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Wallabies defectors granted early release but there's a catch

Carter Gordon of Australia applauds the fans at full-time following the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Wales and Australia at Parc Olympique on September 24, 2023 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Rugby Australia has released their Wallaby defectors from their contracts early to join the NRL – it is being reported.

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Mark Nawaqanitawase and Carter Gordon have been granted early releases, allowing them to join their respective NRL clubs this season. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Rugby Australia’s governing board executed deeds of release for the pair on Monday.

Nawaqanitawase signed a two-year deal to join the Roosters in 2025 while Gordon has signed a two-year contract to join the Titans next season.

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    Nawaqanitawase’s release reportedly will not become official until after his Olympic campaign on July 27, the date of the men’s rugby sevens final in Paris.

    The Roosters on Monday reportedly put forward their application to the NRL for Nawaqanitawase to join and be registered with the club early. The NRL is reportedly set to give the club the green light for him to join his new teammates and begin learning the ropes in the 13-man code.

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    Meanwhile, flyhalf Gordon is free to join the Titans with immediate effect. His new contract is reportedly worth around $600,000. Gold Coast coaching staff reportedly will not rush his development. However, they are keen to get him training with the squad to fast-track his progress.

    Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt admits he was shocked by the defection of Gordon.

    “I like Carter and I’d had a few discussions with him. It wasn’t probably as much of a shock to me as it may have been externally,” Schmidt told Michael Atkinson on Stan Sport.

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    “But at the same time, I’m really excited about what Ben Donaldson has demonstrated at the Force, what Tom Lynagh has delivered and Noah Lolesio, he’s done a great job with the Brumbies, leading them around the field, his goal-kicking is very much the most accurate.

    Nawaqanitawase and Gordon both previously represented the Wallabies and featured at the recent World Cup in 2023. Nawaqanitawase was also a key member of the Australian side. The push for Nawaqanitawase to be granted an early release came after he was left out of the Wallabies’ squad for this month’s Test matches.

    Roosters coach Trent Robinson confirmed the club was hopeful their new recruit would be free to join the squad this year.

    “I haven’t got an NRL focus for him. I’ve got a transition into rugby league focus and getting him training, if possible, and playing some reserve grade would be ideal,” he said.

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    “And then it’s up to him with how he adapts. The focus is definitely not NRL. There’s not a view on NRL any time soon.

    “We’ve got a spot available to do that, but we want to get his feet on the ground to get his understanding (of rugby league).”

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    Comments

    2 Comments
    T
    Tim 276 days ago

    What's the catch? I read the article twice assuming I'd missed something. Must be a slow rugby news day in Oz.

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    f
    fl 1 hour ago
    Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

    “He won a ECL and a domestic treble at the beginning of his career.”

    He won 2 ECLs at the beginning of his career (2009, 2011). Since then he’s won 1 in 15 years.


    “He then won 3 leagues on the bounce later in his career”

    He won 3 leagues on the bounce at the start of his career too - (2009, 2010, 2011).


    If we’re judging him by champions league wins, he peaked in his late 30s, early 40s. If we’re judging him by domestic titles he’s stayed pretty consistent over his career. If we’re judging him by overall win rate he peaked at Bayern, and was better at Barcelona than at City. So no, he hasn’t gotten better by every measure.


    “You mentioned coaches were older around the mid-2010’s compared to the mid-2000’s. Robson was well above the average age you’ve given for those periods even in the 90’s when in his pomp.”

    Robson was 63-64 when he was at Barcelona, so he wasn’t very old. But yeah, he was slightly above the average age of 60 I gave for the top 4 premier league coaches in 2015, and quite a bit above the averages for 2005 and 2025.


    “Also, comparing coaches - and their experiences, achievements - at different ages is unstable. It’s not a valid way to compare and tends to torpedo your own logic when you do compare them on equal terms. I can see why you don’t like doing it.”

    Well my logic certainly hasn’t been torpedoed. Currently the most successful premier league coaches right now are younger than they were ten years ago. You can throw all the nuance at it that you want, but that fact won’t change. It’s not even clear what comparing managers “on equal terms” would even mean, or why it would be relevant to anything I’ve said.


    “You still haven’t answered why Kiss could be a risker appointment?”

    Because I’ve been talking to you about football managers. If you want to change the subject then great - I care a lot more about rugby than I do football.

    But wrt Kiss, I don’t agree that 25 years experience is actually that useful, given what a different sport rugby was 25 years ago. Obviously in theory more experience can never be a bad thing, but I think 10 years of coaching experience is actually more than enough these days. Erasmus had been a coach for 13 years when he got the SA top job. Andy Farrell had been a coach for 9 when he got the Ireland job. I don’t think anyone would say that either of them were lacking in experience.


    Now - what about coaches who do have 25+ years experience? The clearest example of that would be Eddie Jones, who started coaching 31 years ago. He did pretty well everywhere he worked until around 2021 (when he was 61), when results with England hit a sharp decline. He similarly oversaw a terrible run with Australia, and currently isn’t doing a great job with Japan.

    Another example is Warren Gatland, who also started coaching full-time 31 years ago, after 5 years as a player-coach. Gatland did pretty well everywhere he went until 2020 (when he was 56), when he did a relatively poor job with the Chiefs, before doing a pretty poor job with the Lions, and then overseeing a genuine disaster with Wales. There are very few other examples, as most coaches retire or step back into lesser roles when they enter their 60s. Mick Byrne actually has 34 years experience in coaching (but only 23 years coaching in rugby) and at 66 he’s the oldest coach of a top 10 side, and he’s actually doing really well. He goes to show that you can continue to be a good coach well into your 60s, but he seems like an outlier.


    So the point is - right now, Les Kiss looks like a pretty reliable option, but 5 years ago so did Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland before they went on to prove that coaches often decline as they get older. If Australia want Kiss as a short term appointment to take over after Schmidt leaves in the summer, I don’t think that would be a terrible idea - but NB wanted Kiss as a long term appointment starting in 2027! That’s a massive risk, given the chance that his aptitude will begin to decline.


    Its kind of analagous to how players decline. We know (for example) that a fly-half can still be world class at 38, but we also know that most fly-halves peak in their mid-to-late 20s, so it is generally considered a risk to build your game plan around someone much older than that.

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    AlanCriner 1 hour ago
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    29 Go to comments
    A
    AlanCriner 1 hour ago
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    My name is Alan Criner, and I'm a resident of Toronto, CA. I'm a 45-year-old financial analyst who has always been cautious with my investments. However, in my quest to diversify my portfolio, I fell prey to a devastating fake crypto investment scam, losing 125,000 Canadian dollars' worth of Bitcoin. This traumatic experience sent my life into a downward spiral, leaving me depressed and feeling hopeless.

    Despite my repeated attempts to contact the account manager who initially approached me on Telegram, I was met with silence. They refused to provide any explanation or information, and I was locked out of my account on their website. The authorities were unable to assist me, as the scammers were untraceable.

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    0 Go to comments
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    NB 3 hours ago
    Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

    https://www.london.edu/think/how-claudio-ranieri-transformed-leicester-city


    He jts knew how to use that deep well of knowledge accumulate over many years of management. A true Moneyball story!

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