I was reading a bit on Smithies from a raiders fans point of view. It stinks of the same attitude that some of our own SL fans believe.
He hit 40 tackles, ran 100m+ and did 80 minutes. He topped the tackle count and was pretty high up on metres made. Comments like wait until we get him fit and when we get him on the weights was pretty much the whole topic. It begged the question, how has he done all this while obviously so inferior? While the super athletes in the same team haven't hit the tackles or the metres, especially when both are combined in that same game?
Obviously some cracking players over there but not all are super stars. The depth and standard of average is better, leading to more intensity on a more regular basis. That keeps your better players having to play at a higher level more often. I also imagine some of our lads who have gone over and not made it and many NRL with almost careers who come here, are in the same boat as some young players of our own academy (like what has been mentioned). They end up with good SL careers but at 20 are let go from Wigan, Saints and Leeds because they was deemed not quite good enough at that stage. Some 50 games in they would be at the NRL average level or even more. Example players like Ellis who to me seems better than quite a few forwards on display in most rounds over there.
I think we are all guilty of the Raider fan outlook, Dupree is sort of an example of most of what I have just wrote. He was let go from Leeds, forged a reputation at lower level before SL at Salford then on to a GF winner at Wigan... He was a massive part of our role to that GF and his stats hold up well. I'm still guilty of that raiders fan mentality though ...
"Wait until he's Wigan fit" and "can't wait until he's had a pre season with us" and so on.
Maybe some truth but I do think some of it is a players attitude because of the path they have had to walk and a large dose of being in the right place under the right coach at the right time for things to work out.
Bevan was looking like a super star over there his strike rate was as good as it gets, injury at the wrong moment, allied to maybe the wrong coach and then maybe some of his own attitude or issues all ended with him playing lower grade. I think fans had binned him because of a game he said he was forced to play injured where he took the ball up once from wing. I'm sure both sides of that story are maybe true depending on where your standing.. What that did was give one of the most natural rugby players you could see a move to SL and Wigan. Both needed each other at that same point of time and I couldn't be happier they did. He found the team mates, fans, club and most definitely coach he needed and we found a player who's given us a highlight reel as good as any. If he does stay the full contract and can stay reasonably fit we will have seen one of the best to adorn the shirt. He is in that category for me.
I imagine that story could have many different paths and I do believe if things had worked out different we would be looking at a top end NRL player with if only he played for us wishes every time we saw some magic.

It's not a question we'll need to answer anyway. Even if Smithies decides to come back to the UK in 2 or 3 years time, you'd imagine we'd then look to fit both him and Thompson in and by that point we may be able to do it if there have been some exits. They're both fabulous players and we've dropped on that we've been able to bring in a top class English player, at a time when one was leaving the club.

I look at Saints for 2025 and if Makinson is going to Catalans, they will much much the same if they get Tom Davies but if they don't, well, where do you go? You'll need to sign a much inferior English player to Makinson or free up another quota spot to go down under. I got told yesterday that HKR are sniffing around Alex Walmsley as well. That would be major problems if that came off. Again, if you want an English replacement, where do you go? and to go overseas another quota spot would need opening. It's a couple of great examples of how lucky we've been with the Smithies/Thompson timing.

Smithies has a higher celling imo. His development over the last few years has been phenomenal. We all know about his tackling and work rate etc, but he started to ball play more too.

Thompson, during that exceptional period he had, also benefitted from having a quality pack around him. I don't think Smithies ever really had that.

I'm not talking Thompson down here by the way. I'm talking Smithies up. I think he's that good.

I'd love to know if you're like this across the rest of your life? Do you just accept everything you're told, or do you ever form your own opinion?

You do realise that nothing is back and white and everything carries some kind of bias. Experts for the most part, just look at their area of expertise and don't factor in the wider picture, or wider impacts. There are also different schools of thought between experts too.

Going off on a tangent on this topic, I admire KR for his ability to make decisions, but he's wrong in his assertion that if everyone had access to the info he did, we'd all make the same decisions. I'd say it's a shockingly naive way of thinking too. I can guarantee you that, if you put the same info and resources in front of 100 people, you'll get more than one plan of action.

For the most part, I'm happy with the direction the club is going in. That however doesn't mean they aren't open for criticism, or that differing opinions aren't valid.

I didn't think this was a question of picking one or the other. I would have Smithies at 13 to replace Ellis and Thompson would still be my starting prop.

The thread got turned into which one you would rather have and although different positions (although Thompson can play 13) Thompson wouldn’t be here without Smithies leaving, I just my opinion to why fans would have preferred Smtihies to stay.