DaveO wrote:
I have been thinking the same thing. The Souths game showed the Aussies have a fine production line of young players. I could understand an Aussie club being interested in signing a player of Lockers calibre (not now of course as he is close to retirement but when he was at his peak) and someone like Sam T was an obvious target but I don't really understand the interest in more junior players.
It's almost standard practice now for any young player who talks about the future to talk about going to the NRL. I am sure it's an ambition but I am not sure why it is realistic. Agents probably fuel a lot of it. Agents only make their money by moving players on but I still don't get why the Aussie clubs are interested in the first place.
I think another poster hit the nail on the head when he suggested that the NRL is so awash with TV cash now that Aussie clubs can afford to pay British youngsters peanuts to provide back-up to the first-grade and they'll still be earning more than they do over here.
I have no doubt that sports agents are instrumental in this (it would be interesting to see how many of these young Wiganers who've gone are with the same agency). They'll have contacts in Aus who they can persuade to take a punt on these youngsters, while the youngsters will go because the agents can fill their heads with tales of Sam Burgess-type success stories and argue that, even if that doesn't happen, they'll still be getting more money.
But it makes you wonder on whose side these agents really are. You just break into the goldfish bowl that is the Wigan first team, and then you voluntarily relegate yourself to to the relative obscurity of the Souths second team. More money or not, is that really helping your career?
Perhaps they should ask Sarginson or Mossop, or even Budgie, who is still a long way off regaining his former star status.
