I Bleed Maroon
Referee
- Messages
- 25,761
This subject was broached tonight on 360 when discussing Ash Taylor's future. Their list of million dollar players didn't include Fifita but I thought it was worth putting him in there, because I think even Titans fans would submit that his debut year with them has left a lot to be desired, especially considering they are still in the running for a finals spot.
Looking over that list, I would deadset say none of them are currently earning their keep for their clubs as compared to their value. Ash Taylor has never lived up to the hype that landed him on big money with the Tits and looks like he won't even be in the NRL soon enough, Hunt is injured and was playing hot and cold footy when he was fit, Milford had his first decent game in 3 years this past weekend but won't be getting a deal that good again anywhere, Cherry-Evans only seems to be able to play well piggybacking off Turbo's efforts and goes MIA when Tom is absent and Taumalolo has been dealing with injury all season and has been swirling in the rumor mill regarding an apparent strained relationship with the coach over his playing minutes.
So what's the deal here? Why do players seem to fall into a dip as soon as they sign on for the big dosh? Is it just the weight of the pay packet around their necks? Complacency? Or do player agents just have way too much sway over the clubs in a shallow talent pool?
It's a question worth looking at I reckon cause as the cap increases over the next few years, we're going to see a lot more players on this sort of money whether they deserve that much or not, and at the very least the media won't miss an opportunity to put the blowtorch on a well paid player who is down on form.
Looking over that list, I would deadset say none of them are currently earning their keep for their clubs as compared to their value. Ash Taylor has never lived up to the hype that landed him on big money with the Tits and looks like he won't even be in the NRL soon enough, Hunt is injured and was playing hot and cold footy when he was fit, Milford had his first decent game in 3 years this past weekend but won't be getting a deal that good again anywhere, Cherry-Evans only seems to be able to play well piggybacking off Turbo's efforts and goes MIA when Tom is absent and Taumalolo has been dealing with injury all season and has been swirling in the rumor mill regarding an apparent strained relationship with the coach over his playing minutes.
So what's the deal here? Why do players seem to fall into a dip as soon as they sign on for the big dosh? Is it just the weight of the pay packet around their necks? Complacency? Or do player agents just have way too much sway over the clubs in a shallow talent pool?
It's a question worth looking at I reckon cause as the cap increases over the next few years, we're going to see a lot more players on this sort of money whether they deserve that much or not, and at the very least the media won't miss an opportunity to put the blowtorch on a well paid player who is down on form.
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