because it isn’t worth being injured and missing work.

“I can see people saying they’ll take a year off.”

Ormeau’s Peri Creamer predicted the long lay-off would revitalise the competition with out-of-work representative players returning to their clubs of origin.

“I think that’s the biggest thing, some worthy and rep players will say I need to play and don’t give a s--- about money,” the Shearers coach said.

Peri Creamer is the new Rugby League Gold Coast A grade coach at the Ormeau Shearers for 2020. Pic Tim Marsden

“It could create one of the most entertaining and exciting competitions we see.

“We can’t have all the players to go to one club, that would kill it, but the state leagues and under-20s are gone.

“All the Roosters and Rabbitohs and the like have come home and they’ll want to play.

“Clubs in Brisbane have said they’ll be rejecting Q-Cup players because it ruins what they’re building but I’d like to think we’d get a couple at Shearers.”

Even if the GCRL elects to run a shortened season, some clubs are still uncertain whether they will participate.

“The District will make the right decision and as a club we’ll then have to make our decision,” Runaway Bay’s Nick Gleeson said.

Round 9 Rugby League Gold Coast match between Ormeau Shearers and Bilambil Jets at Ormeau rugby league club. Jets Player No11 Drew McCullough Ormeau Player No . Pic Mike Batterham

“We need to be in position to play next year, not just this year to please everyone else.

“There’s no money coming in and as soon as we start playing the money starts going out.

“You burn a hole real quick and we don’t want to go ahead and play just because the District says we can.

“They don’t pay our bills and they don’t care if we have an A Grade team next year or not.

“We could make a foolish move and take the field and next year fall in a hole and not have any money.

“We need to make sure we’re financially positioned so we can pay players next year.”