have you seen the U20's?
The comp is choc full of future poly superstars
as ive always said, the great thing about RL, is for everyone like Gasnier/SBW/Marshall that leaves, there is another 7-8 kids ready to step up and make a name for themselves
RL will be fine with or without benji marshall
Perhaps you are right, doesnt change the fact the salary cap has to be ammended for those good enought to earn dollars outside their club.
Flash in Japan: Marshall may not jump ship
Glenn Jackson | December 8, 2008
IN ANOTHER of sport's quirky ironies, the loss of Wests Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall to the money on offer in rugby union may be prevented by … the money on offer in rugby union.
The prospect of earning almost $1.5 million for a stint in Japanese union may stop the Kiwi World Cup winner from quitting league altogether.
Marshall has attracted interest from Japan, and is believed to be in a position to earn upwards of ¥90 million ($1.49m) a season in the lucrative Top League.
And because the Japanese season runs in the Australian league off-season - from September to February - Marshall may be able to remain in the NRL even after a code switch.
While Wests Tigers officials, who commenced negotiations with the 2005 premiership winner's manager Martin Tauber on Friday, refused to confirm whether they would allow Marshall to test himself in Japanese rugby if it meant him staying at the club, a similar idea has been floated before.
St George Illawarra chief executive Peter Doust, in attempting to prevent Mark Gasnier from defecting to rugby union last year, put forward the bold idea of allowing him to play in Europe in the off-season.
Marshall is believed to have told Kiwi teammates he would likely leave the Tigers when his contract expired at the end of next season, amid interest from the English Super League as well as rugby union clubs from the UK and France.
He is known to harbour a desire to play for the All Blacks, which would be forfeited should he decide to remain in the NRL, but he is relatively untried in rugby union, having played the sport only while a schoolboy, making a total code switch a gamble. The prospect of an off-season stint, while taxing on a body that has suffered significant injuries, is still a remote one but may be considered in an attempt to keep one of the NRL's most marketable players in the code.
The Tigers are facing a battle to keep not only Marshall, but a player equally important, Robbie Farah, and the fresh development around Marshall comes as another club joins the race for the hooker.
Farah has already toured the Gold Coast with Titans officials, and his manager Sam Ayoub yesterday confirmed there had been interest from another club in the City representative.
Tigers officials will likely meet Ayoub this week, and with Marshall not due back from a holiday - nor due at training - until the new year, said they expected Farah's future to be finalised first.
"Obviously we'd prefer it [Farah's negotiations] to not be done so publicly but we're not losing any sleep over that," recruitment manager Warren McDonnell said. "It's up to Gold Coast and his management."
Asked about the chances of losing both players, McDonnell said: "Who knows? We might not [keep them] if they came back and said we've been offered X-Y-Z and we can only offer X-Y. Everything's got its limits. But we'll be guided by that once we talk to them."
Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens added of his stars: "They're going to look at their options. Why not? But I think both the boys have a desire to stay here. It's not going to be a matter of them being unhappy here.
"We've spoken to both their managers and both boys have indicated they'd like to get it done before the start of the [2009] season. That will settle everybody down."
Meanwhile, former Parramatta halfback Tim Smith is almost certain to return to UK club Wigan next season, but remains committed to returning to the NRL in 2010.
Smith, back in Australia until January, was courted briefly by Cronulla about a return to the NRL next season, even though he is contracted to the English club, but the money on offer was not enough.
"If he got an opportunity to come back he'd come back," Smith's manager David Riolo said. "He'd rather be in Australia than England. Wigan have always said if he gets an offer they'll let him go."
To be honest,I'm sick and tired of seeing the players the NRL market f**k off and leave.
Greedy f**ktards like Gasnier and Sonny Bill gladly step in to advertise only to turn around and wipe the NRL(after getting paid,of course).
There needs to be something in the contract they sign when being promoted.
I don't give a f**k if Benji leaves,I'm surprised he still knows how to play League let alone Rugby with the amount of injuries he gets.
He'll play one game of Rugby and snap like a stick and once again sugar daddy(whoever it is) will be left scratching his head.
However,it is really embarassing that the stars the NRL promote in it's advertising are out of the code within the next year.
Something seriously has to be done.
Great idea that! Here's a bloke who's shoulder shatters at the mere mention of a tackle and what's he gonna do in the off season? Play more Footy!
Yeah ok,cause that is relevent:roll:The NRL markets? LOL Good one, haven't laughed like that on a forum in a while.
I think we've had some kind of misunderstanding.Yep, they put Sonny Bill or Andrew Johns or Darren Lockyer's mug on a bus shelter to market the players. You goose, it's because those players are marketable and go some way to attracting fans through the gates.
Hmmm I fail to see how any of the above had anything to do with myPerhaps the NRL could select better, you know, player's the borderline fans haven't heard or or don't care about. That'd be a sound marketing strategy, you should be on the board of directors Shorty, we need your logics involved. Or, perhaps the NRL could make top end player payments and bottom end payments to those on the borderline more attractive by correctly contracting it's real market value to gain adaquate business revenues rather than selling itself, and therefore the players, and therefore the fans, short. Nope, you and Gallop seem to have the same philosophies so I'm sure you'll go for the supposed quick fix, which of course fails.
To be honest,I'm sick and tired of seeing the players the NRL market f**k off and leave.
Greedy f**ktards like Gasnier and Sonny Bill gladly step in to advertise only to turn around and wipe the NRL(after getting paid,of course).
There needs to be something in the contract they sign when being promoted.
I don't give a f**k if Benji leaves,I'm surprised he still knows how to play League let alone Rugby with the amount of injuries he gets.
He'll play one game of Rugby and snap like a stick and once again sugar daddy(whoever it is) will be left scratching his head.
However,it is really embarassing that the stars the NRL promote in it's advertising are out of the code within the next year.
Something seriously has to be done.
To be honest,I'm sick and tired of seeing the players the NRL market f**k off and leave.
Greedy f**ktards like Gasnier and Sonny Bill gladly step in to advertise only to turn around and wipe the NRL(after getting paid,of course).
There needs to be something in the contract they sign when being promoted.
I don't give a f**k if Benji leaves,I'm surprised he still knows how to play League let alone Rugby with the amount of injuries he gets.
He'll play one game of Rugby and snap like a stick and once again sugar daddy(whoever it is) will be left scratching his head.
However,it is really embarassing that the stars the NRL promote in it's advertising are out of the code within the next year.
Something seriously has to be done.