I was SHOCKED to see the news that John Rillie had been released by the Townsville Crocodiles. I first noticed something on FaceBook from JR last night and then had it confirmed on his blog.
Its sad that John won't finish his career in Townsville where his young family have seemed well suited to over the last few years. JR mentions on his site that he only wanted to play one more season and it would have been good to have him do this is as a Croc.
That said, I don't think JR will have too much trouble picking up with a new team, after all he played for Brisbane, Adelaide, West Sydney before heading up north to The 'Ville. Of the 8 teams named to the new league, I think you can really only rule out the Breakers as they have more than enough shooters. But the rest of the teams would no doubt love a veteran shooter to play 25 mins off the bench as well as bring experience to the locker room. With the Tigers back in the league, I'm sure Anstey would love a real shooter to kick out to from the double team (no offence Ebi).
We wish Rillie the best of luck in his next/final chapter and you can of course follow along as it all happens at JR, On Fire.
Townsville Crocodiles > News
Rillie & Egan released
Thursday, 28 May 2009
The Townsville McDonald’s Crocodiles today announced that they would not be looking at this stage to re-sign Daniel Egan and John Rillie for the 2009/2010 NBL season. Both players met with club officials today and were advised of the decision.
“Given the announcement today that Melbourne would be fielding a team and that there is now 8 teams ready to play next season, we believed it was important that we gave both John and Daniel the best opportunity to talk with the other clubs about contracts for the coming season,” Chief Executive Officer Ian Smythe said.
“Clubs will be able to register player contracts commencing next week and it would be unfair of us not to advise the players at the first opportunity of our intentions.” Smythe added. “Up until today there were some uncertainties that prevented me from advising the players of our intentions,” Smythe said. “I am sorry that I was unable to do so beforehand but the circumstances were unavoidable, given the long and protracted process involved with the new league.
Ian Smythe acknowledged that the decision to go down this path was not taken lightly and was one of the most difficult decisions the club had had to make. “Both Daniel and John have been an integral part of our program over the past seasons” Smythe stated, “but with the changes in the NBL, we have made the decision to take the club in a different direction for the future.”
“John has been one of the games greatest players and showed last year that he still has a lot to offer the game and the league” Smythe said “but looking to the future we need to give some of our younger players the opportunity to develop.”
“Daniel has also been a great contributor to the game and the league over all of his years in the NBL “Smythe added. “ When Daniel arrived here from Brisbane he had a lot to prove and he has not let the fans down,” Smythe said.
“I would likely to publicly acknowledge the great work that both these players have done for the Crocs and as ambassadors for the game and wish them all the success in the future,” Smythe said.
“It is never easy to let players go that have contributed to the club in so many ways,” Smythe went onto say “but we have to look to the future and making the hard decisions is part of that process.” “We have said from the beginning that we expected to be a part of the National League for many years to come and building a competitive side is a key component for this to occur.”
