Well it is looking now like he's returning to RL .If it's Leeds I hope it's not at the expense of us losing Watkins

Would Watkins have been selected for England if he was going to RU? Watkins is going nowhere. With JP and Kev off the wage bill plus the marquee thing, we are the only club who could realistically afford Burgess

So could Salford who I am certain will be doing all they can to get him.
Hopefully he will choose a well run outfit as opposed to the shambles at Salford.

Salford have no realistic chance of signing s top player in their prime. Big money is good but they wouldn't offer that much more and no realistic chance of silver where

Wire wouldn't need to be supported by RFL money.

He wont touch Salford with a bargepole. Regardless of what his wages are, Salford seem to make a habit of not actually paying them. If its in the SL it will be us or possible Warrington but I think he'd like the stabilty of the treble winners. In relaity I can only see him back in the NRL with souths. They are going to have to do some offloading to get him in the cap but I bet theyll move heaven and earth to get him back.

You could be right but might have to wait until next year what with contracts already signed.
Some sort of deal between Crowe and Caddick and possibly the RFL might tip the balance in us getting him on a sort of year long loan.
If only.

We're Leeds Rhinos, not Wakefield. We don't need to take players on loan. I don't care who they are.

He either signs for 2 years minimum or not at all IMO and even then I'm not sure the media circus would be worth it.

I have remained silent up to now......but I tend to agree with this. I am old enough to remember the bad old days of signing the 'big name' !!!!

It depends on the mindset he came with. If he is the professional I believe he is, he will come wanting to fit into the team and remind SL what he is capable of and whether its one year or 2 we should do very well on and off the field with him on board. If his mind set was that of taking a brief holiday in SL before resuming with Souths, then that would be detrimental to Leeds. But I can't see that being the case.

Yes on the flip side,if there is a salary cap juggle at South's would there be somebody from South's who could do a job for Leeds?

I thought RL mole said he wouldn't be joining souths?

If you combine what RL mole said with the release confirming he's considering RL, we are the only other RL club mentioned.

So he's considering an offer from us.

Ri-right? Guys?

Things seem to be falling into place for him to go back to Souths: www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/n ... 7586056940

Things seem to be falling into place for him to go back to Souths: www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/n ... 7586056940

Quote ="craigizzard"Things seem to be falling into place for him to go back to Souths: www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/n ... 7586056940'" That's only about a transfer fee nothing to do with paying the player, so the same as the cap over here. Souths are struggling to get him under the cap for next year according to my Sydney contacts.

Quote ="craigizzard"Things seem to be falling into place for him to go back to Souths: www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/n ... 7586056940'" That's only about a transfer fee nothing to do with paying the player, so the same as the cap over here. Souths are struggling to get him under the cap for next year according to my Sydney contacts.

....I can

Shaun Lunt. Didn't he help us win a grand final?

the mole 100% that he aint going to south sydney cant see many other nrl clubs affording him as transfer would count against there cap. its either stopping with bath or super league are his only 2 options

If he came back to RL and was put straight into the England team that would be worth some dough. I don't buy into the idea that big signings generate thousands every week - its never been true. But if he came right now and ran out for England vs NZ, he almost certainly would add to the attendances at the tests. It would also send a very strong message to other RL players about how attractive RU actually is.

I still think he's most likely to stay in RU, but in terms of legacy think he'd be far better off coming back to RL. I just do not see him ever being more than an OK RU forward.

BTW as an aside, if he does want to come back I have no problem with the marquee signing rule or RFL support being used. That's what its there for. I don't particularly care whether its Leeds or someone else.

It looks like he will go back to Souths now but TBH, from an England perspective, it's just great to get him back in our game.

Mole 100% saying he's not going to Souths.

IF he did sign for Leeds and his first game was v North Queensland Cowboys, the thought of that is bloody exciting.
Headingley would be nowhere big enough for that game.

Not any more. Mole's a chancer anyway, he gets as much wrong as right.

He's going back to Souths eventually. It's just a case of whether it's 2016 or 2017.

If you were being cynical, and wanted to maximise the impact of his return to Souths I'd suggest one more year away might be the best thing. In a sense he's barely been gone, with plenty of airtime in Oz about him playing for England.