NRL Player Movements & Rumours

[Nashy]

Apparently Corey Allan really isn’t happy that Bennett is heading to Souths

Made his bed.

 

[Super Freak]

are they even permitted to be that far under the salary cap? 2.2 million under would mean they are only spending around 70% of the salary cap

Apparently the reason Knights have so much money to spend now is because they front-ended a lot of the contracts.

 

[Dexter]

Apparently the reason Knights have so much money to spend now is because they front-ended a lot of the contracts.

Yep I think that's correct . I remember reading that they had to do it to satisfy the 95% spend of the cap rule.

 

[theshed]

The knights have been very smart with their cap lately. Its very impressive how patient they’ve been in rebuilding.

The have front ended a lot of contracts during the years where there wasn’t a lot of talent available. They took a big risk with Ponga and it paid off huge. Other than that they have sat around and just waited for big names to fall onto the market. They are still a few big names short of a consistent top 8 team but another big spine player and another big forward and they are doing alright. Great management.

 

[Marty Deutschmann]

The knights have been very smart with their cap lately. Its very impressive how patient they’ve been in rebuilding.

The have front ended a lot of contracts during the years where there wasn’t a lot of talent available. They took a big risk with Ponga and it paid off huge. Other than that they have sat around and just waited for big names to fall onto the market. They are still a few big names short of a consistent top 8 team but another big spine player and another big forward and they are doing alright. Great management.

Fixed little head's issues?

 

[Super Freak]

Hymel Hunt is off to the Knights signing a one year deal.

 

[john1420]

"St George Illawarra has upped the ante in their pursuit of Jarryd Hayne, with the club prepared to release fullback Matt Dufty in a bid to free up the funds required to meet the cross-code star’s asking price......The Dragons aren’t sold on Dufty as their long-term No.1. Dufty has shown flashes of brilliance during his 32-game NRL career, scoring 15 tries and displaying blistering pace. However, there are concerns about his lack of size and consistency, prompting the interest in Hayne."

So let's be clear, you have concerns over Dufty's form being inconsistent, so you look to replace him with Jarryd freaking Hayne?

Not sure if you realise this McGregor, Hayne isn't exactly Mr Consistency


https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/dr...ty-in-order-to-nab-hayne-20181113-p50fte.html

 

[Old Mate]

Wow. I liked what I had seen from Dufty, maybe they’d like a consistent performer in Boyd as a trade.

 

[Harry Sack]

Wow. I liked what I had seen from Dufty, maybe they’d like a consistent performer in Boyd as a trade.

From what I've read, Dufty thinks an awful lot of himself and basically wants top tier FB money. I'm sure they'd like to keep him, but not for what he's allegedly asking.

 

[Sproj]

But surely they'd need someone willing to sign Dufty on the money he thinks he deserves, that would not be easy at all. Jarryd Hayne is also not being pursued by that many sides it seems either.

 

[Battler]

Dufty is shit. All he has is speed, he's like Johnston from the Rabbitohs with less size and less heart.

 

[Unbreakable]

Yeah I don't rate Dufty either, in terms of the young Fullbacks who just came in, Dylan Edwards is considerably better imo.

 

[Big Pete]

Supposedly the Dragons are looking to offload Kurt Mann instead of Matt Dufty which makes more sense. I don't know how big a future Dufty will have, but I thought he made a tremendous difference to the Dragons this year and it'd be foolish to throw that all the way. Especially for a player like Jarryd Hayne who hasn't played a full season at fullback since 2014.

I'm not sure if I like the idea of Hayne playing for the Dragons. I don't think he'll play his best footy for the Red V and I don't think he'll be a good fit for the Red V either. Jarryd is one of the most talented footballers to have ever played the sport, but he's the type of player you have to build a team around, he can't just come into a system.

The other concern is that Hayne's body doesn't seem up to the rigors of the NRL anymore. In 2017 he missed six games through injury and in 2018 he missed nine games. If you include the games where he had to come off or was clearly struggling with something, it just seems like too big a risk for somebody with his price tag.

