You’re probably wondering why I have yet to write anything about the news that Mark Gasnier is looking to get out of French Rugby Union and now wants to come back and play in the NRL with the St George/Illawarra Dragons.
Its basically because I don’t care either way.
Gasnier left the Dragons mid contract because a third party sponsor failed to come through with money Gasnier felt he was owed.
At the time he was being used by both the NRL and ARL to promote the club competition and the upcoming World Cup. He left asking why players didn’t get paid more money and “What happens to the money from those Tazo’s?”.
So he left and went to French Rugby Union. He joined the corpse of Sonny Bill Williams, Craig Gower and Luke Rooney over there chasing the big dollars.
He left and the Dragons kicked on to win the 2010 Minor Premiership only to fall short of winning the Premiership proper because the Dragons are a bunch of chokers.
This season, once again the Dragons are playing pretty well, but now Gasnier wants to come back. The irony is that if Gasnier wants to play for the Dragons, he will have to play for a minimum contract. This will change in his second and third season with the club as the amount he would earn would rise.
You can’t imagine that it would ever be anywhere near what he was on with the previous Dragons contract he walked out on though.
Some people are suggesting Gasnier is just what the Dragons need to now go on and win the Premiership. I don’t really understand where these people are coming from.
Gasnier was a vital part of many Dragons sides that choked when the pressure was on during finals series. On top of that, for the last season of his NRL career he was used more and more as a winger because his defense was a real problem.
No doubt he is a very good attacking playing, but in defense, he is a liability.
Only time will tell how he goes in his return. I think he’ll be just about the same as they player that left. Playing under Wayne Bennett will help him but at the end of the day, the Dragons choke as a team, and Bennett hasn’t been able to turn that around, let alone a winger on a minimum contract.
