Latest news with #BenHornby
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Why one of the NRL's hardest men broke down in tears in emotional encounter with a fan he's never met before
Dragons veteran Jack de Belin had to fight back tears during an emotional encounter with a fan over the weekend, just days after finding out he will be finishing his career wearing a different jersey. The 34-year-old, who is the most experienced player in the Dragons squad, has agreed to join Parramatta next year after being informed that his club no longer wanted to extend his contract. Another season with the Dragons and De Belin might have beaten Ben Hornby's 242 game tally as the most-capped Red V player ever. After Sunday's 34-20 victory against the eels at WIN Stadium, De Belin mingled with fans who were sad to hear he was leaving. 'Why'd you have to go, bro?' said one devoted supporter who embraced the forward. 'I'm sorry to see you go.' @vando_22502 As a Parra fan this hurts to see, Jack De Belin definitely looked devastated, all he wanted was to be a one club player, and this is how they treat him💔video from Jean Claude YouTube channel ItzJC99 #jeanclaude #dragons #jackdebelin ♬ original sound - ﾒ𝟶Vando_2💚🦁❤️🎗️ De Belin replied: 'So am I, dude. It breaks my heart.' The man continued: 'A club legend - you could have got the f**king record, brother.' The heartfelt remark was too much for De Belin who put his hand up to his eyes and turned away. The pair then posed for a photo with De Belin still clearly very emotional. 'Sorry to make you cry, brother,' said the man. 'You are one of my favourite players.' De Belin revealed over the weekend that he's been very emotional ever since he heard the Dragons wouldn't be offering a new deal. 'I've been so emotional,' de Belin told News Corp. 'I've been on the brink of tears for the past week. It's bitter sweet. All good things come to an end at some point. 'I was very surprised to be told the club doesn't want you. It is a bit of a slap in the face. At the end of the day it's a business. 'I'm a big boy. I will get on with it.' The three-time NSW representative will help replenish an Eels forward pack that has lost Bryce Cartwright and Joe Ofahengaue since Ryles took charge this year.
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Footy great Jamie Soward took his team to a grand final win - now he says the club doesn't even have his phone number even though he worked for them last year
Dragons legend Jamie Soward has taken aim at his former club ahead of an upcoming players' reunion, claiming team bosses don't even have his contact details. The ex-Saints halfback, who led the club to a grand final win in 2010 and later coached their NRLW team, has shed light on a rift that has left fans stunned. Soward says things are so bad that club bosses had to ask a third-party contact for his details to invite him to an upcoming premiership reunion. 'There's [a former players' day] coming up next month, which this sums up for me,' he told James Graham's The Bye Round podcast. 'They had to ring someone, a mutual person that works at the club, to get my details to invite me to it. Really? I worked there last year. 'I've never felt welcomed back after I left. Even when I was coaching, I've never felt welcome back. And they can say what they want to say. That's how I feel.' Soward, who racked up 141 games for the Red V, revealed that notable club figures didn't reach out to him after he was sacked as the NRLW coach. 'There's people there that knew me before I came back into coaching that I would talk to, that see around the traps, that when I got let go, didn't check in on me, didn't see anything at all,' he said. 'And rugby league is a really small world. If you really, really hate someone, that's hard to come back from. But there's guys there that I expected to reach out. 'I had guys from other clubs - former players, Ben Hornby, Brett Morris, Dean Young - rang me personally. "Flanno" rang me. But there's other people in that organisation that looked at me and just treated me like [they did in 2013].' Soward joined the Panthers on a four-year deal in 2014 after the Dragons decided to only offer him a one-year extension. 'People say, "Why'd you leave the Dragons?" The Dragons got rid of me,' he said. 'They didn't want me there in 2013, which is fine. When one club is offering you four years, and a club you've won a premiership with offers you one year without any resolution to sit down and say, "Where do you want to get to?"
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Traditional industries are looking to get 'new school' by improving payments
Embedded finance and payments are a regular part of our everyday lives, whether we're settling a fare for a rideshare with Bolt or ordering a meal from a food delivery app. While these encounters are usually through digital-first services, traditional industries have begun to embrace embedded payments. This is partly in response to the need to keep pace with broader innovation happening across these sectors, but it also creates a more seamless and secure payment experience for all parties. This focus on improving the payment experience will empower traditional businesses to adapt. An example of a traditional industry embracing embedded payments is the automotive sector. More marketplaces for buying and selling cars online are emerging, yet the payment experience has remained a sticking point for dealers, sellers and buyers. For example, with cars being a high-value purchase or sale, all parties involved in the transfer of funds want to feel assured that payments will be made quickly and seamlessly. Payments happening off-platform cause friction and huge operational challenges - and, in reality, being directed to a new platform during such a high-value transaction, or the appearance of an error message, could see sellers or buyers hit the emergency brakes and cancel the purchase entirely. To stay ahead of the curve and capitalise upon industry innovation, the payment process cannot be an afterthought, especially for businesses operating in traditional industries like automotive. In the past, regulatory complexities and high upfront costs have prevented marketplaces from embedding payments. Today, customisable APIs are readily available from fintechs, and by using APIs, businesses like car marketplaces can plug payment services onto their existing platforms and conduct payments in an environment trusted by their customers. By building a cohesive payment experience under one brand, traditional businesses can benefit from improved conversion rates and customer loyalty. Once a business like a car marketplace has firmly established payment acceptance as part of its offering, they are in a position to support broader functions on its platform. One example is offering a digital wallet on the platform where customers can store, withdraw and transfer funds instantly. This would be particularly useful for large dealer groups who need to arrange same-day payments when purchasing cars from private sellers. Another function to consider is multi-currency optionality, which allows businesses to expand to international markets and process payments through the same infrastructure in their respective local currencies and markets, eliminating any conversion hurdles. Ultimately, for traditional industries to go 'new-school', they need to shift into a new gear when it comes to building an end-to-end platform that not only masters the payment process but also embraces other innovative functions to alleviate customer pain points. Ben Hornby, Director, Sales, SME & Growth, UK, at Airwallex "Traditional industries are looking to get 'new school' by improving payments " was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
