StephenP
ArnoldMark Gasnier quits the Dragons
July 16th 2008 08:47
Australia and NSW representative centre Mark Gasnier will quit St George Illawarra Dragons at the end of the 2008 season to play rugby union in France with glamour club Stade Francais for at least two seasons on a reported $800,000 to $1million per year deal.
Arguably the best centre in the game, Gasnier has decided to exercise a clause in his playing contract and leave the Dragons after third-party agreements in his five-year contract signed in 2006 had not been honoured. This consequently left him earning two-thirds of his contract money.
Gasnier will link up with former Waratah's coach Ewen McKenzie at Stade Francais.
At the press conference which announced Gasnier's imminent departure from the club, Dragons Chief Executive Officer Peter Doust said: “To acknowledge that Mark Gasnier is leaving the Dragons and the game of rugby league is indeed a sad occasion,
“Mark is a rare talent, a St George junior who has developed into one of the games finest players.
“Two years ago we worked extremely hard to keep him at our Club and in the game when he was off contract and attracting significant offers from elsewhere and over the past two years we have continued to do all could to ensure he remained a Dragon but unfortunately his decision to leave is for circumstances beyond our control,” he said.
Despite the general opinion that money was the prime motivator in his switch to French rugby union, the talented centre said he had to make a tough decision.
“This definitely wasn’t an easy decision to make,” said Gasnier. “I love the Dragons and the Club has always been fantastic to me.
“I could not have asked for any more from this Club, Peter, the Board, Nathan and the players in the way that I have been treated and looked after for my entire career,” he added.
“I made the decision because it became very clear to me that the commitments that were made to me and that I agreed to in 2006 involving external parties was not going to eventuate.
“Everyone knows that we have a relatively short time as athletes and therefore we need to ensure that we maximise our opportunities on and off the field.
“I am very grateful to the Dragons and rugby league for the support that I have had and I know that I will leave behind some great friends but I am still here now and have much of this season left to focus on with the Dragons. [dragons.com.au]
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