Ah-kwilla You-ah-tay

[aqua_duck]

$500k is ridiculous for a winger, and even though he's my favourite player he's not worth $500k a year, not because he isn't a great player but because wingers don't have massive influences on games, sure he scores alot of tries but so does Nathan Merritt.
IMO wingers are the most replaceable players in a side, and even though the cap is going up I'd rather spend up on forwards and a decent left centre

 

[RABK]

For the record - Matt Johns leaving the club in the way he did is probably the worst thing to happen to the club.

At the time with Roopy leading a pitchfork and flaming torch protest perhaps... but in hindsight Matthew was a pretty average footballer and a pretty average human being. Happy for the club to not have much to do with him since he left.

We won the comp the next year. Unless Matthew would have been able to somehow punt Hagan then there is not much he could have contributed to the club past 2000 anyway.

 

[Rod]

His manager has done him no favours today coming out like this. The same week where the club has signed Kev Naiqama to a 1 year contract should be a sign to his manager to talk to the club privately and not put out demands, because quite clearly the club has a backup plan should Aku not work out.

Where has his manager come out with anything? So far it all looks like paper talk to me.

Aku is most likely about to become a Dally M Winger of the Year for the third year in a row, depending on rises in the salary cap etc., 500k might not be totally unreasonable. I also think it's crazy to say that all he does is score tries. He does so much more for our club than that, on and off the field. Besides, if the figure did get as high as 500k, as RABK said some of it probably won't come under the cap.

 

[RABK]

$500k is ridiculous for a winger, and even though he's my favourite player he's not worth $500k a year, not because he isn't a great player but because wingers don't have massive influences on games, sure he scores alot of tries but so does Nathan Merritt.
IMO wingers are the most replaceable players in a side, and even though the cap is going up I'd rather spend up on forwards and a decent left centre

What do you reckon, Onslow to bring Lafai here as our left centre for 2014 and beyond? Lafai and Gagai with Sione coming through the grades, we'd be set for centres for the next 10 years.

 

[eozsmiles]

He'll get at least $400k from the cap. It's likely to be up to $6 million by 2014. If Lote gets $400k under the current cap then Aku gets more under the new one. There will be plenty of money around due to the number of players coming off contract and Aku's manager will expect him to be high on the retention list- could have 100+ games, couple of dally m winger awards, 100 tries, and be playing for Australia and be in his mid twenties. I can't seriously see him signing a mates rates contract. They'll expect him to be one of the highest paid outside backs in the game. One of the main factors will be what other wingers have signed for at the time. Hoppa is on a billon for a start and he'll have been out of the game for two years.

 

[aqua_duck]

What do you reckon, Onslow to bring Lafai here as our left centre for 2014 and beyond? Lafai and Gagai with Sione coming through the grades, we'd be set for centres for the next 10 years.

Lafai could work, maybe even Pat Mata'utia, he's got abit more size about him than Pete and Chanel (about 6'2 and 97kg at the moment, will be well over 100kg by the time he finishes growing). There's a few good players in the dogs juniors who might be stuck behind more established players, I'd imagine Onslow and Mulholland would know those players very well.

 

[Spot On]

He'll get at least $400k from the cap. It's likely to be up to $6 million by 2014. If Lote gets $400k under the current cap then Aku gets more under the new one. There will be plenty of money around due to the number of players coming off contract and Aku's manager will expect him to be high on the retention list- could have 100+ games, couple of dally m winger awards, 100 tries, and be playing for Australia and be in his mid twenties. I can't seriously see him signing a mates rates contract. They'll expect him to be one of the highest paid outside backs in the game. One of the main factors will be what other wingers have signed for at the time. Hoppa is on a billon for a start and he'll have been out of the game for two years.

Is that for real? f**k, there's no cap at the Tigers. Isn't Blair on 550K? Marshall and Farah must be on 750K each if those two are getting that.

 

[Spot On]

Lafai would be a very good get.

 

[aqua_duck]

Is that for real? f**k, there's no cap at the Tigers. Isn't Blair on 550K? Marshall and Farah must be on 750K each if those two are getting that.

I'm pretty sure Tuqiri has decent 3rd party deals in that 400k

 

[RABK]

Lafai would be a very good get.

Think of the marketing potential. Centre pairing of Lafai and Gagai. I can see the creative banners around hunter already.

 

[aqua_duck]

Just needs abit of Vai Vai and Mata'utai

 

[Bring it home Knights]

It really wouldn't. Ultimately he is a quick finisher that needs a quality centre to get him into space. He isn't up to the level where Sailor and Tuqiri were in their prime, and lets face it - there are a few wingers in front of him at present in the "best winger" category in the NRL at present.

His manager has done him no favours today coming out like this. The same week where the club has signed Kev Naiqama to a 1 year contract should be a sign to his manager to talk to the club privately and not put out demands, because quite clearly the club has a backup plan should Aku not work out.

For the record - Matt Johns leaving the club in the way he did is probably the worst thing to happen to the club.

