Bryn Hargreaves the 26 year old former Wigan prop who left for Saints in 2006 has announced his retirement from R/L.
He says that what has happened at Bradford has left him totally disillusioned with R/L in general and that he has been offered a posistion away from R/L which will make him more secure in the years to come.
I remember when he was a teenager at Wigan he was very highly though of,but for some reason he was allowed to leave whilst still only 20/21.

Personally, I never rated him that much.

Another of those schoolboy stars who become less and less noticeable the older they get.

That said, I wish him all the best.

I seem to remember him being a bright guy, so he should be ok in the real world and good luck to him in the future. He can look back on a pretty good career and I'm not surprised that he's brassed off with the game.

I'm sure I read somewhere that he's moving to a job in America.

At the time we had to choose 2 of Hargreaves, Prescott and O'Carroll. We made the right choice IMO.

I'd say with the benefit of hindsight, Hargreaves & Prescott would have been the better choices looking at Freddy's injury record.

The fact a first team player at a SL club retires at 26 because he can set himself up better by going now than playing on until his early thirties ought to tell us we are kidding ourselves if we think this game is going to remain a full time professional sport long term.

No idea what Hargreaves is off to do but I bet it hasn't taken a mega-buck job offer to tempt him away.

Agree.

Let's not go OTT it's not hardly a regular occurrence for a SL player to retire from the game early for another profession and Hargreaves wasn't exactly a world-beater. As already said, he was just another talented youngster who never realised his potential, it's bound to be the case that one or two will leave the game.

I don't get why people bring his talent into the mix? Imo its not in question.

If you think of every single player who laces up his boots from Shevy open age to the Wigan 1st team and all that's inbetween he's far above average.

For me it's a sad state of affairs in RL when a 26 year old SL standard prop retires because he gets a better offer from the private sector. SL is the 2nd highest watched sport on Sky but yet we find ourselves in this situation?

Where is the money going?

really ?

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spot on comments

He is, I think he's a plasterer.

he was a regular for St Helens......i call that realising your potential

How sad that a young lad who learned all his rugby at Wigan went on to play his rugby at top class teams like Saints and Bradford should slag off the game that has give him a good living for a good number of years, he will find out that working for a living 9-5 is better than full time R.L.Sorry Bryn you are livin in a dream world if you think that!!!

It is sad, but you're missing the point. Bryn is right that RL doesn't offer a brilliant career for many players. If you're Sam Tomkins you can make very good money but as a more ordinary player like Bryn the rewards aren't massive and it is a short career. You don't make enough money to be set up for life. When you add in the risk of financial failure of clubs it's not an amazing option. The idea that Bryn is wrong because he thinks he can find a more sustainable career where he will be better treated is interesting. I don't know his personal circumstances, qualifications etc, he may well be right that there are better financial options, particularly in the long term and I certainly wouldn't blame him for wanting to find a better employer than the Bulls...

On pay generally, the failure to raise the SC in line with wages inflation means that players are already paid c40% less in real terms than they were at the outset of SL. Players as a whole have been badly treated in the SL era. If this carries on then we will see many more players dropping out of RL or not getting involved in the first place. Financial mismanagement by and lack of vision of the RL and club owners means that the game is heading for a semi-pro future, with a quality of competition nearer the French domestic RL than SL ten years ago.

Wrong on so many levels - he owes the game nothing, he has played the game at the top level but has to decide what is best for his future,after all how long has he got playing top level rugby and earning a reasonable wage - 6 years possibly injury permitting? It is also likely that he would not get another contract at a top club so his earning potential would go down anyway over time. If he has the option to take a job outside the game which will pay he a decent salary long after he would have retired from RL then he has the right to make that choice - after all he has to look after himself and family (if he has one) first. He seems to have been a player who has given 100% wherever he has played and conducted himself in a professional manner (I make no comments on his ability that is not relevant)

Also his comments in the press have not been slagging off as far as I can see - they have been truthful and level headed, I for one wish him luck, anyone who plays such a hard game deserves respect for that.

I'm sorry but some comments are off here people are acting like he's been forced to leave he could well play another 6-8 years of rugby then take the path he is now

Oh he's got a plastering job in the us big deal he could save cash up and open his own business when he does finish, He's attacked the game cause lets face it over the last couple of years he's been passed around from club to club when he wanted to stay with us

I wish him all the best

If the sport is going to get anywhere we need to attract a wider range of talented athlete beyond the limited areas of Wigan, Featherstone etc. and with a choice of career to choose from including football, RU, athletics, boxing etc which all pay better money to the top and middle employees than RL we will continue to find ourselves with a diminishing talent pool if RL isn't perceived as a good career choice for the aspiring athlete.

what a strange post,

perhaps working a 9-5 won't be as exciting or as enjoyable as playing rugby for a living, but if he's found a profession which will sustain him for the rest of his life then he should be applauded for doing so. many in the game I dare say wouldn't have the bottle to do the same thing, good luck to Bryn

But rugby League doesn't work beyond the north of England

Look at Quins they have Union and Football around them they wont bring in big crowds, the only reason the talent comes from these areas is cause we are passionate about the sport from being young just like young kids down south they play football from being young

What a load of tosh.

RL as a professional sport should easily be offering wages to it's top league players that are well above normal private sector salaries.

It can't do that because of the inept attitude of the people running our sport.

The only reason Sam earns a good living is because Wigan had to go the extra mile to persuade the RFL that special measures were needed in order to keep him. So the message going out to the game's youth now is: "You can make a lot of money in this game - providing: a) you turn out to be a really, really good player; and b) your club chairman is able to convince the RFL that you should be a special case."

It kind of makes that golden goose of 'a lucrative career in sport' seem that much further away.

Now in Union, on the other hand ... you can earn a lot more, a lot more quickly, and for doing a whole lot less.

That's why we should be looking at the young talent in London and Wales who are now becoming league players first and foremost and paying them a decent wage and offering good career prospects.

Or we could just give up.