very mixed feelings about this one. if it's like beechwood says and was accidental then I'd have no prob with signing but it was intentional then I'd have a problem with this signing. Also not sure if its worth risk for a one year deal - 3year deal would be better to give some continuity.

I'd guess the deal would have release clauses in it should he be found guilty and face any prison time. I'd also expect it to be a 1yr deal with an option for a 2nd.

but I agree 3 years would be a better deal for bradford.

i do hope this doesn't all fall flat mind.

Sorry, I forgot you were there when she was hurt so know exactly what has happened.

This would be a massive signing and would certainly boost our chances for honours.

Given the severe lack of availability of quality players (half backs in particular), this is a huge capture, albeit for only a year. It gives us a full season to look around for a potential replacement.

His off field antics is a difficult one. Firstly, No one really knows the FULL story, so who are we to judge, secondly has no one else ever made an error of judgement? Don't get me wrong, I am not condoning these types of actions for one minute, I'm just pointing out that maybe he deeply regrets what happened. Have any of you asked him?

On balance this could be the making of '09. It certainly got my pulse racing reading the thread title!

Wont come to us, we only sign ageing aussies or average players from mid table teams, too good for us.

As mentioned earlier, we don't know for sure what his off field problems are, he could be leaving those behind in Australia.

What we do know is how talented he is, this would be a fantastic signing!

Get in there. Really rate this guy from what ive seen of him. If we have signed him i belive we will be strong candidates for the super league.

after digging further the only mention of 1 year deals is in the posts in this topic. None off the newspaper reports mention the length of deal. If we could get him on a 3 year deal then our prospects suddenly look a lot healthier. Think a lot of people have just assumed a 1 year deal cos of length he cant be registered in NRL.

Just as a side thought - given our over weakness in the , could jeffries be an option there? certainly got speed and decent hands. bird and deacon halves, nero and sykes and menzies/jeffries as cover for both positions looks a lot healthier than position a couple of weeks ago

I think Jeffries is too weak a defender to be considered for centre.

When I saw him on TV he played 13 IIRC and was very good. If Langley is going to prop then that's the other option.

I'd be surprised if we're only signing him for one year as that would be Sol, Morro, Menzies, Bird and Jeffries all off contract at the same time.

Agree.
He would be exremely exposed

was thinking more in terms of injury cover as opposed to every week.

I'm hopeful that Nero can rediscover his Giants form next year anyway, that would be a big bonus for the side.

Bird and Deacon at 6 and 7 behind our awesome pack changes everything. I really hope we see a big year from Nero to, hope he gets his Giants form back.

If this signing goes through then I would have to applaud Mr McNamara for making a top class signing for us and give credit where it is due. It is all fair and good for me to be (very) critical of his failings but when a positive signing is made (at least on paper anyway) then it is only fair that a bit of credit is given when it is due.

As Dilligaf rightly says, at this stage he has not even been convicted of anything and, as such, we should not really speculate too much on the case and hopefully get the chance to welcome a class act into our side, a player who will greatly improve our side should he be in the correct state of mind (and the paperwork goes through!)

IIRC however, his name was bandied about on here before and there were a few dissenting voices due to his (alledged) off-field problems. I wonder if these opinions will change if he turns out to be a star in RAB?

Anyway, I realise that some people will have a pop at me for this (whats new?

) but I am not really too concerned about what he does off the field, as long as he is doing the business ON the field. After all, I am sure a few on here would like to see Leon back and he is hardly an unblemished character. (and his was proven) I am also pretty sure that few Saints fans care too much about what he gets up to in his spare time either.

Fingers crossed it all goes through. Some genuine quality will be added to our side and I for one, would love to see a Bird and Beaver lining up next to each other on the pitch.



Well done Mr McNamara.

Yes he did IMO he's a quality 13 who can play stand off fairly well.

Its not his wife/girlfriends decision.
If the state feel there is enough evidence to prosecute they can.
Added to that he is facing two other charges.

The comments seem to be on the April case. Has the march case been resolved?

Re the bigger case What the girlfriend said at the time of the accident plus bird calling a friend and asking him to take the blame does not help.

The girlfriend has 'withdrawn' her comments so it is interesting that the prosecutors are still going ahead. The prosecution are calling 17 witnesses and the defence 6.

Only being found guilty on one of the charges would automatically stop Bird getting a w-p. the other two may not bar him.

all said he is a brilliant player.

Not sure that's actually true as Carney had a number of convictions which scuppered his WP.

Crocker is still waiting but is thought likely to get the WP despite his single conviction for affray.

I'd be extremely disappointed if we were playing Jeffries out of position in the centres if Nero got injured rather than give Crookes a chance.

It wasn't his work permit it was his visa which wasn't approved. A WP and visa are two entirley different things but you need both to play in the UK.

If he signs, I would expect to mainly see him play stand off for us though.. simply due to the fact it is an area where we are weaker. I would agree that 13 probably suits his game better, but he is also a very competent stand off and has played it at both State of Origin and for Australia.

I'm still wary until it is confirmed and he is actually in a Bulls shirt though! I wonder when he applied for a Visa, is it conceivable that a visa was applied for several weeks ago?

Precisely. At the moment we have Jeffries as the only real 6 in the squad. After that you're looking at people who've "played it a bit" to cover for him, in the likes of Menzies, Solomona or Morrison.

As far as Loose Forward goes, you've got loads of players who would consider that their best or favourite position already, in Langley, Morrison, Menzies and probably Burgess.

Sorry, I was speaking generically and combining the two. The WP is issued by the Home Office and the visa by the British Consulate in Canberra. Still, it was number of convictions and whether any fines, penalties were outstanding that scuppered Carney