Regan Grace

[Futtocks]

1 minute ago, The storm said:

He would be better of going to the NRL

If the NRL were interested, he'd have received an offer. Either the NRL club offer(s) aren't enough, or offers were never made.

We got him from RU, and now he's going back. As good as he is (and he is damn good), he's not the loss that a home-grown star would be. 

Water under the bridge.

[Chris22]

Regan is born and bred in Rugby Union territory. I recall reading quotes from him saying that his dream as a child was to play for Wales, and when people say 'Wales', they mean the national RU side.

I'm not going to hold it against him for deciding to go back to what is *his* sport, in the same was that Rugby League is *our* sport. He's been great for Saints, won lots of trophies and I believe is very well-liked amongst our team. His contract is up and he'll honour it.

Disappointed to lose him, but genuinely do wish him luck.

[Scubby]

Ultimately there is not enough money in the sport to keep him in SL. 

He is a top SL player but not in the very elite. However it will be very easy for him to double his salary in RU.

The NRL is packed with good wingers so not really an option there either.

[Damien]

As I said previously when this was mentioned I don't think Grace will do much in Union and will end up returning to League. I just don't think he has the game for it.

A decent player but he has never been a star player and will never command the big money in RL. I'd rate a fair few other wingers in SL higher or at least the same sort of level.

[Wolford6]

On today's showing at Odsal, Regan Grace is much better than Blake Ferguson. Ferguson didn't do too badly in the NRL.

[Wolford6]

For the past few years Wales RU has a policy of only picking home-grown players. However, this was not applied where players had moved to another competition after they had won 60 caps or had never played for a Welsh club.

Regan Grace is in a strange position. Wales is loaded with wingers, no-one knows how good he is at defensive kicking  and he's not even playing in England. Wales won't pick him for the Autumn internationals and will have to have an injury issue for Regan to get called up for the 6 Nations. By next Autumn,  he and Rees-Zammit would be a sensational pairing.

Wales' main problem is at stand off; Dan Biggar is too old and, like his contemporaries, not adventurous enough to unleash the backs more often. Yesterday, they led South Africa at half time thanks to two flying breaks by Rees Zammit. Second half, they played  a more constrained game and lost.

RL fans often moan about our referees but RU stinks in that regard. There are often two or three offfences and the ref decides which one to penalise. Yesterday, I consider that the referee effectively decided which team won the game. Regan will have to get used to it.

[Pie tries]

Good luck to him. Suited to league, very sad to see him go. Seems a decent lad too, will be missed. 
Hope he’s got the pockets ready…

[OMEGA]

Poor man’s Tony Sullivan, looks great on the end of a dominant Sts handling move but there are a dozen others who’d look just as good or better.

I hope he goes well in Union and has a good career but I don’t think Sts or Rugby League will really miss him.

NEXT!

[sentoffagain2]

21 minutes ago, Pie tries said:

Good luck to him. Suited to league, very sad to see him go. Seems a decent lad too, will be missed. 
Hope he’s got the pockets ready…

SL probably worth £150k a year if he can get more than that by being a spectator on the wing  at R.U .good luck to him.Not a bad player but Vollenhoven was something else.

[Dallas Mead]

25 minutes ago, OMEGA said:

Poor man’s Tony Sullivan, looks great on the end of a dominant Sts handling move but there are a dozen others who’d look just as good or better.

I hope he goes well in Union and has a good career but I don’t think Sts or Rugby League will really miss him.

NEXT!

NEXT from…..where?  Standard RL where we lose a player to Union or the NRL and just go The game is dying on its aris and there are clubs in the SL that pushed for the salary to go down.  DOWN!!!! The salary cap that is paying players less than it did 20 years.

 

Lord (or IMG) help us…

[yipyee]

Lots of negativity around Regans move but in reality he's achieved everything there is to achieve in RL for a Welsh man. The next challenge is to play top level internationals and he won't do that in RL.

Hes got pace and thats a big plus in union, more so than the bulk you need in the robotic one size fits all league positions.

On a plus note for RL it will give the sport some exposure and hopefully young Welsh men will see a move to RL a valid prospect of professional progression for overlooked talent. (Wasnt regan told he was too small)?

[sentoffagain2]

4 minutes ago, Dallas Mead said:

NEXT from…..where?  Standard RL where we lose a player to Union or the NRL and just go The game is dying on its aris and there are clubs in the SL that pushed for the salary to go down.  DOWN!!!! The salary cap that is paying players less than it did 20 years.

 

Lord (or IMG) help us…

  How much are the Warrington players on and they are c-ap.I would pay them less contract money and win bonus extra.

[Oxford]

6 hours ago, Mr Frisky said:

If he played for Wakefield or Salford no one would really mention him.

I would!

But I won't now!

[Toby Chopra]

Clearly the money is the main driver, but I also agree with others that hes also running out of things to achieve in league. 

