Quote: MadDogg "I wish him all the luck in the world over there - he's turned into a great player and it'll be a massive loss for Wigan.
I do struggle however to understand players being allowed to leave mid-contract, particularly if the financial issues perhaps aren't as significant as they were with Danson coming in. Doesn't it send a bad message to any other players who have NRL ambitions? What is wrong with asking players to fulfil the commitment they've made?'"
I sympathise with this viewpoint to a degree, but the Danson factor shouldn't really be relevant. As you say, Morgan was already under contract. If Wigan had 'upped it' mid-term just because he was asking to leave, that would have been setting an ugly precedent.
We could of course have offered him a much better contract when this current one is complete, and I'd be amazed if we didn't at least consider that. But I think it's more than just money. Whether we like it or loathe it, the NRL is now seen as RL's big league while we are just minnows.
Unless, as someone else pointed out, a player is a real home-body, it's now become a right of passage for them to try their hand in Aus. It's almost as though they're never fulfilling their potential if they don't.