Fifita

[TITAN PETE]

This bloke thinks he's bigger than the game & deserves his own thread..

[TITAN PETE]

Andrew Fifita wishes he chose Union of Rugby League
I wish I chose rugby union over rugby league, says Cronulla Sharks prop Andrew Fifita

THE ink is barely dry on his new multi-million-dollar NRL contract, but Andrew Fifita has revealed his big plans to play rugby union.

Less than a month after signing a four-year deal reportedly worth more than $3.5 million to join Canterbury from Cronulla next season, making him the highest-paid prop in rugby league history, Fifita says a code switch down the track is inevitable.

If I could go back now, I wish I chose rugby and then I wouldn't be getting all the s*** I've been catching now.

The tearaway Kangaroos front-rower, who held discussions with Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie late last year, says it's not a matter of if, but when he returns to the game he grew up playing - and loving.

In an extraordinary confession, Fifita even said he wished he picked rugby union over league this month such has been the flak he's copped for leaving the Sharks.

I grew up playing rugby so it was one of the best things. It's always going to be there and I will eventually go to union.

“If I could go back now, I wish I chose rugby and then I wouldn't be getting all the s*** I've been catching now,” Fifita said ahead of his return against Newcastle on Sunday from a two-match suspension for a shoulder charge.

“I grew up playing rugby so it was one of the best things.

“It's always going to be there and I will eventually go to union.

“It's another dream and I just want to chase another dream.

“I've pretty much got everything in rugby league except a premiership and that's all I really want, and to win an Origin series.”

A destructive inside centre or No.8, Fifita represented NSW Country in junior rugby union and earned a place in the Brumbies development squad.

“So I had the opportunity to play for the Brumbies or go to Wests Tigers,” he said.

It's history now that Fifita chose the Tigers, who offloaded him to Cronulla at the end of 2011.

I've pretty much got everything in rugby league except a premiership and that's all I really want, and to win an Origin series.

While his “heart's still in Cronulla and it always will be” and he also admits “I may end up back here in four years' time”, Fifita says it's wrong to say the Sharks plucked him out of reserve grade from the Tigers to give him a second shot at the NRL.

“They never got me out of reserve grade,” he said.

“I was playing first grade and then as soon as I signed for the Sharks they (Wests Tigers) put me back to reserve grade.”

Fifita credits the birth of his 15-month-old son Latu Jay - or LJ - for inspiring his meteoric rise to State of Origin and Test star last season.

“I always knew I could potentially go far in football but I never really committed to it, or didn't want to show it until I had a child,” he said.

“That really gave me an eye opener that life's too short. I realised that to give my son the best in life and my wife the best in life I had to succeed in football.

“Last year, as soon as I had him, it was the life changer of my world. My eyes lit up and as soon as I saw that training paddock, I was a hundred miles an hour.

“I had to get out there and flog myself and do those extras off the paddock. That's where it got me last year.

“I can't say the Sharks made me the player I am. I changed my life to be that player.”

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/

[TITAN PETE]

Originally Posted by DIEHARD

So he has pretty much accomplished everything in Rugby League.... except a Premiership and a State of Origin series win. Hahhaha

He is quickly becoming Rugby Leagues no1 Tosser

[TITAN PETE]

Fifita's Canterbury Bulldogs deal collapses
By Nigel Wall, Editor
NRL.com
3:30pm Mon 31st March, 2014


Outspoken Cronulla prop Andrew Fifita's highly publicised $3.4 million deal to join Canterbury-Bankstown is over before it began, with the Bulldogs confirming the Australian Test star won't be joining their ranks from 2015.

The announcement comes barely 72 hours after Fifita controversially declared he wished he had signed with rugby union rather than changed NRL clubs - and that he could see himself returning to Cronulla when his new deal with the blue and whites ended at the end of 2018.

"If I could go back now, I wish I chose rugby and then I wouldn't be getting all the s*** I've been catching now," Fifita told AAP last Friday.

In an astonishingly candid interview, Fifita said a return to rugby union - which he played growing up and as a schoolboy - was inevitable.

"I've pretty much got everything in rugby league except a premiership and that's all I really want, and to win an Origin series," he said.

He continued: "[My] heart's still in Cronulla... I may end up back here in four years' time."


It's not known how those comments went down with the playing and coaching staff at Canterbury although a four-paragraph statement released by the Bulldogs on Monday confirmed the move was off - with a disagreement over the final terms of his new contract cited as the trigger.

"After signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Andrew we’ve not been able to agree on the final terms of his NRL Playing Contract and have ceased negotiations with his management," said Bulldogs Chief Executive Raelene Castle.


Fifita was said to be disappointed at the collapse of the deal, according to his management group I.am Athlete Management.

His deal with the Bulldogs would have made him the highest-paid front rower in the history of the game.

The Sharks released a statement saying the sudden development would be "confusing and disappointing for Andrew".

"The Sharks have been made aware of the latest developments relating to Andrew Fifita and his proposed 2015-2018 NRL Playing Contract with the Bulldogs," the statement said.

