Kittwazzer wrote:
Not necessarily Dave. A point made on this week's backchat was that the increase in the NRL salary cap effectively raised the value of its existing players. The likes of Slater, Inglis, Smith etc will be able to command higher incomes from the NRL. There will still be a lot of talent who can't break into the NRL big money group but could do an excellent job in SL!
But doesn't that mean average NRL centres will also be getting paid more? An increased cap ought to mean pay rises across the board.
So to tempt them here won't that mean such average players end up being what we would consider highly paid?
In any case ddtftf mentioned "top class" so wouldn't they be in the Slater pay bracket anyway?
An increased cap can still only go so far. 'Average' NRL players who aren't necessarily a first team regular might not see the benefit because the agents of the games 'stars' will be demanding massive new deals. Those in demand or with more marketable skills will see a dispropotionately higher rise in salaries - pay rises won't go up uniform across the board and there will be some players who would do a more than decent job in Super League that might not be in NRL demand so much. NRL chairman won't pay someone more than the market rate even if they have more money to spend. For example - Man United have more money to spend than Wigan Athletic but I doubt Antonio Valencia was on a lot more when he first went to United than Wigan would have paid him (its just an example, I don't know actual figures and I'm not saying it is actually what happened). Just because you have more to spend, it doesn't mean everyone will get paid more. It depends on how in demand they are and how good their agent ins.
I don't think that is right. If Wigan suddenly had £2m to spend on players and split the extra £400K giving two or three top class players a big wage increase people would moan about a lop sided salary cap distribution.
In any case we aren't supposed to be talking about average players as ddtftf mentioned IL signing a top class centre so if he does this will be a miracle.
markill wrote:Prescott's problem is errors. He makes decent yards, misses few tackles and I used to have the perception he gave away a few penalties, but I think this has improved.
He isn't a renowned tackle breaker or offloader, which makes his errors more notable because he isn't doing anything noticably brilliant to make up for it. Defencively solid but not a spectacular player. You do need these types of players, but I would want him to cut down his errors.
Based on 2012 stats, Taylor is more likely to make a break or offload than our current front rowers. He made a decent amount of tackles per game and misses a lower ratio than our current front rowers. The stats suggest he would make an able replacement for Lima - and we shouldn't turn our nose up at the stats because he has played against the same teams as our front row but in a worse team himself.
I beg to differ on that point Markill, as when fit Preccy has been seen to bounce players off like 'Ten Pin Skittles' unlike most other Wigan Warriors prop forwards.
A fantastic sight to see and worth the entrance fee alone.
I based that on only 4 tackle busts this season in SL - although, looking at past seasons he has had a few more so I accept your point to an extent, but he's never been one of our top performers in this regard (never in top 10 in our squad like Feka and Lauaki have been). Beenig seen to do something and doing it consistently are different, I would expect greater consistency of tackle bust success to consider him renowned for it. Taylor did more of this last year per game than Prescott anyway.
God wrote:However our biggest wins of the season featured Dudson at starting prop or off the bench. So why wasnt he picked against Leeds.
Dudson was good but I don't think he was the reason the team ended up playing so well during those games. The form of the entire team played a part. He was good and getting even better with ball in hand but he wasn't tested much, particularly in defence.
The reason he didn't play against Leeds is presumably because his form since returning from injury, understandably, wasn't that high and wasn't as good as Lauaki and Flower (who was our best prop against Leeds IMO). He was also terrible for the under 20's the week before.
In fact Dudson has been terrible every time he's played for the under 20's and that's one thing that should lower expectations for him next season. He's got the potential to be an excellent player but he's got some negatives to his game still. He can be a penalty machine and he can be sluggish in defence when really tested. Some think he'll develop into a top quality forward next year but I think there's still some patience needed.
he gave away 4 penalties in two seasons according the the super league website (provided by Opta) - i don't know if he is responsible for other ones that go against the whole team rather than an individual, but I wouldn't call him a penalty machine.
And that tweet referenced abive was to Phil Clarke it looks like to me - he quoted it to show what sort of vile abouse he gets i assume. but i suppose he couls have censored it.
markill wrote:he gave away 4 penalties in two seasons according the the super league website (provided by Opta) - i don't know if he is responsible for other ones that go against the whole team rather than an individual, but I wouldn't call him a penalty machine.
It's when playing for the under 20's that he ends up being a penalty machine and looking like a liability. It might just be that he's more comfortable at the higher level and that he'll never concede many penalties or struggle when playing for the first team. The point I was making is that he does have the negative side that is shown when playing for the under 20's and that is probably enough reason to lower expectations. Wane was quoted as saying he was the form prop at one point this season and while he was indeed playing well there's no need to get carried away. He's only 22 and young players have their ups and downs.
I don't disagree - I don't think either Gil or Taylor would be world class players in the next 12 months. I don't really get the chance to watch 20s games so I can't comment on him performing worse at that level but he is showing a decent progression and you have to feel he is on an upwards curve.