Chris22 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 https://www.saintsrlfc.com/2020/02/03/luke-thompson-to-leave-st-helens-at-the-end-of-the-season/?utm_source=pushnotification Leaving for the NRL at the end of the year. A huge blow, but can't wish him anything but the best of luck for his NRL career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man of Kent Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Inevitable, really. More money and a chance to challenge himself in the best rugby comp in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moove Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Gutted, but inevitable. Looking forward to seeing Matty Lees step up though and glad it's been sorted early. Good luck to him. They'll love him over there. Not really the same style as Jammer who had ball playing skills as well, but very much from the same mould when it comes to work ethic and almost total disregard for his own health when he runs the ball in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunsletgreenandgold Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Been on the cards for a long time. The Bulldogs are an....interesting choice though. That said, with him and Napa starting they could really lay a platform against any NRL team for many years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Good luck to him. Shame we have such a low salary cap though, Saints may have had a chance of keeping him if it was bigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidM Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Can’t blame him . He’s a blockbuster prop among the best there is so I think he’ll do really well . Our middle men are doing the business there and in demand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Prince Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 42 minutes ago, Man of Kent said: Inevitable, really. More money and a chance to challenge himself in the best rugby comp in the world. "More money and a chance to..." err, make more money in the richest rugby comp in the world. BTW, do the NRL have marquee players like us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Prendle Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Another one lost, and while it's great to see him having a go at the Aussies, it is a sad state of affairs that the SC is still lagging so far behind that we can't keep hold of players like this.Whatever the arguments for having the cap, it is getting harder every year to dispute that its existence is affecting the quality of players left in our comp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Click Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 41 minutes ago, Eddie said: Good luck to him. Shame we have such a low salary cap though, Saints may have had a chance of keeping him if it was bigger. Saints could have easily made him one of their marquee players, then they wouldn't have had to worry about the cap. It's exactly this type of player that this rule was put in for in the first place - To keep our world class players here in SL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 11 minutes ago, Click said: Saints could have easily made him one of their marquee players, then they wouldn't have had to worry about the cap. It's exactly this type of player that this rule was put in for in the first place - To keep our world class players here in SL. How many can they have though, and who are the existing marquee players. As long as they already have their full quota they can’t easily make someone else a marquee signing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastLondonMike Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Wonder if we'll see James Graham coming back the other way. Best of luck to Luke though. Hope he continues the trend of successful British forwards in the NRL. Newham Dockers - Champions 2013. Rugby League For East London. 100% Cockney Rugby League!Twitter: @NewhamDockersRL - Get following! www.newhamdockers.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayakman Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 24 minutes ago, Jim Prendle said: Another one lost, and while it's great to see him having a go at the Aussies, it is a sad state of affairs that the SC is still lagging so far behind that we can't keep hold of players like this.Whatever the arguments for having the cap, it is getting harder every year to dispute that its existence is affecting the quality of players left in our comp. But if having such a low cap hurts Toronto then its good for us all, right? The cap needs to raised but many will block it because it will be seen as a benefit to Toronto (which it well might be); its backwards thinking at its finest. I feel like I'm in a convoy going across the Atlantic in WW2....not allowed to go faster than the slowest ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Prendle Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 5 minutes ago, Kayakman said: But if having such a low cap hurts Toronto then its good for us all, right? The cap needs to raised but many will block it because it will be seen as a benefit to Toronto (which it well might be); its backwards thinking at its finest. I feel like I'm in a convoy going across the Atlantic in WW2....not allowed to go faster than the slowest ship. I don't think it's good for the game overall, so I guess that also includes Toronto doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 15 minutes ago, Kayakman said: But if having such a low cap hurts Toronto then its good for us all, right? The cap needs to raised but many will block it because it will be seen as a benefit to Toronto (which it well might be); its backwards thinking at its finest. I feel like I'm in a convoy going across the Atlantic in WW2....not allowed to go faster than the slowest ship. The cap is no more to do with Toronto than any other club, you’re paranoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunbar Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 59 minutes ago, Jim Prendle said: Another one lost, and while it's great to see him having a go at the Aussies, it is a sad state of affairs that the SC is still lagging so far behind that we can't keep hold of players like this.Whatever the arguments for having the cap, it is getting harder every year to dispute that its existence is affecting the quality of players left in our comp. This feels like a bit of an exaggeration to me. As far as I can work out there are only 10 English players in