Obviously the club want compensating as it has been publicly stated from the start and will probably need it should they attempt to sign a standoff currently under contract. My point is that I think we've lost some of our bargaining power by signing Herbert. I appreciate that the Bulls couldn't sit around waiting forever but it hasn't helped our case regarding compo. Before the signing there were two possible outcomes. Either we get a decent payout or Orford comes back to play as we needed him. Now Orford can't come back as our quota is full and I'm guessing that some of his wage will have gone elsewhere. Mimis and the Aussie clubs will be well aware of this and I'm sure will use it to their advantage.

Yep thats the rumour I was implying, I'm still far from convinced that deal will happen, even if we did get some decent compo....hope I'm wrong.

You're right it hasn't helped in the case against Orford. But I suspect the pragmatic approach was that whatever the outcome the club have decided, at least privately, that Orford will not be playing for us again either through his choosing or ours.



So we need a new half, any deal for Leon is still a pipedream, so we had to go for Herbert when we did if he was Potters choice of the halves currently available (which is not many). Other clubs were in for Herbert and if we had held off as a tool for upping the compo we might have been left with no new 7, herbert playing for hull, no orford and still no compo and pondering legal action.



At least now, even if Orford walks away for nothing and we don't get Leon we do have a genuine 7 who wants to be here. (for now at least!) I really don't see what else the club could have done with the situation Orford has left us with. Sooner its wrapped up the better now.

Yup, looks like Orford holding out til the last minute may have paid off for him and we simply had to move for Herbert before we ran out of options.

but there was nothing to stop us signing Herbert but then not annnouncing him until after Orford deal was sorted. Fact that we did announce Herbert suggests to me that club dont feel it affects Orford negotiations significantly. Worst case if we gone down route of not announcing Herbert would have been Orford coming back, and us having to pay Herbert for a year to do nothing without registering him as a player, Which I see as a ridiculously unlikely scenario tbh.

can't we not pay him and hold on to his registration? Thay way he won't play RL until something gets resolved.

I'd have thought once we stop paying him then we're in breach of contract. as long as he's technically injured we have to be very careful how we treat him.

He asked to be excused from reporting back for training 1/11.



That means HE is not performing the requirements of his contract now, so I am sure the club would be quite entitled not to pay him?

There's no way Orford or his manager would allow the player to remain clubless. Not a chance. If an Aussie club won't pay for him I recon its nailed on that they'd take it to court and demand that the Bulls honour his contract at least. Obviously this would stuff us right up after our new signing, so the Bulls would probably have to release him.



The latest statement from Mimis regarding his belief that the Bulls aren't entitled to compo suggests this is exactly what's going to happen. I'm not expecting a bean of compensation out of this (maybe costs).

Indeed. And I'm sure when he asked to be excused, the club would have said something along the lines of "Ok, but you accept that you won't be paid for that period?". I wouldn't think the club would just say "Yeah don't worry about it, we'll keep paying you large wages to sit at home."

Well, yes I suppose, but there is nothing to say Herbert wouldn't announce it (on twitter?) or tell friends, which all would mean the story would have been in the public domain pretty quickly. With the best will in the world it would be difficult to wind up your life in Aus and move over here without various others having to be in the know.

The clubs he turned down for a start.