WiganWarriorsFans.com

And pigs will fly

josie andrews wrote:The club started talks with Joe this time last year after he scored four tries in the Leigh friendly.

Rads said that no matter how much money they offered Joe he wanted the Sydney lifestyle.

Regardless of what the stated reasons are there has been too much PR flannel in recent seasons for them to be taken seriously.

It is however a sad state of affairs that playing for the most famous UK club and not having won a trophy with them or in fact achieved anything much in the UK game that the sport in the uK is not attractive enough to hold onto the player of his age an relative inexperience.

It really is a matter of who is next.

I read the fans via lotto raised £155,000 for youth development at Wigan. May as well have handed the cheque over to Russell Crowe.

It's his career people, that's how things go.

Joe Burgess to leave Wigan for Sydney Roosters

Joe Burgess has decided to leave Wigan for Australia at the end of the 2015 Super League season after agreeing to join Sydney Roosters.

The 20-year-old winger, who burst onto the Super League scene in 2014, will be out of contract with the Warriors in the autumn and the club have failed to persuade him to sign a new deal.

"We did everything we could but he wants to experience the Sydney lifestyle," said Wigan's football general manager and director Kris Radlinski.

Widely regarded as one of the hottest properties in the game, Burgess played and scored against the Roosters in the World Club Challenge clash at the start of last season in Sydney.

Wigan-born Burgess, who came through the club's junior system, scored 23 tries in his first full season of Super League, including the Warriors' only touchdown in their Grand Final defeat by St Helens in October.

He went on to earn a place in the England squad for the Four Nations Series, but was a non-playing member of the squad.

Burgess, who has been handed Wigan's No 5 jersey for the new season, will be the latest high-profile player to switch from Super League to the NRL.

Seven members of the 24-strong England squad plied their trade in the NRL in 2014, including former Wigan full-back Sam Tomkins, and they have since been joined by former Hull KR hooker Josh Hodgson.

http://www1.skysports.com/rugby-league/ ... 5/9656591?

x Wigan Warrior x wrote:It's his career people, that's how things go.

Of course it is his career.

Every player's career is their career and if all the best ones see it as in their interests to move to Oz what then?

Got a great opportunity for a successful career on a decent wage in a terrific country with a brilliant lifestyle.
Can't see for a second why he wants to do this.

Living in Wigan or moving to Sydney?

No brainer regardless of money, or loyalty or anything...

Panchitta Marra wrote:Got a great opportunity for a successful career on a decent wage in a terrific country with a brilliant lifestyle.
Can't see for a second why he wants to do this.

It is mystery why we have any decent players left really. Instead of paying Hampshire an improved contract IL should help him find a club on Oz, pocket the agents fee and save the club the wages.

If he gets rid of all the best prospects we will soon be mediocre enough to be safe from all this and I am sure everyone will be happier in the knowledge we are so crap no one wants our players.

Australia, Sydney and its lifestyle has been there for a long time. It was a fantastic place to live 20 years ago.

In the past a few players moved down under to experience that (Malcolm Reilly being one) in pretty much the same way Pat Richards came here to do that. But not many. A few went in the off season as you could back then (as Aussies did the same the other way) but few made the move permanent.

However, it is only since the NRL got rich that this "lifestyle" thing became so attractive. Money talks and it is too easy to shrug the shoulders and say it's inevitable and IL (along with one of two other chairmen) need to do something radical to break the impasse to offering better wages than the salary cap allows. Unfortunately I am not convinced he wants to.

Panchitta Marra wrote:Got a great opportunity for a successful career on a decent wage in a terrific country with a brilliant lifestyle.
Can't see for a second why he wants to do this.

^^^ This

If I didn't have a family I would have moved my business to OZ too.

Fantastic player who will be very much missed, and wish him the very best, but we managed before without him and we will survive without him in 2016.

Players come and go, some players will return, others wont.

I like the idea too that junior players should have to do 3 years with the club, but what if that player simply didnt have his heart or head with the club anymore - would we really want that player not at their best?

It is what it is and I wish him all the luck

PaulC wrote:

Panchitta Marra wrote:Got a great opportunity for a successful career on a decent wage in a terrific country with a brilliant lifestyle.
Can't see for a second why he wants to do this.

^^^ This

If I didn't have a family I would have moved my business to OZ too.

Fantastic player who will be very much missed, and wish him the very best, but we managed before without him and we will survive without him in 2016.

Players come and go, some players will return, others wont.

I like the idea too that junior players should have to do 3 years with the club, but what if that player simply didnt have his heart or head with the club anymore - would we really want that player not at their best?

It is what it is and I wish him all the luck

I don't know what your business is but if all your best employees left (assuming you have some that is and you are not a one man business) and the ones you had to replace them with were poorer, would this not be of concern?