Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Aug 06, 2020 9:56 am  

Sweaty Betty's wrote:

We need to use Flower's salary to upgrade Havard, tying him down to a long deal would be great business in my view. Given the number of players out of contract this season there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to compete with any offers the Australians come along with.

I’m hoping that’s done. The NRL rumours seem to have died down and I’d be chuffed if we can keep him. I’ve said to many people that I see him as the best junior to have come through these past couple of seasons. We’ve seen Partington, Smith and Smithies all force their way through and all are superb but this guy hasn’t played as many games but he just makes things look pretty easy. He’s playing in probably the toughest position on the field and looks so comfortable. His potential is enormous and considering we’re a club who don’t have a great history of producing top level props, it would be a tough pull to swallow losing this kid.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Aug 06, 2020 2:49 pm  

Harvard knocked Melbourne back because he wants to break into the Wigan first team and establish himself. It’s inevitable that the NRL clubs will come calling again in a few years and he will be off.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:51 pm  

RedWarrior32 wrote:

Harvard knocked Melbourne back because he wants to break into the Wigan first team and establish himself. It’s inevitable that the NRL clubs will come calling again in a few years and he will be off.

Good move that, best move Sutty made was not going to oz when he had chance first time round with budgie. He went when he was ready and is making a real go of it now. If we get this year and next out of havard I think we have done well.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Thu Aug 06, 2020 9:50 pm  

RedWarrior32 wrote:

Harvard knocked Melbourne back because he wants to break into the Wigan first team and establish himself. It’s inevitable that the NRL clubs will come calling again in a few years and he will be off.

Very smart if true.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Aug 07, 2020 6:03 am  

RedWarrior32 wrote:

Harvard knocked Melbourne back because he wants to break into the Wigan first team and establish himself. It’s inevitable that the NRL clubs will come calling again in a few years and he will be off.

I’m not sure what’s more frustrating, him going now or going when he establish himself. It’s like we have to nurture and develop him and someone else will get all the rewards.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Aug 07, 2020 9:02 am  

CobraCraig wrote:

I’m not sure what’s more frustrating, him going now or going when he establish himself. It’s like we have to nurture and develop him and someone else will get all the rewards.

The former by a long way IMO.

The reality is the NRL can offer a stronger competition, more money and what is considered by many a better lifestyle, certainly a better climate.

Easier said than done but it’s up to SL to try and equal/better the NRL on the first 2, nowt we can do about the last one though.

As much as it is criticised by some IL has it spot on by generally negotiating a fee for the inevitable and allowing players to leave on good terms which puts us in a strong position to re-sign them if/when they return.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Aug 07, 2020 9:57 am  

Trainman wrote:

The former by a long way IMO.

The reality is the NRL can offer a stronger competition, more money and what is considered by many a better lifestyle, certainly a better climate.

Easier said than done but it’s up to SL to try and equal/better the NRL on the first 2, nowt we can do about the last one though.

As much as it is criticised by some IL has it spot on by generally negotiating a fee for the inevitable and allowing players to leave on good terms which puts us in a strong position to re-sign them if/when they return.

Completely agree.

As much heat as IL gets for his willingness to work with players who want to go to the NRL, I actually think it's worked out as well as it could.

Now don't get me wrong, I'd have preferred lads like Sam & Bateman to have stayed at the club for the whole of their careers, but that was never going to happen. The NRL is too much of a draw from both a monetary and playing POV.

Some fans probably won't agree (& some of these players didn't leave with a deal to come back), but I'd say Sam, Sarge & Tommy all contributed to our success after their stints in the NRL and I'm sure Bateman will too. It didn't work for Budgie and it didn't work for Mossop on his return, but other factors came into play there.

IL has found a way to not only maintain success, but also work with players to let them test their skills at a higher level.

As a side note, It will be interesting to see how Saints handle this situation now they've had some relative success - Barba left after his MOS run and Thompson has gone too. If Percival has a strong 12 months, I'd say he'd be looked at by some NRL sides as that's what happened to Sarge and Watkins.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:23 am  

Keeping them for 3 or 4 first team seasons and then losing them is definitely less painful. The loss of Rushton frustrated me far more than when we lost Bateman/Sutton/Williams. In the case of Bateman, we had him for 5 seasons, lost him for 2 seasons and then should have him for at least another 4 seasons. In to the bargain we received a transfer fee and as the land lies currently with the gap between superleague and the NRL, you really can’t say fairer than that. That scenario won’t always play out but it has gone in more cases than just Bateman.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:56 am  

Agree with the above. Made up if he stays for the next 4/5 years. Personally rate him highest out of smithies, oli p and Bryne.

Report out this morning about Gildart going down there this year or next year. Who can blame him?

Given us 6/7 great seasons, won plenty of trophies etc. Now ready for a new challenge, go over there for a few years, test himself, get well paid, enjoy a great lifestyle whilst he’s in his mid 20s then come back probably to us.

I don’t begrudge the likes of Williams, Gildart, Sutton. It’s the JBurgess Rushton that are frustrating.

What’s annoying is Wigan seem to lose more than most, but that comes with having the best youth system in world rugby. Wish wire would lose a few players that they didn’t want to lose.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Fri Aug 07, 2020 11:19 am  

NSW wrote:

Agree with the above. Made up if he stays for the next 4/5 years. Personally rate him highest out of smithies, oli p and Bryne.

Report out this morning about Gildart going down there this year or next year. Who can blame him?

Given us 6/7 great seasons, won plenty of trophies etc. Now ready for a new challenge, go over there for a few years, test himself, get well paid, enjoy a great lifestyle whilst he’s in his mid 20s then come back probably to us.

I don’t begrudge the likes of Williams, Gildart, Sutton. It’s the JBurgess Rushton that are frustrating.

What’s annoying is Wigan seem to lose more than most, but that comes with having the best youth system in world rugby. Wish wire would lose a few players that they didn’t want to lose.

The report on Gildart I saw was potentially for 2021 if Canterbury pay the fee or 2022 if not. As you say you can’t really begrudge him the move, he’s been a good player for us, he’s always given it his all and been honest. That group of mates have all gone now and it’s inevitable that he’ll have a go. I noticed he’s not only signed with an Aussie agent but also a marketing company who represent Williams and Sutton also, so the signs are all there.