the NRL this year (if we include Herbie Farnworth who has been playing over there since he was 15) and two of those I am regularly told are well past it... Ryan Hall and Kallum Watkins. For this year, we have seen George Williams go over to the NRL while the likes of Widdop and George Burgess are back here. There are fewer brits in the NRL this year than there was 3 years ago so its hardly and avalanche. "The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby. "If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidM Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 3 hours ago, hunsletgreenandgold said: Been on the cards for a long time. The Bulldogs are an....interesting choice though. That said, with him and Napa starting they could really lay a platform against any NRL team for many years to come. They’ve been in the doldrums and often painful to watch but there was an improvement at the backend of last year ( last ten games second only to the Roosters )and I think they’re on the upward curve and will recruit more for 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Prendle Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Dunbar said: This feels like a bit of an exaggeration to me. As far as I can work out there are only 10 English players in the NRL this year (if we include Herbie Farnworth who has been playing over there since he was 15) and two of those I am regularly told are well past it... Ryan Hall and Kallum Watkins. For this year, we have seen George Williams go over to the NRL while the likes of Widdop and George Burgess are back here. There are fewer brits in the NRL this year than there was 3 years ago so its hardly and avalanche. I didn't say it was an avalanche did I? I said that our comp is worse off by having many of our best players playing elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunbar Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, Jim Prendle said: I didn't say it was an avalanche did I? I said that our comp is worse off by having many of our best players playing elsewhere. Ok, yes you didn't call it an avalanche. Forgive my overzealous rhetoric Although can I point out that you did say it is "getting harder every year to dispute that its existence is affecting the quality of players left in our comp." when there are no more English players in the NRL this year than there has been in the past. "The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby. "If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeF Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 It’s not down to SC that he wants to go but presumably to challlenge himself in the best competition? Saints, if they could afford, had the option of making him a marquee player. Does the SC place restrictions on clubs? Yes but the real question is how many clubs could afford to pay more even if the SC was raised to any figure providing it is no more than 50% of their income? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Prendle Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, Dunbar said: Ok, yes you didn't call it an avalanche. Forgive my overzealous rhetoric Although can I point out that you did say it is "getting harder every year to dispute that its existence is affecting the quality of players left in our comp." when there are no more English players in the NRL this year than there has been in the past. If our best players, which the ones that leave are, are not playing in our comp, then surely our comp is weaker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunbar Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 7 minutes ago, Jim Prendle said: If our best players, which the ones that leave are, are not playing in our comp, then surely our comp is weaker? Yes, I agree with that. But it is not not getting weaker year on year as we are not losing more players and some quality ones come back. And while it is not particularly relevant to the topic we are discussing (the strength of Super League), I really like seeing our best players go over as I enjoy the NRL and watching the English players over there adds interest. "The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby. "If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Prendle Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 12 minutes ago, Dunbar said: Yes, I agree with that. But it is not not getting weaker year on year as we are not losing more players and some quality ones come back. And while it is not particularly relevant to the topic we are discussing (the strength of Super League), I really like seeing our best players go over as I enjoy the NRL and watching the English players over there adds interest. OK, but who has come back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunbar Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 15 minutes ago, Jim Prendle said: OK, but who has come back? Sam Tomkins, Joe Burgess, Joe Greenwood, Dan Sarginson, Andre Savelio... The likes of George Burgess and Gareth Widdop are playing senior rugby in the UK for the first time this year as well. "The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby. "If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Prendle Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 4 minutes ago, Dunbar said: Sam Tomkins, Joe Burgess, Joe Greenwood, Dan Sarginson, Andre Savelio... The likes of George Burgess and Gareth Widdop are playing senior rugby in the UK for the first time this year as well. From what I have seen so far, none of those in the top line have come back better, or even the same, players that left SL in the first place. I also fear that we will see so little of the last two that we will forget they are here by the end of May. I take your point though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughsehhh Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Good on him, i hope he tears it up and continues to give the aussies some back in the mould of previous successful British exports. I'm already sick of reading comments from aussie fans, genuine quotes mind, that SBW only played so average and dropped the ball so often was due to the low standard of super league players around not getting his level, apparently. Just a general observation, but Thompson was quite quiet by his standards in the Lions tour. Even more kudos to him for going down under and wanting to meet that standard every single week and test himself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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