How Much Is Cooper Worth to The ARU?

[tic]

Can I just add a slight disclaimer my earlier rant.

Quade has got to get rid of Nasser now. He has been screwed over by Nasser in only signing a one year ARU deal when a three year deal at top dollar was on offer 12 months ago.

I'm not sure if many of you over there are aware, but the Reds, through Link and Jim Carmichael and others, have recently been trying to mentor Quade in his off field conduct and comments and gently guide him in the right direction (which would be the opposite direction from Nasser). They seemed to be having some success.

Unfortunately the ARU, with this stupid and punitive offer, have played right into Nasser's hands.

Quade is not very bright and has done some silly things but the ARU, through this process, have shown themselves to be acting like petulant children also. What hope does rugby have with these clowns at the boardroom table.

[Alison]

Those of you seal clapping about him quitting (here and elsewhere) are demonstrating a myopic and insecure provincial view. I'm looking at you Alison and your relentless hate campaign. I really doubt that you know much about rugby at all.

I love how much attention you guys pay to my posts. It's really flattering. Thank you

[tic]

Well tic, I do know a little about rugby, having played it for many years and then managed and coached teams as I turned into a fat old bastard. I also have some pretty grounded views on teamwork. leadership and humility. Like many others I will be pleased to see the back of him. I acknowledge he does have great attacking talent and a rare ability to create time and space for those outside him (when the team is going forward) - but it's not worth the price. I find his petulance intolerable and feel he has dragged Australian rugby down. Good bye and good riddance.

That's fine. But by this measure I assume that you would also cut another 2 or 3 Wallabies.

That should really send us back to the top of world rugby.

The truth is that we have 3 or 4 very talented Gen Y'ers in that squad. If managed well, we are world beaters with them in the team.

I don't like the idea of pandering to Gen Y'ers all that much but lets face it - in any workforce, we all have to indulge their egos a bit.

I know a bit about the way Quade is managed at the Reds. They give him a bit to get a lot back. He then consistently produces the goods at Super 15 level.

Deans is quite notorious for his lack of people skills. I think that the last few months have seen where that gets our national team.

[Macattack]

I would cut any of them that are destructive influences on the team delivering as a team. QC fits into that category for me.

[brokendown gunfighter]

Tic,you nailed it on the head,I'm sure Nasser is a major cause of a lot of Cooper's problems.trouble is,Cooper can't see that

[tic]

I suspect that Nasser almost entirely the problem. But Quade is unfortunately not worldly enough to see it. It's actually a bit sad really.

[Darren]

Those of you seal clapping about him quitting (here and elsewhere) are demonstrating a myopic and insecure provincial view

so you're suggesting that posters on a website dedicated to rugby played in [and out of] the most isolated city in the world are parochial...?

Most would probably wear that as a badge of honour

a new TWF slug? TWF - Myopic, Insecure, Provincial... and Lovin' It!

[sittingbison]

tic, it's YOU and Reds supporters like you that are myopic. It's complete BS to pander to the likes of Cooper, Beale, Judas or anybody else. That does not mean being a hard arse, it means requiring them to confirm to expected norms of behaviour, ESPECIALLY when representing the nation. Constantly pissed, breaking and entering. stealing, assault, vehicle accidents at 2am the night the team departs, hungover and not bothering with official functions prior to RWC FFS of all times, bashing team mates, etc etc etc is completely unacceptable and most rugby FANS are expressing exactly Alison's sentiments. Including almost everybody in this site. You singling her out (for making very mild criticisms in comparison) is unacceptable. SHE is not the cause of this, neither is Deans, or the ARU.

As you very well know, Cooper refused the 2011 contract and demanded a single year, hoping his value would increase after RWC. Laughable it plummeted, not because of injury but his abject gutless display that arguably cost is a finals appearance. Nasser has been sitting on his new contract for more than three months, long before his pathetic RC display and thoroughly disrespectful and disgraceful public humiliation of team mates, Deans and ARU.

That contract offer should have been torn up. Simple as that.

Instead the ARU has offered him a chance, he would not suffer at all if he got his merde together and ayed as the worlds best 10, never missing a Test. Then this afternoon, before this story broke, he tweeted a pic shaking hands with and eulogising a convicted rapist, and worlds most reviled and disgraced sportsman Mime Tyson, whose presence in this country has been debated in Parliament. So much for link teaching him acceptable public behaviour.

It's pandering to these imbeciles that has got Aus rugby into the position it finds itself. Look no further than Honey Badger to see what it's meant to be like.
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[Hoolly Doolly]

Not a fan of QC. he's young and dumb like many of us one time. You could take a stroll down to northbridge and subi and find an army of QC's. One day he might mature.
He didnt say nothing that any of us havent already said about the toxic state of the ARU. No excuses but I felt his offending tweets was thanks largely to his legion of followers flooding his twitter with similar tweets. Being young and dumb naturally has a severe lack of self control and discipline with these forms of media. His appearance on the rugby club didnt help either. He should not have been allowed to be put on the spot .
I have no opinion on what he should or shouldnt do. A person worth his weight in salt would suck it up, take his medicine and come back next year with something to prove but could be pointless if robbie deans is coach(was a fan of him but not anymore).
Personally i think the ARU are just being tight bastards they are, and capitalizing on this to justify a much smaller offer to the detriment of QRU.
Personally I would prefer to see him stay in the code.

