By all accounts Saints wanted rid of Eastmond immediately but Bath didn't want to pay compo, so I can't see that playing out TBH.

I suppose it depends on how much Saints wanted and if Bath were willing to pay some compensation but not as much as Saints asked for. Wigan only got a small amount of compensation for Ashton but there was little value in keeping him as he wasn't playing and was taking up a squad place and wage (albeit not a large wage).

Right now Eastmond is a first choice halfback so Saints will likely want his contract paying up as compensation (or close to that amount) but if in a couple of months time he has been dropped for playing poorly and Saints decide they can spend his wage and/or use his squad place more wisely then he may be offered for little or no compensation to Bath.

Eastmond is far from a one trick pony. Not only does he have power and pace most backs would dream of, but, considering his age, he has a very well rounded skill set. Don't take his 3 performances this year as any indication of his ability, this guy has all the potential to get to the very top of RL.

However

He's not going to be a scrum half in union, it would be too hard to make that transition in such a specialist position. They're going to want him either on the wing, full back or perhaps outside centre.
8-10 years ago, when union were still behind in terms of professionalism, Eastmond would have creamed it in the same way Robinson did, but now, it will be a lot more difficult for him.
Eastmond is small, really small, he's not exactly tough and have never shown to be that resistant to the rough stuff. At international level, he'll find himself being peppered by high kicks and jumping against much bigger guys. He'll also get a good shoeing when he's on the floor, which he will not take well.

Ashton's no great shakes, he just has an excellent supporting gmae and good pace, but he's big and tough enough to defend the above.

I suspect Eastmond will rip it up at club level, but struggle at international. He'll perhaps end up stuck on the international 7s circuit a la Henry Paul.

Have I missed something? He's already gone..

I just can't see where they're going to put him. There's an awful lot to learn if he's going to SH, FH or FB. It'll take him a year or two to catch up. Also, as mentioned his kicking game isn't that good, so he'll struggle there. He could be put on the wing or centre, but he's just too small. Union backs are generally a lot larger than League backs because they have less attacking space to run in, have to deal with the rucks and mauls and don't need to run backwards and forwards continually in the defensive line. He'll get smashed or driven into touch everytime or lose possesion in the ruck. I also don't think he'll be able to defend in a way that will help his team gain possession.

A few games on the wing at the Rec (which looks like the coldest and boggiest ground on earth) in the middle of winter, seeing the ball passed to him twice, having bomb after bomb put down his throat, being smashed by defenders and run over of by attackers will see him looking North again.

He's a RL player. End of.

I'm amazed no one has blamed Steve McNamara yet www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/fe ... elens-bath Poor chap seems to get blamed for everything else

I'm amazed no one has blamed Steve McNamara yet www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/fe ... elens-bath Poor chap seems to get blamed for everything else

Bath is a hole. I couldn't think of anywhere I'd less like to live in the UK, really can't see someone like Kyle fitting in there.

Whereas St Helens...

Have you been to Bath? To paraphrase someone else, it's full of cider-drinking yokels and posh home-counties w@nkers. I'd rather spend a year in St Helens than a week in Bath.

You've never been this far north have you?

What planet are you on if you think RL threequarters are smaller than Union or that its something to do with differences between the games? That may be the case in SL where we struggle to produce quality big athletes, but I suspect Greg Inglis (even prior his recent weight gain!) would have been bigger than most Union centres. Gasnier, Hodges, Tuqiri etc are all big men. Its one of the reasons we don't compete against Australia - their fast outside backs tend to be big. Ours tend to be small - and sadly often not fast either.