Ronald Volkman's move to the Dragons has been slammed by the Rugby League Players Association.
Volkman left the Warriors after the 2023 season for a one-year deal at the Dragons even though he had two more years on his contract at the Warriors.
Rugby League Players Association chief executive Clint Newton expressed the whole process should have been a lot simpler and there is still no confirmation on his current playing future. He also emphasised there is a need to better protect players.
The 21-year-old had commenced training with the Dragons when a routine examination revealed he was carrying a shoulder injury. Scans showed two screws from a previous surgery had been displaced and he required a full shoulder reconstruction. This led to the Dragons having to tear up this contract leaving him without a club for 2024 and pay for this surgery out of his own pocket which is rumoured to be $50,000.
Neither the Dragons nor the Warriors have offered to pay for his surgery as he is not contracted to any club.
“It's a unique situation and it's a pretty disappointing one as well,” said Newton on SEN 1170.
“This is why we held the line during the CBA (negotiations) to strengthen the terms and conditions for our members.
“When you go to work, you want to make sure you are properly protected and that those responsible for looking after you comply with their obligations.
“If they don't, they'll be held accountable and players aren't always given the respect they deserve.
“The process of one player departing a club to join another should be pretty straightforward.
“It's a unique situation and it's a pretty disappointing one as well,” Newton said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“This is why we held the line during the CBA (negotiations) to strengthen the terms and conditions for our members.
“When you go to work, you want to make sure you are properly protected and that those responsible for looking after you comply with their obligations.
“If they don't, they'll be held accountable and players aren't always given the respect they deserve.
“The process of one player departing a club to join another should be pretty straightforward.
“No player should be in a position where a termination occurs and several days go past before a player has a contract registered with the NRL,” Newton said.
“Many parties have played a role in this (and) we must ensure Ronald is protected.
“I wouldn't have thought this would be required but there needs to be further communication in the industry to ensure that this never happens again.”
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan commented on the situation though did not mention who is at blame but that more is needed to be done so this does not happen again.
“I'm disappointed for the young bloke because he's going to have to have surgery,” he said.
“We were hoping he was going to have a big year for us, so from a selfish perspective, I'm disappointed for the club, but for Ronald, it's shattering news for him.
“I'll leave it to the club to sort out the other side of things.
“The facts are that he hurt himself when he was at the Warriors and he needs surgery. We just need to fill the gaps in somewhere.
“I don't want to point fingers at clubs, but in my 20 years doing this job, I've never had a player fail a medical, so it's a strange one.”
Volkman is expected to spend a significant amount of time on the side line of around 6 months.