Quote: KingRoss11 "It’s come from the horses mouth that his contract clause is at the end of the first season, you seriously think wigan would spend months negotiating and pay him 250,000 a y year just to let him walk before he’s put on the shirt? If he leaves before he’s played whoever wants him will have to pay a big fee as he’s UNDER CONTRACT. It’s not that hard to understand you stick to the small clubs where you could only dream of signing a top class player'"
Unfortunately, the fee is often determined by the context.
First and foremost, the length of time still remaining on a player’s contract. In this case, it’s only one year given his NRL release clause.
Secondly, whilst it’s frustrating, the player’s wishes impact massively on the fee. If Hastings has told Wigan he’s not leaving Australia, there’s not a great deal they can do but take whatever they are offered for him. In reality, they cannot compel him to get on a plane, come back to the UK and play for Wigan against his wishes.
Nor would they want to, as I can’t imagine they want someone who doesn’t want to be there.
I also doubt Wigan will go down the legal route. Taking legal action for BoC against someone who isn’t even in the country is complex and likely to fail. Even if he was in the UK, the club would have to prove they have suffered financial loss as a result of his BoC. That’s very difficult in this case as there is actually a financial gain for Wigan because they won’t be paying his salary!
As before, the card Wigan have is his registration. They need to hope the NRL don’t allow a club to register him without agreeing a fee for this. But let’s be realistic, Hastings and any club who want to register him have almost all the cards stacked in the favour.