Knights release Jesse Ramien

No regrets for Cronulla’s departing rookie Jesse Ramien ahead of prelim final



Fatima Kdouh, The Daily Telegraph
September 21, 2018 1:10pm



WHEN gun rookie Jesse Ramien decided to leave Cronulla he knew he was walking away from a club that would be title contenders for years to come.

A former Junior Kangaroo and the 2017 Holden Cup Centre of The Year, Ramien hasn’t looked out of place in a Sharks outfit boasting a wealth of premiership experience.

The Dally M Rookie of the Year hopeful is giving all that up to be closer to his four-year-old daughter, who lives on the Central Coast.

So when Newcastle coach Nathan Brown came knocking, Ramien was given an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.

The Coonamble Bears junior says he hasn’t had second thought about the decision to sign a two-year deal with the Knights. Not even a grand final victory could change his mind.

“I made the call to leave the club pretty early in the year before the season even started. I had to make the best decision for my career going forward and as well as the best decision for my family. I’m pretty happy with my decision and I can’t say I regret anything,” he said.

Ramien will be joined on his journey up the M1 by his current edge partner Edrick Lee.

The lanky winger will also depart the Sharks at season’s end after two years with the Shire club.

He’ll join the Knights on a three-year deal and like Ramien he made the decision with his family in mind.

“It was an opportunity to join a club on the rise that got me over line, so did being closer to my partner’s family, they live near Gosford,’ he said.

“She’s been away from her family for about six or seven years now so anything I can do to help her out is definitely fulfilling to myself.”

Lee, a Brisbane product, has been in some fine form this year and is averaging more run metres than Ramien.

He’s even managed two more tries and three more linebreaks than the powerhouse centre.

As well as the Knights, his impressive performances in season 2018 caught the eye of the North Queensland Cowboys, Gold Coast Titans and even the Broncos.

“I had offers from all three clubs from Queensland, being a Queensland boy. It was hard to knock back those offers,” Lee told The Daily Telegraph.

“It would have been nice to head back home but I like the lifestyle here in Cronulla. I thought I could continue you that in Newcastle and keep the trend going with the good footy that I’m playing here and transfer it to the Knights.”

But for now the right-edge duo is focused on getting the job done for the Sharks and progressing into the next week’s grand final.

While the game against Melbourne at AAMI Park will be Lee’s second preliminary final, Ramien, 20, only played his first finals match last week against Penrith.

“It was more than I expected to be honest, running out and having all that fireworks and the crowd,” Ramien said.

“Even the build up during the week, the older boys talk about it a bit more.

“To run out onto the park, I had shivers and that much adrenaline, I looked up and looked at the crowd and looked around and took it all in.

“I just loved it. I loved every second of it.”


https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...l/news-story/8af60e44e2362a5ccede9e56622375f1
 
We seem obsessed with $$$$'s, let the accountants handle it, let the agents count there 10% or whatever. Let's just be happy with who we sign and hope for more success than we have recently being achieving. It's not "is he earning his money" but more a case of "are we winning the games or at least being competitive" I just want us to improve but let someone else worry about the money
 
You realise having a team full of players that aren't earning their pay cheque means you're not winning too many games?
 
Frank McWilliams said:
We seem obsessed with $$$$'s, let the accountants handle it, let the agents count there 10% or whatever. Let's just be happy with who we sign and hope for more success than we have recently being achieving. It's not "is he earning his money" but more a case of "are we winning the games or at least being competitive" I just want us to improve but let someone else worry about the money
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Not obsessed mate
 
What ever we signed him for I think it would be wise to start talking to him about an extension and upgrade before the season kicks off.

As mentioned we signed him before he really hit the scene so he would have a lot more sides after him now, I'd be looking to upgrade his 2nd year and extend for another 3 if he's keen
 
I would hate for it to be like the NFL where players sign deals and a year in because they took bad advice from their agents they aren't making the money anywhere near they are worth. Seems like a good bloke though so he'll play and we'll worry about an extension later
 
Jaybro said:
What ever we signed him for I think it would be wise to start talking to him about an extension and upgrade before the season kicks off.

As mentioned we signed him before he really hit the scene so he would have a lot more sides after him now, I'd be looking to upgrade his 2nd year and extend for another 3 if he's keen
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Could not disagree more. He obviously has potential, but why would it be wise to talk to him about an extension before he has even pulled on a Knights jersey? Touch wood that it never happens, but what if he injures himself and is significantly unavailable for the period he has signed with us? What if one of our younger junior backs shines as Ramien did in the Sharks lower grades and becomes a more promising prospect than Ramien himself, yet we've locked Ramien down for another period and cannot then compete to keep the junior?

IMO, this is a business. If he wants an extension, then he can play at least a season with us and show that he can dominate within our system. Then we can talk an extension.
 
Damn right it's a business. No good having a gun salary cap manager on the books, and he gets our salary cap in order by making astute signings and we go nah, Hagan would have paid this bloke more lets chip in the difference.
 
knightime said:
Could not disagree more. He obviously has potential, but why would it be wise to talk to him about an extension before he has even pulled on a Knights jersey? Touch wood that it never happens, but what if he injures himself and is significantly unavailable for the period he has signed with us? What if one of our younger junior backs shines as Ramien did in the Sharks lower grades and becomes a more promising prospect than Ramien himself, yet we've locked Ramien down for another period and cannot then compete to keep the junior?

IMO, this is a business. If he wants an extension, then he can play at least a season with us and show that he can dominate within our system. Then we can talk an extension.
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You realise they can start negotiating with sides from November 1? So as of November 1 next year ( and probably well before ) Ramien will have sides going after him.

As Phil Gould said in his podcast ‘You don’t let the good ones hit the market’
 
Jaybro said:
You realise they can start negotiating with sides from November 1? So as of November 1 next year ( and probably well before ) Ramien will have sides going after him.

As Phil Gould said in his podcast ‘You don’t let the good ones hit the market’
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Ramien is very good, and I understand why we would want to lock him up long-term. That said, he needs to demonstrate what he can do in our system first before we want to talk extensions. Look at Jack Bird for example. When playing for the Sharks, he was a versatile weapon of a player that was commanding offers (including from us) for huge amounts. It's hard to argue it's not been a flop for him at the Broncos. I can't imagine that they spoke to him about an extension before he arrived there, and looking back now, why would they? Even on your own comment, we've got 12 months to make offers to Ramien exclusively, provided he plays well. Throwing long-term deals and huge amounts of money at players with limited playing time is what got us into the salary cap position that we're still climbing back out of.
 
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