Retention and recruitment issues

[happy_tiger]

I know a few of the points I'm going to bring up are well known and have been spoken about in length

Something I was thinking about last night might explain a few things or add even more questions

But my question is this

How many players have we recruited since Day 1 of the WT's existence who have stayed on to finish their career or sign multiple contracts

The only player who meets that criteria (that I can think of ) is Keith Gallaway

Many times we have signed players who are near rock bottom career wise , find a new lease of life and then leave

Blokes like Prince , Richards ,Reddy etc

The reason I bring this up is this

Yeah its hard to be a one club player , but if you don't know what other clubs offer you don't know its better

Players who come from another club have seen how other clubs operate and might see all our deficiencies

But think of other clubs , they sign many players who stay on to complete their careers at their new clubs

If the new board needs to step up in the future we don't just need to sign new players in the future , but we also need to find out what we need to do to retain them long term if they are the right players

Not just be a stepping stone for bigger and better things to come

 

[Newtown]

Happy, I cannot be so naive as to believe that some if not most other clubs are not offering such players financial inducements which the NRL Salary Cap Auditor cannot detect.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

Consistency is key. Become a premiership threat regularly, and win one and the players will want to come here. Souths are a prime example. Couldn't attract a fly with a turd once upon a time. Now look at some of the names on their roster.

 

[Masterton]

Hodgo & Payts are the only other 2 I can think of. Let's hope Taupau & Lodge become the next.

 

[851]

Consistency is key. Become a premiership threat regularly, and win one and the players will want to come here. Souths are a prime example. Couldn't attract a fly with a turd once upon a time. Now look at some of the names on their roster.

Souths have Rusty,and god knows what incentives he gives the players to sign and stay.

 

[supercoach]

I get your point Happy, but I am not sure that to many who departed our club were really wanted. Okay Prince, but it turns out now their was more than returning to QLD that enticed him north, Hogo I think was seen by the club as a player in decline (they got that wrong), Big Pat was being offered well over the odds for a winger by Wigan and was offered a chance to live in the UK for a few years.

I do not think we are worse or better than most other clubs in the retention department. I just get the feeling the junior who has been at the club from day one finds it much harder to leave than a person who has already made a break from a previous club. Like getting divorced the first ones the hardest!!!!! not that I know

 

[happy_tiger]

Hodgo & Payts are the only other 2 I can think of. Let's hope Taupau & Lodge become the next.

Thanks Masterton , forgot about Payten

Hodgson continued playing in ESL so didn't include him

 

[TrueTiger]

Happy,CB,and other posters,I agree with what you are all saying,however the one point I would like to make is LOYALTY has gone out the window…today's player is in it for what he can get as it is a short career ..the more money and incentives he can get ,the better..
If he stays at one club for say 3years for 200k and somebody offers him 400k for three years,he would be mad not to take it..doesn't matter if he was a junior and played for years with the one club...

Russell has a huge bank account to entice and offer incentives,something we are lacking big time...Uncle Harry can only do so much and his input has been fantastic....

 

[Bones]

Its also a tough call being a club that relies on juniors. For example, do you keep Benji on big coin or do you take a punt that one of your juniors call fill that spot on less money. It was the same thing with Hodgson, it wasn't so much that the club didn't want him as they needed to make space to keep the juniors for the long term.

There are very few players that stay 1 club for their whole career. Clubs have a higher turnover of players than ever before. IMO its just a result of the salary cap and all clubs face it.

 

[Goose]

Fairly normal at all clubs, once a player changes clubs the first time, he is 3 times more likely to change again (according to a stat I was informed of a few years ago).
Makes sense I guess, both club and player has less emotional attachment, coupled with the fact that players who are let go a first time are less likely to be marquee players and are more disposable (not always but, more likely to be).
Most clubs would have similar records I reckon.