Quade Cooper is an Australian Rugby Union player. Yes, Rugby Union still does exist in this country, if only barely.
News came out this week that Cooper had held talks with the Parramatta Eels with an eye on switching codes. It came out at a time when he is negotiating with the ARU, and he is in a real position of power because of the complete lack of talent Rugby Union has in Australia.
The ARU has been pulling back player payments in recent years because they simply do not have the money any more. Crowds are down, sponsorship is down, playing numbers are down and the television rates are at a catastrophic level.
So Cooper knows that the ARU basically has to come to the party and pay him a fair share of money. He also knows that by suggesting he will switch and play Rugby League, he pretty much is forcing the ARU’s hand.
If the Australian Rugby Union started losing the few playersit has to Rugby League, they would be screwed.
Not what Cooper does is up to him. If he is trying to get more money, fair enough. He won’t gain any favor with Rugby Union types but he won’t care when he is making $600,000 a year.
What the Parramatta Eels are doing in this case though is what interests me.
The suggestions are that the Eels have held preliminary talks with Coopers management but it was more a case of saying Cooper may be interested in a switch and the Eels may be interested in making him an offer.
Its also been suggested the Cooper has a bit of a friendship with Jarryd Hayne, but that friendship was forced through Twitter. Hows that for clutching at straws!
Cooper has been earmarked as a five-eight but I think he’s probably be better as a fullback. Obviously Parramatta has a halfback and in Dan Mortimer, they also have a five-eight!
So why would the Eels seriously decide to make a Rugby Union player the highest paid player at the club?
That is the question I have no answer to.
If the Eels are solely being used as a bargaining chip, they need to come out publicly and say they are not chasing Cooper. They need to shut down any idea that they are a threat to sign Cooper at all.
If he wants to play Rugby League, great. However I wouldn’t be offering him anything like the money he is after from the ARU and that means he would have to take a major pay cut, something he won’t be doing.
The other thing to consider is that Cooper has had some massive off field issues. The ARU stood by him through all this, and it didn’t really make too much news because he is a Rugby Union player and no one really cares.
What needs to be asked by the Eels though is if they want to invest in a young man that doesn’t play the game and who could be a major headache off the field?
No.
