Agreed. Not ideal but that’s life, we’ll have space on the cap and can sign a quality player if they become available mid season

If the a water goes bad, the fish die.

Confucius says I don't come on to Southstander to think about stuff.

Am loving the high brow banter we are entering here. I used to be something of a wordsmith in my younger days. Then I started trying to talk like the player interviews on TV and pretending I’m from somewhere like Burnley,
Prouncing there as ‘thur’
Stairs as ‘sturs’
Square as ‘squr’
Now as ‘new’
Where ‘wur’
Trying to talk like Sinny basically

I prefer the days of glass coffee tables and milk churns......circa 2004?

(Sighs whistfully into the distance)

Lovely stuff.

Back on topic...

One thing I'd not do in future is give a player like Merrin a "window" to look around - make it plain its either stay or tear up your contract.

Its one thing to allow an overseas player to go home early, its another entirely to act as a last resort just in case they can't tee anything better up. If a player wants to go home early they need to share the risk.

Is Prior a marque signing?

Agreed. The whole Merrin situation has left a bitter taste in the mouth for me..

TBF, I know we keep going on about it but the writing was on the wall last year with Merrin, after the horrible family tragedy's it was always a matter of time before he went back and who could blame him.

Don’t blame him one bit for wanting to go back home, it’s the way it’s happened which has ed me off.

Has Trent actually come out and said thanks at all to the club or fans? Seen him reshare various posts on insta stories where players are wishing him well and NRL accounts are welcoming him back. I've had every sympathy with his desire to return home, and the club were very generous in openly giving him the opportunity to. He's definitely given 100% every time he's stepped onto the field for us and always seemed to be a man of integrity. I was really pleased with the way he conducted himself last year when surrounded by speculation etc. While I can understand why he needs to go the way he's gone back on his word after coming back sticks in my throat a bit but I've not seen him actually thanks the club for their support anywhere? Realise I may have just missed it but after all they've done if he's just walked off without so much as acknowledging how much the club have supported him then I'll be absolutely disgusted.

Agree with other comments on here. He's a huge loss but glad we haven't got the inevitable circus of rumour following him through the season before the inevitable departure at the end of the year, or half way through the season. I'd rather anyone not wanting to be here be gone.

He’s not said a thing, which again seems off, but maybe the club have said don’t issue a statement?

I think the club are keen to downplay it as seen with the announcement being a footnote in the Matt Prior announcement however I think a short statement from Trent would have ended the matter and fans would have been a bit more sympathetic IMO

I would have thought the management could have judged this situation a bit better .He was given a time limit to find an acceptable new deal .that time ran out and he came back seemingly full of enthusiasm for the coming season . Did the club really believe him ? Or was there an agreement between the two that " ok your back until so thing comes up then no matter how far into pre season, or even if season has begun you can leave" I dont think so I think our management has egg on there faces .

I think you’re being harsh on the club here, maybe they did take him on his word (I did aswell to be honest) it’s not their fault if he backflips on that, the club were quite rightly accommodating to his situation, if he genuinely thought in his mind he would leave at the first opportunity he should have let the club know that (he may have done) or not come back at all, coming back goving it the fully committed BS is not a good look, he was the one wanting to break a 4 year contract so he has to take the risk.