Paul Vaughan Signed?

[Carlton]

I just read in the tele for all its worth that we have signed Paul Vaughan for three years for $1.75m.

I am a fan of Paul Vaughan but please can someone tell me we didn't sign him on $600k a year. I think that the dragons have a bonus scheme in place for management and the board based around how many cock ups you can make. Why else would these sorts of decisions keep being made?

 

[grouch]

Yep, it's absurd.

I mean, he's a good player and a quality prop to have in the squad. But people still insist that Trent Merrin was asking for too much money, and he'd played 10 state of origin games with us, has footwork and an offload, and is playing for Australia again in a couple of weeks. Vaughan is a hard running prop who spent most of the year in reserve grade, and we're not paying him that much less than Trent asked for. Just, wow.

 

[Highland Saint]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the Tele article say he would be on around $600k per year for 2018-19 only?
If the salary cap is going up by about 40% or so in 2018 aren't we expecting that to be the average price for an experienced solid prop?

 

[getsmarty]

St George Illawarra set to offer Raiders prop Paul Vaughan $1.75 million contract

Barry Toohey, The Daily Telegraph
an hour ago

PAUL Vaughan could not hold down a regular spot in Canberra’s forward pack during their charge to the play-offs this season.

But that hasn’t stopped St George Illawarra from shelling out a small fortune to entice the Raiders prop to quit the national capital.

Desperate for a recruitment kill after missing the marquee signatures of Corey Norman and Jarryd Hayne, the cashed-up Dragons are poised to snare Vaughan on a three-year-deal worth a staggering $1.75 million.

A decision on his future could come as early as Wednesday.


Despite spending time in the NSW Cup with Mounties at the back end of the season after making way for mid-season signing Junior Paulo, Vaughan has been in demand after making a big impact off the bench during the finals series.

He has another year to run on his current contract worth around $450,000 in 2017 but Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has reluctantly allowed him to leave early to alleviate salary cap pressure.

The Red V regard Vaughan as a future Origin player who will help fill the void in the pack left by the departure of Englishman Mike Cooper and the retirement of former skipper Ben Creagh.

Newcastle, Parramatta and Wests Tigers all expressed an interest in the Raiders prop with the Knights and Eels both making offers.

But according to sources, neither club was in the ballpark when it came to matching the Dragons’ mammoth deal.

Vaughan is set to depart the Raiders.
It is understood Canberra will tip in around $100,000 of the $450,000 Vaughan will earn in 2017 with the Dragons to fork out $650,000 a season for him in 2018 and 2019.

Knights coach Nathan Brown admitted his club had targeted Vaughan after it emerged he was on the market.

“We were certainly interested in him but not for the type of money that was being talked about in the end,” Brown said.

“We just could not compete. Good luck to him because he is a good player but we are just not in a position financially to afford that sort of a contract.”

As late as yesterday, the Eels were still in the picture but it was considered highly unlikely they would be able to come up with a counter offer overnight to trump the Dragons.

* In further signing news, Manly has secured Newcastle’s Akuila Uate on a two year deal with the former Test winger knocking back a lucrative offer to join Warrington in the English Super League to remain in the NRL.

Meanwhile, Eagles backrower Jamie Buhrer has inked a two year deal to link with the Knights while Newcastle is also on the verge of officially announcing the signing of Cowboys hooker Rory Kostjasyn.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...r/news-story/54fc5d733408d1e5e724120f2d261355

 

[since77]

Yep, it's absurd.

I mean, he's a good player and a quality prop to have in the squad. But people still insist that Trent Merrin was asking for too much money, and he'd played 10 state of origin games with us, has footwork and an offload, and is playing for Australia again in a couple of weeks. Vaughan is a hard running prop who spent most of the year in reserve grade, and we're not paying him that much less than Trent asked for. Just, wow.

Not to mention that the forward pack is the last place we need to be spending big $. This already has the smell of McGregor and bad planning - as if next years game plan is going to be based around having a "tough" forward pack and defending rather than trying to create points. Who on earth would renew their membership to watch "Dragons Footy" ala 2012- 2016?

 

[getsmarty]

Not to mention that the forward pack is the last place we need to be spending big $. This already has the smell of McGregor and bad planning - as if next years game plan is going to be based around having a "tough" forward pack and defending rather than trying to create points. Who on earth would renew their membership to watch "Dragons Footy" ala 2012- 2016?

Correct. With all due respect to Paul Vaughan, if this story is correct..and that's a big "If"...why are we paying massive overs for a prop/interchange forward when we need halves. Sure make a competitive offer but blowing other clubs away with massive overs for a prop..the mind boggles.Has Mary's footprint all over it. Another year down the drain and going backwards very quickly.

