Phuzzy wrote:
Absolutely. I think we're miles off getting it right if I'm being honest. The situation is even worse when you consider which of our "paying what they're worth" youngsters are likely to break through to international level in the immediate future. KPP maybe but after that I'm struggling to see anyone. All our main rivals manage to fit multiple internationals under their cap which means our pay structure must be completely out of whack.
It doesn't get any better when you dig deeper either. Ask yourself this: Been French is one of our best. Would he make the England team ahead of, say, Tomkins? Marshy, as much as I love him as a player (and definitely one of our best) has numerous players ahead of him for an international berth. Then we get to Thornley, Bibby, Hank, Miski etc. With all due respect to those players I don't see international call ups coming any time soon. We'll lose a further 2 internationals (or fringe international if you like for Hastings) and possibly a former international in Tommy next season. Where are the equivalent incomings?
It’s tough to see how it stacks up at all without their having been an horrendous amount of bad decisions made regards contracts and if that’s the case there really needs to be changes. The only way it feels like it can is if you put the question at Warrington or Saints door rather than ours and ask how they can fit all these players in but why should we do that. Even if we look at Mago and Ellis coming over, they’re fringe NRL players and shouldn’t be on anything like guys like Hopoate and Sironen, who have been playing on a regular basis for a few seasons. Miski and Thornley should be on pretty low contracts as well. We’ll see how we go on a halfback signing and if anyone else comes and goes but there is so much work to do over the next year or two.
