I wouldn’t say he’s a world beater but half backs are hard to come by so for me he’s a good signing he was great at Catalan good at London average at Leigh I know he wanted £130,000 which he was on at Leigh which we refused which is why the deal took so long to go through

Like I mentioned above I don't know where the value he placed on himself came from, probably his agent - as you say there isn't an overabundance of good HB's in SL, so it looks like he's tried to take advantage of that situation. ATEOTD if your pack can do the business, he'll look good behind it.
£130k at Leigh, man they chucked some crazy money around when they came up.

So basically vastman was spot on then.

My serious question is, If Drinky was the difference in Cats winning the challenge cup, then why didn't they keep hold of him?

Not totally he said he could have got an easier berth at a bigger club if his wage demands had been lower but we played a lot lower than he wanted so in reality he could have signed anywhere

Well yes totally tbh - I reckon one or two of the big boys may have given him a shot at what you are paying him but couldn’t be bothered to join a bidding war. Hence there wasn’t one as you were probably the only offer on the table from a half decent club. Good news for you silly beggars from him.

I dunno about Drinkwater, he was a good fit at Cats and I thought he made Leigh tick albeit with a poorer squad.
There's no reason why he can't pull it together for HKR with the right guy's around him, could really make a difference to their season...[icould[/i.
Worth a 12 month punt I reckon.

No what it is that offend you is I won’t buy into your NRL wet dream. I cannot for the life of me understand why British fans fall for it every time.

All Aussie players who join SL from the NRL are spoilt goods one way or another or why would they leave. Too NRL players earn way more than SL players unless of course they are no longer fit for purpose it’s as simple as that.

Drinkwater is bang average end of. PP, Fifita and Miller are the same NRL rejects or never weres all. Worse are the ones you’ve signed because they were once something’s so why the hell are they here?

Answer, one way or another they are not wanted in the NRL because they are no longer good enough - SL is Hurrell and Merrins pension.

Ouch.

I agree in general that in Britain we have an obsession with thinking everything in the NRL is amazing and everything in SL is rubbish, when the reality is the leagues are pretty close in terms of quality. Not equal, but a lot closer than plenty of British RL fans suggest. I don’t agree that every NRL player is here because they can’t get a game in the NRL. Some are undoubtedly. But some are here because it’s a different challenge, a different lifestyle or a different style of rugby that suits them better. I’d also question that a 27 year old and a 29 year old are here to “top up their pension”.
Of course NRL players are generally paid more than SL players. So they should be because they should be better quality than a British alternative. I doubt they’re paid significantly more than the top British players though. The exchange rate significantly helps the Aussies.

They brought him in as a stop gap and had already committed cap space and/or quota spots for 2019, I assume.

As well as the cup win, they won 2 from 11 in SL before he arrived, then won 8 and drew 1 of 12 after he arrived (though they won only 2 from 7 in the 8s).

Now, while that is a striking upturn in fortunes, how much of it was directly due to him and how much was just a general improvement in form is very debatable. It is a small sample size, and that’s why I think clubs might have said ‘HOW MUCH?!’

If we shoot up the league table in 2019, then he’ll be a real hot property for 2020. I guess he’s backing himself to do that. Fingers crossed from a Rovers perspective.

Read the previous paragraph to the one you underlined slowly and TRY to understand it.

Thing is I agree with your first paragraph, I’m not an NRL fan but even I’m not blind to see the significant improvement on recruits this year compared to the previous 5 years or so.

Your 2nd paragraph used to be true before the Marquee rule came in. Certain clubs probably can offer just as good money with the added on of longer term deals....also don’t ignore that a number of NRL clubs get themselves into a mess fitting themselves under their Salary Cap nowadays so that’s playing a factor too. Hurrell and Merrin could stay in the NRL but if clubs have spent too much money retaining/signing other guys they need to find space. Even with their bigger Salary Cap they still have to manage it and can’t fit them all in, do you think the likes of Jordan Turner, Mike Cooper or Joe Wardle etc. were instantly first choice recruits when they moved to Australia...or guys who cost a certain amount that was less than ready established NRL stars?

Leeds’ 2 marquees are still in their 20’s so saying their here for their pensions is ridiculous and just sounds like bitterness from a fan of a club who knows his club won’t be able to sign marquee players in any foreseeable future.

You may have had a point in previous periods of times but I think most can see we’re entering a new period of times with regards NRL signings. It’s not other fans and their clubs fault that your club won’t be able to join in.

Think they’d already committed elsewhere. I’d heard the Matty Smith rumours very early around April I believe and Tomkins wasn’t far behind. Given the Cup win was in August then just question of timing. Majority of squads for the next season are set in place by the time the CC Final comes around.

what ever we have signed him I hope he turns out to be a good player and he wants to stay and we want him to

He's only signed a 1 year contract so that suggests to me that he thinks the Robins could be in a relegation fight and when the going gets tough Drinkwater go's AWOL just ask London's fans when he was there.

To be honest, dont think Rovers will be near the relegation battle this season. Think the one year deal is something different.

Signing a one year deal means that either the player or the club think that they can do better after the year is up, wiggle room on BOTH sides and doesn't mean that Drinkwater thinks they will be relegated. Both he AND KR may think they can do better next season or, perhaps they BOTH ant to see how it works out


IF he signed a 10 year deal, providing there wasnt a clause for if they get relegated, the player gets paid, so no risk on his part.
Your thought's/ hopes on KR facing the drop are way off the mark, London have the relegation spot sorted already.

That just reeks of "diddy club" envy. I love it!

From a Catalans perspective I would have preferred to keep him over Smith, mainly based on the number of games he plays.

I remember Dragons replacing Clint Greensheilds with Brent Webb... I hope this doesn't flop as spectacularly.

However I hope Drinkwater does well.

Lolohea is 23, Hurrell is 27, Merrin 29 (prime for a forward)

Because his wage demands were laughable.

I think the expression ‘diddy’ club tells us all we need to know about you sunshine - are you lacking inches? Love it.

Good signing will do the job he is required for

The cost of signing him or the length of his contract is unimportant if he makes them a more successful team.

Josh had a good debut last night , good signing for Hull KR .