Knights face MacDougall decision

[Serc]

Knights face MacDougall decision

• Exclusive by Barry Toohey
• July 13, 2010 12:00AM

Future at Knights uncertain...Adam MacDougall. Picture: Liam Driver Source: The Daily Telegraph

NEWCASTLE are facing an agonising call on the future of veteran centre Adam MacDougall, with a proposed increase in salary cap incentives for long-serving players unlikely to be rubber-stamped in time to extend his career into a 15th season.

The game's oldest survivor, 35-year-old MacDougall continues to defy Father Time but remains uncertain if he is ready to retire at the end of the season.

Against the Sharks last Sunday, he played like he could squeeze another year out of his seemingly ageless body. But he is well aware he may not get that opportunity unless the NRL moves quickly to increase incentives for clubs to retain their veteran players.

MacDougall is not the only player who may miss the boat to cash in on possible changes to the cap.

Bulldogs halfback Brett Kimmorley and Roosters stalwart Anthony Minichiello could also be forced into making decisions on their playing futures. Minichiello has hinted he might be forced overseas if no offer is forthcoming from the Roosters, as he can't see himself playing for any other NRL club.

At a time when the NRL has already announced an overall increase in next year's cap and a doubling of the marquee allowance from $150,000 to $300,000, there has also been talk of increasing current modest allowances outside the cap for the game's elder statesmen.

"There is currently $100,000 there for clubs who have players with eight years' service," NRL official John Brady said. "There have been discussions about increasing that again but we haven't come up with the mechanism for that as yet."

Newcastle are in rebuilding mode with the club's main recruitment priority centred around the halfback position and finding replacements for forwards Danny Wicks and Chris Houston. They have signed prop Antonio Kaufusi from the Cowboys and Dragons back-rower Neville Costigan and are believed to be close to snaring NSW Origin enforcer Luke O'Donnell.

Showing him the respect he deserves, Knights coach Rick Stone is keeping an open mind on MacDougall but admitted salary cap concessions would make it far easier for clubs to give long-serving players the opportunity to go out on their own terms. "Clubs should be able to reward loyalty, just as clubs should be rewarded for developing juniors who go on to play first grade," Stone said.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...dougall-decision/story-e6frexnr-1225890967999

 

[Johns Magic]

I look forward to reading this headline again in 2014

 

[RHCP]

I love Mad Dog, but I don't know if we should keep him around for another season if he's only going to play 10 games and take up a chunk of our salary cap. That being said, when he is 100% he's the best centre in our club, which he showed against Cronulla.

He's in the same boat as Simmo for mine. They've done a whole lot for the club but eventually it's got to get to a stage where they're holding back younger talent by hanging on too long and costing us money to sit on the sidelines.

Guess it will come down to whether Siuatonga Likiliki is ready to play first grade or if he'll need to spend some time in NSW Cup.

I loom forward to reading this headline again in 2014

:lol:

 

[Serc]

How many times does it need to be said...if I had a dollar for every time I (or anyone else) said that Mad Dog is on very little $$$...

 

[Joker's Wild]

Whether he is on $50K or $500K it still counts towards our cap

Anything under $100K is worth the 10 games a season we generally get out of him though. Happy to resign him for the experience and performances like Sundays alone

 

[Burwood]

The same arguments were used 2-3 years ago for MacDougall- he is too old, he is taking up a chunk of our salary cap and he will stop young talent from getting a shot in first-grade.

Well I don't care how old he is if he keeps producing each time he takes the field, he is on very little coin compared to other centres of his class, and there still seems to be no one in the lower grades demanding to be selected ahead of him each week. If he keeps Wes and Keith out of the number 4 jersey each week I'm happy.

 

[perverse]

just depends how much he's getting paid... he was on match payments when he first came back, but is he really on that same deal? i haven't had confirmation either way on that from any reliable source.

if he's on very little bikkies then i'll keep him till he's 50 if he wants to stay. 10 games a year of the quality he provides - not to mention his experience to the young guys - is worth $50k-$100k a year. any more than that and we're getting robbed, though.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

$50k + bonus's for match's played. Definately.

