The Return of Gasnier?

[Ulysseus]

ummmm

Costigan played for QLD before going to Sts

Weyman was always championed about as a next big thing but was HUGELY plagued by injuries, canberra let him go as a nice thing really, a change of scenery can really just help actually

Soward was always said to have quite the talent

Scott sucked arse previously, thats 1.

Costigan got booted from Brisbane.
Weyman smashed Daniel Conn's face into oblivion and had quiet the judiciary record relative to his time in the game.
Soward - having it and being able to use it are two different things, I doubt Fittler would have been able to coax much performance out of him, Brownie > coach than Fittler and couldn't do it.

 

[borat]

ummmm

Costigan played for QLD before going to Sts

Weyman was always championed about as a next big thing but was HUGELY plagued by injuries, canberra let him go as a nice thing really, a change of scenery can really just help actually

Soward was always said to have quite the talent

Scott sucked arse previously, thats 1.

None of which were on any sort of decent money before basically being unwanted by their clubs.

We picked these players up when there was no real competition for their signatures and got them cheaply.

 

[dollyhands]

Everyone on here saying that only sharks and knights have room to move with the cap this year must now think the dragons are over, albeit by 50k

 

[dollyhands]

None of which were on any sort of decent money before basically being unwanted by their clubs.

We picked these players up when there was no real competition for their signatures and got them cheaply.

Same song storm fans used to sing

 

[Firey_Dragon]

Same song storm fans used to sing

Storm could never sing that tune. Peter O'Sullivan's recruitment methods were to identify very talented juniors and pay them double what any other club would offer to bring them to Melbourne. It's why Melbourne has always blooded some immense talents, but it already put the club on the back foot.

Most of our signings post-arrival of Bennett have been club rejects. Weyman, Costigan, Greenfield, Emmett etc etc all their careers were on the scrapheap before joining us.

Only Smith and Boyd had strong careers before donning the Red V.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Oh Im sure Weyman was always going to be a consistant first grader. Sure he is an Origin forward now, but IMO that says more about NSW's fowards stocks then Weymans ability. He isnt very skillful, just massive and carrys alot of the defence.

Soward was IMO mistreated by the Roosters. Soward tore through the lower grades at the chooks and I said it one day when he was playing Parra in the Premier League that he would play Origin one day, I still think he will. If the Roosters had not have signed Anasta, Soward would still be there IMO. He saw an opportunity at the Dragons, the Roosters didnt want to pay too much for a back up half, so he left. Smart move by all three parties.

Costigan I could have sworn played for Qld when at Brisbane, and the only reason he isnt still at Brisbane is because of disciplin reasons.

Greenfield? Michael Greenfield? From Souths? He had Asotasi, Stuart, Pettybourne infront of him, along with Souths other star forwards. Him leaving was a no brainer to be honest. Kid always posesed a great offload.

Saints signed these players at the perfect time, but they just brought the talent out, mainly because there is less politics there then at other clubs like the Tigers and formally the Roosters. (politics as in coaches having their favourites)

 

[castle eagle]

Well it seems that he has signed. This is excellent news.

He will get 50k plus $4K per match this year. In 2011 its 400k and 550k in 2012.

i thought the minimum contract was $55,000,
anyway just goes to prove that the only reason to go to rah rah is the money, once you get your fill then come back to the greatest game.

 

[Firey_Dragon]

Oh Im sure Weyman was always going to be a consistant first grader. Sure he is an Origin forward now, but IMO that says more about NSW's fowards stocks then Weymans ability. He isnt very skillful, just massive and carrys alot of the defence.

Soward was IMO mistreated by the Roosters. Soward tore through the lower grades at the chooks and I said it one day when he was playing Parra in the Premier League that he would play Origin one day, I still think he will. If the Roosters had not have signed Anasta, Soward would still be there IMO. He saw an opportunity at the Dragons, the Roosters didnt want to pay too much for a back up half, so he left. Smart move by all three parties.

Costigan I could have sworn played for Qld when at Brisbane, and the only reason he isnt still at Brisbane is because of disciplin reasons.

Greenfield? Michael Greenfield? From Souths? He had Asotasi, Stuart, Pettybourne infront of him, along with Souths other star forwards. Him leaving was a no brainer to be honest. Kid always posesed a great offload.

Saints signed these players at the perfect time, but they just brought the talent out, mainly because there is less politics there then at other clubs like the Tigers and formally the Roosters. (politics as in coaches having their favourites)

Exactly, we've identified players with talent and have a low asking price and put them in a structured, disciplined environment designed to get the best out of them. It's frustrating when people suggest we're over the cap, even at the start of 2009 fans of most other clubs didn't even tip us to make the 8 with our squad (even with Bennett as coach). We've actually lost players since last year with no big signings and people are still spruiking the same garbage. We've upgrade a few contracts so no doubt we're not far off hitting the limit, but I find it entirely plausible that we still have some room to move when you look at the value of our players individually and not as a team.

 

[Big Pete]

It'll be good to see Gasnier back in the red and white, if Dragons fans are prepared to forgive him I see no reason as to why anyone should hold any grudges against him.

As for him signing cheaply, what does it matter? If he fits within the cap. it doesn't matter and best of all the quality of the game increases with his presence.

Off-topic but some of you seem to forget Costigan did have a stint with Canberra. He was bit of a hero/villain at Canberra, but did enough to receive the backing of Maroons coach Mal Meninga who gave him a chance at Origin. At the time, Costigan wasn't really THAT great a player, rather a pat on the back for Costigan for sticking with League as opposed to joining the mining industry as he had initially planned.

