Johns to Union in 2005

[Special K]

who can replace Joey??? Shifty is the only 1 that comes close :mrgreen:

Kimmorley and Gower are both ahead of Sherwin. And by the time those two are gone Sherwin will be on his way out and Firman will be at his best.

 

[mikdalton]

What this players switching to union at an alarming rate all about?

Rodgers, Tuqiri and Sailor isn't alarming. Robinson in the UK is the only one to have made it, the rest have all failed so there'll be no mass switch.

 

[drake]

I think that time in a neck brace made him think.
Joey could have a lucrative career in Media, even though he doesn't have a quarter of the charisma his brother has.
Halfbacks in the Hunter will breathe a sigh of relief, actually will have a shot if Joey goes...wherever.

 

[antonius]

imo he doesnt have the pace or footwork anymore to be a successful international flyhalf

Sure his kicking and passing would leave the rest for dead, but he doesnt have the running game anymore to compete with the carlos spencers of this world.

Johns has never had much pace, but I can confidently say it's not much different to what its always been, as for footwork, ask the players he danced around on several occasions last season to plonk the ball over the line what they think of it, I bet they have a different opinion to yours.

 

[Disco]

So should the NRL have a top 25 players that are contracted the to NRL on a yearly basis (kinda like Cricket, how players get an ACB contract), by being in the top 25 u get a 50 or 100 00 bonus, that equates to up to 2.5 mill, could the NRL afford it

 

[Kurt Angle]

Except the NRL has no leftover central funds.

It distributes the money to all the clubs.

Fact remains the clubs run the wekk in-week out game that brings in the dough.
They are the ones who hold the purse strings.

Until the central body brings in a ton via rep games, they aren't the ones wearing the pants.

ARU and ACB can do this because it's the national side bringing in the money while below that, it brings in nothing.

 

[Front-Rower]

So should the NRL have a top 25 players that are contracted the to NRL on a yearly basis (kinda like Cricket, how players get an ACB contract), by being in the top 25 u get a 50 or 100 00 bonus, that equates to up to 2.5 mill, could the NRL afford it

Impossible, the nrl does not control international or state of origin football. It could work the ARL though, there are traditionally only 4 or 5 rep games a year (only 1 or 2 are internationals) whereas in cricket they play the best part of 12 or 14 test matches a year.

I really believe that the clubs who play under the nrl should look after their players, anything after that should be looked after by the respective orginastions. In this I mean, the 25 best players from NSW and QLD should be under contract to their respective state league organistations, and after that the best 25 players should be contracted to the ARL.

Hence they get their money, no one can whinge and moan that they don't get paid enough and the clubs don't have to worry about going over the NRL's salary cap.

 

[Terminator]

Joeys not going anywhere, he's staying in the Knights colours until the end of 2008.

 

[btaag]

After reading the Sunday papers, and based on my understanding of the whole Johns affair, I believe he will defect to Rugby Union.
He will be able to sell out the Knights by saying he cannot see himself playing for any other NRL club. He will sell out Rugby League by saying that he has achieved all there is to achieve in League and now wants a "new challenge".
He went to the Rugby Yawnion world cup final and liked what he saw - their once every four years yawn-fest obviously got him interested in ways he can become a "global phenomenon" just like Wendell Sailor ( ).

Its partially ego driven, and obviously financial. Getting Johns is a massive psychological victory for Union and is worth ten times to Union what they pay him. When we lost three wingers to Union it was annoying, but to lose the greatest player of the last ten years, the best Rugby League player in the world and more importantly the highest profile player in a League town is a massive loss.

Johns wont go to England in the SPL if the ARU tells him he can live in Newcastle (or a trendy Sydney Suburb), play one season with the Waratahs, be guarantee'd $750,000 and a Wallaby Jumper in 2005...
The supposed fame, exposure, money and dual international status would attract Johns.

I will not be suprised at all if Johns sells out Rugby League and defects to Union. We need to fight back and do it now.

 

[Penelope Pittstop]

btaag, no team can afford him. How can you keep a player wanting that much money?

 

[ripper]

Johns, as much as I hate him, I dont want to see him end up remembered as the arrogant dick who thought he could conqour Union. You Leaguies can keep him.

