Quote: goobervision "This is where the clubs decisions to allow players to go to Australia and on terms that allow a return is working well, the setup must be good enough to encourage a player back (it's not all about money) and we get the benefit of a more rounded player coming back.'"
That doesn't apply here. Budgie was out of contract. The club didn't "allow" him to leave, they had no say in the matter and he just left. Sorted it all out for himself (with no doubt an agents help).
Quote: goobervision "Some won't come back, but so far so good, we have players who are returning having had the benefit and experience of the NRL setup.'"
Though Sam looks to be finding his pre-NRL form the rest of the returnees have hardly set the world on fire. I don't like this scheme at all because in my view the club more or less automatically re-signs players rather than looking whether we need them or if there aren't better players available. I'd go as far as saying at the start IL would have signed a potential returnee with one leg to prove a point as in my view the whole first dibs on returning players was a PR exercise to try and lessen the blow of them leaving in the first place.
We have yet to see a player make a go of it in the NRL or stick it out living down-under so until we do and a player returns having seen their NRL contract out and at the top of their game I don't think there is much substance to this idea.
