Corey Parker announces retirement

[Morkel]

It's interesting that that article mentioned Parker first coming in and his relationship with Webcke, because this reminds me a lot of Webcke hanging up the boots. He could have easily played another couple of years, but he choose to go out on his terms, at the top of his game. With no evidence to the contrary, I have to imagine that that is what Corey is doing as well.

It's a shame to see him go, but he'll easily go down as one of the best forwards the Broncos ever produced. Exactly the type of player you want wearing your team's jersey. If only we had more like him.

Webcke was pretty shot. Like most forwards he had no knees left. He dropped his weight and put absolutely everything in to that last year.

 

[Unbreakable]

History speaks for itself Unbreakable, although you might have been around long enough to be aware of it. In WB's clubs it is usually WB that is moving a player on. He did it to Lewis, he did it to Gilly, he did it to Hodgo last year and if you give me time I can nominate some more. Tried to do it to Hancock, but he was too stubborn to cop the tip and played on. Did it to Barba.

Also, did you see the tweet from Chris Garry:-

Breaking: with @PMalone_CMail Broncos will announce future of captain Corey Parker today. Parker wanted extension but now expected to retire

From Chris Garry.

Sort of implies to me that there is more to the story than Parker have a Road to Damascus moment and suddenly deciding to retire.

The difference between all those players that you named and Parker is that they were all on a massive decline due to injury, old age or just plain bad. (Barba)

Chris Garry also reported that Parker retiring would free up very little cap space, so there's not a single reason that Bennett would've had to tap him on the shoulder, he's still our best forward, and he's not eating up cap space.

 

[Culhwch]

Webcke was pretty shot. Like most forwards he had no knees left. He dropped his weight and put absolutely everything in to that last year.

Might just be me looking back with rose-tinted glasses, then! Still I hope that Parker goes out the same way Webbie did.

 

[lynx000]

The difference between all those players that you named and Parker is that they were all on a massive decline due to injury, old age or just plain bad. (Barba)

Chris Garry also reported that Parker retiring would free up very little cap space, so there's not a single reason that Bennett would've had to tap him on the shoulder, he's still our best forward, and he's not eating up cap space.

Lewis was the captain of Queensland and Australia at the time he was moved on by Bennett and he went to captain Queensland the next season and also play for Australia. He also won his 8th man of the match for Qld in the first origin that year. So yep he was a spent force. Hancock went on to play for the club for a few years after getting the tap from Bennett, including a GF appearance.

Nothing I will say will force you to remove your rose coloured glasses about Bennett, but I have been following his coaching career for 40 years. And to be clear, if he has played a role in the decision, I am not suggesting that it has been done maliciously or vindictively, he would have a plan and the best interests of the club at heart.

 

[Unbreakable]

Lewis was the captain of Queensland and Australia at the time he was moved on by Bennett and he went to captain Queensland the next season and also play for Australia. He also won his 8th man of the match for Qld in the first origin that year. So yep he was a spent force. Hancock went on to play for the club for a few years after getting the tap from Bennett, including a GF appearance.

Nothing I will say will force you to remove your rose coloured glasses about Bennett, but I have been following his coaching career for 40 years. And to be clear, if he has played a role in the decision, I am not suggesting that it has been done maliciously or vindictively, he would have a plan and the best interests of the club at heart.

Lewis being the captain of Queensland & Australia has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he was on a decline, he would've been selected and named captain of Queensland & Australia in 90' regardless of his form. Man of the Match for Queensland in 91', fair enough, he was a legend that always stepped up for Queensland.

The point is, he was clearly going downhill at the time he was not offered a contract by the Broncos, Walters & Langer were the better (certainly long-term) options in the halves. There is absolutely no comparison to the Lewis situation and the current Parker situation.

Lewis - Form diminishing, broken arm twice in final season for Broncos, better options available at Five-Eighth, minimal cap space available to re-sign him.
Parker - Form of his career, never injured, no immediately better options at Lock, cap space available to sign him for 2016.

Where's the comparison lynx..

