Promising Junior Watch

Sarge said:
I'm sure POS will offer what he considers market value . If Dom
wants to stay in Aus , think he will stick around . If he doesn't good luck to him!
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Dom apparently wants to stay - came back here for a reason - but his manager is going for big $$ like last time and knights won’t budge. Love Dom, love that he loves the club and place, sucks his manager makes it hard for him to stay.

But we’re in a much better position to replace him then we were.
 
Dom might want to ditch his manager, it seems like he goes for the bigger money so he can get a bigger commission even at the risk of his players career.

He toke the pay cheque with the Roosters and Dom said himself he didn’t enjoy his time there and came back to us where he even admitted he was loving footy again.

I’ll never understand why players keep these blood sucking managers, I get it’s their job to get maximum money but is it worth it at the real possibility of losing your career and happiness? I mean Dom needs to remember he went from one of the best wingers on the planet to reserve grade… maybe his manager just doesn’t have his best interests at heart.
 
Any word on how Tom Perkins is going? Remember he was heralded as a bit of a signing coup when we landed him.
 
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Curtis Mulherin was out best forward in Harold Mats last year.
He scored a try in the GF against a dominant Warriors side.
He has been picked for Australian schoolboys.
He would be 17/18 and young enough to play a second season of SG Ball.
This weekend he played his second game of Reserve Grade and his first as starting second row.
He was one of two forwards to run 100 metres along with Peter Hola against a very strong North Sydney pack.
He played 80 minutes for 104 metres and made 30 tackles and missed 6 in his second game of seniors. 40 fantasy points.
He has been compared to a young Steve Simpson.
I'll be very surprised if he doesn't get a firstgrade pre-season as an 18 year old, and a very good chance he'll be like Hopwood and just play seniors from next year.
His younger brother, Kane Mulherin, seems to be on a similar path, starting this year as a 15 year old second row in AJ cup and going well in under 16s schoolboys.
 
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Talking of centres.
(which we weren't, but we should if Best is a chance of leaving)
The Mathews side had a crazy amount of talent in the centres this year.
By the end of the year we had Benji Thompson and Malachi Faavae-Eli in our GF winning side - and they were the stars of the side.
I believe Benji Thompson has been signed up, but I was much more impressed with Warner's Bay junior Malachi Faavae-Eli - he looked like a 20 year old playing against kids - and then they named him in the City V Country under 16s game - so he was a 15 year old smashing the hell out of 17 year olds in Mathews.
I thought he was best on field in the City V Country game - unstoppable.
I think he came pretty close to playing like Sione Mata'utia as a 15 year old.
The Mats side this year also had the McKay twins, who are now playing in the centres or second row in Flegg - 3 years young - but they were behind Malachi Faavae-Eli and Benji thompson for centre in Mats.

All of those are local products.
 
Curious what’s entailed with contract negotiations for juniors?
Is there money?
Game time offers? Or just selling the dream?

Eg with Rostron yet to sign - could that be other clubs offering better game time, or NSW Cup spot or money, or just a better pathway to FG? (There’s always personal reasons like moving to pursue uni course)

If he prefers FB - or even 6, we have Ponga, Brown and presumably Sharpe locked in for the next few years. If Ponga is re-signed (club option) for 31,32 that leaves Rostron biding his time for 2033. Best case - he will be 21/22 for the 2031 season (if we don’t extend/CO Ponga).

But also seems like the Knights think highly of him - seems he’d be given ample opportunity over the next few years to prove himself. So do you prioritise game time and staying in a system you know.

This could very well be our version of the Penrith dynasty - all playing junior/schoolboys footy together - making their way through the grades.

At the same time - what better players to learn from than Ponga and Sharpe (definitely gives off Sharpe vibes).

Anyway, just curious on insight into negotiation with juniors.
 
bremsstrahlung said:
Curious what’s entailed with contract negotiations for juniors?
Is there money?
Game time offers? Or just selling the dream?

Eg with Rostron yet to sign - could that be other clubs offering better game time, or NSW Cup spot or money, or just a better pathway to FG? (There’s always personal reasons like moving to pursue uni course)

If he prefers FB - or even 6, we have Ponga, Brown and presumably Sharpe locked in for the next few years. If Ponga is re-signed (club option) for 31,32 that leaves Rostron biding his time for 2033. Best case - he will be 21/22 for the 2031 season (if we don’t extend/CO Ponga).

But also seems like the Knights think highly of him - seems he’d be given ample opportunity over the next few years to prove himself. So do you prioritise game time and staying in a system you know.

This could very well be our version of the Penrith dynasty - all playing junior/schoolboys footy together - making their way through the grades.

At the same time - what better players to learn from than Ponga and Sharpe (definitely gives off Sharpe vibes).

Anyway, just curious on insight into negotiation with juniors.
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I guess it is a mixture of a pathway to first grade, a use of the development contract system and a future top 30 spot. It might be harder to sell the pathway at the Knights then it has been previously for a half or fullback with our guns wrapped up. I think those development contracts are more important to us all of a sudden. It's good money for a school boy but there are only six when we have a lot of talent coming through.
 
bremsstrahlung said:
Curious what’s entailed with contract negotiations for juniors?
Is there money?
Game time offers? Or just selling the dream?

Eg with Rostron yet to sign - could that be other clubs offering better game time, or NSW Cup spot or money, or just a better pathway to FG? (There’s always personal reasons like moving to pursue uni course)

If he prefers FB - or even 6, we have Ponga, Brown and presumably Sharpe locked in for the next few years. If Ponga is re-signed (club option) for 31,32 that leaves Rostron biding his time for 2033. Best case - he will be 21/22 for the 2031 season (if we don’t extend/CO Ponga).

But also seems like the Knights think highly of him - seems he’d be given ample opportunity over the next few years to prove himself. So do you prioritise game time and staying in a system you know.

This could very well be our version of the Penrith dynasty - all playing junior/schoolboys footy together - making their way through the grades.

At the same time - what better players to learn from than Ponga and Sharpe (definitely gives off Sharpe vibes).

Anyway, just curious on insight into negotiation with juniors.
Click to expand...
I got talking to one father of a kid on a junior contract at one game and he had an unexpected slant on this. The player was living at home and getting about the equivalent of unemployment benefits from the club, but according to his father, that money barely covered his food and supplements bill. The kid was a big prop and had to eat an enormous amount of quality food and take protein, vitamins and all the other legal supplements to build up and train like a professional athlete.
His son didn't make firstgrade, but had a very good career in the local comp.
 
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