Its an interesting one, you would think that Taumalolo has traded some earning power for security, but on the other side the Cowboys commitment will have got a good player on a lower wage. I think the risks are somewhat overplayed, yeah there is a chance that Taumalolo will fade as he ages and will be overpaid in the final years of this contract, but that is made up bu the discount they will be getting on him for the next few years.

I dont think we will see an awful lot of deals like this because the longer the contract the more difficult it is for both parties to judge its value. Taumololo doesnt know what the SC will be in 5-10 years time, not just in the NRL but in SL, in 5-10 years we could very well have 2 or 3 pro north-american sides. NCQ might be paying a large chunk of their SC to a reserve grade player.

Please don't burst my bubble!

Yes, new 10 year deals for McDermott and Walters

I don't really see the point in it, except for PR and to let other players know he's staying. If the Cowboys don't have some serious get-out clauses down the track then its insane. Whilst he may have traded some salary its unlikely to be much given he could probably have got top dollar for at least 4 years from somewhere else. So if he doesn't retain his standard he could end up being seen as a massive albatross on the club as a whole. We've seen that happen with other players, albeit over shorter terms.

Is £50,000 the face-saving fee we should all agree GH secured in the end?

In other words, 20% of what he was demanding?

Cool.

Who knows? Latest on the Cronulla fan boards is that the NRL let Cronulla pay a fee for him without it counting on their Salary Cap, just like they did when Souths got Burgess back from RU.