Is this the Saints forum or Wigan.

I'm confused.

FIOS must be having a giggle at these 14 pages.

Stop talking sense will you

He's not screwed Wigan at all, he's done what he and his agent (who's also related to him) think is the better option. For Wigan to have matched his Aussie deal would have required to break the clubs wage structure which could have had far reaching consequences in the next few years.
I think he should have stayed at Wigan for a couple more years before moving but what happens if he has a loss of form and that Aussie deal is no longer available.

Good luck to him and I hope it all goes well for him, only time will tell if it's the correct decision.

I am pleasantly surprised to hear Ryan Sutton has signed a new deal as he too had a very good offer from Aus.

I hope I'm not in a minority when I say I would love James Graham to be lining up for Saints right now. Absolutely the best prop on the planet and exactly the sort of player I'd like to see in Superleague.

A nice sentiment, but I don't imagine many of you saying that at the full time whistle and we'd won after he'd chewed up your pack.

Burgess is a real class act. Got some real magic about him.

What could Wigan do? If they don't wantto match the Aus offer then there's not much more to say. Burgess is fulfilling the contract he has, which he may well do to the best of his ability.
You can't give every kid a 10 year contract, just incase he get attention from NRL when he hits the first team.

Good on the lad for trying to better himself and living the Aussie lifestyle. I don't blame him one little bit.

Us fans think players are playing for the love of the club but at the end of the day it's a job to them and these chances and that type of money don't come around that often. I've no doubt he will love Wigan but he's got to think of his future.

Good luck to the kid!

He's absolutely screwed Wigan. If what the Aussies are saying is right and they first made contact with him back in Feb following the WCC, then Burgess made the decision to jump after he'd made three SL appearances and 1 WCC appearance for the 'famous' cherry and white. Four matches. Not even interested in seeing his debut season out before thinking of the future ! Sydney took one game to see him and want him, recognising his talent. Wigan had him through their youth and let him go into his debut season, in full glare of the public eye, on less money than a full time shelf stacker. Well done to Wigan's talent recognition and evaluation grouping, great job. They've likely cost the club in the region of 300K. Burgess, meanwhile, has shown no thought for the club that developed him at all. As someone above has said. So much for your ancient and loyal BS.

Here's my post on the Wigan forum.

btw only one person has said he was on £8K per year, and I don't believe that's true. He had a couple of contract increases in his time at Wigan.

First of all I'm a BIG Joe Burgess fan and didn't (don't) want him to go. I would have advised him to stay at Wigan for three years and then move if he wanted, but would the offer still be there (a bird in the hand etc)

However let's look at the hard facts.

Burgess was still only 19 years of age when all this began and had two years of his contract still to run. Negotiations were ongoing from early last season when he hadn't yet established himself as a first team player. He had a fantastic season and negotiations continued.

Should Wigan have matched or got close to his Aussie offer? If I had been Lenagan / Radlinski I would have offered a lower initial contract with year by year increases over a four year period but with caveats (tries scored, games played, England games etc) They may have done this, I don't know.

What would fans be saying if he had signed a long term deal and then suffered a Kevin Penny, Shaun Ainscough Gary Wheeler, Jamie Foster type drop in form.

There is no easy solution especially as Wigan do have a wage structure that they work to. If they broke that for Burgess would the likes of Gildart, Williams, Hampshire, Sutton want similar deals. I honestly don't think there's an easy answer or one that's right or wrong.

Good luck to him I really do wish him well and am sorry he's going but it opens the door for someone else. I remember speaking to him at the end of season dinner in 2013 when he said "I want Pat Richards shirt next season"
Now go and do yourself and your family proud in Aus.

Well said Brian I'm just glad all Saints fans are not like that SLS what a bitter and twisted person he is!

Well said Brian I'm just glad all Saints fans are not like that SLS what a bitter and twisted person he is!

No problem Sunshine, Wigan t.v by the pool in Perth tomorrow?

Flamin' hell, it's cold in Scotland this time of year.

Certainly will Brian, really enjoyed Wigan TV this week, oh TS I'm at the other Perth haha, enjoy the game today.

#
Are you saying our pack is tastier than Billy Slater?