The Mole: How a $3 ice cream sealed $1.5 million mega deal for Australian Schoolboys star
By The Mole31st Jan 2023
A $3 ice cream was the clincher for the richest deal ever signed by a schoolboy rugby league player last week.
The Bulldogs secured a coup by snaring Australian Schoolboys captain Karl Oloapu on a four-year deal, despite having to pay a $500,000 transfer fee on top of his estimated $250,000 salary.
It's a staggering amount for a youngster who has yet to play against men - and it was all sealed by a Drumstick.
"The Bulldogs took Karl to dinner and we were all sitting around afterwards and the kid, being an 18-year-old, started to get restless," Oloapu's manager Matt Adamson told Wide World of Sports.
"I think (Bulldogs coach) Cameron Ciraldo sensed this and he said to me, 'Do you mind if I take Karl for a walk and an ice cream'.
"I said 'Go for it' and 15 minutes later they came back and Karl had made up his mind to join the Bulldogs.
"He had other options but just the fact that Cameron wanted to get to know him one-on-one over an ice cream and outline his vision for the kid proved the difference.
"It's a great opportunity for Karl - he's had a rough 12 months with what happened at the Broncos but in the end the club did the right thing by him by letting him go."
