Cronulla Sharks CEO, Lyall Gorman addressed questions about a potential switch from Rugby League to American Football for young star Valentine Holmes on today’s Big Sports Breakfast program on Sky Radio.
Holmes and Kiwi Jason Taumalolo are the latest NRL players to grab the attention of the NFL, the pair heading straight to Los Angeles to train in front of NFL scouts a week after playing each other in the Four Nations final.
Gorman was asked whether Holmes was genuinely considering a switch between codes or simply ‘scratching an itch’.
“I think the latter is probably a fair summation of what it’s about,” Gorman said.
In the wake of this week’s CEOs meeting, Gorman is confident that the league will soon make clear its stance on contracted players trialling for other codes.
“Is it a good look for the game when you’ve got one of your elite players off the back of a Kangaroos tour and a Premiership to be presenting himself in another environment? No,” he said.
The BSB panel also asked Gorman whether he believed that the NRL will eventually prohibit contracted players from trailing for any other codes, including NFL.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw an outcome like that in the very near future based on discussions yesterday.
“In their contract they (players) can’t do certain things around Rugby Union and AFL,” Gorman said.
The Sharks CEO also indicated that clubs are reluctant to let players risk injury by trialling for other codes.
“It’s fair to say there’s a universal view that professional athletes in our code, with the risk factor of going over there, if you bump an ACL or something, the look and feel for the brand wasn’t well received across the clubs,” Gorman added.
With the interview shifting back to the Sharks in general, Gorman went on to say the squad has a great attitude, is hungry to perform and that the Clubs’ main focus is on raising the bar in 2017.
The Big Sports Breakfast airs on Sky Radio in Sydney (AM1017) from 6-9am weekdays.
CLICK HERE to listen to the full Gorman interview.
