Smith Interview

[antonius]

In the interview in todays paper Smith said he is a huge fan of Kidleys and that retaining him is a priority for the Knights. He went on to say that Quinn also is high on the list, and they will be the main retention targets. He also says that even though a lot of players at the Eels are off contract, he didn't see any of them following him here. The cap at Newcastle is tight, and from what he's seen in the lower grades the club is well served and really doesn't need to look elsewhere, rather he would like to make sure we retain some of the talent in Flegg and Premier League. He didn't state either where he woud play Kidley, and I get the feeling it wont be in the halves. Also in the article it says Kidley would be wanting an increase on the ....wait for it......$250,000 he is on at the moment!!!!! FFS he isn't worth anywhere near that. Quinn is on around $165,000, but his value would be up as well because of his rep selection this year. I would suggest that Kidley is only on that money courtesy of his one Country appearance at the time of his last contract, and he certainly doesn't warrant an increase. They metioned Snowden and the impression is that we may lose him as he doesn't seem to rate very highly being refered to as "a fringe player" along with Chris Bailey. Others off contract are Cooper, Seage, Lowrie, Quigley, and Craig Smith who is one of the lowest paid first graders, but has indicated he may go round one more year. All in all it's a pretty interesting read, but apart from his thoughts on player movements doesn't say much more than we prob already knew.

 

[Johns Magic]

If we don't re-sign Snowden I'll cry.

Kidley on $250,000 and wanting more??? f**k off.

I can't believe Quinn is on $165K. Before this season he was nothing but an average to below-average first-grader. A winger too. His new contract should've been somewhere in the vicinity of what he's on now.

 

[antonius]

Quinn I'm pretty sure signed that contract after he'd filled in for Doogs for just about an entire season, and was playing as well as he has this year, in between he has had some ordinary seasons. I think at the time he was seen as a replacement for Doogs, and the club was desperate to keep other clubs at bay. We have been prone to doing that quite a bit.

 

[Johns Magic]

Should've been on $120K, no more.

 

[Serc]

Good god...I sincerely hope that Kidley is signed for NO MORE than $200,000. If Kidley gets an increase on that 250k and that means we lose someone like Snowden then I shall scream!!!!!!

 

[antonius]

Oh yes I ommited to say that the article actually says "He will be looking for a BIG increase on te $250,000 he's currently on"

 

[Alex28]

$250K!!!?

My god Sarge must have been on some wacky drugs at that time.

Set him free - we don't need him...

 

[Boxer]

I do not intend going off about Kidley's Contract Price on these pages.
I will be emailing the Front Office with my "thoughts" on his current contract price and any change they are thinking of offering him.

 

[Alex28]

That price is just diabolical - in a team where we have so many genuine rep players we are paying a bloke who will never ever be a genuine rep player that sort of money!

Otherwise Smith's thoughts on the club are looking pretty positive - besides Snowden...I'm not sure whether he will turn out to be the great white hope that we all want him to be...but I don't want him to be a superstar elsewhere either!

 

[Stuzmeister]

That price for Kidley is outrageous. But I like the way Smith is thinking about retaining a lot of our younger players. We don't really need to recruit elsewhere with the talent we have. But I'd be doing all I can to keep Snowden.

 

[Voice of Reason]

Question- IF sanity DOES prevail and Kidley does not get an increased offer from us and goes elsewhere, how do we best spend that $250k? Do we nurture Tighe on his current deal for the 5/8 job and spend the $ elsewhere or do we recruit? Personally I think Tighe would do the job well.

 

[Misanthrope]

Do we nurture Tighe on his current deal for the 5/8 job and spend the $ elsewhere or do we recruit? Personally I think Tighe would do the job well.

