Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Nov 15, 2019 1:38 pm  

Grimmy wrote:

Spot on. People should blame the club for offering him the contract, not him for wanting them to honour it. He said he wants to stay and fight for a spot and that's fair enough IMO.

No you're right he should definitely stay for the extra money this year and then be out of pocket for even more on his next deal.

Clever approach...

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:11 pm  

O'Loughlin signed up for one more year.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:14 pm  

He's signed up 'cos he likes the new shirt. No other reason!

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:19 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

Grimmy wrote:

Spot on. People should blame the club for offering him the contract, not him for wanting them to honour it. He said he wants to stay and fight for a spot and that's fair enough IMO.

No you're right he should definitely stay for the extra money this year and then be out of pocket for even more on his next deal.

Clever approach...

There is something in that point as there's always the risk your stock drops as a player if you're out in the cold for a while.

But that's a world away from saying he's the lowest of the low for making a career decision. You have a 10 to 15 year window to make money - you can't expect any individual to make decisions based on the best interests of Wigan RL. The only small caveat I would make would be for our youth development players. I do think that with all of the work that the club puts in developing our boys as players and people over a long-term period I would hope that most would feel a moral obligation to at least give the club a few years service at 1st team level before jumping ship (ie.g. Chris Ashton, Joe Burgess...)

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:23 pm  

Grimmy wrote:

Spot on. People should blame the club for offering him the contract, not him for wanting them to honour it. He said he wants to stay and fight for a spot and that's fair enough IMO.

It is to an extent. Look at who is in front of him; Hardaker, French, Burgess, Hanley. He’s 5th in line, 4th at best. Staying and fighting for your spot is all well and good if your 2nd in the chain but not down there in 5th. I just don’t buy into this charade of fighting for your place. Unless there’s a real back line injury crisis I can’t see him getting anywhere near the 17. It’s a cold harsh truth either he’s refusing to see or too greedy to see.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Nov 15, 2019 4:33 pm  

100% Warrior wrote:

It is to an extent. Look at who is in front of him; Hardaker, French, Burgess, Hanley. He’s 5th in line, 4th at best. Staying and fighting for your spot is all well and good if your 2nd in the chain but not down there in 5th. I just don’t buy into this charade of fighting for your place. Unless there’s a real back line injury crisis I can’t see him getting anywhere near the 17. It’s a cold harsh truth either he’s refusing to see or too greedy to see.

He's 3rd IMO, Burgess isn't a FB and is likely to start on the wing anyway (could change, granted), Hanley has just turned 18 and hasn't even debuted (wouldn't be suprised to see him playing at Swinton on DR). If they go down the French at FB/Hardaker at Centre route to start the season then he's potentially only waiting on one injury/bad performance to get a crack.

Even ignoring all that, he's got a right to expect the club to honour his contract. If he was unwilling to train/play as Hock once did then I'd have a different opinion, but as far as we know he's doing everything he can to force his way in, which is all we can ask. He played well for Wakey on loan last year as well which may see his stock improve.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat Nov 16, 2019 11:05 am  

Grimmy wrote:

He's 3rd IMO, Burgess isn't a FB and is likely to start on the wing anyway (could change, granted), Hanley has just turned 18 and hasn't even debuted (wouldn't be suprised to see him playing at Swinton on DR). If they go down the French at FB/Hardaker at Centre route to start the season then he's potentially only waiting on one injury/bad performance to get a crack.

Even ignoring all that, he's got a right to expect the club to honour his contract. If he was unwilling to train/play as Hock once did then I'd have a different opinion, but as far as we know he's doing everything he can to force his way in, which is all we can ask. He played well for Wakey on loan last year as well which may see his stock improve.

It’ll come as no real shock I’m sure but I disagree. If there was a FB injury crisis and we’re down to Escare/Hanley I reckon Lam would back Hanley over Escare.

Initially I admired his drive to get into the side. It’s an attitude we don’t see all that often and certainly says a lot about his character. But, there comes a moment when a player must see reality and see that his chances of getting into that 17 are remote. It’s not a nice feeling and one I’ve experienced at an NCL club years ago. I was getting picked for a few seasons in the 17 but then when better players in my position came along I was down the pecking order. I fought to get back in but I saw it wasn’t going to happen and went back to my home club. Granted this is slightly different but the principle remains the same. He’s doing damage to his career that may be irreparable.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sun Nov 17, 2019 11:03 am  

100% Warrior wrote:

It’ll come as no real shock I’m sure but I disagree. If there was a FB injury crisis and we’re down to Escare/Hanley I reckon Lam would back Hanley over Escare.

Initially I admired his drive to get into the side. It’s an attitude we don’t see all that often and certainly says a lot about his character. But, there comes a moment when a player must see reality and see that his chances of getting into that 17 are remote. It’s not a nice feeling and one I’ve experienced at an NCL club years ago. I was getting picked for a few seasons in the 17 but then when better players in my position came along I was down the pecking order. I fought to get back in but I saw it wasn’t going to happen and went back to my home club. Granted this is slightly different but the principle remains the same. He’s doing damage to his career that may be irreparable.

The difference this year for all fringe players is there is now a reserves competition and all get a chance to play and prove their worth every week.

That way they can knock on the door by their performances on the field.

Last year Escare had no where to play. This year he does.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sun Nov 17, 2019 1:47 pm  

Tricky Dicky wrote:

The difference this year for all fringe players is there is now a reserves competition and all get a chance to play and prove their worth every week.

That way they can knock on the door by their performances on the field.

Last year Escare had no where to play. This year he does.

He still won’t get a game at fullback, that’ll be Hanley

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sun Nov 17, 2019 2:01 pm  

KingRoss11 wrote:

He still won’t get a game at fullback, that’ll be Hanley

Hanley still qualifies at U18 academy level in 2020.