O’Conner has become something of an outcast in Australian Rugby Union ranks in recent times with the ARU cutting its central funding to him due to off field issues and “Super Rugby” clubs looking at him as nothing more than an unwanted distraction.
While O’Conner does have a junior background in Rugby League, signing him would be a risk. While there may be some clubs willing to take a punt on him it is far more likely that he will head overseas to earn more money playing Rugby Union in Japan or Europe.
With so much talent in the Rugby League ranks a Rugby Union player needs to be a real stand out for any NRL club to justify spending so much salary cap money on a player that is an unknown quantity in League. O’Connor doesn’t quite fit the bill as a truly great player. He would need to want to take a pay cut to test himself in the NRL, and there are so far no indications that he intends to do anything like that.
With Rugby Union in Australia struggling, it may simply be a case of the ARU not being able to afford to let him leave their ranks.
