[urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/default.stm[/url

Thanks, Dally.

Just read it on Sporting Life. Hope it doesn't happen for the sake of the sport

Would be gutted to see him move to the dark side and England RL desperately need to keep hold of a player of his quality.

Think it would be a mistake if he went to Bath - would be like a fish out of water trying to mix in with a bunch of rah rah's.

Sale would be a much easier transition.

Massive risk though - to play scrum halve is extremely technical and although he has an abundance of talent there is no gaurantee that he would make it in Union.

+ if he was to return to League after a couple of years he would may never get back to his peak, just like Henry Paul, Chev Walker and Iestyn Harris were when they came back.

He could stay in League and ok may not be a millionaire over night but is top of his game and will be the No.1 scrum halve for Saints and England for the next 10 years playing in Grand Finals, Challenge Cup Finals and Internationals.

If he went to onion he would probably play wing i think. To be fair i think Eastmond would be better suited to wing in league and could make a genuine world class winger too in the mould of J Robinson. He can play 7 in SL because of the lack of proper halves in the league as i think he is an out and out ball runner rather than a scrum half.

Paul & Harris were both 30+ when they came back to League, well past their best. He will go to Union and maybe, just maybe, we might reform our sport to make it easier to keep our young talented players in the game. As i'm sure he isn't the only talented young English Rugby League player being targeted by RU.

Eastmond plays at 7 in League because he has all the skills required... his running game is a bonus. He would be wasted on the wing in League (I really don't understand the constant comparisons to Robinson... is because they have a similar running style or look similar?)

Anyway, I agree he would not be a scrum half in Union, the modern day RL 9 is more suited to that role with strong distribution from the ruck and a dynamic running game scooting for gaps. I'm glad that the England RU people have no idea what they are doing because they would have targetted a player like Roby

If Eastmond went to Union I think full back would be his best bet

Really hope it doesn't happen though, the lad could be a superstar

The only similarities with Robinson I can see are that they both have the same skin colour and are fast.

For England's sake, hopefully saints can get him signed up on a long term deal asap. He's there best half back by a long way and was missed in last years four nations.

I'm interested to know in what way you think the sport needs to be "reformed" to stop Union clubs coming in and offering young players silly money to go play their sport instead?

big loss to rugby league if he goes, which looks likely seeing as they have already held talks

I was thinking the same AG-So we lose a player. What should we do raise the SC and bust the clubs?

Quote ="wire-quin"I was thinking the same AG-So we lose a player. What should we do raise the SC and bust the clubs?'" We should do this so we can compete financially with union and stop them stealing our best youngsters viewtopic.php?f=2&t=478576&start=15

Quote ="wire-quin"I was thinking the same AG-So we lose a player. What should we do raise the SC and bust the clubs?'" We should do this so we can compete financially with union and stop them stealing our best youngsters viewtopic.php?f=2&t=478576&start=15

To me 'reformed' would be to move to central contracts for elite players at academy level to GB/England - 70-80 in total. The money to come from the Sky funding and the players released back to their clubs with a ceiling on games played and attendance at regular international training camps, this would also stop money being wasted on average overseas journeymen by forcing clubs to invest in Juniors and then play them when ready.
The top 25 English players should be subsidised £100k each and on 3 year deals if under 25, the next 25 @£50k and the 25 best under 20's at £25k.
Introduce real P&R, have 2 divisions of 10 in SL and limit quota at 2 non GB, excl French clubs ( must be 2)

Quote ="Toulouse for super L"We should do this so we can compete financially with union and stop them stealing our best youngsters viewtopic.php?f=2&t=478576&start=15'" 1996 called, they want their ideas back.

Quote ="Toulouse for super L"We should do this so we can compete financially with union and stop them stealing our best youngsters viewtopic.php?f=2&t=478576&start=15'" 1996 called, they want their ideas back.

He'll be back soon enough I would think.

see Lee Smith, he could soon come back if it doesn't work out.

Quote ="Alex Mc"[urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/default.stm[/url'" news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_u ... 327288.stm

Quote ="Alex Mc"[urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/default.stm[/url'" news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_u ... 327288.stm

I didn't know Brad Davies was coaching onion. www.bathrugby.com/team/8095.php

I didn't know Brad Davies was coaching onion. www.bathrugby.com/team/8095.php

I dont recall any of those teams from 1996?

Also 1 team at a time, with additional funds coming from the RFL every 3 years is the way to make expansion successful

Strange decision but understandable. Understandable as he will make a fortune. Strange as I'm not convinced that a player who is still developing and only has a few years rugby under his belt should jump ship to what is a different game.

Bound to happen with the salary cap in place, would you blame Eastmond if his earning potential was increased and he went to union.

As a Saints fan I am a tad sick of this. There are clearly two possible truths here...

1. Kyle is willing to just sell himself to the highest bidder and Saints (or an other Superleague Club for that matter) will not be able to compete money wise.

2. Kyle is simply trying to force his wages up while getting every interested union club to buy him a free lunch.

I imagine that it would be the second. Hopefully Saints can get him signed up for 4-5 years and we won't have to listen to this story for a while.

If I am wrong hopefully he can move on as soon as possible so Saints can forge a new half back partnership now rather than having to extend our transitional period.

You cannot blame Eastmond or any other player in his position for looking at the options available. We love the sport of Rugby League and he (while he may also love it as a player) is a professional whose financial future is dependent on it. If he is being tempted by wages three or four times what he is earning then anybody would be interested - I have 11 years service at my current employer and many friends but I would leave tomorrow if my salary was doubled by a competitor

As for the salary cap... well that is in place because as a sport we cannot trust the people who run the clubs to do so with any degree of competence at all... given the boom or bust mentality of sports clubs, I am sure that a few would go to the wall trying to punch above their weight if the cap was removed

Many Union clubs are already living beyond their means... with the likes of Sale, Saracens and Newcastle running massive squads and salaries with crowds of 5, 6 or 7k. I am sure that there are decent sponsorship agreements in place but a lot will be running operational losses. It is a sad reflection on the sport that the salary cap is there to protect clubs from themselves

I agree, but it will come at a cost of young British players crossing over from time to time, especially as clubs may now need to pay more for overseas players in light of the new tax rules.

They wish.