: Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:54 am  

He's hardly Mr Irreplaceable, obviously nobody else in Super League is interested in him else he wouldn't be going to Barrow.

: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:02 am  

People seem to forget the amount of games that he has almost single handily won for Warrington!

: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:02 am  

sally cinnamon wrote:

He's hardly Mr Irreplaceable, obviously nobody else in Super League is interested in him else he wouldn't be going to Barrow.

Obviously he's not exactly someone a SL club would want to build their future around, given he has 12 years behind him instead of in front of him. But come on - look at our attempts to sign a No.7 in recent years. It's not easy signing a halfback.

: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:03 am  

Pretty sure I've been snared there by sally, but don't care, some people will be thinking along those lines!

: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:14 am  

Been a very good servant to the club in the past 12 years, possibly the best transfer fee the club ever spent in terms of years of service.

If he had been given a half back partner of equal standing and ability who knows what would have happened.

: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:15 am  

SEB wrote:

:roll: Obviously he's not exactly someone a SL club would want to build their future around, given he has 12 years behind him instead of in front of him. But come on - look at our attempts to sign a No.7 in recent years. It's not easy signing a halfback.

Why do people keep bringing his age into this, it has nothing to do with anything he simply just isn't good enough, if TS thought he was worthy of a 2 or 3 year contract he would give him one. When that contract eventually runs out he would then be 33-34 and would be shipped to a lesser club if not retire.

Sean Long will be 33 this year and Matt Orford is 30, if Orford does indeed come to Warrington or stay in Australia he will get at least a 2 or 3 year deal and that would make him 33 at the end. Why are Long and Orford playing top flight rugby between the ages of 30-33.

it's because there good enough and Briers isn't.

: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:17 am  

Whilst I am not disappointed to see Briers leave us at the end of the season purely because I believe his better days are now behind him.

I will also not forget what a good servant he has been to Warrington, I only hope we can win some silverware this season for him to send him on his way.

: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:22 am  

Inside Knowledge wrote:

Why do people keep bringing his age into this, it has nothing to do with anything he simply just isn't good enough, if TS thought he was worthy of a 2 or 3 year contract he would give him one. When that contract eventually runs out he would then be 33-34 and would be shipped to a lesser club if not retire.

Sean Long will be 33 this year and Matt Orford is 30, if Orford does indeed come to Warrington or stay in Australia he will get at least a 2 or 3 year deal and that would make him 33 at the end. Why are Long and Orford playing top flight rugby between the ages of 30-33.

it's because there good enough and Briers isn't.

He has been good enough to win games for us, you only have to look back as far as Friday night to see that....

: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:23 am  

No you've not been snared, its just my opinion he's had his moments and done good things for us, he's obviously a player with talent, but mentally I don't think he was at the top level. He wasn't a tough competitor like Greg Mackey or Nat Wood, you rarely saw Briers turn things around when we were losing and in need of inspiration...when the team was in a slump Briers was always in the slump as well. In fairness to him though he was always a good option in a tight game to kick a drop goal under pressure late on.

Through his career theres been a lot of exaggeration about how good he is, to hear the way some fans and media talk hes the man who would have beaten the Aussies if he'd been picked for GB, how many times did our fans boast that he was better than Pryce, McGuire, Sinfield etc, it sounds laughable now. Fair enough some players don't fit the bill with certain coaches but Briers was overlooked by a few different international coaches, and he wasn't wanted by any of the top clubs, which tells you something. Having people always tell him how good he is and massage his ego probably hasn't helped him.

He's had a long career with us and got some good stats but I think it would have been healthier for the club if we'd signed a character like Andrew Dunemann back then rather than Briers.

I also think with Smith's record on shrewd recruitment that we will get a better player than Briers in, and be a better team for it....just because Cullen made bad calls doesn't mean Smith will.

: Wed Apr 22, 2009 10:28 am  

Wolfette wrote:

He has been good enough to win games for us, you only have to look back as far as Friday night to see that....

He cant do it against world class teams tho like a good half-back can, he looks great against poor clubs and very very poor against good clubs. His kicking game is atrocious, his discipline is shocking and although he has improved a little, his defence is disgracefull.