the manly situation reinforces a long-held view of mine:
it shouldn't be the case that as soon as clubs have success and their players become elite that they lose them all.
origin is a cash cow... elite players who represent their state should be rewarded for Origin caps a lot more than they are now - i'm talking $50k a game.
there will still be mercenaries, but if DCE can rake in $150k playing for Qld this year, then his pay packet almost ceases to be an issue.
i'm a bit torn on this DCE situation. i know he's massively underpaid - but where's the benefit to the club for taking a punt on a kid who had proved nothing and giving him a three year deal, only for him to want to re-do the deal when he achieves something?
they won't do it in future. if players are going to hold a gun to the clubs head as soon as they show they can play, clubs won't be so keen to give opportunities. instead of a kid getting a 3 year deal with 80k guaranteed, they'll get one year at 80k, and in the vast majority of cases the NRL system will chew them up and spit them out after a year if they can't "make it" that quickly.