Re: Sam Burgess : Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:33 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

Has anyone whose opinion counts actually said that? Listening to some of the RU 'experts' and giving thier opinions air time is the equivalent of Schofield being classed as a reasoned RL pundit.

I'd argue that Burgess stands a very good chance of making the Lions tour. That for me is one of those massive sporting occasions that can sway a person's decision to stay or go.

Possibly so.

I'd like to think that big Sam feels so humiliated to have been scapegoated - even by idiots rather than those in power - for the England debacle (and that's after barely being allowed to play in the competition he originally went over there for) that he'll seek a rapid return to the land where he is unconditionally loved.

That said, pride may create a desire to stay where he is and show them all what he really can do. But if his overall experience of RU has been anything like as bad as some others we could name, he might also worry that his days as a top athlete are already fading fast.

At present it's anyone's guess, I suppose. Like you, I don't take it as a given that he'll return to RL - and I certainly don't take it as a given that his club of choice would be Leeds (though I suspect they'll have more chance than Wigan). I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that he gets back into the real game somewhere and sooner rather than later.

Re: Sam Burgess : Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:51 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

Has anyone whose opinion counts actually said that? Listening to some of the RU 'experts' and giving thier opinions air time is the equivalent of Schofield being classed as a reasoned RL pundit.

I'd argue that Burgess stands a very good chance of making the Lions tour. That for me is one of those massive sporting occasions that can sway a person's decision to stay or go.

much as I'd like him back from the dark side, I suspect if he ignores the swivel-eyed loons blaming him for everything up to climate change & knuckles down in the 1st half of the RU season, it'll all depend on how he's treated by Lancaster's replacement & whether (and in what position) he's selected for the 6 Nations. If he's passed over, I suspect it'll finally dawn that's made a complete boo-boo, chasing new glories instead of wallowing in what he already had. The only issue then is how the NRL treat him coming back, as cackling hyenas hyping up hubris & glory-hunting or as a lost sheep returning to the fold received with open arms.
Of course, he could actually have an epiphany, work out how to properly play yawnion & become the next Billy Whiz (albeit one twice the size).

Re: Sam Burgess : Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:18 pm  

CyberPieMan wrote:

much as I'd like him back from the dark side, I suspect if he ignores the swivel-eyed loons blaming him for everything up to climate change & knuckles down in the 1st half of the RU season, it'll all depend on how he's treated by Lancaster's replacement & whether (and in what position) he's selected for the 6 Nations. If he's passed over, I suspect it'll finally dawn that's made a complete boo-boo, chasing new glories instead of wallowing in what he already had. The only issue then is how the NRL treat him coming back, as cackling hyenas hyping up hubris & glory-hunting or as a lost sheep returning to the fold received with open arms.
Of course, he could actually have an epiphany, work out how to properly play yawnion & become the next Billy Whiz (albeit one twice the size).

I personally don't want to see him in SL. If he comes back to RL then it needs to be in the NRL slamming the Aussies around.

A return to SL just compounds the beating his career has taken imo. The guy was 'the man' in world RL. He had, and still has, the potential to be a a big star in RU. I don't want to see him at 26 playing for Wigan or Leeds and going up against Hudds with 2k on the gate.

Re: Sam Burgess : Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:44 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

I personally don't want to see him in SL. If he comes back to RL then it needs to be in the NRL slamming the Aussies around.

A return to SL just compounds the beating his career has taken imo. The guy was 'the man' in world RL. He had, and still has, the potential to be a a big star in RU. I don't want to see him at 26 playing for Wigan or Leeds and going up against Hudds with 2k on the gate.

Aside from the gross exaggeration regarding crowds (we got 7k, 6k, 7k, 8k and 10k in our last five outings against Huddersfield at their place) why should we accept that the SL can’t have top quality players? We’ve had Radlinski, Long, Fielden, Cunningham, Peacock, Farrell and Sculthorpe who all played at the same time and had excellent careers without ever going to the NRL.

If it’s now embarrassing for the best British players to play in SL then we really are lost. Hill, Walmsley, Bateman, Farrell etc would be plenty capable of giving him a good battle

Re: Sam Burgess : Tue Oct 27, 2015 5:27 pm  

Grimmy wrote:

Aside from the gross exaggeration regarding crowds (we got 7k, 6k, 7k, 8k and 10k in our last five outings against Huddersfield at their place) why should we accept that the SL can’t have top quality players? We’ve had Radlinski, Long, Fielden, Cunningham, Peacock, Farrell and Sculthorpe who all played at the same time and had excellent careers without ever going to the NRL.

If it’s now embarrassing for the best British players to play in SL then we really are lost. Hill, Walmsley, Bateman, Farrell etc would be plenty capable of giving him a good battle

He's better than those current players and he's better than SL imo. He's in that top player bracket that if he was Australian would never come over here.

I personally liked to see him dominating the NRL in the way that he did. Like Morley or Ellis before him it was a rubber stamp for a British game that doesn't have much to really go toe to toe with them on.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Tue Oct 27, 2015 7:23 pm  

Do we know what is happening with Justin Carney?

Noticed that Cas have now brought Joel Monaghan in for the next two years.

Re: Sam Burgess : Tue Oct 27, 2015 7:36 pm  

Grimmy wrote:

Aside from the gross exaggeration regarding crowds (we got 7k, 6k, 7k, 8k and 10k in our last five outings against Huddersfield at their place) why should we accept that the SL can’t have top quality players? We’ve had Radlinski, Long, Fielden, Cunningham, Peacock, Farrell and Sculthorpe who all played at the same time and had excellent careers without ever going to the NRL.

If it’s now embarrassing for the best British players to play in SL then we really are lost. Hill, Walmsley, Bateman, Farrell etc would be plenty capable of giving him a good battle

I'd be reasonably hopeful that whoever big Sam signed for, he'd add 2K to the gate wherever they played.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Oct 28, 2015 9:43 am  

I really don't want to see Carney at Wigan .

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:30 am  

dany1979 wrote:

Do we know what is happening with Justin Carney?

Noticed that Cas have now brought Joel Monaghan in for the next two years.

Hull FC apparently, there's no way we would bring him in whilst we have Charnley and Manfredi.

Re: Rumours and signings v9 : Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:44 am  

Grimmy wrote:

Hull FC apparently, there's no way we would bring him in whilst we have Charnley and Manfredi.

If it came to a question of who would you rather have with ball in hand near the line, Carney or Charnley, who'd you pick?

The Josh of two years ago would win hands-down, but these days I make it even money at the very least.

Can Carney play centre? We've lacked a beast on the inside flank for quite some time now.