Tahs send SOS to club rugby playmaker amid ugly contract stoush

The Waratahs have picked former Junior Wallabies five-eighth Joe Dillon from club rugby for the third tier Super Rugby AUS, after injury and a “disappointing” contract stoush with the Force left them with no contracted No.10s for the start of the competition.

Dillon, who had been with the Brumbies for two seasons before returning to Manly in the Shute Shield this year, will join the Tahs for Super Rugby AUS (SRA) on a short-term deal and is set to start against the Brumbies in round one on September 13.

The SOS for Dillon came as a result of the Tahs’ three five-eighths being unavailable, with Bernard Foley not starting until November , Joey Fowler out with a concussion sustained playing club rugby, and recruit Max Burey on the sidelines due to a stand-off between NSW and his old club, the Force.

Burey, a Sydney-raised former Australian sevens and Norths playmaker, signed a two-year deal with NSW after impressing Dan McKellar in last year’s SRA, in which he was named player of the tournament.

But Burey won’t take part in this year’s competition, given the Force and Tahs have been unable to reach a financial agreement on his release. Standard playing contracts in Australian rugby start and end on November 1, which can leave an awkward two-month gap for players swapping clubs in the off-season; even more so with the introduction of the SRA last year.

The four-week competition, which runs through September, was created to provide more high-level rugby for contracted stars and aspiring club players.

For Burey to play in the SRA, however, he has to be contracted to the Waratahs or the Force would be liable for substantial rehabilitation costs arising from a serious injury, even after he has moved on.

But the WA club rejected the Waratahs’ offer of about $10,000 to buy Burey’s contract, which is less than half of the two months’ salary still owed to the 27-year-old, according to informed sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Burey has also been informed he can’t train with the Tahs while still on contract with the Force.

The Force, the Waratahs and Rugby Australia all declined to comment on the dispute.

But Waratahs assistant coach Locky McCaffrey, who coached the NSW SRA side to the inaugural title last year, said it was disappointing to not have Burey available.

“I’m not across all the contracting stuff between the Tahs and the Force,” he said. “I probably won’t comment on the contractual stuff, but I think all four Super franchises should be really aligned in making sure that all rugby players are playing footy. Not just Max, but any player.

“It’s disappointing if we’ve got someone fit and available – a young, potentially high-level Super Rugby player – who isn’t playing rugby in Super AUS. If that’s for the Brumbies, the Reds, the Force or us, in my opinion, it’s disappointing.”

With 37 Super Rugby caps over four seasons at the Force, Burey shapes as the primary back-up to Foley as the Tahs’ five-eighth in 2027. Fowler, 21, played in SRA last year but is yet to debut in Super Rugby.