Why is it poor business when we’ve probably trebled what we’ve paid for him eighteen months ago. He would have left the year after for nothing if we had stood in his way.
There is no doubt the lad is going to be a very good player if he stops getting these little niggling injuries.
Matty Peet was visibly annoyed when he left Wigan. You don’t often see a coach express those emotions.
Hopefully Warrington will still get a fully focused and injury free player for the rest of the season. Looking at celebrations on social media he his still fully committed.

I’ll turn that on its head, why do you think they will? As I said, his agent is very clever.

I agree Matt Peet was annoyed and rightly so, the lad is a star in the making there is no doubt about that in my mind, he just needs good luck with injuries. Are you so sure that you have trebled your outlay? Anyway, do you think Yates is better, as good, or worse?

The transfer fee that Wigan received for a teenager that they neglected to tie down with a contract would have been the absolute minimum under the RFL rules and would have been peanuts.

The fee was associated with the training he had received, playing as an Academy Player.

He was offered a deal at Warrington that was due to start at the end of his Wigan contract.

Wigan chose to release Nicholson early when they realised that they had made a mistake.

There is a report in the Warrington Guardian, that Wire will be entitled to a transfer fee to any NRL club that signs Nicholson.

He is now an established Superleague player, so they will have to pay a lot more for him than Warrington did.

Mate, where have I said that Wire will not get a transfer fee? Back to my original question, do you think Yates is as good as Nicholson?

I would say no, I hope the club can find a way to persuade him to stay. For what it’s worth I’m not a fan of Yates. Since he was linked to us and now confirmed I’ve seen nothing that would get him in to our current starting 17. And that says a lot about our improvement under Burgess because till this season I would not have had Currie or Philbin in the team. Like I said in reply to your comment on King people can change their minds.

Thank you and I too have changed my mind many times. For what it is worth I agree with you. What really worries me is that SL is losing one of its rising stars. Unlike some, I would sooner see players like Nicholson signing for other SL teams than moving to the NRL. The standards of our game continue to decline.

I think with the signings from Super league to the NRL I wonder if its a case of " Because we can", It's the best League with the best players week in week out. He can only get better over there with the right mindset and most likely a future international. good look to the kid.

I wouldn't be surprised if Burgess signed an extension with us from what I've heard.

Most NRL assistant coaches that move to Superleague as Head Coaches rarely stay in the UK for long if they are successful here.

They return to Australia for the money, lifestyle, family commitments etc.

Burgess is different, with both him and his partner being from the North of England, so it's possible he could stay for a while.

There is no doubt he will return to coach in the NRL ultimately though.

When he does go, hopefully we will in a good position for someone else to take over seamlessly.

You would like to think that Warrington will receive more than they initially paid. Again it just assuming off media reports just like yours is an assumption of the original deal.
As for better player. He is certainly out performing Luke Yates at the present moment but the guy his only 18 months into his professional career. Luke Yates as been performing professionally at a consistent level for 10 years.
As I’ve already quoted I think he has the potential to be a top rugby league player but at the moment is not on par with Ben Currie a similar age.
Currie suffered 2 really bad cruciate injuries which derailed him from being a massive player and whose to say it won’t happen to Nicholson so with the potential of it be a short career you take the most money on the table whilst probably having a great lifestyle in Australia.

Makes a change for the NRL to come snooping at our door.
Long time since that happened.
Maybe shows how far we've come as a club.

Karetaker / Zig

What in particular don't you like about Yates?

For me the stats look good at first sight but stats don't tell the full picture.
Attitude and 'team player'are vitally important.

Honestly i would rather have kept Nicholson as i think he's brilliant already, but still has years of improvement still.
But i'm happy we've gotten Yates, he's a 100% tried and tested Workhorse with superb defence year after year, and he hits well above his size and weight in attack.
Gutted to lose Nicholson but happy to get Yates.

Well I asked when it was just a rumour of him signing so I decided to watch the giants games, now there was a thing about his stats and it was made a big thing of. What I had noticed in the games I’ve seen so far he is 2nd or 3rd man in the tackle I asked do these count to the stats and was told yes. But in answer to your question I don’t dislike him just right now I can’t see how he gets in the 17 ahead of the others if he was here now.

Thanks Karetaker.
I understand your point.
I hadn't made a point of looking what he does in detail. Will look at this this weekend.
Cheers

That was my only issue, that i didn't get who he would displace to get in the team. But with Nicholson going he slots in a bit better, whether that's starting or on the bench.
But if he starts second row does that mean Holroyd doesn't get a shot, or if he's used as a bench prop does that Stifle woods development, or make Bullocks re-signing even more bizzarre.
We have cover for Loose and second row with Crowther, so is he just going to be a utility forward? Suppose we'll see what the plan is next year

Am unsure on Yates, yes he has all the stats backing him as a solid defensive player. His stats read very favourable for Yates. Signing a journeyman in his late 20’s would not have been a priority for me. Considering most on here were clamouring for wire to give youth a chance, a lot are heaping praise on this signing. Taking a quota space up as well makes Yates signing look more strange especially if a player from Nrl becomes available more suited to Wire needs.
But Burgess has got most decisions right so far, so in Burges we trust

Just watched the verdict on sky sports news Bugess was the guest and Jenna Brooks asked him about extending his stay. He did not commit to anything. Just said how he is enjoying his time etc.

I see Yates as being another part of the Jigsaw.... a strong, reliable player, who can cover multiple positions and play for 80 mins... that's a real asset to have in your team.

This signing gives Burgess a player who can play prop and loose forward, without having to rotate him during a game...and one that could easily be the captain... he will command huge respect from his team mates... that must be a coaches dream.

Pleased we've signed Yates. He's a top quality SL forward but I'm sorry we've lost Nicholson in the process. I think he could become the best of the current crop of young English players in the NRL. Worrying sign for the future of RL in this country.

We were signing Yates before Nicholson leaving was on the cards. If we could we would have kept them both. Different types of players. Hardly worth comparing the stats. Be very wary of stats as they only tell part of the story.

Sounds like your describing Jace Clark

I don’t think that’s a bad thing - Burgess will have great things to say about Clark. Yates has similar traits, but is far better.

like him... but MUCH better (hopefully)