He is among the most powerful and ruthless figures in rugby league and on Monday evening, Roosters supremo Nick Politis once again made good on that reputation.
A special edition of NRL 360 will break down all the latest November 1 madness, including Sam Walker and Hudson Young. Catch the episode at 1pm AEDT on Fox League 502 and stream the episode on Kayo Sports.
But there is another side to Politis. One that deeply cares about his players.
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He never wanted to see Sam Walker walk out the door and at this stage, the premiership-winning halfback hasn’t.
But by all reports Walker may well have played his last game for the Roosters.
If that ends up being the case, it will be a sad and unfortunate end to what should have been a long career in the red, white and blue.
Politis wanted it to be that way. So, when he went to bed on Tuesday night, even after making a call he knew was the right one for the club, he was second guessing it all.
“It breaks his heart,” veteran rugby league reporter Phil Rothfield said on NRL 360.
“He was just about in tears when I spoke to him yesterday over this breakdown. The boy went to Ipswich Grammar, Nick’s old school. He’s very, very close to him.”
Rothfield, who also spoke to Roosters coach Trent Robinson on Wednesday morning, detailed the timeline which led to the club sensationally withdrawing its offer for Walker earlier this week.
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According to Rothfield, Walker’s agents Clinton Schifcofske and Steve Gillis met him after the Kangaroos’ game against the Cook Islands in Brisbane.
“They came to him and said there’s a deadline now, we need to make a decision today. They told him the terms of the deal, which was 1.2 million dollars and a ratchet,” Rothfield added.
“Schifcofske and Gillis left that meeting thinking everything was sweet. Sam had indicated everything is sweet. He didn’t actually agree, but he said, ‘That’s great. I’m just going to bounce it off dad and I’m going to bounce it off my partner’. Steve said, ‘I’m meeting Nick at four, I need to know by four’.”
Rothfield said Gillis then met Politis at the Langham Hotel on the Gold Coast and were waiting for a phone call from Walker.
“It never came,” Rothfield said.
“Sam was obviously having second thoughts, having spoken to his dad and his partner. At 10 to seven, he rang Steve Gillis and said, ‘Mate, can you get me a little bit more?’.
“What that little bit more is probably $50,000 to 100,000. He said, ‘Mate, I don’t think I’ll be able to, but I will take your request. I’m under instructions from you’.
“Nick understandably said enough is enough. He rang his recruitment boss, Joel Carbone, and said to withdraw the offer.”
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At that point, the Roosters were already so confident that Walker was going to sign on the dotted line that they had a press release already to go according to Peter Badel.
“There were quotes from Sam saying he loved the club. Trent Robinson was quoted. Nick was quoted. They were ready to hit send on that press release,” Badel said.
“Nick then put in that deadline, the last deadline of 7:30pm Queensland time and the call never came. The press release never saw the light of day. They had a repurposed one and it’s led to this powder keg that we’ve got today.”
As for the terms of the contract itself, Badel said two options were put to the Walker camp.
One involved a three-year extension with a base salary of $1.2 million and a ratchet which would see it rise to about $1.4 million in keeping with the salary cap increase from 2028.
The other was a more straight-forward deal without ratchets of $1.4 million and the club is said to have told Walker’s camp they could have their pick.
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“I’m told they preferred the ratchet option, which is probably smart because the cap will go up to 20 million in 2034,” added Badel.
He spoke to Walker’s dad, Ben, as part of his reporting and was told that the Roosters halfback planned to sign with the club after the World Cup but felt like the Monday deadline was “unfair”.
“They felt that he’s contracted for another year,” Badel added.
“There was no great urgency. Ben was saying to me, ‘We’re not going to fly to PNG and sign a deal. Just give us time’.”
Rothfield, however, argued that the Roosters had given Walker more than enough time to make up his mind and that they were doing their due diligence before November 1.
“The Roosters wanted to get him off the market like every other club does,” he said.
“The Roosters rightly wanted it wrapped up. The Roosters over the last two months have given the kid every single opportunity and very, very good money to sign the deal.”