I'd have thought nurturing Mullen to partner Johns for the next year or so would be the smart option. I'd rather see us spend the money on a young forward or two. Smith and Davico won't be around forever

 

[Parki]

take the 250+ that we get for losing kurt gidley
take the 100+ (im assuming) that we get for losing brian carney

go out and spend the 350 on enticing tahu back home.... he f**ken hates hagan with a passion, we can play him in the centres, move carmont to the wing

that would be my ideal situation anyway

 

[Voice of Reason]

Quite right CWB, although I wonder if the club is grooming Mullen for the post-Joe 1/2 job?I would hope that the club uses the talent of both of these guys constructivley.Maybe Joe 7 and Mullen 6 in 2007 then Mullen 7 and Tighe 6 thereafter??

 

[jamesgould]

take the 250+ that we get for losing kurt gidley
take the 100+ (im assuming) that we get for losing brian carney

go out and spend the 350 on enticing tahu back home.... he f**ken hates hagan with a passion, we can play him in the centres, move carmont to the wing

that would be my ideal situation anyway

You'd still have to sign another player with that money to fit under the cap - it is top 25 remember!

It just gets me mad when with some players you hear about them playing for less to stay at the Knights (Simpson, Smith) and with others their contracts are so ridiculously overinflated! (Quinn, Kurt Gidley, Reynoldson, Perry always holding out for more).

Why is it the players that seem happy to take a cut under what they could get elsewhere are the better performed?

 

[Misanthrope]

I'd rather it be Mullen/Walsh in the long run. Tighe's good, but he's more of a support player than a playmaker.

 

[knights9]

I hope we dont lose Snowden. If Kidley wants more than $250,000 he should be told to f**k off i think we have been really generous to have given him $250,000 in the first place.

 

[Doctor]

If Kurt wants more than about $180,000-200,000, he should look elsewhere. I really can't see the value in paying him those dollars if he is our 5/8th. Maybe as a centre, with a fixed position and a regular winger to work with he might get up to $250+. The eye-opener is that we're already supposed to be paying him that much. He's a good player, but not that good.

It's become apparent that there is a big gap between the haves and have-nots -- Craig Smith has been just about our best forward for nearly 18 months, and yet we're paying him peanuts (which he is willing to accept). Kurt Gidley is under-performing (given he is supposed to be the second best half at the club and that he is one of our highest-paid) and we're paying him $250+. That's a huge discrepancy between two equally performing players.

I'm most disappointed about the lack of commitment to Kade Snowden. The bloke is a superstar, and needs the club to support him for another season or two before he becomes a starting member of first grade. If the Knights don't think he is worth it then they have to stop investing money into these players. It comes back to the Jarrod Mullen scenario: mixed messages. If these blokes are future representatives, then pay them accordingly. Stop stuffing around everyone, and giving other clubs every opportunity to poach our players.

 

[Doctor]

I should clarify. When I say "stop investing money into these players", I mean that we're supporting them for four to five years in their development and then letting other clubs reap the benefits.

It's like any investment: you don't want to opt out just before your prized possession begins to soar. You don't invest in a player and then let another club cruise in and sign them up. If we want a viable junior system (which Future-Coach-Smith thinks we have) then we need to reward those players with suitable contracts or otherwise not invest in them in the first place (i.e. five years ago when they had only potential and no club).

 

[antonius]

Quite right CWB, although I wonder if the club is grooming Mullen for the post-Joe 1/2 job?I would hope that the club uses the talent of both of these guys constructivley.Maybe Joe 7 and Mullen 6 in 2007 then Mullen 7 and Tighe 6 thereafter??

I see the future being Mullen at 6, Walsh at 7, and Tighe would be at centre. He is the ideal guy to replace Midley when he calls it a day. As for Snowden, he really had potential written all over him. I think his rushed appearance in first grade may have had a detrimentak effect on the guy. He really didn't look the goods but he is young in terms of forwards. Now he finds himself in Flegg and I think maybe the drop has done him some harm mentally, ie:- he saw himself as a real chance of establishing himself in first grade, but now is suffering the let down. I think Tighe has suffered to some extent because of that as well. He has good reason to be down a bit given his performance last season, and didn't even get a shot this year until this weekend.