Another talent wasted.

Eastmond clearly never had the heart to play league, but Grace is a loss.

Other defectors tell their own story. Joel, Iestyn and Charnley were shadows of their former selves on returning.

hmmmmm, where is my tiny violin

Poor man’s marshy

He's honoured his contract and now he's got the chance to probably double what he's on now, good luck to him.
I believe it's only a short deal anyway 1yr + an option, probably suits both parties, they get to have a look at each other without getting tied down if it doesn't work out

All jokes aside, it’s another sad day for the sport. I didn’t rate him early days but he’s worked really hard and improved massively.

I saw a Saints fan on here (or another forum, can’t quite remember) claiming he wasn’t a big loss to them because he’s not always first choice anymore and I didn’t understand that. He’s a nailed on pick when he’s fit. If we look at it from a selfish Wigan POV, they lose the only player they have with genuine lightning pace and we have 2 or 3, so that won’t hurt us but I’d rather he’d have stayed there long term.

Can he play for Wales if he plays his club rugby in France? That’s always going to be a draw that League can’t offer and I imagine his wages are much bigger, it’s probably a no brainier for Grace.

Yes as he is currently uncapped. It's only those already capped at the point they signed their contract (but under 60 caps) who aren't selected if they play their rugby outside of Wales.

I get so tired of hearing fans respond as if, just because a player's done the honourable thing and the best for himself and his family, somehow it's not a crisis for Rugby League.

I don't care how honourably the player's behaved. That's not the issue.

The issue is that we keep on losing good players to the game. It's bad enough that they go to the NRL, but Union is a serious problem as, not only does it prevent them playing international RL, it seems to ruin them as athletes.

I don't understand why our powers-that-be aren't trying to address this problem. But then, it's been going on for years now and they've not done a tap, so why should they start now?

I think you're maybe going a bit OTT. I can't remember the last player who went to union prior to Grace. I'm no fan of the RFL's sports administration skills but I'm not sure there's much they could do differently to stop a player who wants to represent his country in a World Cup that is far bigger than ours. You could remove the salary cap I guess but there's very few clubs who could afford to pay more than what they're paying atm without getting in a mess.

think of the money tho.....

It’s a real shame but it is what it is.

He came from Union and is going back to give it a go on no doubt huge money.

He seems a decent lad but he doesn’t really have a big profile away from the sport so not overly damaging from a PR point of view.

I genuinely didn’t think he would become as good a player as he is but again I think he is very replaceable.

Were he English would I pick him on the wing maybe but probably not.

It’s a shame to see him go but it also provides an opportunity for someone else.

Good luck to him.

Don't think he is all that good to be honest. Never thought he was but i reckon Saints will recruit better. They probably feel downbeat about it but i think it will be better for them. Johnstone to Catalans now confirmed, i have this horrible feeling they are going to come up with Tom Davies. Him and Makinson running it out basically fills me with dread. No insider information or anything like that, just a feeling. Are they linked with anybody? Don't think they have any quota spots available.

I saw that too think it was on the virtual terrace couldn't belive it

I wondered if it was a joke. Everyone likes to downplay a loss of a good player but that was make believe. I used to like seeing Grace named on a team sheet but his improvements have been huge. There’s not much to him but close to the line his finishing instinct is superb.

Shame to lose him, enjoy watching him play, wish him every success. Difficult to currently have two big money wingers in a competently run salary cap structure.

He's a great kid and won't let us down for the rest of the year. Big loss but on we go. - we've done well to get more important players like Welsby and Dodd signed into new deals.

I don't think it was but you never know

There are clearly bigger losses that could’ve (and still could over the next few seasons) happened. One thing I would say is that losing his pace is an issue for Saints. It’s not the quickest backline anyway and both in attack and in scrambling back in defence, the lad is worth his weight. It probably wouldn’t have made a difference as they’d have been on opposite sides but put him in a chase like Makinson had on with Marshall in the cup semi and he likely wins you a game. Any rumours on who replaces him? Somebody internal or an external signing? I can’t imagine there’s much left in the cap after the run of contract extensions/upgrades.

The thing is he has won 2 LLS (could be 3 by the end of the season) a challenge cup and 3 Grand Finals (again, could be 4 by the time he leaves) there’s not much for him to still do in league, really…..!

Bearing in mind he came to League from Union, it was always a fair bet he would return at some point.

And I'd reply the same way I did on hearing this when Jason Robinson and Andy Farrell left, both of those two having won a lot more than Grace ... namely, that neither they nor Grace have come close to winning the RL World Cup or even a Test series. And those are the real measures of achievement in 13-a-side. So, let's not pretend there's never anything left for them to do.

But I also go back to what I said earlier. I don't blame the player, or question his motivation. I blame the RFL and question its apparent inability or unwillingness to fight to keep its brightest stars.

To be fair to Grace , I can’t see Wales winning a RL World Cup anytime soon so he probably crossed that off his reasons to stay list.

I'd also argue that if the Lions ever came back, even for a one-off tour, he'd be lucky to get anywhere near the first team. So yes, it's unlikely.

But as I say, it's not him I have an issue with.

So we can expect him to be missing on Saturday? I don’t think so. Do I think he is a top player? No. But he is a good player and his speed certainly worries defences. Good luck to him, Saints will find a replacement.

Maybe back in Farrell's day, but IRL is a joke these days as your thread on the Aussies alludes to.

could say the same for Welsby - won all domestic game honours, he should have a crack at the NRL, earn bags of money, take his game to the next level, and give the England squad a better chance to win the World Cup.

We haven't really had a back go out there and rip it up....

Whilst I respect your point it’s largely irrelevant, comparing different situations.

Neither Farrell or Robinson came to League from Union originally, and as alluded to already he’s a very proud welsh lad and Wales RL are never getting to win a World Cup (or likely even play any test series with the elite)

His trajectory will be similar to Farrell and Robinson though (albeit he may not hit the same heights) in that he will have increased his earning potential and increased exposure if he does make it into the WRI squad.