Re: Wire sign Luther Burrell from Union! : Sun Sep 13, 2020 12:13 pm  

He might have thought he was good enough but if he was he’d have been in the 17. Players earn their places by making an impact.

The fact he’s leaving without already having managed to secure a union contract is telling.

[Fantastic Mr Catpiss]

Re: Wire sign Luther Burrell from Union! : Sun Sep 13, 2020 12:20 pm  

Robwire wrote:

He might have thought he was good enough but if he was he’d have been in the 17. Players earn their places by making an impact.

The fact he’s leaving without already having managed to secure a union contract is telling.

Especially in the current climate, arguably he's a fool to walk away from guaranteed money at the moment.

Something must have changed, he was on the bench for nearly all the games before lockdown and not been seen since, so to say opportunities weren't there js a bit disingenuous

Re: Wire sign Luther Burrell from Union! : Sun Sep 13, 2020 2:47 pm  

I think his comments were reasonable, he hasn't taken a swipe at the club, just said he was frustrated with lack of opportunities.

The big takeaway I have from all this is - when players do these code changes, especially late in a career, it generally doesn't work out. There are a few cases of elite outside backs like Robinson, Sonny Bill, Folau, Sailor, who have been able to succeed in both. These are just guys who in either sport, are generational talents who stand well above their peers as athletes. Sam Burgess fit that category too but wasn't an outside back.

Most other players seem to code swap for financial reasons then a couple of years later they come back with their tail between their legs looking for options and their careers and reputations are rarely the same second time around.

If one of our players started saying they had big money options in union and tried to leverage up contract negotiations I'd let them go and then sign them on a discount when they wanted to come back in 2 years.

Re: Wire sign Luther Burrell from Union! : Sun Sep 13, 2020 4:22 pm  

I read the interview (didn't buy the trashy paper - it was copied onto bookface) and Burrell comes across as a decent guy frustrated at not playing rugby and maybe not clear at the steps he would need to take to get a place in the 17.

I don't know whether this as a Price signing or one by Fitzpatrick (like Latu, who I think has only got his chance due to covid)......
I'm always of the opinion that unless the coach wants you there you'll always face an uphill struggle.

I only saw him play a couple of times for us and that was shortly after he joined when he seemed to be blowing a bit quite early on.

Typically I think the mail was looking for Luther to trash league and Warrington, and praise union. Fair play to Luther. Even the mail couldn't make his comments into an anti-league swipe.

I said at the time it was a strange signing and nothjng Ive seen or heard has changed that opinion.

Re: Wire sign Luther Burrell from Union! : Sun Sep 13, 2020 4:47 pm  

fez1 wrote:

I read the interview (didn't buy the trashy paper - it was copied onto bookface) and Burrell comes across as a decent guy frustrated at not playing rugby and maybe not clear at the steps he would need to take to get a place in the 17.

I don't know whether this as a Price signing or one by Fitzpatrick (like Latu, who I think has only got his chance due to covid)......
I'm always of the opinion that unless the coach wants you there you'll always face an uphill struggle.

I only saw him play a couple of times for us and that was shortly after he joined when he seemed to be blowing a bit quite early on.

Typically I think the mail was looking for Luther to trash league and Warrington, and praise union. Fair play to Luther. Even the mail couldn't make his comments into an anti-league swipe.

I said at the time it was a strange signing and nothjng Ive seen or heard has changed that opinion.

I think it was Moran. He was a big fan of Burrell when he was at his peak in Union. However, I’m glad he wasn’t parachuted into the side against the wishes of the coach. Whilst I’ve got nothing against Luther - he seems a top guy - he was far down in the pecking order of a talented back line and back row. He even says so himself. That’s one of the drawbacks of signing for a wealthy or big club. Lots of competition.

Re: Wire sign Luther Burrell from Union! : Sun Sep 13, 2020 5:33 pm  

Agreed

Re: Wire sign Luther Burrell from Union! : Sun Sep 13, 2020 7:38 pm  

easyWire wrote:

That’s one of the drawbacks of signing for a wealthy or big club. Lots of competition.

From Burrell's perspective though, he sat on the outside while we went on a long losing spell in the second half of last season and the start of this season. Part of the idea of competition for places is that you might not break up a winning side but when a team is losing every week you would expect the coach to be looking outside to freshen things up.

Now it may have been that Burrell just wasn't any better than the others at training but if he believed in himself as a player and has had success in his career in the past in RU, you can see how he will have felt about it. It's not as though the players ahead of him were pulling up trees.

Re: Wire sign Luther Burrell from Union! : Mon Sep 14, 2020 12:20 am  

I'm not sad to see him go but not happy to see him go if you get what i mean.
He came over and gave it a shot, clearly upped his fitness and wasn't a bad player from what i saw of him. It's just unfortunate he's behind Toby King and Gelling, and with Inglis coming in and Keanan Brand as a long term centre he just wouldn't get a game.
He goes with my best wishes and i hopehe can find a Union club soon.

[Winslade's Offload]

Re: Wire sign Luther Burrell from Union! : Mon Sep 14, 2020 7:42 am  

League and union are two different games and Burrell can't simply crash onto a ball in space like he used to do. Price has said on a couple of occasions that he is honest with the squad which I take to mean he tells players what aspects they need to improve to move up the pecking order. Burrell certainly had the physique, speed and seemed just about fit enough to compete in rl, but I guess he didn't deliver in other areas. Perhaps breaking the line or tackling ? Either way I don't really believe it when he said he was left on the sidelines. If he had come onto the scene with a bang like Matty Ashton he would have made the team.

Good luck to him but I think both sides probably took the right decision.

Re: Wire sign Luther Burrell from Union! : Tue Sep 15, 2020 1:57 am  

Unfortunately, I think this move was always destined for failure. When I saw him play his first couple of games he just always look awkward on the field, whether that be out of position, attempting to make a tackle or simply out of breath... It just seemed it was unnatural for him and you could tell he was ‘learning on the job’ - he was heading onto the field with a big target on his head for sure.

Can’t question Burrell’s effort or his heart for giving it ago, however it’s another ‘questionable’ signing by the owners.. I’m sure it did wonders for the marketing and exposure on the club though, style over substance this one for me.