Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:30 pm  

Thompson to the Bulldogs at end of this year. Big loss for Saints

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:35 pm  

[Gareth] wrote:

Thompson to the Bulldogs at end of this year. Big loss for Saints

Serves 'em right for winning stuff, got themselves noticed by the NRL.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Mon Feb 03, 2020 9:36 pm  

I enjoyed that podcast very much and it does Waney enormous credit. Goes to show you can be a 'winner' without being an great dude.

Every good wish in your dream job, Shaun!

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Feb 06, 2020 12:50 pm  

Hearing Souths are very keen on luring Morgan Smithies to the NRL next year and he himself is quite keen to go.

I appreciate he is under contract but not sure that has ever stopped them leaving before.

This is a rumour nothing solid but it is from someone who I don’t doubt to be correct.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Feb 06, 2020 1:04 pm  

jonh wrote:

Hearing Souths are very keen on luring Morgan Smithies to the NRL next year and he himself is quite keen to go.

I appreciate he is under contract but not sure that has ever stopped them leaving before.

This is a rumour nothing solid but it is from someone who I don’t doubt to be correct.

Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Feb 06, 2020 1:45 pm  

Junior players like him have no problem getting a work permit in Oz, then?

He's doing a job plenty of Aussie kids could do, after all.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Feb 06, 2020 2:19 pm  

Any player at Smithies age needs to look no further than Joe Burgess for reasons why it may be too early to go down under. I’ve no problem with guys like Sutton, Bateman or Williams going but you need a few seasons superleague under your belt first.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Feb 07, 2020 9:19 am  

NickyKiss wrote:

Any player at Smithies age needs to look no further than Joe Burgess for reasons why it may be too early to go down under. I’ve no problem with guys like Sutton, Bateman or Williams going but you need a few seasons superleague under your belt first.

Not sure about that if I’m honest but I do see where you’re coming from. He’s a young lad and going out to Australia on his own at that age isn’t easy. Moving away from friends and family can take its toll and I wonder how much of a toll that had on J Burgess.

But then on the flip side if he makes a success out of it he’s got 15-16yrs worth of a top level RL career in the best paid and best standard league in the world. And given his current form which is ever improving you’ve got to be confident he can and will make a success out of it.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat Feb 08, 2020 2:51 pm  

jonh wrote:

Hearing Souths are very keen on luring Morgan Smithies to the NRL next year and he himself is quite keen to go.

I appreciate he is under contract but not sure that has ever stopped them leaving before.

This is a rumour nothing solid but it is from someone who I don’t doubt to be correct.

If he was wanting to go down under he’d have been better off going to Canberra with the rest of the ex-Wiganers.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Sat Feb 08, 2020 3:37 pm  

jonh wrote:

Hearing Souths are very keen on luring Morgan Smithies to the NRL next year and he himself is quite keen to go.

I appreciate he is under contract but not sure that has ever stopped them leaving before.

This is a rumour nothing solid but it is from someone who I don’t doubt to be correct.

We need to start putting poison pills in these youth contracts.

I'm sick of our players getting tapped up at 18 by loving Aussies. I know we're by far the inferior league, but we have to take a stand.