NRL 2024: Warriors to house Ronald Volkman, pay for surgery after Dragons axing
Seeing Ronald Volkman’s devastating contract saga unfold at the Dragons broke Warriors CEO Cameron George’s heart. This is how the club will look after ‘one of their own’.
New Zealand Warriors CEO Cameron George has welcomed any further probing into the Ronald Volkman contract saga after the club agreed to pay for the youngster’s surgery.
Volkman will travel to New Zealand in the coming days where he will undergo surgery on the shoulder injury which scuttled his one-year deal with St George Illawarra in 2024.
George told this masthead that covering the costs of his treatment and rehabilitation was the ‘right thing to do.’
“I’m not here looking at the circumstances, the NRL, the RLPA are looking at that. Our front door is open for them to come and ask us questions at any time,” George said.
“But when I spoke to Andrew Webster and Andrew McFadden the other day, we all genuinely believed that Ronnie is part of our club.
“It broke my heart seeing (how it unfolded). So I spoke to our doctor and Webby and we agreed it’s the right thing to do.”
Volkman will stay in New Zealand after the surgery to recover and begin his rehabilitation, which the Warriors will also provide.
“This is someone’s son, he was part of our club. So we have offered the opportunity for him to come back and have the operation here, which we’ll cover,” George said.
“We just believe it’s the right thing to do. That’s our club, that’s what we do.
“We’ll move him into the club house for a few weeks, get him through it and back on his feet.
“We feel sorry for the unfortunate circumstance he’s in.”
Volkman was left in limbo, and without a club for 2024, when the Dragons walked away from the deal after it was discovered he required season ending shoulder surgery.
The Warriors granted Volkman a from the final two years of his deal on December 24 to link up with the Dragons.
“There was never a problem with him at the club, he was terrific. We just had too many halves at the moment and he got an opportunity to go elsewhere.” George said.
The Dragons announced the signing before the deal had been registered with the NRL.
Without a registered deal, Volkman was exposed to the risk of injury at training without the adequate health insurance protections.
When Volkman arrived in Wollongong, a medical revealed he had a shoulder injury that would sideline him long term.
It’s believed the Dragons received a medical report from the Warriors this month that said Volkman had sustained a contact injury in the middle of December.
Scans then ordered by the Dragons showed screws placed during the previous operation had been displaced.
Last week, Dragons coach Shane Flanagan conceded Volkman should have never trained until the results of their own full medical report had been received.
“We did the right thing, we got all the scans and found out he needs to have surgery. He injured himself at the Warriors,” Flanagan said.
“In all my time I’ve never had a player fail a medical.
“... The light training he did that exposed his injury should have been done behind closed doors.”
Under the CBA, the previous club of a player can still be deemed responsible for medical costs like surgery and rehabilitation.
That provision is one of many the RLPA secured during protracted negotiations last year to help ensure players like Volkman, still have a layer of protection while uncontracted.
Despite the issue of Volkman’s surgery being resolved, the RLPA is likely to pursue further recourse with regards to the matter.
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