For this game I am Peter Vlandys.
I have slept on this over night. It is now early in the morning the next day.
Yes you can choose to not pay the $250K for Smith by Saturday Midday NZT. But the following will be the consequences
These consequences are based on a) Chris Hodges input last night b) My ability as moderator to create rules during the game as I see fit. This ability is documented in the rules here:
"Wrighty is the moderator and Admin and a player. I will be on my honour code not to favour myself. I have played and moderated before and it was fine. My decisions are final and I can make new rules during the game and change the rules."
My decision is that the option I put on the table for you last night of a $4.5M refund for Smith is a game changing amount of money and creates a game changing event that will lead to dis-equilibrium ie giving a player an injection of that type of funds with what will be 3 rounds left after Saturday.
That opinion holds even if I pass a rule that you may not bid on Hodges Stable players any more.
If you choose to pay the $250K I will lobby with Chris Hodges to waive the $400K fine for mentioning Matt Scott's name, although that decision belongs to him. But i will advocate for it. My read on his notes so far is that he has not decided whether it will be enforced or not and is on the fence.
If you choose to not pay the $250K fine you will be mod killed from the game.
The reason for this decision is as above. The sums of money we are discussing for a 90% refund are too disruptive to the cadence of the game. You chose to purchase Smith for $5M. You must keep him and your other Hodges players.
I would personally appreciate it as the game owner and moderator if you withdrew your objections, made it up with Cameron Smith and your relationship with him and the Hodges agency and continued the game in good spirit like you always do.
I am open to dialogue on this so you can let me know if there are any wrinkles I am over looking.
Wrighty/Peter Vlandys
Thank you for your input Peter. This has been discussed with our leadership team.
I think it was 100% inevitable that Hodges causes a player to walk and there was a power struggle for control of a club. Art imitating life really.
If you understand this, I think it’s a legitimate strategy to force up prices earlier in the game to buy key players that Hodges will try to manipulate a release for, with the intention of playing on Hodges ago and power trip, to get that player released.
After ramping up prices and legitimately getting refunds on players, clearing funds this allows the elite level strategic players to be cashed up when prices fall late in the game.
While this is all fair and reasonable to those of us playing 4D chess, I respect the integrity of the NRL (and its power) and have no desire to be mod killed.
In light of these discussion Peter, we have proposed the following actions:
- Cam Smith will be retained by Gus’s Wizards. We will hire an external personal coach to deal with him. He will not train with the team but will turn up on game day to win the game on his own for his own best interests. He’s that good!
- we will honour the $250k fee - but the club will make Cam Smith unavailable for all SOO and international games (as is allowed in his contract). If Cam Smith wants to be made available for those games and increase his value, Hodges will need to pay a release fee to our club of $500k. Hodges can make this choice and evaluate his best interests vs his players (for all to see!)
- Hodges agency is blacklisted from all future key player acquisitions with Gus’s Wizards.
- however, if we can get a player from his stable for severely under value, we will employ them and sit them in positions 18+ to harm Hodges reputation amongst the playing group and disincentivise players in the future from signing with his agency.
- our preferred agent into the future will be players in the Isaac Moses stable.
- Gus’s current alignment with the Bulldogs is now terminated and I have moved onto a club that shares our ambition - the mighty Tigers!