Quote: tikkabulls "Nobby let Ryan Atkins go & kept Matt Cook as his centre for the future when
they were both in academy/under 20s. So be careful what you wish for.
Incidentally there were 3 ex Bulls academy centres playing in the Wire/Hudds game at the weekend.'"
Not sure any coach actually "let Atkins go", to be fair. IIRC He was out of contract and more pertinently as far as the club was concerned he was, at the time, around fifth choice in the centres so didn't get the contract offer he was hoping for (well, not from the Bulls, anyway) so he took a better offer. I Don't blame him and nor do I really blame the club for not having a crystal ball.
Sadly, when the financial chickens came home to roost and many of our 'big names' (including the chairman) departed for greener pastures, players like Ryan had gone. If that 'crystal ball' had been available maybe different decisions might have been made, or then again, maybe the management at the time didn't do too much thinking about the future.
