NRL Player Movement and Rumours 2018

[GCBRONCO]

Well Roosters now have money to sign 4 internationals + TPJ.

With room to spare to sign Kahu and Glenn that is being conservative too.

 

[Super Freak]

Moley is reporting that Issac Luke is off to the Knights. They are offering him a better deal.

Apparently the Warriors are only offering Luke a one-year deal, which is smart considering he is only consistently good in the contract years.

 

[Battler]

That should bode well for us keeping TPJ. Surely the Knights are at the cap now, their entire squad consists of blokes being paid over their market value (with a couple of fluke junior signings that paid off in the form of Ponga and Ramien, who are probably being paid their market value. Ponga, if he's on 600k, could be the only bargain they've got).

 

[The True King]

That should bode well for us keeping TPJ. Surely the Knights are at the cap now, their entire squad consists of blokes being paid over their market value (with a couple of fluke junior signings that paid off in the form of Ponga and Ramien, who are probably being paid their market value. Ponga, if he's on 600k, could be the only bargain they've got).

I wonder what Fitzgibbon is on. He's a cracking player and I think he's a local product. I can't imagine that five-eight Watson is on big money either seeing as the Roosters were more than happy to let him go.

 

[Unbreakable]

Cleary re-signed with the Panthers until 2024.

 

[Foordy]

Mason Lino has signed with the Knights on a 2 year deal

 

[Allo]

Barba officially a Cowboy

https://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2018/09/25/barba-to-join-cowboys-in-2019/

The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys have signed Dally M winning fullback Ben Barba to a one-year deal for the 2019 season.
Barba joins the club on the back of a stellar season for St Helens in the UK Super League where he currently leads all players with 26 tries and ranks third with 24 try assists.

Prior to departing for England, Barba played 168 NRL games across nine seasons, scoring 99 tries. He debuted for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 2008 and won the Dally M Medal in 2012.
Following a brief one-season stint with the Brisbane Broncos in 2014, Barba joined the Cronulla Sharks in 2015 and was a key member of the club's premiership-winning outfit in 2016.

A product of Mackay in North Queensland, Barba was originally signed with St Helens for next season, but the club agreed to release the fullback from the final year of his contract to allow him to return home.
Cowboys Director of Football Peter Parr said the club was excited to welcome Barba for the 2019 season.
"Ben's form this year for St Helens has been of the highest standard. He's been the best fullback if not the best player in the English Super League," Parr said.
"He is from Mackay and has always had a desire to play for the Cowboys, but for whatever reasons the stars never aligned until now.
"Ben has been looking to return to the NRL and with an opening at the fullback position at our club it presented the opportunity for him to do that."

Head coach Paul Green believes Barba will be a great fit for the Cowboys in 2019.
"Ben is an extremely gifted player and I believe he can be a huge asset for our side next season," Green said.
"He has been in fantastic form for St Helens and he still has a great deal to offer at NRL level.
"Ben hails from North Queensland and he is excited to be able to return home and represent the region."

St Helens CEO Mike Rush gave a glowing endorsement of Barba's contribution to the club since he joined the English rugby league powerhouse in June 2017.
"Ben instantly became a popular and valued member of the squad, who is loved by his peers and the coaching staff," Rush said.
"He has been excellent off the field with our sponsors and has engaged with a multitude of community projects including running an impromptu session with our junior members and visiting local schools.
"He has also been an integral part of the establishment of our women's team, taking time to train with them and pass on his knowledge."

 

[Alec]

Barba officially a Cowboy

https://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2018/09/25/barba-to-join-cowboys-in-2019/

That's a good signing for them. They'll still miss Thurston a **** load, but a fit Barba is damn good addition.

 

[Morkel]

I'm getting a lot of perverted sick pleasure out of thinking about the Cam Smith contract situation.

I know a lot of this is based on my personal feelings towards Smith, but it is fun to speculate.

* It says to me that had the Storm not cheated to keep Smith, he would have certainly left the Storm. Right now, at the twilight of his career, it would be the time for a "good bloke" to take a pay cut. As the captain, if he had the best interests of the club at heart, he would know that the Storm need as much money as they can to recruit or retain the players needed for the succession plan. And we all know Smith has been well paid for his services in the past, he doesn't need the money. So if he's not willing to take a pay cut now, would he have been willing to do so effectively at the peak of his powers? Unlikely.

* The rift with Cronk we don't know the details of. But you could assume there would be a bit of hard feelings there about Cronk leaving the Storm. Who knows if earlier in their careers they made a pact to stay together, to not play against each other. Smith may feel that Cronk's personal life isn't good enough reason to break that pact. So how would it be if Smith now abandons the Storm, not even for love, but for money? Maybe with the other two gone he feels the Beatles have already broken up, there is no band any more, but still, where's the loyalty to the Storm?

* Bellamy would be sweating bullets. I can only assume that his decision to remain at the Storm had some kind of assurance that Smith would be there, he is Bellamy's meal ticket after all. So Bellyache would be pretty shitty if Smith dropped him quicker than a State of Origin team. Maybe Smith knows this and expects that the Storm, under Bellamy's instruction, will cave to his demands? It'd be nice for Smith to **** over the Storm for once with his contract negotiations rather than other clubs.

* Just thinking about the Storm with no Slater, no Cronk, no Smith, a bunch of arrogant, entitled grubs like Munster, Scott, Vunivalu, etc getting smacked in the face with the reality of how hard it is without Captain Smith, and all the while Bellamy chewing them out with venom after every loss. The fuckers will be burned out and threatening mutiny before the season's end. Delicious.

 

[Nashy]

But don't worry. You can talk about

https://broncoshq.com/threads/nrl-rumour-and-movements-2019.36429/