 

[Roosterphin]

Johns, as much as I hate him, I dont want to see him end up remembered as the arrogant dick who thought he could conqour Union. You Leaguies can keep him.

If Johns goes to Yawnion he will conquer it...no question...there is not a union player close to him.

 

[btaag]

I agree he is expensive, but he would conceivably accept a two year, $500,000 deal from the Knights - it would just mean that they lose other players. An SPL team would definitely pay more, and once you go over $500,000, it is becoming alot of cash to reject.

But in saying this, I think he wants the attention, the exposure, not necessarily the money. Union sells itself as being a "boys Club" - and it is. The big business links with Union guarantee you lots of money making opportunities after your playing career is over. it also offers you training camps next to the Golf Course etc.
He will have Sailor whispering in his ear, and would also be thinking "I am too big for LEague, I want to be like Johnny Wilkinson - I want international exposure".
This is despite the fact most English follow Football anyway and Wilkinson would be the only Union player they know.

Anyway, I will monitor the situation closely, sorry if I am pessimistic.

Johns would completely dominate Union - therein lies the problem.

 

[DIEHARD]

If Johns switches he will become the most hated man in Australia over night.

 

[eelandia]

He will have Sailor whispering in his ear, and would also be thinking "I am too big for LEague, I want to be like Johnny Wilkinson - I want international exposure".
This is despite the fact most English follow Football anyway and Wilkinson would be the only Union player they know.
quote]

Don't tell me even Leaguies are believing the marketing hype of the union world cup. It is not a global game - just ask the average american, south american, asian / indian or european who Johhny Wilkinson is and they won't have a clue. Ask a similar question for Ronaldo and - therein lies the difference - bar the americans perhaps.

 

[btaag]

As I said in the post - most people in England follow football, not Yawnion (or League), and wouldnt know the 14 other players in the England World Cup squad...

Yawnion is a national sport in about two - four countries - New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji (and in saying that, in South Africa Union is only big with the minority White population, football is the true sport of the people).

I am just basing my comments on what Johns has been reported as saying, and what Sailor did (and said) when in a similar position.

 

[russ13]

Rugby league supporters calling union a global game send me into an apoplecptic rage.

Here is an extract from an article by John Goodbody (16 December 2003) London Times Online, regarding the viewing audience for the global (sic) union game:

At the moment Jonny Wilkinson drop-kicked England to victory over Australia in the final, there were 15 million viewers in Britain. The match produced an average audience of 12.7 million. This was rugby’s highest in the UK since the World Cup final at Twickenham in 1991, when an average of 13.6 million saw the game between the same countries.

The 2003 figures also represent more than half the confirmed global television audience for the final last month. Initiative, the international media agency that specialises in collating data, reports that 22 million watched the game worldwide.

22 million is all they got-remember 22 f***ing million. :lol:


Take out the viewers from the the countries who were finalists England & Australia, the remaining global audience would be about 3 or 4 million.
#-o

Anyway if a RLWC had the same finalists and an English RL had the same form as the English RU coming into the final (beating Australia on the last 4 times they met) I some the global audience would be about the same.


Here is some more on the global union game as it is played in England:

The average Premiership football crowd is 34,816, compared with just 7,323 in rugby’s Zurich Premiership — played here, not in Switzerland, by the way.

Rugby crowds will undoubtedly grow this weekend as new converts try to glimpse the World Cup heroes. But, significiantly, the number of rugby clubs is down lately from 1,537 to 1,480.

So the English team does deserve credit for triumphing in an underfunded minority sport towards which much of the nation feels ambivalent.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2003551730,00.html

 

[stretchy]

Didn't Joey say a couple of years ago that he would never go over to the dark side?

 

[Kaz]

Didn't Joey say a couple of years ago that he would never go over to the dark side?

Probably, but his contract wasn't up for renewal, like it is now.

 

[Mystery Man]

The super 12 runs for three months, then the players get a break. They play a couple of months of test football (with weeks off during this time) and then get a break. They finish off with a one month tour to the northern hemisphere.

League, on the other hand, goes virtually non-stop from March to November, with City-Country, Origin, and the ANZAC test being played midweek meaning that players have to double-up up to five times per season.

Johns has been vocal about player fatigue in recent times, so it wouldn't surprise me to see him switch to prolong his career.