Byrne in and Vaughan out, so even if we did keep Musgrove (hope not) and Tai we'll have 2 quota spots, As Yates will not count on the quota if the new rules come in to affect next year. I think King will have to take a pay cut next year regardless of where he goes so we very well might keep him. Unless as said in previous comments, Wrench and Lindop develop well this year and can take the centre spots. Will ease our Salary cap and fill our centre spots for quite awhile. Also i still think Max Wood offers more than Musgrove in every game i've seen. Even though he's smaller he has a slightly better impact than musgrove, has much better skill and plays 2-3 times longer than musgrove, so it could well be Wood who takes his spot. And i hope Luke Thomas gets some game time this year, and can build on what we saw before his injury. And we have Green and Whitehead in the wings, so fingers crossed they continue to develop. All in all i think we're looking good long term

Spoke with Liam Byrne tonight, he confirmed that he has signed for Wire. The deal is the same he was offered at Wigan, so you have done well there.

[quote="BOSS HOG":2r3mmh9k]Neither King or Tai offer that much to the Wire attack as individuals but are good defensively and make good yards in the early tackle count. It`s a shame that we missed-out on getting Wardle from Huddersfield as there was a player exchange deal that should have been sewn up with King moving there. The players that Wigan sent there in the Wardle deal were both inferior to King. .[/quote:2r3mmh9k] Huddersfield and Warrington got mugged by Wigan. I can’t believe that neither club tied him down

I'd start Wrench and Lindop now, but I'm not Sam Burgess who needs to win games, just a fan who likes exciting players. King did fit perfectly into the Wigan system and they expected him to play a solid game, we expected him to be a world beater.

[quote="Zig":3j8a68ab]Huddersfield and Warrington got mugged by Wigan. I can’t believe that neither club tied him down[/quote:3j8a68ab] It was wide spread media that Wardle had already agreed to go Wigan before he came to Warrington on that strange swap deal. It was lightly rumoured Wire had tried to get Wardle out of his agreement to Wigan, how I don’t know. Although Carvell managed it once.

[quote="Zig":fcmb09um]Spoke with Liam Byrne tonight, he confirmed that he has signed for Wire. The deal is the same he was offered at Wigan, so you have done well there.[/quote:fcmb09um] I might get tied up in knots for this but....... I am Wire through and through but if i was in his position being offered the same between Warrington and Wigan currently i know who i would be choosing and what i would want to be part of, i hope he sees something us regular fans don't see. Glad he picked us i think he improves on any team in SL

[quote="Zig":bzcmfm2h]Huddersfield and Warrington got mugged by Wigan. I can’t believe that neither club tied him down[/quote:bzcmfm2h] I believe we tried but you had already done a deal. I wish we could of kept him good honest player and as much as it pains me to see Wigan lift another SL trophy and CC seeing players like him lift it softens the blow

[quote="Zig":2m4ul178]Spoke with Liam Byrne tonight, he confirmed that he has signed for Wire. The deal is the same he was offered at Wigan, so you have done well there.[/quote:2m4ul178] Correct. Believe Burgess was the big pull in the deal and Bryne wanting to play under him. Burgess referenced in an interview recently that the main reason he extended his deal was to lure players as recruiting was becoming difficult convincing players to sign with him having a short contract.

[quote="Velcro Boots":2f3dg234]I might get tied up in knots for this but....... I am Wire through and through but if i was in his position being offered the same between Warrington and Wigan currently i know who i would be choosing and what i would want to be part of, i hope he sees something us regular fans don't see. Glad he picked us i think he improves on any team in SL[/quote:2f3dg234] He's down the pecking order at Wigan. He won't be with us. Probably be our #1 prop when Vaughan goes. Plus he has already won every honour available in the game.

[quote="Or thane":n21t2rzd]Byrne in and Vaughan out, so even if we did keep Musgrove (hope not) and Tai we'll have 2 quota spots, As Yates will not count on the quota if the new rules come in to affect next year. I think King will have to take a pay cut next year regardless of where he goes so we very well might keep him. Unless as said in previous comments, Wrench and Lindop develop well this year and can take the centre spots. Will ease our Salary cap and fill our centre spots for quite awhile. Also i still think Max Wood offers more than Musgrove in every game i've seen. Even though he's smaller he has a slightly better impact than musgrove, has much better skill and plays 2-3 times longer than musgrove, so it could well be Wood who takes his spot. And i hope Luke Thomas gets some game time this year, and can build on what we saw before his injury. And we have Green and Whitehead in the wings, so fingers crossed they continue to develop. All in all i think we're looking good long term [/quote:n21t2rzd] Good post. I cannot think of any reason at all as to why we would extend Musgrove and use a quota spot on him. Underwhelming is the kindest word I can use to describe his performances in the PnB.

[quote="Douglas Black":2it7sya7] King did fit perfectly into the Wigan system and they expected him to play a solid game, we expected him to be a world beater.[/quote:2it7sya7] Wigan had that luxury as we were still paying a chunk of his world beater salary.

[quote="Wires71":3nv6kh1k]Wigan had that luxury as we were still paying a chunk of his world beater salary.[/quote:3nv6kh1k] Some of the Wigan fans not opposed to him going back.

[quote="karetaker":15xvth3c]Some of the Wigan fans not opposed to him going back.[/quote:15xvth3c] Yeah I read a few comments. Do you think they will maintain his current salary? Maybe we could do a swap deal for Wardle.

