Brad Walter of the Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Andrew Fifita is set to re-sign with the Cronulla Sharks next week, and that Fifita’s lawyers have issued the Canterbury Bulldogs with legal documents in a move that is likely to see him sue the club.
It will be very interesting to see what happens with this case because it is my understanding that Andrew Fifita and the Canterbury Bulldogs never actually got around to signing on the dotted line. They did however sign a memorandum of understanding, and that will be what Fifita’s legal team will build their case around.
The NRL does not allow clubs to lodge contracts with players from other clubs before round 13 of the season. That means that even if a player and club sign a deal, the player can back out of that deal before the contract is sign with no legal ramifications at all. This is something the Brisbane Broncos are fearful of seeing happen to Anthony Milford who is rumoured to be considering staying in Canberra.
If this case was taken to court and Fifita did win, I would guess that pretty much any player that backs out of a deal from that moment on would face legal action from clubs themselves.
The Bulldogs tore up Andrew Fifita’s record breaking deal after Fifita came out in the media and claimed he wished he had decided to stay with the Sharks or play Rugby Union.
Since then it has looked almost certain that Fifita would stay at the Cronulla Sharks with Channel 9 claiming he would sign with the club this week, something that didn’t end up happening.
