ESSENDON coach Matthew Knights says the AFL is lucky it doesn’t have a “culture” where players are more likely to switch clubs – or even codes – with little or no warning.
Speaking at his weekly press conference at Windy Hill on Wednesday, Knights was asked about NRL star Sonny Bill Williams’ shock decision to flee the country in a bid to take up a reported $3 million deal with French rugby union club Toulon.
Williams, one of the faces of rugby league and the Bulldogs’ marquee player, dropped a bombshell at the weekend when he secretly left Australia without even informing his club of his decision.
Williams is still under contract with the Bulldogs for another four years and is believed to be on a deal worth around $500,000 a season.
Knights said he couldn’t imagine losing a player in such circumstances.
“It’d be very difficult, from my perspective, to have a player walk out on our club part of the way through the season,” Knights said.
“You know I don’t think it’s really something that’s part of AFL culture and I would hate it to be that way.
“But it seems like in rugby league, whether it is coaches or assistants or players, they seem to be moving very quickly, even a year or two years out of the end of their contracts.”
Knights said player movement was a problem rugby league administrators had “to deal with” and hoped similar problems never eventuated in the AFL.
“It’s not a big part of AFL culture which is great. I wouldn’t like to see it that way,” he said.
The smaller salary cap has been criticised in NRL circles, with richer rugby union clubs circling for talent.
Knights backed the AFL’s salary cap and said while it would have to go up in time, there was no need to rush.
“The salary cap’s a wonderful initiative,” he said.
“It’s a way of managing your funds and managing your talent [and] there’s a skill in it.
“It’s an imperative part of our game, the salary cap.
“It’s gone up over time and it will continue to go up, I’ve got no doubt about that.
“That’s all that matters, that it continues to go up with the evolution of the game … I think it will [go up] but I think there has to be a limit.”