 

[mobels]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the Tele article say he would be on around $600k per year for 2018-19 only?
If the salary cap is going up by about 40% or so in 2018 aren't we expecting that to be the average price for an experienced solid prop?

Thats correct - 350k next year under the current salary cap and when the cap rises up to the estimated 10 mil + mark in 2018 he'd be earning just above what an average experienced prop will be making.

Not that bad of a deal imo. Especially if he continues to develop into the potential he has.

 

[Alec's-saints]

lol@us

 

[giboz71]

The only way this turns into a good move is if Vaughan is in the frame for Origin next year, If that's the thinking, its probably not as bad as it sounds given the cap increases for 2018 and beyond.

I don't mind Vaughan, Brings more to the table than Ah Mau.

In fact, the starting forwards look like a pretty solid unit. Packer, McInnes, Vaughan, Thommo, Friz and Sims. Masoe, JDB, Host, Havili off the bench.

 

[st.phil]

It does have the Mary recruitment stink however if its 350 first year and 600 for 18, 19 - rounds out to 515. It's a little heavy but not wild overs. Apparently was carrying a niggle this year however plenty of raiders fans still rate him as the best prop at the club fwiw

 

[Dragonslayer]

The Cutters are going to have another strong team next year.

 

[borat]

People say that our forwards are not where we need to recruit, but I don't agree.

IMO Ah Mau is bog average and a genuine reason why we struggle to get any go forward last season. Sims comes in and easily outshines him over the last 5-6 games.

Vaughan is good, but not great. Stuck behind the best prop rotation in the NRL IMO. Vaughan would be a quality addition for us, and yes we are paying overs but that is what it takes to get players here

 

[Slippery Morris]

Spot on Borat. Au Mau is average. Vaughn is a huge step up from Leeson. Leeson is OK but not great. Vaughn I think is great. With Sims added as well and Masoe it is a top pack. Saints have one of the best packs I feel but with crap coaching what is the point.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Spot on Borat. Au Mau is average. Vaughn is a huge step up from Leeson. Leeson is OK but not great. Vaughn I think is great. With Sims added as well and Masoe it is a top pack. Saints have one of the best packs I feel but with crap coaching what is the point.

LAM had a very poor season, probably hard to see him get a gig with the Cutters on that form. However, he was the Dragons player of the year in 2015 and was then our best forward. Don't know if he carried injury or some mental issue, but his form completely died off when he got suspended by the judiciary.
I think Vaughan (I wasn't thrilled with it at the beginning) is a good signing for us. Masoe is a totally unknown prospect, several years in ESL and no game time this year. He's such a big unit, and it was a serious injury to his knee, that we would need to have a back-up plan if he doesn't come up or isn't up to NRL standard. I hope he is but it's really a risk at this stage. Vaughan will at least cover the void. However, the $$$ being thrown around is way over what Vaughan's current form warrants.
To me LAM and Masoe hold the greatest risk to us in 2017, the signing of Vaughan would be seen as a very good back-up plan.

 

[dragonreddy]

Paying upfront for possible potential ,Dragons recruitment logic yet again.

 

[BrissyRedV]

You would just hope at that suggested figure, there is some form of performance clauses or options in the clubs favour. 1.75 mil is massive overs for a player who play a large portion of the season in reserve grade.

 

[BlackDuckSaint]

I am a big supporter of this signing.

1. He is 25 turning 26 next year. So he is coming into his best years as a prop forward.

2. He averages more run metres (115) than our entire forward pack. And even though he was benched for the second half of the year, he still averaged more run metres than the entire Canberra forward pack (Shannon Boyd, who is in the aus team, included) with the exception of Josh Papalii (118). Even then he had half the game time of Papalii to average 3 less metres.

3. His runs are around 10m per carry which is better than ours and Canberra's forward pack.

4. His tackle efficiency is 92 percent, 3rd best in Canberra and it would be 6th at the Dragons.

5. He has a good strike rate of tries and line breaks for a prop. With some of his tries being pearlers.

I reckon he will prove to be an asset and he could be the lynch pin of a powerful forward rotation next year.

 

[giboz71]

Given the players we have missed out on, not surprised we have offered overs to lure over what is a pretty good player. If he lives up to his potential which is effectively an Origin player, then all good IMO.

Imagine the meltdown in here if we had missed out on yet another potential signing?

 

[FlameThrower]

Wakeman would have been a more prudent signing ... are we not broke?

 

[BrissyRedV]

Given the players we have missed out on, not surprised we have offered overs to lure over what is a pretty good player. If he lives up to his potential which is effectively an Origin player, then all good IMO.

Imagine the meltdown in here if we had missed out on yet another potential signing?

Especially if we had missed out to the knights offering similar money. I guess they really wanted to negate that risk.