Anything over a $100k hell no.

Be sad if he does go.

 

[perverse]

yeah it's just hard to give a definitive yes or no without knowing for sure what coin he's on these days really... i mean we can speculate all we like, but it's a good 1 or 2 contracts ago now since we were actually told what money he was on.

 

[Spot On]

The old bloke was very good on the weekend though. He does put it over his opposite most times he plays.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

At a guess, I'd say Macdougall would be on around 200K per season. Any less than that and he is doing a disservice to himself. In an age where clubs lack experienced players, holding onto players like Macdougall are vital. If I was a coach of a first grade team, I would do my best to sign players in their mid 20's as opposed to players starting off their careers. Young players result in performing more handling errors, stupid passes and wrong decisions in attack in defense. A player in his 30's may not have the some physical ability of that of a 20 year old, but they easily cover for that with what's between the ears.

 

[Joker's Wild]

I would be very surprised if the club is paying him $200K mate

 

[macavity]

At a guess, I'd say Macdougall would be on around 200K per season. Any less than that and he is doing a disservice to himself. In an age where clubs lack experienced players, holding onto players like Macdougall are vital. If I was a coach of a first grade team, I would do my best to sign players in their mid 20's as opposed to players starting off their careers. Young players result in performing more handling errors, stupid passes and wrong decisions in attack in defense. A player in his 30's may not have the some physical ability of that of a 20 year old, but they easily cover for that with what's between the ears.

is it just me, or is BIHK getting worse?

 

[Pika]

I am having a debate with him on another thread.

Personally, I enjoy his contributions.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

is it just me, or is BIHK getting worse?

Getting worse how? I know MAtt23 had a cry about me recently, but I didn't know I was getting anyone else offside.

I try and keep my posting mid range. I don't set out to do posts that are contentious in order to get a reaction, aka Kamawave. Yet I want to actually contribute opinions which means I share my thoughts, as I am not here to be a yes man that simply agrees with the masses.

Cheers Pika. I enjoy the fact you post on here, as I agree with a lot of what you say and your insight makes using this forum more enjoyable.

 

[mrford61]

At a guess, I'd say Macdougall would be on around 200K per season. Any less than that and he is doing a disservice to himself. In an age where clubs lack experienced players, holding onto players like Macdougall are vital. If I was a coach of a first grade team, I would do my best to sign players in their mid 20's as opposed to players starting off their careers. Young players result in performing more handling errors, stupid passes and wrong decisions in attack in defense. A player in his 30's may not have the some physical ability of that of a 20 year old, but they easily cover for that with what's between the ears.

All about balance. There must also be a value placed on having these old heads around even off the field.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

All about balance. There must also be a value placed on having these old heads around even off the field.

I could not agree more! Henry is 20, yet I'm stoked we signed him! If you look at the best knights teams, they have been filled with players of all ages. However now we have a very young team like many clubs do and that makes it much harder to be consistent as a team and playing standards drop.

 

[perverse]

Cross is one of the oldest farts in our team... yet he's as inconsistent as it gets this year...

i think the biggest problem we face is that we're just not getting enough out of our old rough heads. we get about 10 games a year out of doogs.. about the same out of simmo... cross can't seem to stop dropping the pill at the moment...

the rest of our blokes are mainly in their early/mid-twenties. should be peaking over the next 2 years. with LOD and the right prop signed up for next year... we could see rapid improvement over the current squad.

when you look back at our year... if you took out the Houston/Wicks drama and took Scotty out of the team for every game it wasn't absolutely necessary to have him there (injuries) then i really do believe we would have been ultra competitive this year. hell, even if we had managed to jag a couple of those close and ridiculous losses we'd be up in the 8. our squad stands to be much much stronger and "harder" next year. i do see good things in our future.

 

[macavity]

not offside... you are just coming up with some bizarre calls dude.

 

[Alex28]

At a guess, I'd say Macdougall would be on around 200K per season.

This is as good an indication that the majority here have no idea what players are earning, nor do they have any realistic grasp of what a player is worth.