According to press, Matty Smith to be released early from Salford this week. www.dailystar.co.uk/rugby/view/2 ... eep-going/ Makes sense, given the injury to Tommy and Powell still to figure in a full 20's game. Surprised Salford have agreed. Presume he's cup tied?

According to press, Matty Smith to be released early from Salford this week. www.dailystar.co.uk/rugby/view/2 ... eep-going/ Makes sense, given the injury to Tommy and Powell still to figure in a full 20's game. Surprised Salford have agreed. Presume he's cup tied?

Meant to add - it's in the final 2 paragraphs of the story.

Would be a good call to help bed him into the way we play and keep going at the top of the table, but it doesn't do us much good in chopping and changing our team around should we get to Wembley after playing a certain way for 6 weeks or so.

It's the Daily Star.

Still, even a stopped clock is right twice a day..it would be a big help, if true.

Not if its a 24 hour clock

Great news if true, we really need options in the halves whilst Tommy returns to fitness and it will ease him in for next season. I would imagine they will receive a Powell in return on loan along with a bit of cash and maybe the promise of Smith being loaned back once Tommy is fit.

It would seem a very sensible move really. He can have an extra few months to bed in to our systems before next year and can cover Leuluai's absence. He'll also allow us to rest guys like Finch and Tomkins a bit more and he can also cover the hooking position when Leuluai is back allowing us to keep McIlorum fresh.

Hope it comes off.

Hope it's true but I don't even believe the date on the front page of the Star!

The Star is generally fairly reliable when it comes to League as far as I remember......not bought or read it in a number of years but it always seemed to be a reasonably accurate report when I did.

According to Phil Wilkinson he's signing today and playing on Sunday.

Has King Warrior hacked Pemps account?

Off-topic - Anyone else notice that the main story was about Cas "Deferring payments" throughout 2009?

Wasn't that precisely what they used to dock points from us for breaking "the spirit of the cap"?

Back on topic - Would be a good move if true. Although, as others have stated, if that rag told me the sky was blue, I'd still have to open the curtains to double-check that fact.

Jungle drums and grapevines have both said Matty Smith plays on Sunday!!!! Came from a good sauce.





Rock 'n' Roll.

Makes me wonder if Tommy has now been ruled out for the season!

Yes. The full quote:

"Cas bosses asked several senior players to defer wages at the start of 2009."

Really? In 2006 Mo argued that players deferring wages in the NRL was standard practice and meant that in the year the wages were deferred the club didn't break the cap and it wouldn't in subsequent years as the cost would be spread out and taken in to account. The RFL said this wasn't in "the spirit if the cap" and that is why Wigan were done, not for actually breaking it.



Exactly and it was Cas who were bleating the loudest about that.



I suppose as he is cup-tied he can't complain if Tommy comes back for the final (if we get there) but what is the time scale on that? If he is fit beforehand he will need some game time so Smith will have to make way.

It also won't help with the most pressing problem - a half back for the semi-final.

Sorry, I mean they said he plays for Wigan. Hope it's gen...





Rock 'n' Roll.

Daddies or HP?

yep, at Craven Park or "Belle Vue"

The ironies in Super League know no end.

The so-called Tigers were ready to disappear up their own collective fundament when we did that in 2006.

What a bunch of phonies.

Heinz 57. That means it could be 57 to 1 it's correct!





Rock 'n' Roll.

depends whether they were over the cap before the deferred payments, think it was the fact the players agreed not to take the money and treat it as a loan to the club so it was still part of the salary cap for that year

Check out pemps sig I got told season over when he did it now this confirms it

Confirmed on Wigan Today. In some ways could be disruptive though. Half backs for Wakey likely to be Finch/Smith, Leeds semi Finch/Lockers? www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan-w ... -1-4714039

Confirmed on Wigan Today. In some ways could be disruptive though. Half backs for Wakey likely to be Finch/Smith, Leeds semi Finch/Lockers? www.wigantoday.net/sport/wigan-w ... -1-4714039

Before some jump in feet first and do exactly the thing they accuse other team's fans of with regard to us, the Wigan and Cas deferred payments situation doesn't look the same.

We got done because what was paid and then the payments that were deferred added to more than the cap in that particular year. i.e. we signed Fielden and Dobson and the only way we could pay wages under the cap was to get some player to agree to deferred payments, completely ignoring the fact a basic accounting principle (upon which the cap is based) is that payments relate to when services were received, NOT when they were actually paid.

In the Cas situation it looks like due to financial problems they simply couldn't afford to pay some players, but contracted payments in 2009 didn't break the cap limit, even though some were paid later.

According to Phil Wilkinson we've paid a fee and got him early. A good deal for both clubs, he would have left for free at the end of the season at Salford so they get some cash & we now have our scrum half for next season earlier to cover for Tommy. He'll also get to learn off Brett Finch for the rest of the season which should stand us in better stead come next year.

The only remaining issue is the CC semi-final. He's cup-tied and this could complicate matters. He plays against Wakefield I'm presuming with Lockers at 13, Finch at 6, but only the following week we'll be back to Lockers at 6, Finch at 7, Faz at 13. There's a part of me that would have sooner see us stuck to Lockers at six if only to give him and Finch more time to 'gel' for the semi-final.

I suppose we'll just have to get on with it. We can beat Leeds without Leuluai - signing Smith doesn't alter that. We can win one game without Matty Smith, but for the next ten weeks of our league campaign it could prove a very shrewd move till Leuluai regains his fitness.