If it is all in the same contract it doesn't matter, as the RFL, unlike the NRL, have calculations in place to stop back ending contracts. Since "the time of the payment" doesn't matter, the very high coach payments can very well be judged as part of the first couple of years salary.

Many ways to skin a cat, but this ain't one of them.

Yep, his injury record is a concern. Would be pretty sickening if we're getting rid of Smith, to Saints of all teams, and then Tommy ends up crocked again. We'll soon realise how important Smith is/was to us if that's how this plays out.

Looking at the positive side of things though, it's great to have him back, he was coming back to England regardless so I'd rather it be with us than any of our rivals. We have a great player on our hands if we can get him on the field on a consistent basis and I'm sure when he transitions into coaching his experience will be a great asset to us.

How many on here would have had the same high opinion of Leuluai if he had chosen St Helens to milk a few quid out of them before he retires?

But that only counts for playing salaries, for cap purposes. Any future coaching contract would be a separate entity.

If Smith is the one sacrificed for Tommy's return its a hell of a gamble given his injuries not sure its one i'd take thats for sure,though when fit of course he's still a huge talen.

Good to see long term his move onto the coaching staff.

Well if we could find a full-back...

Phil Wilko reckons Tommy would have earned more staying at NZW, but the appeal of moving into coaching was a big one.

Sensible move that suits both parties.

Also says hes got a young family and the plan was always to move back to England

Wane said on Wigan Tv that Williams, Shorrocks and Matty Smith can learn from playing with Leuluai.

I wonder if this means we will see Tommy switched between 7 and 9 and take the opportunity to give Smith a rest at times - not a bad option to have. So we could have Williams and Shorrocks to cover 6, Smith and Tommy to cover 7 and MM/Powell to cover 9 with Tommy able to cover 9 and Powell to cover halves, that would be a lot of options if it worked. No more dropping forwards to half.

Agree that Smith has been helped by Sam coming back, and he does seem to be fairly robust. He has a good injury record.
Perhaps they know MM may never fully recover?
I just hope that Tommy has still got it: I'd love to see him back as he was, but he will still need to show he's worth a spot in the team, and swopping MS out may prove to be a mistake.

Very unsure about this signing. Thought Tommy was a very average to poor 7 who lacked creativity, possesses one of the worst kicking games I've ever seen from a half. He's strong in defence, but I really wouldn't be signing a 7 for his defence alone.

At 9 he went well, was a great move by Wayne Bennett to play him there for NZ, and we slowly followed suit. But what does this mean? McM is our starting 9, Sam Powell is our interchange. In a salary capped sport do we really need to spend the money on another 9? I'm betting his new new at Wigan is bigger than what Powell is on, who is a much younger developing good player, who can also cover 7 and 9 for a fraction of the cost and will be around for a lot longer.

Playing him at 7? We have Williams, Smith, Powell, Shorrocks, Hampshire plus Tomkins who can play in the halves. Williams is very young and developing well, Smith is a better 7 than Tommy, and Shorrocks is looking to be a future star who needs game time, not have Tommy stand in his way. No doubt this signals the end for Hampshire.

If we signed at world beater, I could understand investing in this position, otherwise I'd sooner the cap be spent elsewhere.

I have mixed emotions on this. As long as we don't lose Smith to accomodate Tommy I will be happy. I'm not Smiths biggest fan but since Sam returned he has looked a different player to the one earlier in the season. It probably shows the pressure he was under to organise and run the team with so many players injured and so many kids playing. This probably signals the end to Rocky staying at the club which is a shame. Having watched him come through the ranks I was convinced
he would be a star. I'm also not the biggest fan of going back, Joel and Mossop haven't been anywhere near as good as they were prior to leaving us. Sam I still finding his form so will reserve judgement on him.

over the hill and injury prone.another pup signed.

That's pretty much how I see it, and I'd be happy with that.

That's okay, we seem to cope pretty well with injuries these days!

Thank you for your valuable input

Yep, we're a team of pups this season. Joint-top and CC semi-finalists.

To be fair, that is not actually an achievement. I understand it is the most we could currently expect at this stage of the season, but we are not a team that should see that as an achievement, unlike some other teams do.

It's a pretty good barometer for the rest of the season though. Definitely the form team in the league at the moment.

Cheers for that

Bookmarked until further notice.

I didn't say it was an achievement. I'm merely mocking the notion that we're a team of pups. The evidence so far is that we aren't.

Hard to win a cup final when the finals haven't been played yet.

Yes it is, it's a lot better than being out of the CC and in the same place as Leeds. OK, it's not a shiny cup but it's a result of winning games.

Why belittle where the team are?

Please show me where I have belittled the team?

I have said, quite rightly, that where we are at the moment should not be seen as a success. We have been to the GF in the last two seasons, and not won either. Now is not the time to think how well we have done to be where we are, but to refocus and understand that come the end of the season people will only remember the winners.

They are obviously in the best possible place that they can be, which is a positive. It gives us the best possible chance to attack this last part of the season, but unfortunately, our sport is set up in a way that the first 95% of the race is about not being knocked out (like Leeds have been). With only the last 5% about actually winning the thing!