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| Bulldogs Financial Woes Disappoint Fijian Talent |
Story by Ifereimi Nadore
TWO local players who were given a two-year international scholarship each with Australia's Western Bulldogs have been forced to withdraw from the program because of "financial constraints" faced by the AFL club.
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Inoke Ratu, 20, and Solo Loki, 17, were recruited in 2008 after successfully undergoing trials for the club in Labasa and Suva. Times Sport was told yesterday that they would no longer part of the program and could look for offers from other AFL clubs. The players' contract for the Bulldogs ended this week. Upon enquiring the club this week. They were informed that their services would be no longer be required.
Times Sport was able to acquire a copy of a letter from Western Bulldogs recruitment manager Simon Dalrymple to the two.
"I am following up with our accounts department re payment details. Will get let you know asap of where it is at," it read.
"After the completion of the contracts we will not be continuing in Fiji or other international markets due to a number of reasons (financial, resources, development levels and compliance to the program)."
Loki's mother Vasenai yesterday said her son was looking forward to travelling to Australia to showcase his talents only to be shattered by the announcement.
"We recruited him to be part of the Sports Academy in Lelean to keep his body in top shape. They could have let us know in advance for us to look at other options," she said.
She said Loki even attended a training session with the team in Australia in January.
"He is a very shy person and keeps things to himself. He was let down with the news," she said.
The Dogs were willing to commit to as many as four young Fijians as part of the push into the South Pacific under AFL international rookie rules.
Under the program, the players were offered a salary of $1000 for a year. They were also given a a development program, which covered their football skills, conditioning, diet and game sense.
Questions sent to Dalrymple were not answered when this story was published on The Fiji Times on November 2nd 2010.
AustralianRulesFootball.com.au wonder whether either of the two players will be picked up by another AFL club, and whether they will be 'BOG' against the Bulldogs in an AFL Preliminary Final.
Stranger things have happened!
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Posted on Jan 10, 2011 12:30pm by admin
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