Opted for early retirement this week and left a pretty damning conclusion on Super League and the RFL. Very much worth a read! www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/s ... etirement/ Following on from Jeffries going taking up the mining job, it seems that some players maybe have their heads screwed on tighter than others.

Opted for early retirement this week and left a pretty damning conclusion on Super League and the RFL. Very much worth a read! www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/s ... etirement/ Following on from Jeffries going taking up the mining job, it seems that some players maybe have their heads screwed on tighter than others.

What a whinging tart.

More damnation on the rfl/sle,and just 26yrs old,what a waste

Pretty much says it as it is.
Obviously any playing career in pro sport is relatively short and it looks like the debacle at Bradford was the final straw.
Cant blame him and the one sure thing is that you have to first and foremost look after your family.
Administration in any environment makes people feel worthless and that comes accross srongly in this article.

Maybe - but I can't say that he's wrong or that he's making a mistake.

Makes some good points.
BUT bare in mind staff at Bradford lost their jobs / worked for free (including his coach) his 'pieces of meat' comment is ridiculous and very badly thought out.

It's a short, insecure career - and if it isn't even that well recompensed, then if you can do something with better prospects, why wouldn't you?

I disagree, I think it displays a pretty good understanding of his situation.

I'm sure it isn't just the Rovers and Hull boards with regular comments like - 'not good enough, get rid'. And clubs do - it is a brutal business off the pitch as well as on.

I don't blame or criticise him for one second for taking another job if he thinks that's better for him or his family.

But to effectively blame the sport for Bradford going bust and the administrators actions is stupid. As is complaining about wages when he will have earned a far better wage over the last few years than the majority of people paying to watch him and than he would have got in a regular job. And it's especially stupid to complain this bitterly about the treatment of the players when they, above all others at Bradford, were protected and helped. I'm sure the staff who were made redundant at Bradford (and who presumably have received nothing) feel really sorry for him.
He was treated no worse than any other employee at a company that went into administration, and probably treated (on the whole) far better.

The Bradford-specific stuff isn't the strongest bit, I admit. But Crusaders players were pretty much shafted, and what would be fair odds on another club going into admin in 2013 - evens?
Though SL wages are better than most, the average at a club spending up to the cap (which hasn't risen in years) is £64k pa - but I suspect most earn a good deal less, as a handful of top players in pivotal positions will earn much more. And while I don't expect anybody's heart to bleed, if you are earning say £100k at the peak of your powers (probably only 1 or 2 contracts), you're paying the higher tax rate on most of it.

Mind you, times are tough all round.

Players are financially protected by the contracts that they signed. You can't simply 'get rid' of them at all.

How much was he on at Bradford? More than his worth? Was it the reality that he was never going to get the same level of wages anywhere else as he's not really the best? Looks like he's opted for a more stable career outside of the sport.

You couldn't make much of an argument against pretty much anything Hargreaves says, but it is from a very jaundiced viewpoint (understandably so).

Whilst it is true that average SL players (which in fact means far better players than the vast majority in the country, and only means "average" as compared to the SL and NRL elite) will only get "average" pay, that can still be a shedload more than most working men and there are other rewards often available to many. Plus, it should not be overlooked that a good career in the top levels of the game can and often does open doors for business or employment when you hang up your boots.

Plus apart from monetary values, there must be something of value in 'being somebody', and the acclaim that comes with being a successful player, the rare opportunity to experience the buzz of top level games, finals, even in some case international careers. Can't put a price on those sort of things, save to say most people will never experience winning the GF at OT or the CC at Wembley or an Ashes Test.

If he has become disillusioned at the same time as a cracking opportunity for a future outside the game coming up, it's entirely understandable that he would consider it, but while the game has big financial worries, I can't see the top players becoming poorly paid any time soon.

Isn't this just a player who can't earn the living playing rugby league he think he should have because clubs do not value him as highly as he thinks he is worth? If you're good enough, someone will pay you it, simple as that.

No its not.
Its a player who has seen sle slowly fall apart over the last few years,culminating with his own club falling into the abyss.
It sound like he can see whats round the corner for other clubs also, and want no part of it anymore.