If relations between Robbie Farah and Wests Tigers continue down their poisonous path, club officials may elect to pay him out, rather than retain what they clearly perceive to be a divisive force.
Suppose Farah's management is offered a $800,000 a year payout on the remaining two years of his contract, understood to be $925,000 a year. If another NRL club, such as Souths, offered him $200,000 a season, it would be an attractive proposition, playing for a more competitive team. However, the NRL would insist Souths outlay a figure commensurate with the value of an Australian and NSW hooker.
This would mean Souths paying $500,000, which allows Wests Tigers the opportunity of negotiating down some of the money they were prepared to outlay to release him. But salary cap space is the most valuable real estate in rugby league, apart from the 15cm between a halfback's ears, and it is unlikely any club would have a spare half a million dollars, particularly so late in a season.
It all adds up to Farah being out of a job in Australia, which may explain why one former, out of work, Wests Tigers coach sent a text message this week to a former board member, using the word "karma".
I haven't talked with Farah or Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor in a decade, nor with Taylor's assistant, Rod "Rocket" Reddy whom I coached at St George. "Rocket", apart from being a former international back-rower, is one of those jovial, amiable types that intense coaches like having around the clubhouse to lighten the mood. I'm told it was "Rocket" who communicated the message to Farah that he would be playing reserve grade should he remain at the Tigers.
For him to render this brutal cut, there must be a serious disconnect between Farah and the coaching staff. Or between Farah and his young teammates who see a bright future for the club. From what I see on the field there have been times these creative halves, clearly building for an opportunity to score, have been stranded when Farah suddenly makes a run from dummy half. I've seen similar wrong options taken in State of Origin matches but I defer here to NSW coach Laurie Daley who has made a spirited defence of Farah, declaring he would choose the 31-year-old from the NSW Cup. A cynic might suggest Daley has to say this, given NSW's dearth of rakes - of this year's back-up options, Michael Ennis is nearing the end of his career and Ryan Hinchcliffe is heading to Huddersfield.
Some would say Farah's desperation to score himself, when the team has other plans, is an indication of his ultra-competitiveness. A workhorse around the ruck, he would make a mule drool. He regularly tops the tackle count but his 80 minutes in the middle of the ruck hasn't stopped his team having the worst defence in the NRL last year and the second worst in 2013. It's been reported Farah takes losing so badly, it becomes a negative force. From what I have seen of modern footballers, this can't be all bad.
With full-time employment, professional footballers have become 9 to 5 workers and the gap between winning and losing is diminishing, unlike the euphoric highs and debilitating lows we experienced in the dinosaur days.
No, there must be something seriously wrong for Wests Tigers to be taking this step. The board is strongly backing Taylor, despite savage criticism from broadcaster and former Balmain coach, Alan Jones. Former federal sports minister, John Brown, has written a letter, co-signed with Balmain legend, Benny Elias, to NRL chief executive Dave Smith asking him to reconcile coach and captain.
Sometimes a captain's need to be loved bisects a coach's need to be right but I don't think it applies here. Farah has his coterie of admirers for daily coffees.
It's been reported club benefactor Harry Triguboff might pay off the $4.5m due early next year to restore the Balmain Tigers to half ownership of Wests Tigers. Furthermore, it's been suggested Triguboff could buy out Wests share. The Magpies have a veto over any new partner but Wests' two directors on the NRL club's board have business backgrounds. They would have to consider a $50m offer for Wests' share, particularly with $20m in refurbishments planned for their licensed premises at Ashfield. The remainder could go to seeing the Magpie as a stand-alone emblem, soaring again in the forthcoming, revitalised NSW Cup.
The NRL has lost $40m in funding from Sydney licensed clubs in the past few years, a reason why Smith will back the decisive leadership of the Wests Tigers board who seek a commitment from all to a strong, unified culture.