[quote="Wires71":2xuku713]Yeah I read a few comments. Do you think they will maintain his current salary? Maybe we could do a swap deal for Wardle. [/quote:2xuku713] If the salary is as high as we all think it is then it is highly unlikely to be maintained by ourselves or other interested parties. If we were to offer a new contract can it be on reduced terms or does it have to match the current one? Either way no news will be announced immediately due to his testimonial and that could be detrimental for him were he to announce his departure in the immediate future. I suspect he will return to Wigan on a lower contract but as they continue to keep winning no doubt the bonuses will make up the shortfall

[quote="RoyalWire":3m35xdve]If the salary is as high as we all think it is then it is highly unlikely to be maintained by ourselves or other interested parties. If we were to offer a new contract can it be on reduced terms or does it have to match the current one? Either way no news will be announced immediately due to his testimonial and that could be detrimental for him were he to announce his departure in the immediate future. I suspect he will return to Wigan on a lower contract but as they continue to keep winning no doubt the bonuses will make up the shortfall[/quote:3m35xdve] All his Christmas’s came at once when he got his current deal. He as to be realistic and know he will not get anywhere near it again. It’s a case of which club offers him the best money he can get, it’s not about what he can win at this stage.

Does anyone actually know what King's deal is currently? Or are we working on the assumption that it was just big cos everyone says it is. Any ideas?

It wouldn't surprise me if Saints were interested in Toby King for 2026. After all, if squad numbers are any indication, they appear to be going into this season with Hurrell and Percival still as their first-choice centres. Which is a tad surprising, given the various challenges faced by one or both of them in terms of age, fitness, proneness to injury, defensive frailty and midriff blubber.

[quote="The Speculator":6mbmo24g]It wouldn't surprise me if Saints were interested in Toby King for 2026. After all, if squad numbers are any indication, they appear to be going into this season with Hurrell and Percival still as their first-choice centres. Which is a tad surprising, given the various challenges faced by one or both of them in terms of age, fitness, proneness to injury, defensive frailty and midriff blubber.[/quote:6mbmo24g] If they do try to sign him, its not worth getting into a bidding war to keep him, just let him go.

.

[quote="Smiffy27":12mejcu1]Does anyone actually know what King's deal is currently? Or are we working on the assumption that it was just big cos everyone says it is. Any ideas?[/quote:12mejcu1] What we know: 1. Various well connected people on here have commented that it was large and that we were contributing to his salary whilst on loan at Wigan. 2. He was a marquee signing for us* 3. We had to fight off interest from other SL clubs and the NRL** I suspect he will stay with us as he will only count at £50K on our cap. *** *https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/salary-cap-changes-make-toby-27055708 **https://warringtonwolves.com/news/2021/may/Toby-King-signs-new-long-term-deal/ ***https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/new-salary-cap-rules-for-super-league-to-help-protect-against-player-drain-to-the-nrl

[quote="RoyalWire":1ewq8jj0]If the salary is as high as we all think it is then it is highly unlikely to be maintained by ourselves or other interested parties. If we were to offer a new contract can it be on reduced terms or does it have to match the current one? [/quote:1ewq8jj0] A new contract can be on any terms mutually agreed. One thing to note is that he is cheap on the cap for us at £50K due to https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/ne ... to-the-nrl. So we could pay him £200K per annum and it only counts as if we pay him £50K. This is a big incentive for us to extend. I don't care if we extend him or not. I do care if he keeps more talented attacking centres out of the side.

[quote="RoyalWire":1ewq8jj0]If the salary is as high as we all think it is then it is highly unlikely to be maintained by ourselves or other interested parties. If we were to offer a new contract can it be on reduced terms or does it have to match the current one? [/quote:1ewq8jj0] A new contract can be on any terms mutually agreed. One thing to note is that he is cheap on the cap for us at £50K due to https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/ne ... to-the-nrl. So we could pay him £200K per annum and it only counts as if we pay him £50K. This is a big incentive for us to extend. I don't care if we extend him or not. I do care if he keeps more talented attacking centres out of the side.

Thanks Wires71 ... the fact that he is "Marquee" says a lot. I remember Wire working hard to try & keep him. He was playing well at the time.

[quote="The Speculator":16ocwx5j]It wouldn't surprise me if Saints were interested in Toby King for 2026. After all, if squad numbers are any indication, they appear to be going into this season with Hurrell and Percival still as their first-choice centres. Which is a tad surprising, given the various challenges faced by one or both of them in terms of age, fitness, proneness to injury, defensive frailty and midriff blubber.[/quote:16ocwx5j] If Saints do sign him, then there will be a major step change in the relationship between the two clubs with them signing our unwanted players, since they already have Clark.

[quote="Smiffy27":19jpqy6v]Thanks Wires71 ... the fact that he is "Marquee" says a lot. I remember Wire working hard to try & keep him. He was playing well at the time.[/quote:19jpqy6v] He was - the peak of his time with us. Then he signed mid season and went into the slump. I think he managed 2 tries that season after signing. Then, in 2022, cue Powell's man management accusing him of getting gout due to poor lifestyle and shipping him out. *https://www.totalrl.com/toby-king-reveals-how-gout-diagnosis-sowed-seeds-of-sour-daryl-powell-relationship-at-warrington-wolves/ To be honest we were a basket case then with stories of King bringing his dog to training, players purposefully barging into coaches when subbed*, and players being allowed to tailor their training around their business interests etc. I think Price wanted the easy life rather than confronting these issues. *https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/cooper-should-never-play-for-warrington-again-how-social-media-reacted-to-mike-coopers-barge-on-coach-steve-price-40030/ Purposeful or not you can bet your last £1 that Mike Cooper would not have barged into Sam Burgess (or Matt Peet). In closing I am not 100% sure that all that culture has been completely driven out of the squad and club. It may be supressed under Sam but I would not be surprised to see it creep back in when Sam eventually leaves. Some players have spanned Smith, Price, Powell and Burgess...

I do remember Cooper making contact with Price and it didn't look good ... but can't remember any other examples can you? Lots of changes since then and I'm optimistic that we have moved on.