Totally agree with you Cruncher, I was happy to wish him well because it is a short career and they have to make a living while they can etc etc but wasn't impressed last weekend when Sam said about the game against NZ Warriors that it was the first time he had wanted Wigan to lose. Didn't take him long to get Wigan out of his system did it
He's been pretty impressive so far in the 9's but be interesting to see how he goes on in regular matches as I feel the top teams over here found a way to keep him pretty quiet last year so it wont take long for the Aussies to do the same.
Have to say that the coverage of the 9's is a breath of fresh air without all and sundry on Sky screeching for penalties on a regular basis and suppose the reffing of such a comp has to be a bit different to normal because if that had been played over here the games would probably have been un-necessarily interrupted by the whistle going all the time.

To be fair to Sam, he is hardly going to say that he hopes that the team he has just signed for loses.

My personal feeling is that Sam should say whatever he needs to say to endear himself to his new audience. He must also perform as well as he can, especially if he wants to put himself in the shop window for English Rugby Union (okay, he could hobble onto the Twickenham pitch on crutches and be better than any other three players there put together, but you can't blame him for not taking chances).

But the overall issue is bigger than Sam and his career.

I just can't get enthusiastic about the loss of star players from our game. I mean, in the last day I've met three different people who think it's great that Sam tore up in the Nines. Seriously, how can it be great? ... firstly on the basis that it was for a club other than Wigan, and secondly because it will serve even more to put him in the shop window for RU predators?

Someone else on this thread was rightly whining about how poor some SL sides are. I totally agree, but it hardly helps given that each year we seem to lose one or two major talents from the game.

I don't give a flying f#ck about whether or not these lads have to look after themselves. Of course they do. I don't blame the players. But I'm not going to celebrate their defection just because it's awesome for them or for the club they've wound up at. I care more about us.

SL needs top quality talent. The NRL has got more than enough already. And RU wouldn't recognise it if you smacked it into their face like a brick. It's a depressing state of affairs.

Just about sum's it up for me...

Agree with this. The most depressing thing about it all is that we can probably hazard a good guess on our next set of departures to the NRL/RU.

Charnley (If not the end of this season, then definitely next).
Scott Taylor - Has NRL written all over him (couple of years prob).

I can even see that we may only have 3-4 years of Joe Burgess if he continues to impress on the pitch, how depressing is that?????!!!!!!

Am I right in thinking that Scott Taylor's contract was only for 2 years (the current season being his second), at the time people on here said that the 2 years was so that Wigan could be certain of him before offering him a longer contract.
I was shouted down when I offered a different view by saying that maybe he only wanted a 2 year contract.
I am not certain if the option was in the deal for an extra 12 months and if so in who's favour.
Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong, it has been known in the past.

Just googled it, Wigan have the option for the extra 12 months (2015)

You are absolutely right Cruncher and I shouldn't have mentioned the comment Sam made about the friendly against his new team, it irritated me at the time because of how soon some players forget about things that once allegedly meant the world to them but it is the big picture which is so depressing, the Aussies have the cream of the crop from both sides of the world and very few of the ones who come this way are doing so other than to finish off their career in a different environment whilst we are left with a constant battle to try and keep hold of home grown talent whether it be to the NRL or union. We are fast becoming the Cinderella League and the RFL's apparent problems in failing to attract major sponsors doesn't help

You could argue that SL needs needs more quality but to what end? Would having this quality lead to more paying speccys, would it lead to an expansion of the game, would it lead to increased sponsorship etc etc.

I hate the fact that players like Sam, the Burgess brothers, James Graham have decided that the NRL is the place they want to be but there's no denying it, SL is a peripheral sport over here and at the moment can't afford to keep these type of star players.

I don't understand how you can ask why do we want great players, and in the same breath say you hate it when they leave.

It's probably not the first time he's wanted Wigan to lose, i mean there were times on the terraces as a young boy at Wilderspool with his Alfie Langer Wire shirt on.