That said, by going to France, doesn't that also rule out playing for Wales? (Or England, for whom I also presume he's eligible due to his years living in St Helens) 

[glossop saint]

I think this thread is a bit of a sad read and missing the point a bit. Grace may not be in the top 2 key players for saints or in the top 5 wingers in SL but that doesn't mean he isn't a loss. He is a genuine Welsh player, someone who speaks well, without a northern or aussie accent, a very good winger and one that is more suited to RL than RU. Yet has chosen to change codes. 

He is a loss to the sport but what worries me more is the seeming blasé attitude of some on the thread. Understandable given the relationship and history with RU but it does feel slightly like burying our head in the sand. I would have hoped he would have been front and centre of the promotion of the Welsh national team come the WC to give less of a M62 image but instead we are likely to have an interview with someone with a Bradford accent after Wales games on BBC.

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

33 minutes ago, glossop saint said:

I think this thread is a bit of a sad read and missing the point a bit. Grace may not be in the top 2 key players for saints or in the top 5 wingers in SL but that doesn't mean he isn't a loss. He is a genuine Welsh player, someone who speaks well, without a northern or aussie accent, a very good winger and one that is more suited to RL than RU. Yet has chosen to change codes. 

He is a loss to the sport but what worries me more is the seeming blasé attitude of some on the thread. Understandable given the relationship and history with RU but it does feel slightly like burying our head in the sand. I would have hoped he would have been front and centre of the promotion of the Welsh national team come the WC to give less of a M62 image but instead we are likely to have an interview with someone with a Bradford accent after Wales games on BBC.

As the only genuine Welsh RL star player at the moment it’s a big loss. Regan is v family oriented and that will have played a part I am sure in a deal that looks to be worth 200k plus a year to him. 

[glossop saint]

8 hours ago, OMEGA said:

Poor man’s Tony Sullivan, looks great on the end of a dominant Sts handling move but there are a dozen others who’d look just as good or better.

I hope he goes well in Union and has a good career but I don’t think Sts or Rugby League will really miss him.

NEXT!

Am I right in thinking you are a Wakey fan? Apologies if I've got that wrong. As a sport we have lost Grace and gained the second tier RU winger that Trinity have just signed. 

I would suggest that we will miss him and that is not a good scenario for RL.

[Tommygilf]

11 hours ago, Pen-Y-Bont Crusader said:

That’s the thing I don’t get as he always said he hated never getting the ball.

Bit different at amateur level than earning a relative shedload professionally 

[Pen-Y-Bont Crusader]

1 minute ago, Tommygilf said:

Bit different at amateur level than earning a relative shedload professionally 

Yes. That’s why I think the money must have been just too good to turn down for him. 

[Oxford]

Going into paroxisms of grief over one individual is never going to be helpful. No matter how Welsh they might be.If he goes, he's gone and this is the only option in trying to compete financially that makes sense.

I don't want to pull him apart for going but I also don't want to waste time and effort being  miserable over someone who wants to play kick and clap.

Every time I watch that sport I feel frustrated by what's missing and bored by what's there.

I don't waste time on tiddlywinks players or synchronised bread making so why should this spoil my day.

If you want to discuss why they're signing him as a market competitor we'd all be stating the  ble$%£&@  obvious, to make their sport look superior and more attractive.

The french above all recognise the cut throat nature of this game and the long term planning needed to bring it into being. It appears the only people who don't know this (or choose to ignore it) are the deluded " we're all friends in sport" brigade.

This post is not a reaction to him going but to other posts on here.

Added to this when you have agents saying things like test themselves at that level about union you know what show me the money really means. Next thing you know we'll be having agents quoted in TGG journalism like their word(s) mean something and will add value to any TGG discussion!

[RigbyLuger]

The best agents are neither seen nor heard.

[sgorpioncaerdyddrob]

Again though, this highlights the fact that the international game and lack of European club competition holds RL back. Can't see Wales even beating the Cook Islands now. 

[Jughead]

Surprised and staggered that people seemingly don’t rate Regan Grace that highly. For me, he’s comfortably in the top five wingers in the league and probably in my top three. 

[fighting irish]

3 minutes ago, Jughead said:

Surprised and staggered that people seemingly don’t rate Regan Grace that highly. For me, he’s comfortably in the top five wingers in the league and probably in my top three. 

Me too.

I think if not for Percival, Grace would have lit the game up like a Christmas tree.

With his attacking capabilities, it was criminal to starve him of the ball.

It's very sad that he'll have even less (ball) du mauvais côté obscur

. 

[Scubby]

11 minutes ago, Jughead said:

Surprised and staggered that people seemingly don’t rate Regan Grace that highly. For me, he’s comfortably in the top five wingers in the league and probably in my top three. 

I think a lot of people rate him and rate him comfortably in their top 5. The problem is, as good as he is, that he is not worth a marquee payment at any of the 12 SL clubs and, outside of that, SL wages are #### 

So the realistic alternative to RU is the NRL but that competition is filled with quality wingers. I haven't seen any posters on here who doesn't think he is a good player but SL is skint and he probably got an offer to double his wages. Good luck to him.