The Moon tribunal was during the playing season and prior to Steuer Gregson's action against the club. The point I'm making is I think the player could have been trying to get out of the contract because of interest from another club.

I fully agree with PV and Highto when they say they only want players who want to play for Salford.
Moon only played 19 games for us. Yes , he had a good offload and was elusive, but again, as with the rest of our backline last year , his defence was very suspect.I believe that if you sign a contract, you should honour it, no excuses !! To Say you are homesick to try and get out of your contract, and then sign for another SL club is just WRONG.Moon ,Holdsworth and Patten to name 3 have lost all respect from me. What we need is a team full of Paul Hightons and Stu Littlers who never gave less than their all for the club.

In reply to theredshed I'm pretty sure Salfords financial woes came into the public eye around April time when the first unpaid tax bill appeared. Last time I checked April was during the playing season.

Give me a break......

And why's that ?
Answer; Because they were'nt good enough for other superleague clubs. It was either Salford or a part-time life in NL1.

Yes , they may not have been the most talented of players....BUT....they remained loyal to the club for many years,and always gave their best, which cant be said of some other players.

As Talent Spotter points out Salford's financial woes were clear all last season for those with their eyes open.

We have all accepted the lure of Leeds has influenced Moon's decision but can you truly, honestly not see how the current club environment and circumstances would have been a major factor in his decision to leave? What do you think the sight of two colleagues taking the club to court to recoup money owed and outside bodies having to come in to make sure wages are paid on time does to team morale? The squad must be at rock bottom. On the other hand you've got a three contract on the table from Leeds, it's a no-brainer.

As for this statement by Veivers, it's clear he's been told Moon was being sold to clear some of the debt which would enable the takeover to take place and it would look best all round if he was quoted on the club website looking like he was happy he was gone. Anyone who believes that Phil Veivers would have let Joel Moon go of his own volition with the first pre-season friendly around the corner and the club having made the grand total of one signing should probably seek medical help, no matter how 'homesick' he was claiming to be (I've yet to see a quote from Moon saying he was homesick, I'd suggest he was Salford-sick). I bet Veivers is delighted he's now only got to choose between Theo, Sneyd and Howarth for the half back positions next year.

We're on the verge of signing Martin Gleeson (hopefully), a man twice suspended for long periods from the sport for incredibly serious offences and a man with a proven track record of disrupting dressing rooms with his behaviour and people honestly believe Veivers is happy to see the back of Moon because he didn't want to be here? You can throw Michael Platt into the mix as well (if rumours are to believed) and you've got a man who was once facing a potential custodial sentence for an incident outside a bar in town (if memory serves). In short, we're scrambling for dregs and people think we're making conscious decisions about people's attitudes and having players who want to be here.

The only way you would get Salford Loyalist's would be Local lads or NL1 players with something to prove and then we would'nt win a single point, meaning less crowds, less gate money, less chances of sponsership etc, etc, etc,

The truth of the matter is no one wants to play for Salford unless they have too.... Thats how far this management has brought us. Pv's in dreamland if he wants success aswell as loyalist players

I can’t disagree with some of your points but I’m not buying into the notion that Vievers was told what to say to the media about Moon’s departure. Told by who? His employers who (if reports are correct) won’t be his employers in the very near future? Vievers has a difficult task as head coach in the present circumstances to galvanise the existing squad and keep his potential reinforcements keen. For this reason I believe PV said what he said for his own benefit and not somebody else’s. Vievers I believe is trying to encourage and sell a hard working and fully committed environment, something he's obviously identified as a weakness that needs improvement.

Be honest if you was coach would you want Moon playing for you under sufferance after hearing his false promises first hand and knowing all along he wanted away? Yes we would all like a fully committed Moon but under the circumstances it was never going to happen.

Furthermore I doubt very much that another halfback if not two will already be lined up.

I generally have no truck with players who carry on like Moon.However think about his time with Salford
He signed for a Coach who was sacked before he'd played for Salford in acrimonious circumstances.
He then saw the Club fall down the League as it became clear there were financial issues and players were beginning to leave and who knows there may have been wage payment issues for him.Then the obvious uncertainty since.
I really understand the issues for him then add that Leeds want you and its a no-brainer.The only thing I do hate is the homesickness bit(I hate that).Just be honest and say you had a better offer.
I understand Veivers statement but can he honestly say that if a better offer suddenly comes along now he wouldn't leave?

There's no loyalty in sport where money is concerned. You can't criticise anybody for taking a better offer.

theredshed, I think Walshovski and Talent Spotter have done a good job of explaining exactly what I was getting at. No one - and I mean absolutely no one - is denying that Moon would be daft to turn down Leeds over Salford. However, even looking at the obvious reasons, the financial situation at the club and the way in which certain sections have been run over the years have been well documented. With all that in mind and all the current uncertainty it's no wonder that him and others look to get out, even when under contract, and that we cannot keep hold of anyone that turns out to be a really good player.

The only way things will change is if we get new ownership at the club that instill a new, professional way of working from top to bottom. Cash alone won't solve our problems. Hopefully we're not a million miles away from finding out whether or not the potential of Salford RLFC can be realised.

Spot on there GT.

Lot of common ground here GT and I accept your point about Moon possibly being unsettled by events at the club. I also agree that improvements are needed but the reality is we will continue to lose quality players when bigger clubs come knocking regardless of new owners, greater financial security and being more professional. The way to stop being a selling club is being a big club ourselves. Unfortunately we haven't been a big club for 36 years since we had a very wealthy owner in a semi-professional sport. What hope have we got of keeping our best players when bigger clubs than Salford can't prevent it?

Just to clarify - it's highly unlikely the Leeds offer was a bigger one than what he was on at Salford. But no doubt, in his mind, it's a more secure position. My guess is that he was hoping there would be a nibble from an NRL club while he was back over there but, evidently, nothing came through.

Moon has been quoted saying that Leeds made an approach 3 weeks before the regular season ended. I think you could be right about Moon also looking for offers back home but I'd imagine the transfer fee was a stumbling block so he took the Leeds offer. As for your money comment I'm not disputing his monthly pay being similar but I'm sure a 3 year deal with Leeds equates to more money than the 12 months he had remaining on his Salford contract. Furthermore I also think Moon will be aware that he has a much better chance of banking more team achievment bonuses with the Rhino's.