[iGary Hetherington said, "It is not come as a surprise because Paul rejected a new 3-year contract from us and told us of interest from other clubs some time ago, but it is always disappointing when a player of Paul's standing decides to leave the club. He is a full overseas quote player, so that provides us with some flexibility for 2016 and the search for another good player is on and will take as long as it needs to."
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Houghton or Lunt look probable domestically.

But with an overseas spot now vacant, wonder if Uncle Gary will continue in growing the ozzie beard pack?

No problem with him moving on, but that's the choice he's made. Let's not paint it as anything else. Given their appalling away form he's got naff all chance of winning anything at the Dragons, but he's happy to put up with that because he'll be financially well rewarded for a couple of years.

It's a choice that quite a few players at Leeds could have made over the course of their careers but chose not to, if we are to believe the skipper's (2011?) Grand Final speech. Different people are motivated by different things in their professional lives.

Big rumours on the replacement front are still Danny Houghton and Manly's Matt Ballin. Would be underwhelmed with the latter, not because he's necessarily a bad player - second best Queensland hooker behind Cameron Smith over the last few years - but because he'll be 32 come next January and doesn't offer much in the way of longer term continuity.

This is a big loss for next year. I know Houghton has been muted as an addition for next year, but i wouldn't swap Aiton for anyone else in Super League at the moment.

Would be very happy with Houghton and think he's a better player TBH.
He looks far better at Hull than Aiton did at Wakefield..

He's been really good this season and it's a shame he's going, but hard to blame a pro player for looking for the best deal towards the end of his career, particularly if it happens to be Catalans (as rumoured) and a chance to experience a different lifestyle and culture.

Houghton would be a good like-for-like replacement, IMO. He has a similar skillset to Aiton and it'd be interesting to see how he'd go in a better pack. Ballin's on the outer at Manly and we wouldn't lose anything in terms of quality if we recruited him, but we're a bit top-heavy with Aussies at the moment, in my opinion, especially in the pack. But if the option is that or Burrow as a full-time 9 then Waltzing Matilda all the way.

^
This

But I do wonder how much is about cash and how much about lifestyle. I would have thought if it was just about cash, GH ought o have been able to find a way to keep him.

I've thought the same. You may get a new lease of life out of him. If he needs one, he's chucked in over a thousand tackles this year all ready. I know some criticize his running game (i know others are better positioned to say) but when Ive seen of him over the years he seems to scoot with quality over quantity. I'd welcome him to Leeds and would be very interested to see if surrounded by a better crop, where he can take his game to.

Yep. You look at how Josh Hodgson's game has improved this year surrounded by better players and you wonder whether the same would happen with Houghton.

You can see the same in Aiton. Wakefield weren't screaming when they lost him. Aiton's game has improved (this year has been far better than last years) and his earnings have also improved!

Oh, isn't he allowed to work in any other vocation once he retires as a rugby player? Is he intending to buy a pipe and slippers and just put his feet up at 33 years of age ? Considering the way the club stood by him when his first year was just about wiped out through illness I would have thought that loyalty may have been reciprocated. Very disappointed with his decision.

You can not compare what Sinfield said (which incidentally is not properly understood by many Leeds fans ). Sinfield was not talking about 30 plus year olds on their last contracts.

Yep. Sinfield was talking about a bunch of mates, most of them playing for their home town club, who'd been in the system since they were kids. Not an Aussie with no real ties to the area who'll be back off to the other side of the world when his contract's done.

And he also never said those mates were not on top money. He simply said they could have earned more elsewhere, which was true.

I thought Balin resigned for Manly till 2017?