 

[lynx000]

If you need lines drawn or a picture drawn for you UB to help you understand, I will attempt to do so. They both had about 1-2 years left in their careers. We have cap pressures and we have younger players that have to be accommodated in the squad.

Out of idle curiosity, were you even born in 1990-1991? I find it difficult to take seriously someone that suggests a 1990 version of Kevin Walters was a better player/better option than Wally Lewis. Were you really suggesting that? The decision by Bennett to move Lewis on was entirely political and done to put his stamp on the playing group.


I will throw another at you as well, Gillmeister. Moved on after we had won the 1993 GF. Played for a further three years including captaining his State in a depleted Origin team and winning the series 3-0.

Because you do seem to have some difficulties understanding, let me be clear again I am not suggesting that this has happened as a fact, I am stating my opinion that I would be disappointed if it has.

 

[Unbreakable]

If you need lines drawn or a picture drawn for you UB to help you understand, I will attempt to do so. They both had about 1-2 years left in their careers. We have cap pressures and we have younger players that have to be accommodated in the squad.

Out of idle curiosity, were you even born in 1990-1991? I find it difficult to take seriously someone that suggests a 1990 version of Kevin Walters was a better player/better option than Wally Lewis. Were you really suggesting that? The decision by Bennett to move Lewis on was entirely political and done to put his stamp on the playing group.


I will throw another at you as well, Gillmeister. Moved on after we had won the 1993 GF. Played for a further three years including captaining his State in a depleted Origin team and winning the series 3-0.

Because you do seem to have some difficulties understanding, let me be clear again I am not suggesting that this has happened as a fact, I am stating my opinion that I would be disappointed if it has.

I am enjoying the fact that you preface and end all of your replies with an insult, I thought old men were meant to be jolly. :lol:

I am well aware of the fact that Bennett has moved players on in years gone by, he's openly admitted to doing so, you're not breaking new ground here. I'm simply arguing the fact that this doesn't have the same feel to it as the others you've named, they all had reasons for being moved on, as I've said, whether it be age, injury or better options coming through. Parker is on the veteran allowance, so moving him on will hardly relieve the salary cap pressure you're referring to, he's still in phenomenal form, so moving him on for that reason is out of the question, and we haven't got a Lock laying in wait who's proven himself to be a superior option in the short-term or long-term future. Guys like Arrow, Su'A and Pangai have all shown glimpses, but not even close to enough to warrant the tap on the shoulder you're alluding to.

I look forward to hearing the next wave of insults from you about how I'm too young to have enough Rugby League knowledge to have a discussion with you.

 

[Jason Simmons]

Any idea on if we're planing on signing anyone this century? Or are we just planing on releasing and retiring all of our top 25.

We have had plenty of club clear outs over the years...

Who says they haven't signed anyone to replace Parker or any of the other positions? Should the focus be taken off Parker's retirement, a genuine club legend and club captain, just to say we've signed 'xx'?

I suspect that even if we clean out 4 or 5 players from the current crop, we will see plenty of replacements in due course and (hopefully) some quality to replace what we are losing...

 

[lynx000]

I am enjoying the fact that you preface and end all of your replies with an insult, I thought old men were meant to be jolly. :lol:

I am well aware of the fact that Bennett has moved players on in years gone by, he's openly admitted to doing so, you're not breaking new ground here. I'm simply arguing the fact that this doesn't have the same feel to it as the others you've named, they all had reasons for being moved on, as I've said, whether it be age, injury or better options coming through. Parker is on the veteran allowance, so moving him on will hardly relieve the salary cap pressure you're referring to, he's still in phenomenal form, so moving him on for that reason is out of the question, and we haven't got a Lock laying in wait who's proven himself to be a superior option in the short-term or long-term future. Guys like Arrow, Su'A and Pangai have all shown glimpses, but not even close to enough to warrant the tap on the shoulder you're alluding to.

I look forward to hearing the next wave of insults from you about how I'm too young to have enough Rugby League knowledge to have a discussion with you.

As I have already indicated, nothing I will say will alter your view about Bennett, but carry on UB, all aboard SS Wayne toot toot. PS, you still did not answer the question, nice diversion though. You obviously do not know many old people.

