Folau turns back on Eels to play rugby union

[I bleed blue & gold]

Most of us like the idea of having Folau at the club, and why not? He is a wonderful player and would be great for marketing, but if we don't get him (which it looks like we won't) we just have to look forward to the fact we have a marquee back already coming, even though it's not til 2014.

I would not be surprised at all if some of our players are getting WAY more than they are worth. There are a fair few of them off contract next year, and it will give Stuart a chance to get rid of some of the over paid blokes.

Some of the money i think certain players could be on

Keating 250k+
Lasalo 150k+
Tonga 250-300k+
They are all off at the end of next year.

There are also others that are off that may not impress Stuart next season and could be moved on..

Barba
N Smith
Terepo
Ohanlon
Radradra
Eisenhuth
Brien
Etc

It's a good chance to give Stuart and Nolan a chance to try and turn this mess around. Let's hope some of the forwards who Stuart has given a chance too can step up next year. Also, if Kelly can slot into the halves permanently, shopping around Sandow to free up some cash wouldn't hurt, but thats another story...

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

This sucks. Well, at least I won't lose anymore sleep over it.
I can stop worrying now. Thanks Staggs.

Indeed. Amateur hour with the club. We are a joke.

It's a damn shame boxy.

 

[Maroubra Eel]

Lasso $150K+

At least I'd say!

 

[Noise]

Not sure if this is the real Ian Scuberts twitter but:

[tweet https://twitter.com/ianschubert/status/93947719802040321

Ian Schubert@ianschubert
@ssfc1908 @NRL We bend the rules for players returning from Union (and AFL hopefully!), small discounts for players back from England.

 

[Jake the snake]

Massive Fail by Ricky and Ken Edwards. What a f**king embarrassing joke that is. Unprofessional.

Done Deal...

 

[boxhead]

I wonder what the tweet is about, and obviously if it is genuine. Is he complaining or is he saying the NRL is changing its policies?

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

I wonder what the tweet is about, and obviously if it is genuine. Is he complaining or is he saying the NRL is changing its policies?

Maybe they figure we can't fit him in, they were trying to get us to fork out more but we literally cannot, so the only way to do so is to bend the rules. No-one has ever returned from AFL. Who knows but..

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Most of us like the idea of having Folau at the club, and why not? He is a wonderful player and would be great for marketing, but if we don't get him (which it looks like we won't) we just have to look forward to the fact we have a marquee back already coming, even though it's not til 2014.

True. And even then, marquee backs get paid too much to sit out wide all game. If you can't play your backline stars at 1, 6 or 7, you can't afford to pay them top dollar. This is why we have quality wingers and centres across the NRL making the move to fullback (or trying to) - case in point Inglis, Boyd, Morris, Gordon and now Justin Hodges talking about going back to fullback. The Panthers even tried Jennings at 1 to try and get their money's worth out of him.

I would not be surprised at all if some of our players are getting WAY more than they are worth.

I think it's more that our salaries are spread far too flat throughout our squad. We have plenty of 'backups' with the potential to be more than that, and so to keep them we've had to pay them for their potential and hope a couple of them become first graders - guys like Blair, Morgan, Loko, Kelly, Paulo, Ryan, Lasalo and Allgood. Even Peni Terepo was in demand when we signed him into the fulltime squad.

Given most of them are off contract next year, it looks like Kearney and Nolan had decided 2013 was the year that the first graders out of them would step up and the rest would be allowed to sign elsewhere.

There are a fair few of them off contract next year, and it will give Stuart a chance to get rid of some of the over paid blokes.

Some of the money i think certain players could be on

Keating 200k+
Lasalo 150k+
Tonga 250-300k+
They are all off at the end of next year.

I reckon Keating is on $200k-$250k and honestly, I think he's worth it. The top hookers are on half a million or more, so half of that for a great defender/average dummy half is good value.

I would be surprised if Lasalo was on more than $100k. It's not like would have been in huge demand when he re-signed. Some will say he's not worth minimum salary but he has some NRL experience and he is very good physically. He's just not a smart or aggressive player, and will benefit from improved on-field leadership and organisation. He still could become a first grader, and IMO is worth more than $55k

Finally Tonga. He'd be on $300k+ for sure, and at the time he signed for us was worth every penny.

There are also others that are off that may not impress Stuart next season and could be moved on..

Barba
N Smith
Terepo
Ohanlon
Radradra
Eisenhuth
Brien
Etc

Radradra and Eisenhuth have been brought into the fulltime squad by the current coach, and they both look to have the goods physically to become first graders.

O'Hanlon and Brien don't look to me like potential NRL players, but they may have growth spurts. Barba is obviously as quick on his feet as his brother but has a much smaller frame. I have my doubts whether he'll ever be big enough for first grade.

The one I'm most excited about is Jason Seage.

It's a good chance to give Stuart and Nolan a chance to try and turn this mess around. Let's hope some of the forwards who Stuart has given a chance too can step up next year. Also, if Kelly can slot into the halves permanently, shopping around Sandow to free up some cash wouldn't hurt, but thats another story...

We certainly have plenty of options in the halves now, and even though I think Sandow is by far the best attacker of the lot (not counting Hayne), we could be better served by not having to carry him in defence.

