He's a deep thinker and a really bright bloke. I always get the feeling he's being very careful with his words in an interview situation, which doesn't come across particularly well and gives the impression of being dour or stunted.

When you see what happens to the likes of Jason Robinson and Andy Farrell when they went to RU and Adrian Morley or Gareth Ellis when they went to NRL, where both leagues put a lot of effort into teaching players how to handle the media, I reckon Sky Sports could easily make Sinfield a great tv personality.
He has the brains, just not the experience..................easily changed imho.

Not sure what the salary cap is but clubs get £350,000 in central funding. I don't think he's gone to union for the money.
Sinfield must be on £150k+ at the Rhinos and could have attracted decent money from someone like Wakie/Cas.

He's a long-time fan of Union and has always had a hankering to play, so good luck to him. It will be a labour of love for him more than having a pension, if it was about money he'd have left for a cashed-up Aviva team yonks ago.

£120k is the top wage bracket at Leeds. Which will be where Sinfield and Peacock are at the moment so £240k off next year's cap straight away.

I don't think it's anything to do with money to be honest. I'd be suprised if he's on any more at Carnegie than at the Rhinos. I reckon he realised his body isn't managing to keep going at the top level of SL anymore, hence the retirement from internationals and move from loose forward to stand off. A bit like Peacock taking on a new challenge at Hull KR, I think Sinfield sees giving Union a go as a new challenge yet can still stay affiliated with the club he loves.

Just as a bit of backup to that I looked up his tackling stats, they're ridiculous.

He's been in Leeds top 5 tacklers every year since 2003 (that's as far back as the stats go) except 2006.
He was Leeds top tackler in 2003, 2007, 2008 & 2009.
And since 2007 has been Leeds 2nd top tackler.

#of tackles 2007-2014:
Peacock - 5,218
Sinfield - 5,152
JJB - 4,667
Ablett - 3,986

It's no wonder he signed for Union, the lad needs a rest.

I watched the video of Sinfields lecture, and whilst being a good watch for any young player it's also an insight into the man himself.

He obviously realised at a surprisingly young age that he wasn't the biggest, fastest, most talented etc but he could not necessarily control these. He could however, develop the best attitude, which there's no doubt he did.

His worth to the team goes well, well beyond his rugby skills and for me (not a Leeds supporter) that puts him in the top 5 best players in SL.

With regard to union, in his video he is asked what he wants to do after playing and he replies that ultimately something in admin/ management - not coach, and gives him more time with family. He quoted "Director of Rugby" which he said was a position mainly in Union and not yet in league. Maybe even a couple of years ago his thoughts were moving this way.

Good luck to him.

I was talking to an ex-League player, then (might still be) involved as assistant coach to one of the international yawnion teams. I asked him what the average yawnion player (non-international) was on. He said about £140k. That was about 8 years ago.

Not the most talented player to have played Super League but an integral cog in the Leeds machine that was unstoppable in the mid to late 00's. Also came across as a nice guy and showed humility wherever possible.

Regards

King james

I've read this back a few times and I can't even begin to think how someone can come up with that.

Sinfield owes RL absolutely nothing. He has been one of the best ambassadors for the sport we've had, certainly in the modern era.

Unless we're still going down the 'chip-on-shoulder, he's going to the dark side' route. In which case, some people need to seriously grow up.

Sorry that we have opposite views on this one.

Although I agree that Sinfield owes RL nothing and that he has been a marvellous ambassador for Leeds Rhinos and RL for many years.
It's quite sad that there isn't a position within the game that is more attractive than going to a second tier Union club.

Surely it is preferable for the sport to keep their best assets within the sport, in whatever capacity that may be.

Back in the 80's we (league fans) used to love poaching top Union players as there was a certain "kudos" in attracting some of their top players.
Nobody can or should stand in the way of people moving on to better themselves but, this just doesn't look like that type of outcome.

It's commendable that the guy doesn't want to play against Leeds but, if you look at Cunningham at Saints and the pathway that was made for him and
compare this to watching one of the sports "greats" cross codes to a lower level, it's a crying shame and you have to wonder whether this was all in his
plan 5 years ago.
I'll try and "grow up" but, this, to the lay man, looks like a mickey poor option for someone who should have been kept in League to help nurture a generation of
players who could one day scalp the Aussies and not "put out to grass" in a poor side in a different code.

How can anyone be 'kept' in a sport when they want to play in another sport, and in a team that they are a fan of and have for a long time wanted to play in?

By making them an offer that they can not refuse ????

Did you never go to your boss and twist their arm for a pay rise or better terms, rather than look for a new job ??

Although not quite the same, this is a similar situation to Gareth Thomas switching from Union to League and although he was an ok League winger, the
guy just didn't have the same impact in League.
Although Sinfield may well have the skill set to do ok in Union, with the best will in the world, it will take a couple of seasons to get up to speed, by which time
he will be 37, some way past his prime.
It's hard to see what he can achieve, other than the pleasure of trying another sport, which for a top sportsman is not much of a challenge.

Another sport that he's followed for years and always wanted to play, for a team that he supports. Obviously its not all about money with him, which has to be admired.