Re: Kyle Eastmond : Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:03 pm  

sally cinnamon wrote:

So does the Austin signing close the lid on Eastmond to us?

I wonder where he will end up. He doesn't have a club and if we're out of the running I wonder what his options are. He might be in the situation where he has to take what is available from the likes of Salford or Toronto if they come up, but whether they will be paying top dollar is questionable.

Won’t be Salford, he will still be a marquee signing and not many clubs can afford that. Even with the Austin signing we still have a marquee spot available.

Re: Kyle Eastmond : Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:23 pm  

sally cinnamon wrote:

He might be in the situation where he has to take what is available from the likes of Salford or Toronto if they come up, but whether they will be paying top dollar is questionable.

No disrespect to Eastmond, but he doesn’t deserve top dollar. Not yet. He needs to prove himself in RL after 7 years out of the game and then look for a decent salary. At the moment he’s struggling to get a decent salary in RU, so I’m not sure what qualifies him to suddenly command top dollar in a different sport, one that pays significantly less on average.

The other dilemma is where to play him. He’s not a creative half back, in the threequarters he’d be a small centre whose RL defence will need A LOT of work... at best he’d slot in at full back, but we currently have the best British full back occupying that position and I don’t think Ratchford would be pleased to see Eastmond take his place on a marquee salary with no justification.

Not saying it wouldn’t work out with Eastmond, but it’s a huge gamble that could upset the squad. He wasn’t exactly Billy Slater when he left 7 years ago, he was just an exciting runner. Kevin Penny was an exciting runner too but I don’t think I’d be looking to re-sign him if he’d left for 7 years in union either...

Re: Kyle Eastmond : Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:32 pm  

I think we have KE enough time and with the Million Dollar Man being available we walked away.
I believe we did leave the agent with a 'take it or leave it' deal.

I believe we did that with Sam too...after asking him to pretty much to add his own noughts in the cheque...and he still went back to the Pies.

Re: Kyle Eastmond : Wed Jul 11, 2018 9:44 pm  

easyWire wrote:

Not saying it wouldn’t work out with Eastmond, but it’s a huge gamble that could upset the squad. He wasn’t exactly Billy Slater when he left 7 years ago, he was just an exciting runner. Kevin Penny was an exciting runner too but I don’t think I’d be looking to re-sign him if he’d left for 7 years in union either...

Why not...we re-signed him after he left for Swinton?

Re: Kyle Eastmond : Thu Jul 12, 2018 6:04 am  

sally cinnamon wrote:

Why not...we re-signed him after he left for Swinton?

I’m referring to the marquee situation Sally - of course Eastmond should get a chance on a cheap deal. That’s what I’d put forward in my first paragraph. Pretty sure Kevin Penny came back on around £20k with a view to proving himself in Super League again. Common sense should see the other marquee spot spent on an experienced pivot to guide us round the pitch.

There’s only three teams in this league who’ve regularly won Super League, and none of them seem to have been chasing Eastmond. Maybe we should try to emulate their methods first before we go experimenting with what I see as an expensive publicity stunt.

Re: Kyle Eastmond : Thu Jul 12, 2018 7:57 am  

I think Austin is along that line Easy...I happen to think we'll win the GF this year any way.

Re: Kyle Eastmond : Thu Jul 12, 2018 11:56 am  

rubber duckie wrote:

I think Austin is along that line Easy...I happen to think we'll win the GF this year any way.

Can't see it...Wigan or saints will win it....

Re: Kyle Eastmond : Thu Jul 12, 2018 12:15 pm  

sir adrian morley wrote:

Can't see it...Wigan or saints will win it....

We know the measure of Wigan....
The Saints game...well that's going to be coming at a time both teams could do without...it may not be a yard stick match.

Re: Kyle Eastmond : Thu Jul 12, 2018 12:39 pm  

karetaker wrote:

Won’t be Salford, he will still be a marquee signing and not many clubs can afford that. Even with the Austin signing we still have a marquee spot available.

I think you'll find Daz C is our other marquee player

Re: Kyle Eastmond : Thu Jul 12, 2018 12:48 pm  

rubber duckie wrote:

I think Austin is along that line Easy...I happen to think we'll win the GF this year any way.

It is a great testament to the patient squadbuilding that TS did over the past few seasons that he has left Steve Price with a squad ready to win GFs rather than needing to be reconstructed from scratch.