But he's on a lot of money. If we tried to offload him we'd be subsidising a big part of it.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Lasso $150K+

At least I'd say!

Because of all the other cubs that were chasing him?

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

True. And even then, marquee backs get paid too much to sit out wide all game. If you can't play your backline stars at 1, 6 or 7, you can't afford to pay them top dollar. This is why we have quality wingers and centres across the NRL making the move to fullback (or trying to) - case in point Inglis, Boyd, Morris, Gordon and now Justin Hodges talking about going back to fullback. The Panthers even tried Jennings at 1 to try and get their money's worth out of him.

I think it's more that our salaries are spread far too flat throughout our squad. We have plenty of 'backups' with the potential to be more than that, and so to keep them we've had to pay them for their potential and hope a couple of them become first graders - guys like Blair, Morgan, Loko, Kelly, Paulo, Ryan, Lasalo and Allgood. Even Peni Terepo was in demand when we signed him into the fulltime squad.

Given most of them are off contract next year, it looks like Kearney and Nolan had decided 2013 was the year that the first graders out of them would step up and the rest would be allowed to sign elsewhere.

I reckon Keating is on $200k-$250k and honestly, I think he's worth it. The top hookers are on half a million or more, so half of that for a great defender/average dummy half is good value.

I would be surprised if Lasalo was on more than $100k. It's not like would have been in huge demand when he re-signed. Some will say he's not worth minimum salary but he has some NRL experience and he is very good physically. He's just not a smart or aggressive player, and will benefit from improved on-field leadership and organisation. He still could become a first grader, and IMO is worth more than $55k

Finally Tonga. He'd be on $300k+ for sure, and at the time he signed for us was worth every penny.


Radradra and Eisenhuth have been brought into the fulltime squad by the current coach, and they both look to have the goods physically to become first graders.

O'Hanlon and Brien don't look to me like potential NRL players, but they may have growth spurts. Barba is obviously as quick on his feet as his brother but has a much smaller frame. I have my doubts whether he'll ever be big enough for first grade.

The one I'm most excited about is Jason Seage.

We certainly have plenty of options in the halves now, and even though I think Sandow is by far the best attacker of the lot (not counting Hayne), we could be better served by not having to carry him in defence.

But he's on a lot of money. If we tried to offload him we'd be subsidising a big part of it.

Nice post Pou.
I was thinking the same regarding 2013 being a big year for those players.
Also, i don't think Eisenhuth will do anything, but i hope he proves me wrong. Seage is def one to watch.

 

[Maroubra Eel]

If any of these guys are going to be any good they would already be signed for 2014 and beyond. No point waiting and then having to get into a bidding war.

 

[strider]

in all honesty - the decision to sign willie tonga when we were clearly not expecting to be competative as we were in a rebuilding phase was a absolute shocker

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

in all honesty - the decision to sign willie tonga when we were clearly not expecting to be competative as we were in a rebuilding phase was a absolute shocker

Lucky we didn't sign him for 3 years.

 

[Maroubra Eel]

in all honesty - the decision to sign willie tonga when we were clearly not expecting to be competative as we were in a rebuilding phase was a absolute shocker

I think we did expect to be competitive when we signed Tonga and Sandow. When things started going wrong I think we changed our minds and said don't worry we're just rebuilding.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

If any of these guys are going to be any good they would already be signed for 2014 and beyond. No point waiting and then having to get into a bidding war.

Well we did re-sign Sio, Ryan and Paulo. Would have been nice to have Loko tied up by now as well but who knows how he will come back from his knee injuries. And didn't Cheyse Blair sign an extension?

Who else are we likely to get into a bidding war for?

Anyway, we have the whole off-season for the coach to watch the squad without other clubs getting a look at them.

 

[Poupou Escobar]

in all honesty - the decision to sign willie tonga when we were clearly not expecting to be competative as we were in a rebuilding phase was a absolute shocker

I'm sure they still wanted to be competitive, and having a current rep player with plenty of experience at the club can only be good for the youngsters.

 

[TheRam]

I'm not quite sure where to post this so I will put it in the rumors thread too, But for what it's worth -

Literally I just bumped into a certain someone who is right up there in the Parra club on the way home while waiting at the train station on the way home and asked him point blank -

"What is the story with Izzy and are we going to get him or not?"

What he said was that "It is going to happen."

Then I asked him "Are you sure and what about all the drama that is being played out in the press?"

Then he once again simply repeated "It will happen."

So then I said "When?"

He then said "Pretty soon."

The I said "When is soon?"

He then said "Well you would want it to happen real soon , so we should wait and see."

So then I said "So you reckon it's going to happen?"

And he said "Yes."

The train then cam and end of Izzy discussion.

Make of that what you will.

True story...this happened just on an hour ago.

I am not pulling anyones chain here, make of it what you will.

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

Interesting Ram.

 

[Fathead]

I would be very surprised if the eels haven't already signed izzy of the 2014 season. It looks like we have limited ability to control 2013 but we can control 2014. Worst case scenario would be for izzy to play 2013 with souths or the saints but at least he should be with us in 2014 and beyond. Either way, it's all sounding like an old stale soap opera. .... Over it.

 

[MrT]

well if we haven't much cap space, any chance he arrives just before June 30 for half a season next year at half the price?