Quote ="Ian 77 Redux"The gnashing of teeth on the Wigan board is so typically them. "All the players will go over there, the standard here will drop, no-one will watch, it will go part time, and then that will be the end of the game...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!". Let's be serious about this. Hock is a good player, and he'd do well in the NRL on his ability. The exodus of top quality players is limited to Burgess (S), Graham (Bite) and, at the time, Ellis (Chin). Widdop went over there when he was a young man. The likes of Ainscough, Worrincy, Moore are just about SL standard players. If they get more money playing lower grade stuff than they would here, good luck to them. Hardly an exodus. God knows how they'll react when Tomkins goes (which he is sure as hell will do).
People need to get this into their heads really, really quick. RL cannot compete financially with the NRL. Nor can it compete financially with RU. We can't compete with either in terms of profile or opportunities outside the game. Players will move on but there always be players to replace them. However there is nothing we can "do" to stop player drain. "Get more money into the sport" is a bit like me getting to sleep with Cheryl Cole - it's a great idea in principle but unless you've got a plan to make it happen* that's based on reality, you're just wasting your time.
*some sort of love potion'"
Love potion = Rohypnol?
