Will be signing for St Helens next season as a replacement for Ryan Morgan. Yet again, the St Helens club should be applauded for single handedly trying to raise the profile of super league by signing bona fide stars instead of Queensland cup standard players. With the likes of Barba, Naiqama, Percival, Makinson etc, the St Helens backline will be scary!

Regards

King James

As good a replacement for Barba as you could hope for really but it’ll clearly weaken the St Helens team.

Guessing barba won't be here then as cap space would been an issue. Saints team coming together nicely

No it wouldn’t, Matty Smith will leave and he’d be a replacement for Morgan.

Unfortunately for you he won’t be replacing Barba.

Lomax moving back there?

More chance of Lomax going back to FB than Naiqama, yes.

Kevin Naiqama is a very good player. If Benjamin Barba stays at St Helens then Naiqama will play in the centres and St Helens will have the most brilliant backline in Super League in 2019.

Regrettably, if Barba stays, then I see St Helens beating Catalans, perhaps at Wembley and probably at Old Trafford in 2019. But with Samuel Tomkins, David Mead, and Anthony Gigot in the Catalans backline, it should still be an exciting pair of encounters.

Dream on what drink do you get ed on lol

He gets high on people that respond to his schtick.

Naqaima is a very good player, but he'll have nowhere near the influence Barba has had.

Gildart from Wigan was holding out in the hope to sign for St Helens. Now it is clear that Saints have aimed much much higher with the signing of Naiqama, Gildart has begrudgingly signed a new contract at Wigan

Regards

King James

Get this season out of the way first before having grandiose ideas.

Big rumours coming from Australia that Naiqama is being signed because Barba is going back to the NRL

Hardly, more a case of putting 2+2 together and getting 5. If you’ve read the article then you’ll know the whole thing is littered with if’s and maybe’s. The first line of the quote from the person making the rumours up reads “If Kevin Naiqama goes to St Helens there could be implications there for Ben Barba“. Barba may well and most likely will go back to the NRL at the end of the season but the Naiqama signing likely has little to do with it.

AS108 - I suspect the salary cap would say different. Barba would be the highest earner in SL if he stays (or should be), but Naiqama is an NRL regular who would be able to get a contract elsewhere as well and whilst he wouldn't be on the same as Barba he'd want a decent wedge. In the current era, when we only see the likes of Barba in SL for off-field reasons, Naiqama would be right at the top end of NRL imports, and command a wage reflecting that.

Barba turned down that accolade by signing for Saints this time last year. After seemingly already agreeing terms with Wire when an all expenses paid guest at the Magic weekend, Barba sneaked off to meet up with Saints on a couple of occasions.
Instead Roberts is very much the highest earner in SL followed by Sam T then George W.

I doubt it would, if he was to come and Barba was to stay then he’d be replacing Morgan who will be on decent money himself and there’s no doubt that Matty Smith will leave at the end of the season and he’s definitely on big money. Both of them off the cap is more than enough to cover Naiqama.

So it was reported that Naiqama was looking for 150k last year when he flirted with coming to SL. Assuming this figure is in the right ball park, its entirely possible, as 100k immediately comes from the cap increase - then it comes down to a question of whether Morgan is earning over 50k - and reasonably speaking we can asusme that too. Theres the team that has Naiqama and Barba in the same team (and actually leaving a little space for more).

If Barba goes, it frees up his cap and the marquee spot to bring someone else in. But I suspect it will either be a stand off or another centre with one of Lomax/ Naiqama respectively taking to 1 position up, rather than a like for like replacement.

David 'bang average' Mead wants out of the cesspit as although he is just Bang Average he has visions of grandeur & an ambition to win or at least challenge for some silverware ..... therefore Mr Average seeks an exit from the Calamitously Cataclysmic Cowardly Catalans to just about any Club that isn't a laughing stock ....

He utterly rejected you when he got an offer from a bigger and better club. So stop cryarsing and just deal with it.

If Naiqama replaces Morgan at Saints, coupled with the return of Walmsley, that makes one hell of a strong side for next season.

When was the last time you saw a Championship side playing at Wembley or Old Trafford?

That rules out Leigh then

Regards

King James

Yep, he wont be shown to be "bang average" under Powell in 2019.