Who is the last superstar playmaker, that has been successfully lured away from his club, and has not done so due to family reasons?
Until proof of the contrary, the only coach who has caused the Broncos to lose on a superstar (Inglis), was Henjak.
If Griffin goes, it has to be because he is not doing his job and the team isn't performing, not because some anonymous player agent says uncertainty over who the Broncos coach will be next season, is stopping them from considering the club.
Anyone actually believing that Thurston, DCE, Cronk, Smith, Johnson or any other genuine superstar player will move to a different club without circumstances like salary cap / family helping, have rocks in their heads.
Manly would be total fools to let DCE escape, especially after he made clear that getting the captaincy at the club, would go a long way to make him stay. The Warriors were unhappy with SJ for a while, but recognise they have a gem in the kid, and are not about to let him go. This isn't soccer, where clubs like ManUtd or Barcelona can wave millions and attract whomever they want to their clubs. We have a salary cap to contend with, and any player who isn't unhappy at their club, will not move for a meager increase in wages...
Splinter said it well. Under the current system, you can take advantage of the Barba/Milford situations, but you must ensure you identify the stars of the future in time, nurture them through your system, and make sure you hold on to them when the vultures start circling.
If Milford really turns into the player we all hope and expect, we must be willing to lose other players to hold on to him, just like Manly will probably do to retain DCE. Simple as that!
I agree 100% about the signing of superstars. However, what you said is exactly why Griffin is, IMO, such a problem. I think his record with our young players is mediocre at best.
Gillett -- Started off great, but has arguably become inconsistent since and has yet to improve on his ROTY form. In no way would I say 2013 was his best season.
Glenn -- Superb 2012 campaign, identified as future captain of the club and made our vice captain. One year later and he has just had a sub-par 2013 and was overlooked for captaincy after it became available. In no way would I say 2013 was his best season.
Hala -- Has never really lived up to his potential. Not going to say this is Griffin's fault, some players just don't live up to the hype. But it's important to note because he's not the first youngster under Griffin to have that tag.
Hoffman -- Probably an exception in this list as I feel 2013 was his best season for us. However he still seems to think of himself as a fullback and is possibly leaving at the end of the contract?
Hunt -- Was a great prospect. Toyota Cup player of the year, future half etc. So Griffin, in all his wisdom, had him spend 2 years learning his trade as a playmaker by playing him off the bench as a reserve hooker. If Hunt comes good, it is surely in spite of Griffin and not because of him.
McCullough -- Hasn't really made any improvements since his first 2 seasons. If anything, I think he regressed in 2013 from 2012. Still has those bad plays in him despite over 100 games and Griffin having 2 full years to coach it out of him. In no way would I say 2013 was his best season.
McGuire -- IMO he is easily our best developed young player, who has consistently built upon each previous season and will soon be a key piece to our pack, if not already. Probably the only player on this list Griffin gets a high mark for.
Norman -- Consensus is he sucks, and for the most part he did suck for us. But is that Norman's fault or Griffin's. Now that he is under Stuart we'll get to see which way for sure, but Lockyer had big wraps on him and so did some others. Now, like I said, they may not be deserved, but chalk this down to another promising young player Griffin didn't get the best out of. Maybe, like Hala, it's just not to be with Norman, but I'm beginning to sense a trend here.
Oates -- Had a great 2013, but that was his rookie year. Let's hope unlike Gillett he goes from strength to strength, but it wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't even make our 17.
Now not all young players come good, but if you consider where we were at the end of 2011, I think we should be disappointed by how little our youngsters have improved since then.