I couldn't disagree more. I've lost count of the amount of times that Uate has been in a situation on the field where it looks like nothing is on, only to see him make a line break or score a try. Your opinion on Uate is literally the complete opposite of mine.

On Matt Johns. He didn't play a good game for 2 years up until the club decided not to re-sign him. Even though he was replaced by a hack the following year, it wasn't that big a deal that the club let him go.

 

[RABK]

Uate scores a shit load of tries that not many others would score where he has that mad 10m dash to the line and as the fullback and winger come in cover with knees, elbows and shoulders flying everywhere to knock him into touch he barely moves from the contact and gets the ball down. Most other wingers get poleaxed into touch.

I half expect him to get up with a split kidney because he cops a lot of punishment getting the ball down but he's a tough bastard.

 

[Jono078]

It really wouldn't. Ultimately he is a quick finisher that needs a quality centre to get him into space. He isn't up to the level where Sailor and Tuqiri were in their prime, and lets face it - there are a few wingers in front of him at present in the "best winger" category in the NRL at present.
.

You fair dinkum? That's one of the worst posts I've seen in a long time. It's not even an opinion, it's a flat out lie.

Uate probably has the most trys out of any player over the last few years on individual brilliance.

As has been mentioned already, reigning winger of the year 2 years in a row. Averaging about 20 tries a year. On top of those he usually leads the linebreaks, tackles busts and metres categories each year or is in the top 5 of those.

He isn't just a winger, he is another front rower too. And he's a player that chimes in and can get to the try line without anything else going on.

Not saying I wanna pay him 500k, but the man's gotta be paid.

 

[Rolla]

He is one of the most marketable players in the game. He will also be eligible for the long service offset soon.

The only wingers that could have been considered close to Aku in the last few years have had Cooper and Hodges inside them.... While Aku has had Wes and Sau. Yet he still beats them for tries, line breaks, tackle busts, metres and runs.

He has probably been our best and most consistent player for three seasons now. Now i wouldn't guess at what he is worth to Newcastle, But i would go as far as saying over the last few season he has contributed more than anyone else so i would say a pretty penny. He is more than a winger for our team.

 

[Stick]

The only wingers that could have been considered close to Aku in the last few years have had Cooper and Hodges inside them.... While Aku has had Wes and Sau.

But this is the crux of the issue. Uate was critical to our attack because he needed to provide a threat all of his own. Without him a backline looked very limp.

But that's because the centres were struggling.

With all this future building and development, I hope Newcastle matures into a side that doesn't rely on a winger so much. I hope the knights sign, secure and develop a few centres who can make any winger outside them look like quality. If Gagai continues his rapid rise, we won't need to pay 500k for an effective right winger. Similarly I expect Newcastle to build a forward pack that can gain metres better than a winger can. I suspect this was the sentiment behind Wayne's suggestion at the start of the year that Aku play more like a winger.

I love Aku. I love what he brings to the game. I love what he represents. But if the Knights get to where Wayne is wanting to take them, Uate won't be irreplaceable on-field. Whether his marketability can make up for the shortfall in 500k is less than clear.

 

[League_God]

If anyone in the NRL deserves to be paid "overs" it's aku.

Along with everything everyone else has already mentioned, (touchwood i dont jinx him) he is never injured which is incredibly rare in the nrl today, let alone for someone who puts their body on the line as much as aku does.

We must do WHATEVER it takes, to keep him until the day he retires.

 

[Alex28]

Good god you guys are seeing this with massive red and blue eyes. The guy is a good finisher, and it would be great to keep him, however he isn't worth putting up 10% of our salary cap just to keep him.

What makes it worse is without a good centre inside him (and ultimately the salary that a good centre comes with), he can be very average - just as he was earlier this season. For 10% of the salary cap he needs to be great all the time. He isn't.

Jono - he is a winger, not a front rower. That was one of his biggest problems - that he comes off his wing and looking to do everybody elses job. Finally he has a coach telling him to stay on his wing and do his job.

As far as marketability - I can not realistically seeing him bringing in crowds just because he is in the side like Andrew Johns was back in the day. The club will still fill the grounds with or without him.

In regards to his manager and demands - who do you reckon instigated the article? Journalists don't just pluck figures from the air to write articles - they have got that figure from somewhere and it is most likely his management putting the club on notice in a public forum. That might have been the way business was done with the club in the past, but not now. The club has been very clear that they do not talk to the media about negotiations with players, so I doubt the "source in Newcastle" was from the Knights management.

Stop looking at this with your hearts, and think about the club and the best thing for the future. An expensive winger when we realistically need a half and a front rower to be a genuine top 4 club does not make sense.

 

[Johns Magic]

Good god you guys are seeing this with massive red and blue eyes. The guy is a good finisher, and it would be great to keep him, however he isn't worth putting up 10% of our salary cap just to keep him.

Put money aside for a second, which is not what I was questioning.

Do you really think he is "just a finisher"?

And can you please name three better wingers currently in the NRL.

 

[League_God]

also I would argue he isn't an 'overly' remarkable finisher. Still great, but no where near his greatest attribute.