Now Lomax deal to Melbourne is dead, for now, there media circles swirling that Parramatta could use Lomax to try and acquire Barnett. Sending the incumbent NSW Origin Winger to New Zealand in exchange for the NSW Prop Barnet.
Is it a fair trade? On paper, definately. I am concerned on Barnett's age, but no denying the player he is and Ryles mentioned it is an area we need to strengthen. Barnett is a good start and thinking about it could be a nice bridge to bring in Talagi and Koina as Barnett would not be at the club long enough to completely block their paths.
In another note, Junior Paulo has mentioned he wants to stay at Parramatta in 2027, his management are in negotiations now. I reckon we see him extend for one more year for less money, then it will be a rolling deal depending on how he is going. If we land Barnett, it could lead Paulo to the bench using him as an impact player.
8. Hopgood
9. Smith
10. Barnett
11. Williams
12. Kautoga
13. de Belin
14. Walker
15. Paulo
16. Doorey
17. Tuivaiti
That is a nice bench and middle.
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You defiently wouldnt say NO to a quality player like Barnett and with Matterson on the brink of medical retirement he'd be a great addition
I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on signing a 31 year old prop coming off a full acl reconstruction in exchange for Lomax when the court case was only settled yesterday. Yeah great idea, we've just bought ourselves 2 years and blow it in the space of 24 hours.
In theory it makes sense and it works for us, but does it work for Lomax or the Warriors?
I did hear that Lomax was only interested in joining the NRL because it was with The Storm, so i'm not sure his position has changed on this? He has a big decision on his plate in whether he returns to Rugby League or not in the next 2 years. R360 is highly unstable and may not be on the table anymore, he's lost a lot of money taking this gamble and he would likely want to recoup that money back ASAP.
But he seems like a reckless soul and wants to go to the highest bidder, so i'm sure a suiter will come in mid-way through the season and kick-off a bidding war. His strategy will be first a PR exercise to get his side of the story, soften up the public response, then come back as an attractive option that is in "a much better place now".
Funny how Brent Read and the likes claimed only Melbourne wanted him therefore should let him go as nobody wants him.
Maybe it was Zac that refused anyone else Brent?
Braith had to stop himself from saying too much on NRL360. He was talking about how there were 6 other clubs interested back in December. For some reason, they all walked away, except the storm, who tried to sneakily sign Zac in the background, then acted surprised when called out on it.
It could be that Zac told everyone involved that he wanted to go to the Storm, so the other clubs walked away. Maybe it had something to do with the release clause that scared them off?
I'm not entirely sure Lomax lost a lot of money. There's talk about a golden handshake and a signing bonus with R360. I think more will come to light over the next few weeks or months, but I think Lomax will pick and choose what he wants to do next. He is a bit weird to be honnest and money may not be the deciding factor.
Could be, honestly who knows with the bloke.
We can't send Lomax anywhere he has to want to go on his own volition.
Hes free to negotiate with any team in the nrl that has the cap space to have him on there roster then once that's established then we step in with our release conditions with regards to a player swap.But the biggest thing is Lomax has to want to go there.Basically we have a 2 yr window.
I don't know what our relationship is with Lomax and his representatives is but we should be trying to lobby them into staying in the nrl as if he leaves we get nothing.
The other thing that bothers me outside of Melbourne how many teams want to touch this guy with his baggage.There's some character issues there around long term commitment to a side do you want this type of character in your side I don't know.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1583515319610274/?fs=e&fs=e
Maguire went and personally met with Barnett and they are desperate to land him hopefully we have the same sought of pull to land him.
I think if we end up with Barnett we won't re-up JDB.
i love the idea of having Barnett and Morettti, Paulo and Tuivaiti, and Williams with Hopgood as our options. By all reports and trial form Brown, and Doorey look set for first grade roles too which is amazing.
Kautoga locks down one edge and hopefully Latu or Jeziah push for first grade relevance.