Re the bolded, not at all, but I was not the one that jumped all over someone else's post and made disparaging remarks, the event which commenced our discussion. I just thought I would respond with the equal amount of respect that you provided.

 

[Dexter]

I am enjoying the fact that you preface and end all of your replies with an insult, I thought old men were meant to be jolly. :lol:

I am well aware of the fact that Bennett has moved players on in years gone by, he's openly admitted to doing so, you're not breaking new ground here. I'm simply arguing the fact that this doesn't have the same feel to it as the others you've named, they all had reasons for being moved on, as I've said, whether it be age, injury or better options coming through. Parker is on the veteran allowance, so moving him on will hardly relieve the salary cap pressure you're referring to, he's still in phenomenal form, so moving him on for that reason is out of the question, and we haven't got a Lock laying in wait who's proven himself to be a superior option in the short-term or long-term future. Guys like Arrow, Su'A and Pangai have all shown glimpses, but not even close to enough to warrant the tap on the shoulder you're alluding to.

I look forward to hearing the next wave of insults from you about how I'm too young to have enough Rugby League knowledge to have a discussion with you.

IMO this is simply financial. Parker probably had 1 year left and we need to keep building. Sam is still contracted until the end of 2018, Wallace and Gillett have to be resigned as yet. This along with Glenn, Macca and McGuire (end of 2017) and the 3 or 4 young guns coming through it really only left Parker. If we signed Parker we probably lose Wallace and or Gillett.

 

[austin71]

Did i read somewhere that Ben Teo was in the rooms after the Canberra game the other night. Handy replacement. He's no Corey Parker though!

 

[I bleed Maroon]

Bennett made it clear at the presser that this was Cozza's decision and nobody else, so I'm happy for him. He is going out on his own terms, at his best instead of at his worst. Can't judge him for that.

350+ games, Premierships, Origins, Tests and he is captaining his club in his final year. Not much else he could hope to achieve by playing on. Incredible player and an incredible career. I wish him nothing but the best.

 

[Unbreakable]

As I have already indicated, nothing I will say will alter your view about Bennett, but carry on UB, all aboard SS Wayne toot toot

Which view on Bennett are you referring to mate, I literally said in my last post that it's common knowledge that he's moved people on before, I know he's no saint when it comes to making tough decisions for the betterment of the club, once again, for the 3rd or 4th time, Parker retiring doesn't improve our position as an NRL club, and Wayne isn't as stupid as some people seem to believe, therefore the only logical conclusion I can come to is that Parker retired on his own accord.. Surely someone with your wealth of knowledge on the game can see that Parker "being tapped on the shoulder" is extremely unlikely given the current situation.

PS, you still did not answer the question, nice diversion though.

You asked 2 questions in your previous post, unsure as to which you think I'm avoiding. I was born in 1991, turned 25 last week. If you're referring to the statement about Walters being a better option that Lewis in 1991, I put the words long-term in brackets, which is pretty undeniable considering Wally's age & injury status at the time of the decision.

IMO this is simply financial. Parker probably had 1 year left and we need to keep building. Sam is still contracted until the end of 2018, Wallace and Gillett have to be resigned as yet. This along with Glenn (end of 2017) and the 3 or 4 young guns coming through it really only left Parker. If we signed Parker we probably lose Wallace and or Gillett.

I mean, it's certainly possible that Parker stepped back a year early similar to what Hodges did to keep the young blokes around at the club, but according to Chris Garry (who seems to be the most "in-the-know" media personality regarding Broncos contract situations), Parker retiring won't free up much cap space at all, due to him being on the "veteran allowance", I believe it's called, which is a set amount of money for each club that doesn't come out of the salary cap.

 

[lynx000]

The difference between all those players that you named and Parker is that they were all on a massive decline due to injury, old age or just plain bad. (Barba)

Chris Garry also reported that Parker retiring would free up very little cap space, so there's not a single reason that Bennett would've had to tap him on the shoulder, he's still our best forward, and he's not eating up cap space.

