I think people are underestimating how big this whole saga has the potential to be.
Seeing as the Canberra offer to Milford that runs into the millions hasn't officially been confirmed by anybody, lets hypothesize that it is actually true. It is a testament to the stupidity, desperation and ineptness of the Canberra Raiders that they would be willing to set such a precedent.
A 19 year old player with less than a full season of first grade football under his belt in the same pay bracket as Johnathon Thurston. Just let that sink in for a minute. That is just obscene and irresponsible to not only throw that much pressure of expectation onto the back of a single player, let alone such a young and inexperienced one, but to also send a message to other juniors across the code that they can play 18 games of decent but not necessarily extraordinary footy and then can expect to be signed on to deals north of 500K a season.
It is common sense to expect that other clubs would not be so dumb as to replicate this behavior. The Broncs seemingly not willing to match Canberra's offer being testament enough to that, despite the fact both our 6 and 7 are effectively vacant (Hunt by no means has a monopoly on a halves position yet). What happens when other codes smell an opportunity to satisfy those over inflated expectations? The NRL loses more young talent by the tonne. The whole code could suffer as a result.
To be perfectly honest, if that dollar figure is real and on the table, I would not blame Milford at all for jumping on that opportunity like a cat on a ball of yarn. It would be a deeply short sighted and naive decision, but Milf is young and confident in his abilities. All he would see is the dollar signs and the potential pedigree that would earn him as a player for the rest of his career. He would not bat an eyelash at the amount of pressure he would be putting on himself.
As for where we stand, I would rather take a risk on Strasser and Hunt together than resort to such desperate measures. Canberra might have to find ways to bury the shittiness of both the club and the area in which it resides under a mountain of money but we don't, especially now that we're taking back our territory in Logan.
If Milf moves to Brissy, we get back on the right track with some optimistic young talent while Canberra maintain their status quo as a hemorrhaging club. If Milf accepts Canberra's offer, they piss away their whole salary cap, the media has something to talk about for a few weeks, we go back to trying to solve our halves crisis and the whole arrangement at Canberra eventually ends in tears.
The truth is, a lot of young players can't handle the pressure and having that much money.
Milford has already been in trouble for drinking before the Warriors game and "couldn't handle the pressure".
How many times do we see young talent go off the rails from partying, gambling, drugs, poor decisions, especially in Canberra.
He obviously has some desire to move home, be with his friends, family and girlfriend, or he never would have asked for the release.
Using money to keep a player somewhere he doesn't want to be is very dangerous for Milford's Career.
Again, the players revolted against Furner and Ferguson for favourable treatment. As if they're not going to be pissed about him earning that much.
What's Milford worth in 3 years after the $1m contract is up? He's hardly going to want to take a massive pay cut.
I thought $350k was pretty generous for him. Given he's only played 18 games.
DCE: premiership winner, QLD and Australian rep = $500k
Milford: 18 NRL games = $1000k
As he plays more games, the good coaches will figure out how to best nullify his game and he'll have to adapt.
You're right, I'd rather take a gamble on a Hunt/Strasser/Taylor/Barba halves pairing, than commit that kind of coin.