If Jarryd wants to be remembered fondly, he'll accept less money to stay at Parramatta, fill Radradra's spot at the left wing and go down as one of the greatest ever Parramatta players. If he chooses to leave, he'll just become that journeyman player who was good once.

 

[Sproj]

Supposedly the Dragons are looking to offload Kurt Mann instead of Matt Dufty which makes more sense. I don't know how big a future Dufty will have, but I thought he made a tremendous difference to the Dragons this year and it'd be foolish to throw that all the way. Especially for a player like Jarryd Hayne who hasn't played a full season at fullback since 2014.

I'm not sure if I like the idea of Hayne playing for the Dragons. I don't think he'll play his best footy for the Red V and I don't think he'll be a good fit for the Red V either. Jarryd is one of the most talented footballers to have ever played the sport, but he's the type of player you have to build a team around, he can't just come into a system.

The other concern is that Hayne's body doesn't seem up to the rigors of the NRL anymore. In 2017 he missed six games through injury and in 2018 he missed nine games. If you include the games where he had to come off or was clearly struggling with something, it just seems like too big a risk for somebody with his price tag.

If Jarryd wants to be remembered fondly, he'll accept less money to stay at Parramatta, fill Radradra's spot at the left wing and go down as one of the greatest ever Parramatta players. If he chooses to leave, he'll just become that journeyman player who was good once.

It would be hard to argue he isn't already that and not much can change it with whatever short time he has left in his career.

 

[Big Pete]

What I mean is, he won't have the same level of diehard support. There's a contingent of Eels fans who believe in Jarryd and will vouch for him despite his indifferent form since his return. Even though he isn't a one club player, his stint at the Titans can easily be rationalized as a necessary vacation as the Eels sorted out their salary cap to bring him over.

If he leaves, he'll lose that support and unless he can help lead St. George to premiership success, they won't get behind him either.

 

[Alec]

I'd like to see him at the Roosters to see what new excuse the media will use for their salary cap.

 

[Big Pete]

The news went through to the keeper on here largely due to the Josh McGuire --> Cowboys business, but Trent Merrin leaving the NRL feels like a big moment.

It wasn't that long ago Merrin was a mainstay of the NSW pack and was considered among the best forwards in the game. Every year it seemed like Merrin was just on the cusp of breaking into that elite category yet time and time again he remained a good club player. When Merrin left the Dragons to accept a starting spot in the Panthers forward pack, it seemed like a real now or never moment for him. Despite a handful of performances, Merrin never quite measured up. In fact he was exposed pretty badly, being moved out of his favoured lock forward position for a 'harder' player in James Fisher-Harris and getting benched time and time again.

I'd love to find the article where Gus took aim at the NSW selectors and basically blamed the omission of Merrin as a key factor in the Blues losing the series. I wonder with the benefit of hindsight whether he thought Merrin really was that crucial?

It also felt fitting that Merrin's departure occurred on the same day as McGuire's. I always saw them as very similar players and while I thought Merrin had a touch more upside to his performances, ultimately I think McGuire has had the better career and really overachieved.

It will be interesting to see what Penrith will do with the extra cash. Merrin was a marquee signing who was delivering mediocre performances so whether it goes into keeping the squad together or luring a player like Martin Taupau remains to be seen. If Penrith could bring a player like him, Klemmer or Segeyaro into the club I'd consider it a net gain. Segs' is a wild card, but the #9 has been a real position of weakness and Segs was far and away their best option when he was at his best.

 

[theshed]

I’d like to see him at a club like Melbourne or Roosters just to see what a strong coach and system could extract from him. Highly talented people often need to be led by respectable, strong-willed mentors and teams to perform at their highest. A little bit like Latrell Mitchell and Cameron Munster.

Yeah I would’ve liked the Roosters to have signed him on his return from the nrl. They would’ve made him a beast at centre.