So whose leaving SL for NRL next year? This year was the first time in a decade more players moved from SL to NRL than other way around. So far:

Hock
Mossop
Dobson
Patterson

Unconfirmed Tomkins

Cooper, Richards, a couple of young uns to nzw.

Jordan Baldwinson to NZ Warriors.

I have to question why players are going to Auckland.

The attraction of playing under a top coach.

Obviously. They have heard the rumours about Shaun Wane joining Sam Tomkins there.

I read last week in an Aus paper Bailey from Leeds was being spoken to by an NRL team

thought the Hock move was in doubt?

Have they sacked Elliott?

You can add Lulia to the list from Bradford, and potentially L'Estrange, Purtell and Kearney too

Baldwinson to Aus as mentioned above. Bailey rumoured to be off to Brisbane.

As for why players are signing for NZ, well they're offering big money (I've been told Baldwinson will be on 50k a year) and the tax rae is lower in NZ isn't it?

Vic Mauro and Liam Foran won't be in Nobby's plans for 2014 (Both dropped against Saints last week and not included this week against London) The signing of Junior Sa'u and being also being linked with several NRL players would suggest both will be deregisterd off Salford's overseas quota in September.

Casty to the Roosters.

Take a look at the tax rates to find out.

If you were to be on 250k Aussie dollars you would be on around 296k NZ dollars

In aus your 250k would turn out to be about 164k after tax

In NZ That would be about 207k NZ dollars after tax

207k NZ dollars is 175k Aussie dollars. An extra £6k for doing the same job. It becomes tax effective at 85k aus dollars to live in NZ. The minimum a player can earn will be 85,000 by the end of the SC rises. If the SC was split evenly across the players each would get 176,000 Aussie dollars.

So why would you want to play for NZ warriors? Because you earn considerably more.

A lot of players who rush to Aus for the dollars are going to get a big shock when they find out the cost of living out there.

There's a reason why the minimum wage, and I don't mean for NRL players, is over $30k (about £20k).

I'm an engineer and lost count of the colleagues who've moved out there over the last 5 years lured by the 'headline' wages, only to find out that even though they have doubled their UK salaries, they can't afford to buy/rent the same size property or run a car similar to what they already had in the UK ......

If I was advising a young single upcoming player, I'd say go out there, learn from their game, and enjoy it .... but any older players with family/house etc in the UK, it's maybe not the financial pot of gold it might seem.

But you've got to live in Auckland,

Glen Riley

is this year going to be the biggest exodus ever?

seems that way.

nothing wrong with Auckland

How does Auckland compare to the North of England? Genuine question, as ive never been.

I have only spent a short time in Auckland but I thought it was a nice City other than the Kiwis that lived there



It is not in the same class as Hull, Widnes or Castleford though.

The city itself is fine, some suburbs aren't.

I'm not comparing it to northern England tbh, although I would choose to live in Leeds or Manchester over it, I'm comparing it to other choices in the NRL.

Yep not cheap but higher wages equal it out and the sun and beach more than compensate! Mid winter today, 21 degrees blue skies and about to head to the swan valley for an afternoon on the porch of the feral brewery. Not a bad lifestyle!

they're both holes

Confirmed moves to the NRL, anyone else I've missed?

Hock - Eeels
Mossop - Eels
Dobson - Knights
Patterson- TBC
Cooper - Dragons
Richards - Tigers
Baldwinson - Warriors
Lulia - TBC
Casty- Roosters
Riley - Warriors
Tonks - Warriors

Just like every city on the planet then?