Wagga was Mr January
Hall was Mr February

Who is Mr March on the Bulls calendar?

Look out Michael Platt...

I cannot believe all these players that come here for big pay and basically look for
a way out after a season or so. I can definately understand that culture shock that
these 'money grabbers' find after living in Manly etc with a great lifestyle, and then come
to Bradford or Leeds or Hull etc, and then decide the exchange rates not great, the weather
is too cold etc etc and then start bleating about family ilness, homesick wife, blah blah blah.
Its time that we stopped paying these players silly money to come here, getting them a house
and a car whilst restricting the development of our own own game and players.
Clubs are also bringing in lower grade players from there instead of developing our own players....
its a complete joke.
Hall was not even that good he was average and I am sure there are home grown players who
are as good as him for certain.
Orford may have been a better player and has been a class act through his career but Hall ?
I will bet that Willie Mason probably wont see a full season out before he has a 'family illness'
or something !! I am sure while he is freezing his balls off in Hull in January he will start to have
second thoughts, although maybe having a few mates in Hull may help him out a bit.
you just know that he will be in the news very soon for some kind of misdameanor !

Hull FC are desperate for a back up half back as cover for injury prone Long and Horne, and
are clearly not going to get a top class aussie to be a back up, so do they get a young english
kid to fill that role ? Nah they are scouring the lower grade Aussie market....it just a sham !!
I think that the influx of these players will eventually start to evaporate gradually as the numbers
running back home will increase......unless of course the exchange rate increases greatly !!

Just one observation: have you travelled half way round the world, maybe alone, in your twenties, to take up a new job in a different country on a contract for maybe two or three years?

I have.

Until you have actually done it yourself, you can't really relate to how it feels. And especially what it feels like if you start off not enjoying your time there at all.

I did not enjoy my first few months in New Zealand - for a number of reasons, some down to me but most down to an unfortunate combination of circumstances. Indeed, probably how quite a few players feel. I nearly jacked it in, but decided I was not going to let it get the better of me so I stuck it out. And that turned out to be very very much the right decision. Ended up having a great time.

But had I jacked it in, I would have had to pay some money back to the firm under the terms of my contract. And, unlike the Unspeakable One, I would have neither excuse nor qualms in paying up to get out of my contract.

People may slag Glenn off but he wasn't as bad as that Nick Zisti chap that ended up in the Italian 2nd division after his four games for us in 1999.

I still feel sorry for the bloke who had his name on the back of his shirt

I saw Zisti in the club office just before the start of that season.

You could tell he was far from being happy. Don't think he liked being here.

That would explain a lot because he didn't even try out on the field.

He seemed really down when I saw him. Looked like a typical ocker who should be on the beach - I think he was wearing shorts and jandals and it was arctic outside - and was wanting to see one of the senior officials (can't remember who - in those days we could afford to have a few of them).

Shane Rigon was another who never seemed to settle.

As I said, its easy to sit at criticise, especially when they come on big packages. But they remain human beings (apart from the Unspeakable One, obviously who can rot in the darkest pits of hell for all I care) subject to the same feelings and emotions as the rest of us. Too often, fans forget this. And don't forget, they may earn good money over a short career but what do they do afterwards?

I don't know much about what really happened with Hall, but something makes me feel quite sorry for him. For whatever reason, I suspect he is a decent bloke who never managed to settle - who knows, he may have had a big run-in with someone on the coaching staff? - and probably feels like he has failed. I wish him well back in Oz. I think he was maybe another Big Red but who came here at the wrong time? And very best wishes to him and Kylie for their new arrival. I pray this time it all work out just fine.

Considering what happened last time, I would imagine that they would want to be where the whole family is happiest.

The thing with our Overseas contingent is we have been lucky that most of our have come and seen their contracts out and in some cases extended them. In a few cases the stayed (Robbie) If the support structure is in place players are looked after and helped to feel at home. Robbie, Joe, Micky Withers, Lez, Shonny, Danny Gartner. I'm not sure what ever it was we had is still there, if that makes sense. It does seem too easy though for Players to be able to break a contract with very little or no conesquences...

tbh the only player of ours than applies to is orford (and maybe bird to a lesser extent). Glenn hall is a totally different scenario. Think in his case it genuinely is a mutual decision. He wants to be back in oz for the birth of his child, which is totally understandable given his circumstances. For our part we've removed a player from our overseas quota, on a long deal, who was disapointing in a position where we are strong anyway. Given other weak areas in squad we can put that quota spot to much better use either in halves or imo.

With Hall, and I believe I said this at the time, given his personal circumstances I was surprised that he even came over. I wouldn't have blamed him for seeking a release before even joining us as what happened with his family is a terrible thing.

I wish him nothing but the best for his and families future. I certainly wouldn't lump him in with the whole "Home-sick" money grabbers.