Weekend Read: Inside the growing rugby league feud between Blake Solly and Andrew Abdo

If South Sydney CEO Blake Solly and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo could end their feud the two would prove an unstoppable force in rugby league, writes BRENT READ.

Why can’t someone just pick up the phone?

If Latrell Mitchell really wants answers, why not make a call to NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo rather than posting an inflammatory message on social media.

I reckon Andrew would have taken his call, made his point and then, if Latrell wasn’t satisfied, feel free to post a public plea for a resolution to the white substance scandal that has blighted the end of the season.

Instead, Mitchell opted to take the fight to Abdo and the NRL by telling them he was ready to play and pleading for an answer.

He effectively waved a red flag in front of Rugby League Central.

Challenged them to deny his bid to serve his one match ban this weekend when a simple phone call may have been more conciliatory and potentially taken the sting out of a volatile situation that threatens to turn legal after the Rabbitohs called in lawyers.

Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly. Picture: Getty Images

The phone call between Abdo and South Sydney chief executive Blake Solly might be a little harder given the nature of their relationship, but at some point these two have to break bread.

The last thing rugby league needs is for the NRL boss and one of clubland’s most powerful chief executives to lock horns regularly.

Solly has been happy to take the fight to the NRL on any number of issues.

He has taken the lead when other club bosses have been happy to hide in the shadows, even though it has meant he has butted heads with Abdo and the NRL time and time again.

Souths and the 16 other clubs have benefited from Solly’s defiance and determination.

This time, however, things may have gone too far as Souths and the NRL - and more pointedly Solly and Abdo - go to war.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

The sad part is, Abdo and Solly would actually be unstoppable if they found a way to work in tandem. To coexist. Both are highly intelligent and driven by a deep love and passion for rugby league.

Perhaps that passion for their respective jobs clouds their Judgement when it comes to each other. Yet imagine Abdo and Solly as a one-two punch.

It’s difficult to fathom, but rugby league would be in even ruder health.

Instead, they have become like oil and water, their latest imbroglio over the suspension of Mitchell in relation to the white substance scandal.

The incident has overshadowed the departures of Tom Burgess and Damien Cook, both of whom will play their final games for Souths this weekend.

It has taken some of the gloss off a weekend that means so much for the game.

It has become a hot mess with the finals around the corner. It needs to be resolved.

Any chance a phone call?

******

The man who built the Dolphins roster that stands on the cusp of a historic finals appearance will head to McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday afternoon with mixed emotions.

Peter O’Sullivan extricated Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Tom Gilbert from North Queensland. He zeroed in on Jeremy Marshall-King and Jake Averillo when they were at the Bulldogs.

He made what may turn out to be one of the best signings of his career when he lured Isaiya Katoa from the lower grades at Penrith.

He maintained his distance when the Dolphins signed his son Sean, but his presence on Sunday afternoon is another reason for those divided loyalties.

If things had gone to plan, O’Sullivan would be wearing a Dolphins polo and watching Sean with a clear conscience on Sunday afternoon.

NRL recruitment guru Peter O'Sullivan. Pic: Twitter.

Instead, he was unable to strike a new deal with the Dolphins and Newcastle swooped on a recruitment specialist regarded as the best in the business.

Wherever he has gone - St George, Melbourne, the Sydney Roosters, the Warriors and the Dolphins - O’Sullivan has built winning rosters.

The Knights are his latest - and potentially greatest - challenge and the pay-off could be enormous. But first, that game on Sunday.

“Obviously the spanner in the works is Sean,” O’Sullivan said.

“The simple fact is I just want Sean to play well and the rest will take care of itself. I’ve been lucky - did some hard work St George and Melbourne especially.

“I got to enjoy the fruits of that labour for a few years and then again went to the Roosters and it was hard work but I got to enjoy the fruits of that labour as well with some success.

“Went to the Warriors and again it was really hard work. They had a great year last year and I didn’t get to enjoy that success. The same thing happened at the Dolphins.

“You know, the first year at the Dolphins was probably the hardest of my footy career. They’re set up for long term success.

“Having said that, Newcastle is another challenge.

“Hopefully I’ll get to tinker with this roster a little bit, help get them successful, and I am here long term so I’ll be able to enjoy that success.”

The Knights have told Daniel Saifiti that he’s free to negotiate elsewhere despite still being contracted by the club. Picture: Getty Images

O’Sullivan has already started the tinkering. A handful of Knights players have been told they are free to explore their options next season in a bid to free up some cash for a roster reshape.

The most significant is prop Daniel Saifiti, who has been locked in talks with the Dolphins over a move north. As they prepare to lock horns on Sunday, the deal has hit an impasse and O’Sullivan concedes there is every chance it falls over.

If that is the case, he won’t be losing any sleep.

Saifiti has been among the Knights’ best players in recent weeks and O’Sullivan insists he will be just as happy if he stays, something he conveyed in a meeting with the former NSW prop last week.

“It’s been a really good week last week and I probably should have done that earlier,” he said.

“I think it cleared a lot of air for him. He doesn’t have to go anywhere. He didn’t do the contract, the club did the contract. And a contract is a contract.

“So the simple take on it is unless a club pays a certain amount of money for him, there is no point in us letting Daniel go.

“Nobody in the club wants to see Daniel go, but the reality of our cap is it is forcing pressure on some people. When you try to move people on in a roster, you generally have to move people on that you don’t want to move on.

“That is just the way it is. Right now I think Daniel will be there next year unless a club comes up with the right offer.

“Daniel can’t be paid any less to play and even if he did, that still lands in our salary cap. There is no financial prudence in letting him go in that situation.

“If clubs can smell a bit of blood in the water, that is just not going to happen. They either pay the amount you put to them or he stays. It is that simple.

“I would say right now he stays.”

If Saifiti stays, someone else will likely be forced to leave.

Such is the life of a recruitment boss when he is trying to reinvigorate a roster and set up a side for sustained success in concert with coach Adam O’Brien.

The pair have quickly struck up a rapport along with head of football Peter Parr and chief executive Phil Gardner. The future of the Knights is in their hands.

A win on Sunday would secure a spot in the finals, but O’Sullivan doesn’t want to stop there.

“Success for me is putting yourself in a position each year to win the comp,” O’Sullivan said.

”Lots of things have to go right to win a comp. If you keep putting yourself in position to win competitions. I think that’s what that’s what success looks like.

“The best clubs have done that over the years.”

Now it’s Newcastle’s turn.