(You've got £100,000-175,000 to spend on a marquee signing, who heads your shopping list? Sorry no bread,milk or cheese today)

RD shopping list.

SBW
Greg Inglis
James Graham

Not halfbacks but either of these would certainly make a significant difference in our team.

Well technically we've got as much as we want to spend on a marquee signing, only £100k or £175k counts on the cap.

That being said, any decent halfback with a kicking game and leadership ability or get Cooper back.

You haven't got £100k or £175k to spend on a marquee signing. You've got whatever you need to spend and only £100k or £175k will count on the cap. There's no one we can sign that would fit in the £100k bracket anyway, unless you think Tyke is worth re-signing as a marquee player (or giving Ben Currie new terms as the marquee player).

Assuming that Moran will pay what it takes to get the sort of player we need then the list is short and exclusively made up of half backs with one exception....

Shaun Johnston
Cooper Cronk
Jonathan Thurston
Greg Inglis

If none of the above is available, would you offer Kevin Brown £500k to walk out on his Widnes contract? Are we that desperate?

Thanks for explaining. I'm sure I ain't the only one who's ignorant to the workings.

Regardless of the marquee ruling, I would personally like the following players at wire (and none are too unrealistic)

1. Ukuma Ta'ai
2. Zeb Taia
3. Scott Dureau
4. Fetuli Talanoa

Is Moran paying transfer fees directly? I remember he put the cash up for Westwood and Nat Wood but I was under the impression the club was paying all transfers and wages. After all we have just posted a huge operating profit and I hope we our position is not reliant on one kind mans generosity

So only £100/175 k counts on the cap & there is no ceiling to what a club can spend ,limited only by the depth of the sugar daddy's pockets ?

Some club's will benefit while others fall further behind unless they too can get financial investment. The RFL have been working for years towards the idea of the level playing field for SL & this idea risks derailing that goal.

The club has to meet certain criteria in regards to income/expenditure also so we don't have more Bradford's.

Well yes, I suppose that's true. The Board might want some guarantee though. He is majority shareholder, isn't he?

Apperently we are chasing a mix of halves and forwards in the NRL, now as to whom i dont know. But... Cronk would be my dream signing, he could split teams in two!

A world class half please.
Don't know enough about the Aussies to comment with knowledge but know a bit about Thurston.
Then either put Ratch alongside with Gidley at full back, or Ratch at fullback and Gidley in the centres and Myler/GOB/ Patten alongside Thurston.

We have a number of players who can play in the halves but not one that really stands out.
(Not going down the R&B route....).

Just wish I knew what TS's real view was long term. I'm sure he has two for the halves - one based on a top signing, one based on exisitng players.

Ratch at f/b is great I think, and he's so versatile he can play anywhere except prop and 2nd row when needed so it doesn't preclude spells in the halves

After he's got all that RUWC nonsense out of the way, I'll take Sam Burgess to lead our pack.

i'd be pointing the finger at several clubs derailing that goal, and not only in recent years going longer term.

In 99 we were told wakefield were working on a new stadium, we're still waiting for that, we're also still waiting for john pearson to come out of hiding and diane rogerson to STFU(still).

At the opposite end of the scale of the salary cap, many people have said, maybe there should be a minimum spend that you have to meet in order to be in SL, if you can't make that, well, tough poop. Cas and wakey in business terms seem to just be trundling along with never ending planning applications, KR managed to get funding to redo their stand with offices and corporate to create extra income.

If you want to play with the big boys, you need to spend the coin.


Apologies if this comes across as an unreadable rant, im trying to eat a too hot pot noodle, with an ulcer on my lip.


Oh, thurston or cronk would be my options.

I hear what you are saying about new stadia and getting your house in order to qualify, but, I'm not keen on pot noodle myself, or your minimum spend proposal.

Given the apparent dearth of real talent, even though we are down to 12 teams (yes I know Leigh are full time and it should be one game etc before we get a flood from our regular visitors) but wouldn't clubs just end up paying more for average players rather than keeping or growing the selection pool?

Squarely on the head there Rico ,paying over the odds for players who may be no better than what we already have. I am sure the best policy would be to plough money into reserve teams to reap the rewards a few years later ,even if we have a few years of poorer quality to start (like the league seems to be having this season). If there was so much quality in Oz they wouldn't be poaching our "best" players.

There was an article a few weeks back in australia, by someone well respected who's name i can't remember, bemoaning the lack of 'australian' class players coming through, because ocker junior sides are recruiting whatever south sea islanders and kiwis they can get their hands on and developing them for tonga and samoa, then pressuring them to choose australia to get them to play Origin.

I can't look past Inglis or Thurston....

Thurston would be the biggest signing for me he's still the best in the world ....he's the next immortal without a doubt. ..

Inglis would put bums on seats and would look great making big Hollywood runs up field but he wouldn't have the impact on a team that Thurston would.

Inglis is stalling over his next contract last time I heard. ..but Thurston i think recently signed to most likely finish his career at the cowboys. I don't expect either to ever play in superleague. ....

But money can do strange things. .

Money Bill Williams on the other hand....... now I can see him talking about wanting a new challenge testing himself in a new environment blah $$$ blah €€€€ blah £££ ...

Sam Burgess, if he doesn't make the World Cup selection, I cant imagine that he'd be happy playing RU for another 4 years.

Chris Hill could be the Marquee player at Leigh next year,I've heard a couple of Wire players are sounding out Leigh for possible moves.

aye we have always sent our players to either Widnes Salford or Leigh...

Charlie Should Know

It would be massive for RL if someone could pick off a top Union player. I think Ford, Farrell et al are settled, but Eastmond, Quade Cooper or George North would be a fantastic coup for RL. It wouldn't be my preference for Warrington right now, as we need a half back with game sense and knowledge ready to go now, but it would be brilliant for the game, and would bring valuable collumn inches

I can't believe we'll see current Australian internationals coming over, potentially we could see some kiwis moving over or players who are towards the end of their SOO career and believe they can extend their career in SL.

Cronk is a possibility given his age, but thurston and ingles won't make the trip IMO.

[urlhttp://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/daly-cherry-evans-backflip-nrl-rich-list-puts-manlys-massive-deal-into-perspective/story-e6frf3ru-1227382900648[/url

Salaries per year (1 dollar = £0.50)

1. Daly Cherry-Evans, Sea Eagles ($1.67 million)
2. Kieran Foran, Eels ($1.2 million)
3. Cameron Smith, Storm ($1 million)
4. Johnathan Thurston, Cowboys ($1 million)
5. Robbie Farah, Tigers ($900,000)
6. Anthony Milford, Broncos ($900,000)
7. Greg Inglis, Rabbitohs ($850,000)
8. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Warriors ($850,000)
9. Ben Barba, Sharks/Broncos ($800,000)
10. Will Hopoate, Eels ($800,000)

I think the list must be a bit bobbins...No Billy Slater, or Paul Gallen, and I dont think Cronk ever makes these lists either.

But its a fair guide to what we'd have to shell out for anyone decent ...

So a minimum 500k per season.....??

Eastmond would NOT be a coup, it would be seen as him failing in Union if he came back. Cooper is garbage. North possibly, but there are ready-made league players who are better and cheaper than him, I'd have thought.

An injury free, less idiotic Todd Carney for me. Loved him geeing up the crowd on Sunday