From what i have read sams new contract has a non compete/communication clause for three years so he cannot talk to anyone else at all, there are most likely very, very big penalty payments if it is broken

Dont talk stupid mate, he's a 20 odd year old lad that has just made himself a millionaire, blame the salary cap, not Joel. Anyone Joel's age would do the same, its a once in a lifetime oppurtunity.

That statement is unbelievably fake I wish he'd have come straight out and said the truth. "I have moved to Union for mainly one reason MONEY and secondly I may have a chance of playing in front of 80,000 toffs in a few years time."

I like the other quote in the Platt Waz Advertiser ''Feckin great, can eat n drink what I want and can retire in 5 years a rich man, all I have to do is get through the boredom''

Not every RL player is a mercenary. You don't have to look far to find one that isn't.

Agree with you, its time the RL once and for all sorted out the Communist Cap.

i very much doubt it.....most RU props are carrying beer bellys and look way older than they probably are, and far from fit......thats why they are in union, not league

i would say its a financial victory for Sam.....prob what his new management advised, as he wont make it in Union, so milk League for as much as you can get.

Okay, if someone offered you 5 times the wage you are currently on, and you was a 20 + year old lad, would you take it? Or say "No, your okay, il stay here, even though I have achieved everything in the game, il stay here and carry on"

The only stupid talk is form Joel Tomkins about things being special down there. Now if he had been honest and said he had gone for money fair enough but his statement is nothing but platitudes to justify as move to a code which as recent as March this year he said he didn't see himself playing. He is a hypocrite.

I'm really struggling to see what possible benefit Wigan can get from this partnership.

It's great for Saracens though..... a partnership with the best production line in RL.

???

If you're just choosing to disbelieve the bit where it says that Sam has been ringfenced for three years, then I understand your position. But IL is risking looking very inept indeed if he makes a public statement like that and then a year later sells Sam to Northampton.

Lets get this reet once and for all...

[size=150I DONT BLAME JOEL FOR GOING TO YAWNION FOR THE MONEY

I JUST CANT BE DOING WITH THE SHIOTE THAT FOLLOWS IT!![/size

I cant say I am keen on this news at all. Saracens seem to have everything to gain from such a deal and I really cant see much in it for Wigan. Indeed I have yet to see any League club get any benefit from such partnerships. Saracens have lots of money, courtesy of wealthy backers, but apart from this have a tiny fanbase, no real home and no real history. They have just poached one of our players, entirely fairly may I add, but are to all intents and purposes are a rival just as Leeds or Saints are. Lenegan has some explaining to do and hopefully for once he will keep us fans informed of whats going on.

As for Joel and his there is something special happening at Saracens line he has obviously been told to say that as it is something Saracens and their fans have said for sometime. It is corny and I have lost a lot of respect for Tomkins in him saying that, if he had said there is a lot of money at Saracens I would have respected him a lot more.

Wigan Rugby League joing up with a Yawnion club





What next the Klu Klux Clan joining forces with The Brothers Of Islam???

talk about jumping in bed with the devil. I just hope and pray that it is just a chance to get close to all the pricks at twickers to plant a bomb under it and blow all the tits up in one go.............

Well arent you the grown up one.

Some times Dave you post a thousand blooming words reply and i sometimes get lost in them. But this time short post and i think you are totally correct. I can not see how we gain anything from this. IL has done RL and us more damage this afternoon than anyone connected with the game. This will benefit the game with the biggest purse and its not us. Instead of going to bed with Saracens he should have got the cap changed. I have no issue with Joel going but us going into parteneship with a RU team smacks of complete stupidity on behalf of IL.

IL should now explain what is going on and why he has done this. I have this afternoon just realised how great a coach Michael Maguire was for us. If Maguire had not come from The Storm then we would not have had signed Lima, the Hoff and Finch last year.

Only peace of good news is that the greatest talent SL has seen has signed an imnproved deal but then again did his brother sign an improved deal last year and then fooked off.

Farrell
Ashton
Tomkins
Robinson

see the pattern?

Indeed. As I just posted on the Sam thread if contracts are worthless then so is this one. IL (and Sam as well) have nailed their colours to the mast and decided to stick with RL for three years at least.

If they don't think they can enforce this deal it would never have been made.

The only conclusion is contracts are not worthless so IMO it would have been well worth forgoing the reported £250K and having Joel a (potentially) unhappy player for a few years by enforcing his contract to truly say hands off contracted players to RU.

As to the tie up with Sarries. It has already served its purpose. It's got intelligent people on this board distracted from the Joel transfer, which IS bad news, saying there must be something in it for Wigan because IL did it despite the fact for the life them they can't see what we would gain.

Don't know if this has already been mentioned (haven't read through the 7 pages so far) but I think this could be a very good idea.

Yes it may be giving more exposure to our talented youngsters, but if we have regular cross code games and absolutely hammer them like we did with Bath, then it will show we have a far superior and entertaining game. What better way to show the world how good Rugby League players are by stuffing the current Premiership Champions, whilst playing good rugby at the same time.

The more exposure our sport gets, the more it will be appreciated by a greater audience.

Poor show from IL. So far it's all benefits for RU/saracens.

It's no good people on here whinging to wait for a statement; the partnership has already been announced and a real statement on the benefits to Wigan should have been prepared and released at the same time by IL.

As it's stands it just looks amateurish by Wigan and a bad move by IL.

You cant be for real. The matches with Bath are when the problems all started. Precisely because of the reasons you highlighted Union was desperate to get our top players after realising how far behind they were and since then RL has been on a decline and our coverage has got less and less.

I've 100% faith in Lenegan. He knows what he's doing. Maybe some of you would rather we had the two clowns Maurice and Dave back and all those magic days of being pumped time and again against St Helens and even Warrington and consistent under achievement.