"No doubt this situation will be confusing and disappointing for Andrew and the Sharks as a club have an obligation to assist him and his family to manage this issue.

"After further review of the situation and until speaking with his Andrew and his management the Sharks are not in a position to make further comment."

[TITAN PETE]

Fifita jumped the gun, claims Bulldogs CEO
By Ian McCullough and David Barbeler
AAP
8:00pm Mon 31st March, 2014







Canterbury chief executive Raelene Castle has accused Andrew Fifita of jumping the gun by announcing he was moving to the Bulldogs next season before the finer points of his contract had been agreed.


Fifita announced three weeks ago that he would leave Cronulla to join the Bulldogs in 2015 on a four-year deal believed to be in the region of $850,000 a season.


The Bulldogs then confirmed the news the following day - something Castle acknowledges was a mistake after she pulled the plug on the deal on Monday.


"We agreed to a MOU (memo of understanding) before negotiating a long-form NRL contract," Castle told AAP.


"When we went through the details of the contract with Fifita's management we couldn't agree so we today we went our separate ways.


"Our media policy is that we don't announce signings until we have that long form contract signed.


"Unfortunately Andrew was under media pressure to announce his decision and he made the decision to announce he was joining the Bulldogs on Twitter.


"That put us in something of a position and we ended up in a situation that wasn't our usual media protocol."


Castle refused to divulge what part of the deal could not be agreed but maintained the club would not have been over the salary cap had Fifita signed on.


"I am not at liberty to discuss the finer points of the contract and at the end of the day we couldn't get the deal done," she said.


"There have been figures that are reported that are not correct and everyone at the club was in agreement we have made the right decision and we move on."


The decision to scrap the Fifita deal will allow coach Des Hasler to sign a top-class fullback, with Wests Tigers star James Tedesco sure to be on the club's radar.


Castle revealed the money saved on Fifita would be used to bolster other parts of the squad and acknowledged there was plenty of depth in the club's forwards to cope without him.


"Our forward pack has been very good over the last couple of week and we have a high level of comfort that we have plenty of depth," Castle said.


"This decision allows us to make other decisions about the squad."


The representative front-rower made the shock admission last week that he wished he'd signed to play rugby instead of joining Canterbury and Castle admitted she wasn't too pleased to see his comments, but denied they scuppered the deal.


"It wasn't ideal, but had we got things sorted with Fifita's management the deal would have gone ahead," she said.


"It didn't happen so we agreed to walk away."


The cash-strapped Australian Rugby Union said they would only be interested in talking to Fifita if he was willing to put rugby ahead of money.


"If Andrew wanted to talk to us, it would need to be for rugby reasons and not based on the earning capacity he could demand in league," an ARU spokesman said.


"As we are aware, we are not involved in his current or future plans."


Fifita has represented NSW Country in junior ranks and earned a place in the Brumbies development squad.


Brumbies director of rugby Laurie Fisher said his club would only be interested in Fifita if the ARU contributed financially.


"Under the current salary conditions we wouldn't be able to afford him," Fisher said.


Fifita's manager Ben Johnston did not return AAP's calls.

[Toads]

Good career strategy.. He'll probably end up playing Union for a overseas team for less than half the money he walked away from.

Some people just don't realise how good they had/have it..

[Titanic]

Hey Toads ... remember the days when clubs would appoint a spokesperson from the players? Fifita is a product of poor management and shouldn't be allowed within 30 meters of a reporter ... you can't blame him really, in fact it's pathetic.

[Toads]

You could be right, Mate. Admittedly I don't know all the facts 'n some of the details seem sketchy. If that is the case, it appears a few better get their act together a bit better than that..

[TITAN PETE]

FIFITA TO PURSUE LEGAL AVENUES
Bulldogs Sharks
April 1, 2014332
THE management of Andrew Fifita met with the NRL today over the Test star’s contract fiasco with the Bulldogs.

Fifita’s rich deal with the club – reported to be worth $850,000 a season – was cancelled yesterday after a dispute between the parties.

The Bulldogs said they backed out of the deal “given the final terms of the NRL Playing Contract could not be agreed.”

But RLW believes that Fifita’s management has told the NRL that several third party deals agreed to in original discussions were not subsequently in the contract offered to the Test star.

The matter is likely to develop into a legal dispute between the two parties.

Fifita is now mulling over several options – going to rugby union, staying at the Sharks or joining a rival NRL club – with his value in the market significantly lower as a result of the drama.

BY TONY ADAMS

[GCT_89]

This whole story reeks of a Woman who purchases the most expensive shoes in the store, only to regret it a week later and take them back for a refund, because none of her girlfriends pay $3.4M for a pair of flats.....

The 'union' story is a gee up.... Yea there was talk of going to union, but he grew up playing union, of course it was a matter of when....

[Titanic]

He can bugger off and just be content with whatever he can squeeze out of anybody who would employ such a bozo.

[CoastSportsFan]

Has this ever happened before? What a strange situation. Whoever takes him on next year is gonna cop it from the media.

[Titanic]

He can only retreat back into the Sharks and save face.