Lewis - Form diminishing, broken arm twice in final season for Broncos, better options available at Five-Eighth, minimal cap space available to re-sign him.
Parker - Form of his career, never injured, no immediately better options at Lock, cap space available to sign him for 2016.

Where's the comparison lynx..

I am enjoying the fact that you preface and end all of your replies with an insult, I thought old men were meant to be jolly. :lol:

IParker is on the veteran allowance, so moving him on will hardly relieve the salary cap pressure you're referring to, he's still in phenomenal form, .

Given that Parker is all of the above (and more in my view), that he is still playing at almost his highest level form wise, there is no indication of debilitating injury giving rise to a need to retire. Given that he was looking for a further two years and has quite openly stated to all and sundry that he was fine to play on, that he loved playing with the younger guys and mentoring them (this was all in the last three weeks) and in that two years would have smashed just about every record including Lockys, you will have to excuse me UB for at least pondering if their might be more to it. He has also indicated how much that six years he missed playing Origin hurt him. Why would he give that up when all that you have indicated about his form and his health is true?

What is your theory then for such a drastic change in intentions by Parker?

All of the above is why the sudden decision did not make sense to me. It may well be something that we are completely unaware of and not related to the club at all. As I posted originally, I hope it is because he has found himself something lucrative to do work wise post retirement that was not consistent with playing on.

 

[Unbreakable]

Given that Parker is all of the above (and more in my view), that he is still playing at almost his highest level form wise, there is no indication of debilitating injury giving rise to a need to retire. Given that he was looking for a further two years and has quite openly stated to all and sundry that he was fine to play on, that he loved playing with the younger guys and mentoring them (this was all in the last three weeks) and in that two years would have smashed just about every record including Lockys, you will have to excuse me UB for at least pondering if their might be more to it. He has also indicated how much that six years he missed playing Origin hurt him. Why would he give that up when all that you have indicated about his form and his health is true?

What is your theory then for such a drastic change in intentions by Parker?

I've gotta take the man on his word, I'm not going to develop some dream scenario in which he was called into Bennett's office Godfather style and told to announce his retirement or he'd wake up with a horse's head in his bed.

He said today that he wanted to go out on top and didn't want to be the guy that the young guys look sideways at training wondering if he's past it, that seems like a pretty reasonable reason to retire if you ask me..

Also; don't be shocked if Fox Sports offered him a considerable amount of money to be a full time member of their NRL shows.

 

[lynx000]

Also; don't be shocked if Fox Sports offered him a considerable amount of money to be a full time member of their NRL shows.

That is exactly what I hope is happening. He has taken really well to that role on Sterlo and in my view presents as a far superior product to most of their collection of ex-players.

 

[GCBRONCO]

I've gotta take the man on his word, I'm not going to develop some dream scenario in which he was called into Bennett's office Godfather style and told to announce his retirement or he'd wake up with a horse's head in his bed.

He said today that he wanted to go out on top and didn't want to be the guy that the young guys look sideways at training wondering if he's past it, that seems like a pretty reasonable reason to retire if you ask me..

Also; don't be shocked if Fox Sports offered him a considerable amount of money to be a full time member of their NRL shows.

 

[bazza]

I'm absolutely devastated by this announcement. It just seems too sudden. Surely with the up and coming young guys, in particular those in the forwards, we required Parker's leadership and presence for a further year at the very least. Parker's exit creates a huge hole to fill, and to be brutally honest, none of our current players will be able to cover his absence. Suddenly our team doesn't look too strong anymore.

This does seem typical Bennett. I'm not suggesting Bennett tapped him on the shoulder, but Bennett is a fantastic man manager who wants the best for all his players. I'm certain Parker would of been in regular talks with Bennett in regards to his future, and Bennett no doubt let him know that a legend of the club like him shouldn't be remembered of going one year too long, which would of created some doubt in Parker's mind. That message probably struck a chord with Corey who has built his career on never letting his teammates down.

It probably won't sink in for a while that every game will now be one closer to his last as a Bronco. A wonderful, honourable servant, not just for the Brisbane Broncos, but for the whole game of Rugby League. Broncos matches next year will feel a little empty that's for sure, but I applaud Parker for going out on his terms.