That may be true, but when people say things like "Oh, don't worry about Paulo leaving, we've Twal and Alvaro ready to step up and mature", how long are we going to need to wait for them to step up? 18-24 months? We already had that young, local junior prop who offered the team exactly what we need (and still have him for the rest of the year) but unfortunately he is walking away after that.
Who's to say that if Alvaro and Twal do develop in to the ideal pound for pound replacements we need for Junior Paulo by the end of the 2017/2018 seasons, they won't just walk out too if the Titans and Knights come along with massive overs for them?
You need to strike while the irons hot as they say. With the team assembled now, Norman and Foran in the halves, Jennings in the backline, Ma'u entering his peak, Moe'roa getting better and better every year, Peats at 9 etc etc - the one position I think we are lacking is a rep class prop come 2017 and beyond. If Watmough retires there's a fair chunk of cash right there, add the $$'s we had for Paulo and surely you could land JWH. He would cost you more than what we were putting aside for Paulo obviously, but if that the missing piece of a premiership puzzle then I say go for it.
In saying all of that, I'd say JWH is Zero chance of leaving the Roosters... I just wish we had found a way to keep Paulo, but not at the money the Raiders are reportedly paying....