[normie]

QC is a great talent, but he has had his chances. He blew it. He's going horizontal when he needs to be going vertical.

Myopic, Insecure, Provincial? Used to describe Queensland. Some say it still does.

[normie]

QUADE Cooper will quit Australian rugby to pursue other sporting interests - starting with a debut boxing appearance on Sonny Bill Williams' undercard.

Cooper's shock switch to the sweet science is expected to be confirmed at a press conference early next week, in which he will formally announce his exit from Australian rugby and bring a temporary end to a remarkable international career of highs and lows.

The 24-year-old is so disillusioned with the ARU that he is walking away despite having signed a three-year extension with the Queensland Reds in June.

The ARU offered Cooper a highly downgraded contract with no top-up, which effectively meant he was no longer viewed as among the top 30 players in the country.

So beyond the Reds deal, Cooper was essentially being offered only match payments if he was to play for the Wallabies - a pay cut of around $200,000.

That and the recent record fine of $60,000 ($20,000 suspended) imposed upon Cooper by the ARU for his public criticism of what he described as a "toxic environment" within the Wallabies camp has left him searching for a new direction.

Wallabies captain Nathan Sharpe last night said he was disappointed to hear the news.

Speaking in Florence, where the Wallabies are based ahead of their Test against Italy on Sunday, Sharpe said the potential loss of a gifted player like Cooper was unfortunate.

"Quade is a very talented player," Sharpe said. "I suppose people have to make their decisions. It is an individual thing for the individual.

"I don't know too much about it but it is disappointing to hear. The more players you have like that in Australia, the better. But sometimes the chips don't fall where you want them to."

European and Japanese rugby, or a code switch to the NRL, will be explored in coming days as potential avenues for Cooper.

But it is boxing where he looks set to make his next sporting appearance. It is expected Cooper and Williams will front a press conference at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre next week to announce the details of the fight, slated for late February. Williams will take on Francois Botha of South Africa.

Cooper has already begun sparring sessions and has spoken of his newly found passion for the sport.

The ARU and the Reds said last night they had not been contacted by Cooper or his management regarding any decision.

Cooper's manager Khoder Nasser also would not comment on whether Cooper was quitting Australian rugby.

Minutes after a report aired stating he was quitting last night, Cooper took to Twitter.

But instead of issuing a denial, he posted a photo of himself and Mike Tyson.

Interestingly, late yesterday Cooper's player profile was deleted from the Wallabies' website.

Williams, who returns to the NRL for the Roosters next year, recently backed Cooper to make a successful switch to league.

"If people are saying he is not wanted in rugby, first off I think they are crazy and don't know what they're talking about," Williams told The Sunday Telegraph.

"But if they think he is not good enough to be playing for Australia then I would love to lure him across to rugby league for a year.

"I will try. I would definitely love to play alongside him. I think he would be a success."

The Dragons last night ruled themselves out of the race for Cooper.

Coach Steve Price told The Daily Telegraph: "No one has contacted us about Quade and I'm comfortable with the halves that we have.''


http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1226519918039

[palitu]

I would prefer someone a little less explosive in attack, who can actually play the other parts of the code. Other wise he becomes a quarter back...

[Alison]

I know I have only been following rugby for about 30 years and don't really know anything about the game, but even from this position of blissful ignorance it seems to me that QC has gone from hero to zero in the space of 18 months and the only person who can be blamed for that is QC himself. Whether through arrogance, greed, poor choice of life coaches, low IQ, gullibility or whatever. He had the world at his feet and, as Normie said, he blew it. Simple as that.

Yes he has raw natural talent, yes he was scintillating as a Super 15 player for the Reds, but he was mercurial, unpredictable and at times downright poor as a Wallaby. Surely even his most ardent fans could not disagree with that, whatever excuses they wish to make for it.

As a simple, old-fashioned fan of the game, the guys I want representing my country are the honest grafters like Sharpe, Moore, Pocock, Hooper, Cummins, who put the game and the jersey before themselves and their egos. I don't want flashy, 'look-at-me' awesomeness. I want honed skills, hard work, 100% effort and humility. I want the Dan Carters, Jonny Wilkinsons and Gareth Delves of this world. Not the Coopers, Ciprianis and Hensons. If that means we lose some games because we don't have that flash of brilliance every now and then, so be it.

[palitu]

I know I have only been following rugby for about 30 years and don't really know anything about the game, but even from this position of blissful ignorance it seems to me that QC has gone from hero to zero in the space of 18 months and the only person who can be blamed for that is QC himself. Whether through arrogance, greed, poor choice of life coaches, low IQ, gullibility or whatever. He had the world at his feet and, as Normie said, he blew it. Simple as that.

Yes he has raw natural talent, yes he was scintillating as a Super 15 player for the Reds, but he was mercurial, unpredictable and at times downright poor as a Wallaby. Surely even his most ardent fans could not disagree with that, whatever excuses they wish to make for it.

As a simple, old-fashioned fan of the game, the guys I want representing my country are the honest grafters like Sharpe, Moore, Pocock, Hooper, Cummins, who put the game and the jersey before themselves and their egos. I don't want flashy, 'look-at-me' awesomeness. I want honed skills, hard work, 100% effort and humility. I want the Dan Carters, Jonny Wilkinsons and Gareth Delves of this world. Not the Coopers, Ciprianis and Hensons. If that means we lose some games because we don't have that flash of brilliance every now and then, so be it.

well put.

[SNOB]

No so simple Alison )