Official NRL 2006 Thread

[Dick Rockett]

What I want to know is do Brisbane completely ignore those running around for Norths in the Queensland Cup. Seeing the likes of Greg Inglis being one of the form players this season and had the Broncos being paying attention they could have snapped him up before Melbourne did.

You snooze you lose.

Probably because Brisbane has plenty of decent fullbacks and three-quarters. It's a good halves combo and a good backup hooker they need to be awesome again.

 

[howardj]

Gasnier comes across as a sneaky little bugger.

Bet he plays the League Test, and signs with the 'Tahs a week later.

Wouldn't mind seeing Coops and Hodges in the centres.

 

[Simon]

Tuqiri did it a couple of years ago, its pretty certain he'll sign for union, but i dont care, league doesnt need him and Hodges is better anyway...

 

[Burpey]

Tuqiri did it a couple of years ago, its pretty certain he'll sign for union, but i dont care, league doesnt need him and Hodges is better anyway...

Why doesn't league need him?

 

[sideshowtim]

who's ready to see my mighty roosters crush the dragons tomorrow?

 

[Dick Rockett]

Why doesn't league need him?

Because there are plenty of other excellent, high profile players to fill the gap.

 

[Dick Rockett]

who's ready to see my mighty roosters crush the dragons tomorrow?

Presumably all your mates in la-la land

 

[howardj]

Because there are plenty of other excellent, high profile players to fill the gap.

That's what people always say. Really, there's nobody to replace Gasnier. Nobody as good. Just as nobody has come along to replace Tuquiri - nobody as good, anyway.

 

[Simon]

Why doesn't league need him?

no player is bigger than the game, if he wants to go let him...

 

[sideshowtim]

Presumably all your mates in la-la land

you're probably right although the dragons and the roosters are about as inconsistent as each other so anything could happen.

 

[Burpey]

Because there are plenty of other excellent, high profile players to fill the gap.

Same could be said about any player then. No player is actually 'needed' according to your logic.

no player is bigger than the game, if he wants to go let him...

How is he bigger than the game? Johns almost went to rugby but there was none of this backlash against him. The Knights even got him a contract with Channel 9 so they could afford to keep him. I hate this anti-Gasnier bullcrap.

 

[Simon]

i dont think anyone is anti-Gasnier, but i think there needs to be an example set here, if players want to go to Union you have to let them. We've seen Matt Giteau sign for the Force for over $1m a year, there is absolutely no way league can compete with this sort of money, having a few extra dollars made avaiable for top players to stop them leaving the code wont help, in the end Gasnier will either go for the challenge of playing union+ money or he'll stay for the love of playing league.
its simple really, our game will recover from losing any player pretty much, its not like we will be faced with our whole test team looking to change codes every single year, in the end Gasnier is just one player, and really losing 1 or 2 players a year doesnt hurt the code that much...

 

[Burpey]

i dont think anyone is anti-Gasnier, but i think there needs to be an example set here, if players want to go to Union you have to let them. We've seen Matt Giteau sign for the Force for over $1m a year, there is absolutely no way league can compete with this sort of money, having a few extra dollars made avaiable for top players to stop them leaving the code wont help, in the end Gasnier will either go for the challenge of playing union+ money or he'll stay for the love of playing league.
its simple really, our game will recover from losing any player pretty much, its not like we will be faced with our whole test team looking to change codes every single year, in the end Gasnier is just one player, and really losing 1 or 2 players a year doesnt hurt the code that much...

No, it's not that big a deal. But I can't blame the Dragons and the NRL for wanting to keep him. He is by far the best centre in the game and why would you give up such a valuable player without a fight? He certainly makes watching the game far more enjoyable for me as he most probably does for every other league watcher. It's this that ultimately makes people watch matches and is the best advertisement for our game.

 

[Simon]

the point im trying to make is that he basically has to decided what means more to him, playing league or playing union, no matter what league comes up with the money cant match the ARU's offer, so its basically gonna come down to a personal decision for him. Id rather not see him go cause hes a great player to watch, but ultimately trying to come up with a couple of extra dollars isnt going to help...
he knows what league can offer him, 26 weeks of high quality football (minus the games vs souths) and state of origin, we dont need to sell him the league product, i cant see whatelse can be done to keep him except remind him what he'd be missing out on if he went to union...

 

[Burpey]

In all honesty, I don't think he will go. And if he does, he won't enjoy it and come back to league.

 

[sideshowtim]

gasnier will barely get a touch of the game playing centres in rugby anyway.

plus, we need him for the blues!

 

[Dick Rockett]

Same could be said about any player then. No player is actually 'needed' according to your logic.

I don't know if it qualifies as logic, but yes, that's true. There'll always be excellent players coming through to replace those lost. Would you be as upset if Gasnier suffered a career-ending injury? The end result would be the same, only the circumstances different. I think it's the manner of Gasnier's potential departure that's winding you up.

 

[Dick Rockett]

That's what people always say. Really, there's nobody to replace Gasnier. Nobody as good. Just as nobody has come along to replace Tuquiri - nobody as good, anyway.

That's always going to be a subjective analysis. Personally, I'd rate Matt King over Gasnier, and I reckon Justin Hodges is the best on form at the moment. I won't miss Gasnier at all, but that's just my opinion. Of course other people are likely to disagree.

 

[Simon]

Gasnier and Hodges are better than King, King needs a good halfback to play well, he seems to go a bit MIA a lot, guys like Gasnier and Hodges go looking for the ball and create things for other players...

 

[Burpey]

I don't know if it qualifies as logic, but yes, that's true. There'll always be excellent players coming through to replace those lost. Would you be as upset if Gasnier suffered a career-ending injury? The end result would be the same, only the circumstances different. I think it's the manner of Gasnier's potential departure that's winding you up.

There is a difference. A career-ending injury cannot be helped. A player moving to another club or changing codes can be.