Leniu stayed because of his Samoan brothers 100% without those boys he'd be in the blue and white for sure. As much as I hated missing out on him it will be good to see all those guys stick together.
Yeah the Mt Druitt connection kinda saving our cap. Staines signed for less than what he was offered as well so we haven't done too bad and why I'm not worried about losing Burton. We got to keep bunch of our juniors and sent a couple to clubs who genuinely need them.
That's not how negotiations work. Panthers have what the dogs want. Our position doesn't weaken over time. I don't know how desperate the dogs are but the reaction being so big suggests it's pretty bad and will get worse.
Lol thanks for your input
You're welcome.
For Leniu 100% he is worth that. The way the games going he's the type of forward you want. Young explosive talent like him is rare to find on market ATM. We need another elite prop to partner Thompson if Hetherington doesn't step up to the plate and really besides Guler there's not much else imo. I like Atoni but he's more suited to the bench/impact.
Yeah hopefully you've got some forwards coming through. Saw a post on Facebook the other day about the dogs running junior training for heaps of guys or something so clearly just a matter of time.
Your position does weaken if the team is affected by the outside noise. If Burton now sits in reserves all year, it won't help the way other players see your club. There's a reason clubs mostly release players in these situations, the lesser of two evils to be fair, to avoid the ongoing disruption and negativity. Penrith have every right to hang onto Burton or seek their preferred negotiated outcome, but that position isn't risk free.
You're right which is why managers usually have players pretend there's an issue and cause trouble. Look at the winger who went from dragons to Manly. Said he wanted a shorter drive yet will now take longer lol. Of course not releasing players in itself won't effect players signing. Look at the storm. Absolutely ruthless but they win games so most players would give their left nut to play there.
Where do you get the idea the dogs are desperate? That's a weird take......any club in our position would be doing everything possible to convince a club to release a player early. The reaction is no bigger than the reaction of any other club would be. By all accounts Penrith have already offered one "compromise" and we knocked it back because it was unreasonable and not in the club's interests. It would be ideal for Burton to come a year early, but if not, by all accounts Averillo is training well there....we're not going to get desperate and offer you guys the world at the 11th hour. If we were going to do that, we'd do it now so Burton could start training the club ASAP..
You need to maintain your dominance for a long time to develop a reputation like that of the Storm.....one great season won't cut it. First, let's see if you can build on last year, or if you end up going backwards. Penrith's attack looked pretty poor before Barrett came on board. Cleary's overall record is pretty unremarkable too.....If he can keep Penrith firing and making top four, players will want to keep coming. If they go backwards, things like holding onto Burton may dissuade players in the future. It's also worth noting that Melbourne tend to hold onto key players in their first choice 17, not depth options who have signed elsewhere..... they just let B Smith go early and he was getting regular first grade game time. I think most clubs would release Burton if the noise got loud enough.
The fan reaction is definitely looking like you guys are pinning your hopes on him and the pressure from the media side accusing us of harming the kid. Though there seems to be a split in the dogs fandom. Those who feel they need him now and those willing to show faith in Averillo. It's been interesting to watch and I'm keen to see what happens with Averillo over the next few years.
Nice. Where do I send my deposit?