Quote Cruncher="Cruncher"To be honest, no-one of Barrett's standard.
Spending so much money on individual salaries doesn't seem to be the club's policy any more. Whether we think that's a good thing or bad, is entirely a matter of opinion. I'd argue that it's got us into trouble in the past. We lost men to injury, and didn't have anyone to replace them. We also released more youngsters than we should have (though I still don't believe that any really crucial youngsters were lost).
On the other hand, I think it would be blinkered to say that we'll NEVER spend that much money again. If a really excellent player was available, I'd hope Wigan would be in there making realistic bids for him. But Thurston, I feel, would be in the SBW bracket in that he'd command such a high wage that no SL club would be justified in paying it.
My sideline observations at present are that the club is trying, fairly successfully, to underpin the team with home-grown talent. In the last couple of years, quite a few kids have re-signed for much better wages than they were on before. And that's got to be a good thing. One of the key criticisms of the last Maurice era was that our youngsters were on peanuts (at least, that's what I'm told). But I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't discomforted by the continued stories that we won't offer adequate money for older, international-standard talent. (Even if you don't personally think a player is worth the price-tag, if others are willing to pay it, then you may have to bite the bullet).
The signing of Gleeson seemed to disprove these stories, but signings like Gleeson are not happening across the board. We DO need a prop, and we DO need a halfback - and, while I accept and am pleased that the club won't just take anyone any more (let's be honest, we've had more than our fair share of Aussies on holiday - Riddell, take note!), I really feel that we need to sign at least one, preferably two, experienced quality players for next season.
But it's clearly a difficult balancing act, and I'm glad I'm not the one who's trying to get it right.'"
Oh come off it our team would be much better now if we would of had Briscoe and Wild in the team since they first broke in, I know they had to leave for their own career especially Briscoe but they were crucial losses IMO.
I cannot see where the half-back is going to come from if I am honest and I think the prop will end up being Griffin along with signing Paul Johnson.
