Aaron Woods signs deal to leave Bulldogs and join Sharks immediately
ON Tuesday morning, Aaron Woods was training with Canterbury. On Tuesday afternoon, he was training with his new teammates at Cronulla, without having time to say goodbye to his Bulldogs teammates.
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THE NRL’s mid-season player transfer madness has continued with representative front-rower Aaron Woods training with Canterbury on Tuesday morning before training with Cronulla in the afternoon.
The Sharks will be Woods’ third club in little more than a year.
Woods didn’t even have time to say goodbye to some of his Bulldogs teammates before being rushed to Cronulla to front the media in his new kit and then straight onto Shark Park to train with Cronulla players.
His Belmore exit has continued the modern day trend of players walking out on clubs one day to join a rival team the following day — a fad that infuriates fans.
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“We trained Tuesday morning and I got off the field and they just said to check my phone. It is what it is. Rugby league is a rollercoaster journey. Not everything goes the way you want it,” Woods said.
“This all happened at the last minute. Obviously there were dealings behind the scenes but I only found out this morning after training with the Bulldogs boys.
“I didn’t get to tell them (teammates) all at once. They were all in forwards and backs meetings. That’s the way it goes this day-and-age.
“I’m a Cronulla player now and I’m really happy to be here. I don’t want to chop and change anymore.”
Asked was his departure a shambles, Woods said: “That’s rugby league now. It’s the game we are in, it’s part of the job.
“It is good people won’t be asking anymore what I am doing. But I thought when I went through all that last year it was over.”
Woods was shuffled out the Belmore bunker to help alleviate concerns over the club’s pressurised salary cap. It is understood talks between Cronulla and Woods were at a stalemate Monday night before reigniting Tuesday morning.
Negotiations moved rapidly with Woods announced as a new Shark by The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield online at 10.30am. He signed a three-and-a-half year deal.
Woods walked into Shark Park at 2.15pm to be greeted by Sharks star and former NSW teammate, Andrew Fifita.
He trained with his new club at 4.30pm and will board a fly to Auckland this morning to play in Cronulla’s big game against New Zealand Warriors on Friday night.
WATCH BELOW AS THE SHARKS UNVEIL WOODS
Welcome Aaron Woods!
— Cronulla Sharks FC (@Cronulla_Sharks) 26 June 2018
Your first look at our new recruit in the âš«ï¸âšªï¸ðŸ”µ#UpUpCronulla pic.twitter.com/hzXXxosm3j
Defending the June 30 deadline, NRL chief operating officer Brian Canavan said:
“The current system provides some balance for both players and clubs. If a club and player agree to part ways mid-season then that is appropriate if it suits both parties.”
Sharks skipper Paul Gallen immediately took to social media, saying: “Welcome Woodsy, great to have you on board.”
Signing marquee-player Woods for four-years and then allowing him to leave before June 30 in season one has left the Bulldogs embarrassed.
There are suggestions Canterbury will struggle to enter the NRL open market for the next two years due to the club’s back-ended deals. Woods’ exit does however give the club some room to manoeuvre.
It is understood Canterbury will continue to contribute towards Woods’ hefty salary for the next two years. He signed at Canterbury for around $900,000 a season.
Woods will earn between $600,000 to $650,000 a year at Cronulla with Canterbury paying the remaining amount.
“Canterbury has been awesome — it was a really good change,” Woods said. “Everyone knows what’s going on there at the moment. They have their salary cap problems.”
The Test prop may just give Cronulla the impetus to go deep into the finals. He will join fellow Origin stars Fifita and Matt Prior in the Sharks front-row.
Woods spent Tuesday afternoon learning the new plays and calls at Cronulla.
The former Wests Tigers and NSW star leaves Canterbury just a day after the club ruled high-profile Kieran Foran out for the season with a toe injury.
His mid-season departure will no doubt disappoint Bulldogs teammate David Klemmer, who was a driving force in luring Woods to Belmore.
The Daily Telegraph and Fox Sports Stats compiled a team of players since 2016 that switched clubs mid-season.
The side includes Woods, Robbie Farah, Tariq Sims, Moses Mbye, Mitchell Moses and Junior Paulo.
In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Bulldogs CEO Andrew Hill explained why the club had allowed Woods to leave.
“The Bulldogs and Aaron have decided that now is the right time for this move to happen. It is a difficult decision for both parties, however, both Aaron and the club believe it is in their best interests for this to happen now,” Hill said.
“What it does allow is for Aaron to join his new club before the upcoming deadline and for the Bulldogs to be able to start to plan for the future with additional cap space.
“It has been well documented that we have had very little flexibility with our cap going forward and this will now allow us to look to the future with increased flexibility around our options. We wish Aaron all the very best for the future.”
Originally published as Aaron Woods signs deal to leave Bulldogs and join Sharks immediately
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