As we've witnessed with Brandon Smith, changing clubs for more cash does not always work out for the player or new club. I think Martin is a loyal type who probably knows he plays his best footy in the Panthers' system under Cleary. Good on him for sticking solid with the Panthers.
But we have to be careful .. why would a club let go of current SOO player .. ?? Newcastle are prepared to let Frizell go why .. they are trying to rebuild by getting younger players they can develop into long term players at the club. As good as Frizell is .. how many season does he have let in him at this level .. I'd say 1 or 2 seasons .. ?? Then after that we will be looking at moving him on .. and by then not many clubs would take him.
I liked what I read about Morgan Smithies - second row or lock. At 6ft1 and 106 kgs is a good size and being from Yorkshire like Bateman will be tough.
He does give off the I love Panthers vibe
Martin played very well last night, was hitting so hard in defence QLD did their best to avoid running at him.
Yet many have been criticising him for a long time, that he only gets picked for origin because he plays for the panthers and success is due to their system. Now everyone loves him...
Most players, particularly these days, and barring chronic injuries, can play until they're 33/34 if their form warrants it. None in that list fall into the chronic injury category, giving all of those players somewhere between 3-5 years left.
I think Bateman as the creative lock is the play but we need the experienced backrower to make it happen
Newcastle are paying Ponga $1.5 million, the Saifitis are on big coin long term and their cap is a shambles. That's why, Best is a weapon and only young but they're willing to let him go too because of their cap problems
Bout the same time the 17's come through....
Yep get the Cheque book out and go hard for Liam Martin while he’s young.
Gee I hope he is on our shopping list
To late signed long contract a week or so ago
I thought that too C but not sure now he’s the right person for 13.
That’s not what I’m hearing. Pretty average player at that level I understand.
Really ? I’d like that confirmed.
Bummer.
I think that was more using the opportunity to offload his contract to the Eels. I don't think it was about creating space for a signing. I imagine cap management would involve a fair bit of x% for position 1, y% for position 2 etc and we probably had too much cap tied up in props. Just my guess though. Be nice if it does result in us signing a gun.
See your point S and it may not be any signing, or it may not be a gun. Maybe financial ramifications, maybe not.
