Eels stand firm on Welch offer
It’s no secret Parramatta are after Melbourne's Queensland prop Christian Welch next season.
However the first offer they recently put to him has been rejected, with the forward looking for in excess of $500,000 a season.
Under new management, the Eels have shown they won’t pay more than what they want to - as was evident in the protracted negotiations with skipper Clint Gutherson.
Dragons v Eels - Round 20
Also a factor in what they offer Welch is their recent interest in Panthers forward Reagan Campbell-Gillard. The club has identified the front row position as their priority and are willing to pay around $600,000-$700,000 for Campbell-Gillard.
However he is on a deal with the Panthers worth around $900,000 for five more years, leaving Penrith to cover the gap.
While Penrith have previously discussed the idea of releasing the former international, they now find themselves in finals contention and don’t want this to become a distraction, especially given Campbell-Gillard’s improved form over the last month.
If our first offer to Welch was below 500k i think thats a slightly negative way to start negotiations. i think the starting offer should have been 500k and then negoiated from somewhere between 550-600 which i think is spot on his value with 600k maybe just slightly overs. Also interesting to note that chammas believes we are willing to pay 600-700k of Gillards contract. IMO 600 yes (that is the max), 700 no way, esspecially if it means we dont get Welch. IMO Welch is the more important signing. We have Juniours coming through who whilst may not be as established as RCG, may provide a similar impact within the next 2-3 seasons. Signing Welch and RCG for 700k may cost us in the long term.
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And so it begins... player managers up in arms and letting negotiations go puplic to drive their own agenda.
My thoughts exactly. He must have the same manager as Gutho.
if we offered him what he wants, we'd be paying massive overs!
More B.S from same quarters. Figures are no where near close and discussion is along alot further. Just leave it at that. This is just clutter.
Ok thanks conehead, normally NRL.com is pretty reliable but i have noticed this particular journalist is the most liekly to come up with pure BS.
The question is not whether they WANT to leave it's a matter of getting paid what they believe they deserve.
Welch is organised, it's just whether we also pursue RCG. I think not.
Poppa i dont know why you constantly critize me, im purely just giving my own opinon and if you disagree with that, its fine by me. Just based on my own observations of the players and how i believe they would benefit the team, is what IN MY OPINION should be offered, and ill be the first to admit im probably way off the mark, as is this article more then likely. I had much the same reaction as you when i say the 900k figure that RCG is 'apparently' signed for. i am simply just wanting to hear the opinions of others. After reading your post i can tell your intellegent person, and in writing a blog like this, input from people like yourself is what i enjoy reading the most.
So i will ask again, firstly in your opinon do you believe we are seeking the services of RCG and/or Welch and what do you think should be offered to each player.
Josh, there are not a lot of players that have the contract amounts out in the public arena, however in the case of RCG he is shown to be on $800K in seasons 2020 - 2023, an amount is not shown for him for 2019 though at least on Zero Tackle that has a fair amount of contract details.
I would like to see RCG and Welch both at the eels, but not at any stupid amount of money, we have young forwards coming through that could learn heaps from both of them and that becomes a bonuse when we also have players off contract for this and next season, that should be let go, to allow for the younger ones to make their marks.
Colin I 100% agree and that is why like you said whilst both Welch and rcg would be great if it comes at the cost of our junior forwards then I would only sign one of them who would be Welch. I think he could teach our young forwards a lot and hopefully bring a hint of that Melbourne toughness to our pack. To me in 2-3 seasons and if possible sooner, I hope that oregan and utikomani will be able to replicate the impact of rcg on a game of football. Hence my opinion on the preference of Welch over rcg.
As for the salaries I was well aware of RCGs 800k salary as reported on zero tackle although normally in my experience NRL.com is a more reliable source but as I have already said in this blog I have noticed this particular reported increasingly writing bullshit stories, so it would be wise if me in the future the disregard his stories as many on here have already implied
Things seem a bit quiet regarding both players, and likely the result of the speculation that has gone out. My thinking is that our club has a price point on any new players to be signed as well as players from within, as well as working out which players will go, probably those not staying will be told at seasons end as is usual for all clubs
Welch is off contract with the storm and depending on how it works with him knocking back his option, if that's correct, it likely means Storm maybe making other decisions, especially if its a money thing, as they have development players that could replace him anyway, if they really wanted to keep him it would likely have been done by now.
As for RCG, the question for me is does he really want out, or is it the club wanting him out? If its the player then the club can dictate a fair degree in the financial side of things, as they can say yes, but we will not put any top up to what contract he signs. If they are wanting him out, then the club would have to pay part of his contract amount, and any TPA's would still be paid by those who have an agreement with him, not sure on TPA situation though. I have just found a link regarding the contract that he signed and it finishes end of 2024. not 23 as I originally had found, that tells me he gets $4m over the term of his contract, in this area the Riff would likely see advantages in him going but, how much would they have to pay? that is likely the sticking question, If they could get something like a $200K per season payout for him that gives them a good amount to spend elsewhere, meaning any club that he would go to would still be looking at a $600K contract, TPA's to be confirmed. Based on his jaw break and not playing as he was. I would be thinking the eels would like to be paying no more than $500K a season for him, which is lkely the same as with Welch, Welch can cover the forward spots except the 9 spot, which means he likely is better value for money.
Also, there are young players we have that need to be kept as well. For me that includes Stone, who has had injury problems this year, but is versatile also in where he can play, not just in the back rows but also at 9. Much of out forwards including Lane, Niukoria, Kafusi, Faianga'a Otukamanu, all need to be signed to longer contracts as well, each of them especially those off the Development squad could get valuable help from the likes of Welch, Paulo and RCG, in that area alone both could well be players that provied more than just their on field play.
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