Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Tue Jan 15, 2019 6:29 pm  

He’s 29 now, will be 30 when he arrives and will be paid a fortune. Good luck to them, but I wouldn’t want us tying that kind of cash up with him.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Tue Jan 15, 2019 6:51 pm  

Could be a masterstroke or another warrington blind alley. I'm glad he's decided to give it a go over here though, it's an interesting signing at the very least.

[Frosties.]

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Tue Jan 15, 2019 10:33 pm  

Much agreed re Widdop. He will be 31 just after the season starts. He’s had a number of injuries too. More than happy with Myler, Lolohea and McLelland

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:57 pm  

Widdop is a great signing for wire and SL no two ways about it. He will be a quality half for several more seasons yet without doubt. Widdop and Austin at 6 and 7 that is some partnership and easily the best SL has seen since Burrow/Mcguire - Long/Martyn - Paul/Paul in their pomp.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Wed Jan 16, 2019 4:48 am  

Biff Tannen wrote:

Widdop is a great signing for wire and SL no two ways about it. He will be a quality half for several more seasons yet without doubt. Widdop and Austin at 6 and 7 that is some partnership and easily the best SL has seen since Burrow/Mcguire - Long/Martyn - Paul/Paul in their pomp.

No idea how you can say that without seeing either play here especially as a pair.
On paper both look quality additions but as we all know RL isnt played on paper.
Austin may not settle & as has been pointed out at 31 & with his injury record the jury will very much be out on Widdop.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:40 am  

It's great the Widdop is coming to Super League. What the marquee rule gives us is 2 NRL first grade quality players, potentially, per team - albeit maybe players who aren't first choice picks or might be past their prime. I am for it, I think it adds interest and quality to a league that needs both - however some clubs will come unstuck when their huge investment gets an ACL injury three games into their contracts etc...

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Wed Jan 16, 2019 11:55 am  

RHINO-MARK wrote:

No idea how you can say that without seeing either play here especially as a pair.
On paper both look quality additions but as we all know RL isnt played on paper.
Austin may not settle & as has been pointed out at 31 & with his injury record the jury will very much be out on Widdop.

Admittedly it is just off watching both and we won't no until/if they play together, just my opinion at this stage.

A lot depends how Austin settles but if he does, which i think he will and is my tip for MOS, could easily make Wire the team to beat for a few years.

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Wed Jan 16, 2019 1:22 pm  

I have to agree that Widdop is a good signing for SL. He must have a good few years left in him, injuries allowing. There are a number of poster boys that the RL can try to make household names and grow the sport. It's what we've been crying out for for ages and now we have the opportunity

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Wed Jan 16, 2019 2:22 pm  

Genuine question...seeing as tho Warrington have now signed Austin & Widdop, did we aim high enough in terms of our marquee targets/signings?

Re: Transfer Talk / Rumour Thread V2 : Wed Jan 16, 2019 2:53 pm  

FGB wrote:

Genuine question...seeing as tho Warrington have now signed Austin & Widdop, did we aim high enough in terms of our marquee targets/signings?

I think we have both of ours on 3-year deals in theory?

I guess at the end of the day, you can only sign who is available and wants to come at the point in time you're in the market. Merrin was a very good player in his day, and Hurrell is also world class on his - neither are probably as consistent as you would ideally like a marquee to be.

It's also positional: which young lads are coming through, whose path you are about to block for 3 years or so? It's a big call. Assuming that Watkins stays at Leeds long term and Hurrell settles, is it the right call to hold back Newman, Broadbent, Burton for that length of time? (you could mention Sutcliffe and potentially Handley too).

We desperately needed a pack leader prop, and we got a pack leader loose forward... that will look like a great decision when Ablett and JJB are retired, and if/when Ward gets injured again... but then we also have about 8 back rowers at the club now. Again, is Cam Smith ready for more game time, or Owen Trout?

Even if Leeds could afford to (which we can't), I don't think dropping 2 Aussie internationals into the side from 2018 would have been the right thing. You have to balance resources across a squad, your marquees may well get injured, or not settle, or get poached back to the NRL on a higher salary if they do play well and settle... lots of risk factors.

I imagine you'd create a toxic culture if you had 2 players paid way over double anyone else in the team (including current England internationals), and then those marquee players were out of form, didn't work hard enough in training, didn't settle, etc. That would just have to have a demotivating effect on the rest of the team, and is one of the potential banana skins of the SL marquee policy IMO.

To answer your question, yes I'm happy with our Marquees in principle - they both seem like humble blokes who will dig in and contribute, and they're better players than pretty much everybody else, so it works on a meritocracy, ish. I would have taken JWH and Marty Taupau having said that, just to contradict myself!!