It's always irked me that fans point out Costigan made Origin. So? Lillyman made Origin too, it doesn't neccesarily mean he was THAT great a player. Heck, by the end of Costigan's stint at Canberra he was so appreciated by Henry he served out his contract playing for Souths Logan.

As for being over the cap. I'm sure an educated Dragons fan could go into depth on the estimated value of each player but really their squad isn't as flashy as say a Parramatta's or Titan's squad.

 

[Alex28]

Well it seems that he has signed. This is excellent news.

Or has he?

Don't be so quick to blow your loads Dragon fans...

 

[timmybrown]

This is an interesting pattern.

What is the count now? How many players have left for a different code, but found their way back?

What we have Lote Tuqiri, Matty Rogers, Sailor, Tahu, more eh?

Sounds to me like all the other codes are shi-te

 

[Big Pete]

Or that those individual players failed to shine in that code.

Tuqiri was sacked.

Rogers was near useless.

Sailor returned a positive drug test.

Tahu spent his time on the bench.

They all come back, because they know the NRL will treat them like superstars.

 

[Thomas]

Rogers wasn't useless. He didn't like being a utility back. The issue was there were better players in front of him in the Wallabies. He asked for a release and the ARU gave him one.

Sailor snorted cocaine and was rightly sacked. I dare say if he didn't get caught he'd have stayed in RU.

Tuquiri did something a tad on the naughty side and was on his last warning. Likewise, if he hadn't been a silly dude he'd probably still be playing RU, although he was struggling to make the Wallaby team that year.

Tahu was constantly injured and spent a lot of time on the bench. He had serious defensive liabilities though.

 

[The Tank]

Or that those individual players failed to shine in that code.

Tuqiri was sacked.

Rogers was near useless.

Sailor returned a positive drug test.

Tahu spent his time on the bench.

They all come back, because they know the NRL will treat them like superstars.

All played international rugby union at one point (I'm not 100% on Tahu though). There isn't an onion player in the world (other than the ex-leaguies) who would be good enough to play for the Kangaroos.

 

[Big Pete]

All played international rugby union at one point (I'm not 100% on Tahu though). There isn't an onion player in the world (other than the ex-leaguies) who would be good enough to play for the Kangaroos.

Does anybody know this for sure?

What I do know is a bunch of our premier players spent the best part of their peak in another code starring in International matches they had no right in playing because our code was willing to do everything they could to keep them in the game. All of them returned, but with their tails between their legs after Union didn't really care to have them anymore.

 

[taxidriver]

Tuqiri 67 tests
Rogers 45 tests
Sailor 37 tests
Tahu 4 tests

 

[nrlnrl]

I'm sure some of you have already read this from today's SMH, but the section about Tuqiri is the crucial one.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/gasniers-keen-but-deal-hits-a-snag-20100512-uy2f.html

MARK GASNIER's prospective deal to return to the NRL with St George Illawarra could be unhinged by the very factor that forced him out of the game: salary cap restrictions.
Dragons officials are expected to ask NRL auditor Ian Schubert for clarification over how much of Gasnier's contract must be included in this year's cap.
Given the Dragons are already close to the $4.1 million ceiling, the prospect of match payments taking the portion of his deal included in the 2010 cap above $100,000 could end Gasnier's desire to return to his former club - at least this year.

So keen is Gasnier to return to the NRL that he has shelved talks with rugby union's Melbourne Rebels. The Rebels may be staring at a double blow, with hopes growing at Brisbane that Israel Folau will resist the temptation to go to rugby.
Gasnier, who quit the Dragons in 2008 to play with Stade Francais, is said to be ''almost certain'' to return to Australia, via either the Dragons, the Rebels or the long-shot Queensland Reds. That his earning capacity in rugby union would be largely dependent on whether he makes the Wallabies squad, with a base salary of $200,000, has put the Dragons in the box seat. He is reported to have been offered a heavily back-ended deal with the Dragons, giving him the opportunity to earn double that in 2011 and 2012.
But this season is causing headaches. Gasnier, who quit the NRL due to the collapse of third-party deals, has been offered a base salary of $50,000 plus $4000 a match. But the Dragons face the incentive portion ballooning their 2010 player payments over the cap. The match payment portion to be included in the cap would be calculated based on the likely number of matches Gasnier would play this season.
If Schubert deems that the Dragons need to include Gasnier in the cap based on his playing 15 matches - the Dragons can play a maximum of 19 more games this season - his salary would head towards $110,000.
Gasnier may have an ally in fellow convert Lote Tuqiri. Schubert is believed to have determined that Wests Tigers include 13 matches of Tuqiri's deal in this year's cap, because he played that many games for the NSW Waratahs last year. Dragons officials will no doubt argue that it would be unfair for them to be forced to include more match payments for Gasnier in the salary cap than Tuqiri.
It emerged yesterday that the Dragons have held talks with the NRL over the prospect of Gasnier re-joining the club for several months. Gasnier's manager, George Mimis, is expected to meet Dragons chief executive Peter Doust and coach Wayne Bennett this week.

 

[Thomas]

Tuqiri 67 tests
Rogers 45 tests
Sailor 37 tests
Tahu 4 tests

Yep, all of them (Tahu excluded) can be considered excellent rugby union players. Anyone who suggests otherwise is a dullard. My only gripe is the way Sailor and Lote left RU.

 

[taipan]

Appears most rugby(league) players when they switch to union,get to play for the Wallabies.Shortage of talent or plain easier.I suggest both.
For the challenge and to travel to exotic places:lol: ?,for the cabbage more like it.

 

[flamin]

i thought the minimum contract was $55,000,
anyway just goes to prove that the only reason to go to rah rah is the money, once you get your fill then come back to the greatest game.

The minimum is 55k for someone in your squad of 25. Gas wont be in the that squad.