Quote: brocus "on his performances for the 18s this year thats all he was worth , he wasnt in the top 5 players for the 18s'"
I find this quite a telling statement, I'm not an avid under 18s watcher, so can not comment myself, but there appears to be a more general feeling that Luke was not at all the main event in this group of young players.
I add this to other earlier thread statements like "It would have been a greater loss had we lost young Crooks"
"that the thing is overhyped because of the surname"
"that the intrigue involving the Hetherington connections are the real bone of contention"
etc etc
I am not challenging any of these comments, they all have substance.
What bothers me is the real motives of Leeds RLFC ?
If Luke is not the "main event" in many peoples views on here, then why the under the radar approach ? It may well be no more than Leeds actually think he is the best young talent we have on offer, and all others were tied up on contracts, not just at Hull FC but throughout the game.
But there may also be other motives .........well what does it give the purchasing club ? ;
Well it does now give them free and easy access to The Briscoe family
So discussions can be more easily had with family members as to "how things are going"
A normal access to heads of family is now a given right, and the parent club will no doubt exercise this right to the full. Along with the usual invites to club activities, taking the family into the bowels of the parent club.
The fact that the hottest wing prospect probably in world rugby is a family member may just be an aside of course.
Whilst for Hull FC do we now have a piece of our gold dust that can accessed ? are there now overt ways that information can be filtered to waiting ears of one of our players ? Will it now be possible to deliver soundbites relating to future possibilities ?
If any of the above is possible then I would hope that the legal wheels are already in motion to take the unusual step of trying to limit any such invasions. It may be impossible to carry out such legal approach orders in a meaningful way, after all we are talking family discussions here, so how on earth can it be policed ?...... I'm not sure to be honest, but we can and should try.
I think this purchase is about far more than the purchase of Luke Briscoe.
And it will add far more to our future battles on the field, where for some, results and performance may be given a significance different to the 2 points on offer,
The old addage of "the winner takes the spoils" may never be more apt.
