SEN’s Scott Sattler has questioned why the St George Illawarra Dragons failed to do their due diligence before signing a badly injured Ronal Volkman from the New Zealand Warriors.
Volkman was signed as a promising replacement for outgoing star Junior Amone, and it seemed the club had finally answered its halves woes.
However, days after joining the side for preseason training, medical tests revealed Volkman’s shoulder needed a reconstruction, which would see him miss the majority of the year.
The Dragons and Warriors continued to point fingers at each other, but Sattler explained why the blame has to fall with the Red V.
“There was a letter of termination signed by the Warriors on Christmas Eve, there was an announcement on social media from the Dragons on January 2nd that he signed,” Sattler told SEN 1170 Sportsday.
“But the contract hadn’t been signed and he started training with the Dragons, which is an absolute no-no, he’s not officially an employee yet.
“If the Dragons buy him… without getting an opportunity to do their own medical assessment on the player, well, unfortunately, that’s the Dragons' fault.
“The Dragons should’ve done due diligence, they should’ve done a full medical before (anything) is even signed or even allowed to start training.
“The (player) manager should be aware of the health of his player.”
Warriors CEO Cameron George revealed he shares the same sentiment as Sattler, stating "that's due diligence I would’ve thought a club would take before agreeing to sign someone."
After being released with two years remaining on his deal, the Warriors had agreed to pay out the majority of the deal, but it is yet to be seen if the Dragons will do the same.