Rugby League: Offiah's Sydney problem
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.WIGAN are demanding that Martin Offiah must be insured for pounds 500,000 before letting him play in Australia this summer. Offiah is due to join the Sydney club, Eastern Suburbs, on loan when he finishes his commitments with Wigan in May and the amount of cover could put the deal in jeopardy.
Wigan want to be covered for the world-record pounds 440,000 they paid Widnes for Offiah last January, plus the value of his lucrative contract, in case he is badly injured and cannot play again. They are also insisting on being paid pro rata if he returns with an injury that forces him to miss games next season.
'I don't think we are asking anything unreasonable,' Jack Robinson, the Wigan chairman, said. 'We are just learning from our mistakes. Ellery Hanley went to Western Suburbs in 1989 and came back with an injury that made him miss half of the season. We never got a penny in compensation and we do not want to go through that rigmarole again.'
Offiah and the other six Wigan players in the Great Britain squad to play France in Carcassonne on 7 March will be able to play for their club at Leeds four days earlier in spite of the Rugby League's standing order keeping Test players out of domestic matches during the preceding week.
Wigan have succeeded in their application to have the seven released, arguing that they face a fixture nightmare in the remaining weeks of the season if the match is postponed. Leeds will have Hanley and Garry Schofield released from the squad for the same match. St Helens and Castleford, who meet at Knowsley Road, and Hull, who are at Halifax, will also be able to field their Great Britain players.
This means that 14 of Malcolm Reilly's 19-man squad will be playing next Wednesday, delaying the fitness tests and the final selection of the side until Thursday.
The effect will be to downgrade marginally a fixture against the French that already struggles for credibility, but the League is anxious to avoid a repetition of the pile-up of two years ago, when Wigan played 10 games in 22 days at the end of the season.
The League yesterday launched an pounds 80,000 skills award scheme for youngsters aged 5 to 17. The scheme, which is being jointly funded by British Fuels Limited and The Institute of Sport, is aimed at encouraging schoolchildren to develop their skills outside the game itself and to be tested on a graded scale.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments