VOTE Anthony Milford's future

[Kyall]

Milf has been a favourite player of mine for a while now but don't get in his road if he wants to leave for more money

 

[Kooly87]

To qualify all the answers on here, you need to be clear about whether 'same money' is being suggested on the basis that the salary cap will return to normal pretty quickly. When I say Milford is staying on similar money, I mean that with the assumption that the Salary Cap is operating as normal, but obviously if/when the Cap is reduced then his salary would need to go backwards too, just like everyone else.

Truthfully, so long as we can afford to re-sign Fifita and we've got funds in the bank to inevitably upgrade all our other young Forwards over the next few seasons, then I think the likely outcome will see us retaining Milford on around his current money. The reasons why:

- If he maintains his current salary and doesn't get a pay rise, then essentially in a gradually increasing Cap, it's effectively a small pay cut for him, which I think is about commensurate with his performance on his last deal.

- He's a gamble, especially as we won't get a huge look at him with Croft before making the call, and given his up and down contributions during his time here, but he's a gamble we know to a large extent, versus a gamble we potentially don't know as well from outside the club. The other major problem is we're now going to miss out on a full season of Queensland Cup for Tom Dearden, so that significantly reduces our ability to evaluate him at that level before tabling a new deal for Milford.

- The market for top tier playermakers is about to complete a generational change - we've already lost Thurston, Cronk - Smith is about to retire, DCE, Foran and Pearce are already on or are approaching their final deal etc. The next crop of top shelf guys coming through I'd argue are probably almost as big a gamble as Milford, and would probably cost us more to acquire than Milford will cost us to retain him - Moses, Cleary, Wighton, Morgan, Walker, Reynolds etc.

At this stage, I couldn't agree with a pay rise for Milford, and I would be nervous about us committing to him heavily with Dearden in the pipeline and Ponga coming onto the market in a season's time.

For me, it would cost us maybe only slightly more to purchase a spine of:
1. Ponga
6. Dearden
7. Croft
9. Turpin

Than it would to retain Milford and end up with a spine of

1. Fullback purchase (or Isaako - I'm discounting Bird because I think he will be too expensive if we retain Milford)
6. Milford
7. Croft
9. Turpin

For me, I think spine 1 is only a little more expensive, but has a far larger upside potential over a longer period than spine 2.

 

[Fernando]

Truthfully, so long as we can afford to re-sign Fifita and we've got funds in the bank to inevitably upgrade all our other young Forwards over the next few seasons, then I think the likely outcome will see us retaining Milford on around his current money. The reasons why:

That would be ideal because I think he's about to get back to some of his best football now that the right pieces are around him, but it could be a big ask as well. Hopefully Bird and Boyd off the books will be enough. But if it came down to keeping Milford and losing some young forwards or keeping the pack intact and running with Croft and Deardon what would people prefer?

 

[Sproj]

That would be ideal because I think he's about to get back to some of his best football now that the right pieces are around him, but it could be a big ask as well. Hopefully Bird and Boyd off the books will be enough. But if it came down to keeping Milford and losing some young forwards or keeping the pack intact and running with Croft and Deardon what would people prefer?

Lose Milf and don’t think twice about it.

 

[dirtyharry]

He's had his chances to impress, to earn his keep- hasn't delivered
Cut him loose

 

[Kooly87]

That would be ideal because I think he's about to get back to some of his best football now that the right pieces are around him, but it could be a big ask as well. Hopefully Bird and Boyd off the books will be enough. But if it came down to keeping Milford and losing some young forwards or keeping the pack intact and running with Croft and Deardon what would people prefer?

I don't think Milford represents good value for money in that scenario, so he'd obviously be the one to go. That's the issue with Milf, at times he has been our best player, but we've been fairly mediocre overall during the time he's been with us, so simply being our best player doesn't hold a huge amount of weight. What it boils down to is for the money we outlay for him, the similarly priced players generally have delivered better results for their clubs than Milford has delivered for us. It is also possible that Croft and Dearden could deliver a similar result to Milford's more recent form, for probably less money combined than Milford costs us on his own.

He still probably has upside potential, and I could understand the club persevering with him if he was prepared to accept no pay increase this time around, but I'd be very nervous to see us pay any more than he earns right now to keep him around, and even at that price I think we're still at risk of doing our dough again. To put it in perspective, I'd much rather see us spend an the money for an upgraded deal for Milford on someone like Ponga, who offers a better return just in today's results, let alone the significantly better and longer term returns he has potential to provide.

 

[Sproj]

1. Ponga
6. Dearden
7. Croft
9. Turpin

vs

1. Isaako
6. Milford
7. Croft
9. Turpin

I know which spine I'd prefer and it is the first one by a few lengths. That said, if you re-sign Milf for half of what he is on, as well as offloading Boyd and especially Bird, you can go with:

1. Ponga
6. Milf
7. Croft/Dearden
9. Turpin

Yep that would be gold!

 

[Kooly87]

1. Ponga
6. Dearden
7. Croft
9. Turpin

vs

1. Isaako
6. Milford
7. Croft
9. Turpin

I know which spine I'd prefer and it is the first one by a few lengths. That said, if you re-sign Milf for half of what he is on, as well as offloading Boyd and especially Bird, you can go with:

1. Ponga
6. Milf
7. Croft/Dearden
9. Turpin

Yep that would be gold!

Milford isn't taking half of what he's on, not in a million years, so it's pointless to even consider it an option. Even if that's all we wanted to pay, there isn't a shred of doubt he could attract way more than that from rival clubs. He might take less overall to stay in Brisbane, but no agent would ever negotiate a deal for him where he took half his current pay.

 

[heartly87]

He has been our best player since his arrival hands down. Has been our only threat in the spine for such a long time now. It is a shame he couldn't just focus on playing his game. Hopefully that looks to have changed. We need him. Will be disappointed beyond belief if he moves on.

 

[Kooly87]

He has been our best player since his arrival hands down. Has been our only threat in the spine for such a long time now. It is a shame he couldn't just focus on playing his game. Hopefully that looks to have changed. We need him. Will be disappointed beyond belief if he moves on.

Your point about him not getting to play his natural game is an entirely valid one, but honestly, we need to stop justifying Milford on the basis that he's at different times been our best player during his tenure as a Bronco, because it just isn't a sound way to evaluate his next deal.

If you need damning evidence of how little it's meant to be the best player at the Broncos in the last few years, ask yourself this question: "Who's been our second and third best players during that same period?" The answer is honestly the sound of crickets chirping, because there are no clear cut answers. We haven't had Dally M position winners, we've had bugger all consistent Rep players. We've been the least 'star studded' Broncos side in our history.

That alone should show you how little competition Milford has had for the title and why it means so little, because on balance we just haven't had enough great or even really good players during that time, which is now evidenced by the fact that the majority of the squad from 2015 are either moved on, or in the process of being moved on.

Simply put, using the way he's performed compared to his mediocre and even outright poor team mates over the last five years as the sole measure of whether he should get an upgraded new deal is a pretty dumb and illogical idea.

If he want's $900k again, the question shouldn't be about how well he performed compared to the team mates we've already successfully parted ways with over the last few years, it should be about what we'll likely get for a return on that investment, and whether that is the best thing we can buy with that sum of money. It's not about comparing Milford to the other Broncos of the last 4-5 years, it's about comparing him to the other $900k players of the last 4-5 years, and being entirely objective and realistic, you could say he's been mid-pack at th absolute best, and that's only because some clubs like the Titans and Tigers have paid some insane amounts for some even worse returns.

$900k a season players should be leaders of the club, either currently incumbent in Rep jerseys or busting down the door to get a Rep jersey. They should be consistently challenging for a Dally M position award, even the Dally M itself. They should be leading us to Grand Finals and/or delivering us Premierships. Milford may have been generally around about the best player at the Broncos, but he hasn't really been any of those things to us during his time here.

 

[The Strapper]

Your point about him not getting to play his natural game is an entirely valid one, but honestly, we need to stop justifying Milford on the basis that he's at different times been our best player during his tenure as a Bronco, because it just isn't a sound way to evaluate his next deal.

If you need damning evidence of how little it's meant to be the best player at the Broncos in the last few years, ask yourself this question: "Who's been our second and third best players during that same period?" The answer is honestly the sound of crickets chirping, because there are no clear cut answers. We haven't had Dally M position winners, we've had bugger all consistent Rep players. We've been the least 'star studded' Broncos side in our history.

That alone should show you how little competition Milford has had for the title and why it means so little, because on balance we just haven't had enough great or even really good players during that time, which is now evidenced by the fact that the majority of the squad from 2015 are either moved on, or in the process of being moved on.

Simply put, using the way he's performed compared to his mediocre and even outright poor team mates over the last five years as the sole measure of whether he should get an upgraded new deal is a pretty dumb and illogical idea.

If he want's $900k again, the question shouldn't be about how well he performed compared to the team mates we've already successfully parted ways with over the last few years, it should be about what we'll likely get for a return on that investment, and whether that is the best thing we can buy with that sum of money. It's not about comparing Milford to the other Broncos of the last 4-5 years, it's about comparing him to the other $900k players of the last 4-5 years, and being entirely objective and realistic, you could say he's been mid-pack at th absolute best, and that's only because some clubs like the Titans and Tigers have paid some insane amounts for some even worse returns.

$900k a season players should be leaders of the club, either currently incumbent in Rep jerseys or busting down the door to get a Rep jersey. They should be consistently challenging for a Dally M position award, even the Dally M itself. They should be leading us to Grand Finals and/or delivering us Premierships. Milford may have been generally around about the best player at the Broncos, but he hasn't really been any of those things to us during his time here.

Have to agree with most of this.
While milf has arguably been one of our best players it has been as you say amongst a pretty mediocre bunch of performers except in 2015.
Since 2017 at least he has effectively been on overs. I know that means theoretically he should get less for his next deal to balance the ledger as it were but I know it doesn't work like that.
Still even to get the same money for his next deal he needs to really shine this season and press for club player of the year.
I find it difficult to make a call on him yet and hope the club waits until the end of the season before making a decision on him.

 

[Xzei]

Will be up to him at the end of this year I'm sure the player option is in his favor right?

 

[tommy]

Your point about him not getting to play his natural game is an entirely valid one, but honestly, we need to stop justifying Milford on the basis that he's at different times been our best player during his tenure as a Bronco, because it just isn't a sound way to evaluate his next deal.

If you need damning evidence of how little it's meant to be the best player at the Broncos in the last few years, ask yourself this question: "Who's been our second and third best players during that same period?" The answer is honestly the sound of crickets chirping, because there are no clear cut answers. We haven't had Dally M position winners, we've had bugger all consistent Rep players. We've been the least 'star studded' Broncos side in our history.

That alone should show you how little competition Milford has had for the title and why it means so little, because on balance we just haven't had enough great or even really good players during that time, which is now evidenced by the fact that the majority of the squad from 2015 are either moved on, or in the process of being moved on.

Simply put, using the way he's performed compared to his mediocre and even outright poor team mates over the last five years as the sole measure of whether he should get an upgraded new deal is a pretty dumb and illogical idea.

If he want's $900k again, the question shouldn't be about how well he performed compared to the team mates we've already successfully parted ways with over the last few years, it should be about what we'll likely get for a return on that investment, and whether that is the best thing we can buy with that sum of money. It's not about comparing Milford to the other Broncos of the last 4-5 years, it's about comparing him to the other $900k players of the last 4-5 years, and being entirely objective and realistic, you could say he's been mid-pack at th absolute best, and that's only because some clubs like the Titans and Tigers have paid some insane amounts for some even worse returns.

$900k a season players should be leaders of the club, either currently incumbent in Rep jerseys or busting down the door to get a Rep jersey. They should be consistently challenging for a Dally M position award, even the Dally M itself. They should be leading us to Grand Finals and/or delivering us Premierships. Milford may have been generally around about the best player at the Broncos, but he hasn't really been any of those things to us during his time here.

This is why I'm willing to give him more time though. He was really thrown under the bus by our last coach. He has really looked so much better with a genuine halfback next to him only 2 games mind you. He can still be the player he was in '15 imo. Just needs to work hard to get back to his natural game.

 

[The Strapper]

Will be up to him at the end of this year I'm sure the player option is in his favor right?

Yes I think it is but I also think he will want to know where he stands beyond just 2021.

 

[Kooly87]

This is why I'm willing to give him more time though. He was really thrown under the bus by our last coach. He has really looked so much better with a genuine halfback next to him only 2 games mind you. He can still be the player he was in '15 imo. Just needs to work hard to get back to his natural game.

Honestly, I hope that's true. Sincerely I do, because in 2015 he was a great player and it would be the best thing possible for the club if he got back to that level.

My concern is, that 2014/2015 Milford at the Raiders and Broncos was 5-6 years ago now. He's an older, heavier (not all bad), more structured player. He's far more rounded and his kicking game in particular has been hugely developed, but that explosiveness and ability to get into broken play has as you said been to a large extent Coached out of him, and for such a long time now that it is entirely possible it's too far gone now and won't ever come back. Those things tend to decline as you get older, not get better.

In 2015 we purchased a fairly devastating ball running 5/8, and because of our own poor decisions as a club, we basically spent the whole 4 years since 2015 trying to turn him into a gun Halfback, with only mixed results. I suspect that on that trajectory he would have become a decent enough Halfback on talent and work alone, but he was never going to become elite in that role, despite the fact that he has worked tremendously hard at skills that were clearly outside his natural abilities and comfort zone.

So now we have a guy we pay top shelf Halfback money for, who can't and probably won't ever deliver that level of performance because it doesn't suit his natural abilities, and now our best bet is that he can go back to being a gun ball running 5/8 to justify the money, but it's a huge gamble given how far back it was since he was last that kind of player.

So my argument is simple, if we remove the emotional attachment to a guy we've poured time and work into, and treat him like any other potential investment of that money out there in the NRL marketplace, that we could spend that money on far less risky propositions with more recent performances to justify the investment, and probably a higher level of upside potential.

 

[Kooly87]

Yes I think it is but I also think he will want to know where he stands beyond just 2021.

Yep, this is likely very true. If his agent is happy to let him take a one year extension without testing the market or getting some firm gauge on our plans for him and his next deal, then he seriously needs a new agent.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

Milf will be fine. He's finally being allowed to play his way with a coach who knows how to use him.

He's had two games. Improved fitness. Done discipline to get and stay fit. Good first preseason in years.

This thread will die come Midway through season and we'll all be cheering.

 

[Sproj]

Milf will be fine. He's finally being allowed to play his way with a coach who knows how to use him.

He's had two games. Improved fitness. Done discipline to get and stay fit. Good first preseason in years.

This thread will die come Midway through season and we'll all be cheering.

That is what we all hope happens.