Quote: Trainman "Part of the issue is the word ‘marquee’. That’s simply a name given to allow a SC dispensation. Let’s face it, if he was genuinely marquee he’d be in the NRL. Some people seem to expect him to suddenly be at JT’s level.
Wigan could have done 2 ways, we can offer him the money & acivate the marquee contract to allow us to spend more elsewhere or he could have gone to Warrington.
Warrington are the prime example. Roberts has come over on marquee status, after 12 months he’s now going home as he couldn’t settle. He’s a decent SL player & nothing more than a steady Eddie in the NRL. I know which I’d prefer.
Williams, although comparatively experienced is still young in half back terms and still has plenty of improvement as he matures. Richardson at St Helens is a fair comparison and I expect will follow a similar pattern if they stick with him. When Williams first became a regular he played with the freedom Richardson is playing with now. As he became more established over a couple of seasons he went from impressive youngster to having the pressure and expectation to perform week in week out which is a different ball game. For the 1st third of the season (no coincidence when the pack was dominant) he returned to that kind of form. Yes he’s dropped off over the past month or so but so have the rest of the team.
In summary, leave the kid alone, he’ll come good again unless of course the fans kill his confidence completely.'"
I don't disagree with much of this, but the bit I've underlined is plain daft.
George will have no one to blame if his career continues to stagnate but himself.
And 23 is not young in halfback terms. Look at Sam Tomkins. By 25, he was starting to slow down a bit. Andy Greg and Shaun E were already established names by 23.
George is a talent, but he needs to start getting it right very, very soon, or he risks becoming yet another of these talented kids who never made it as an adult (though he will be rich, which is one thing I suppose).