Parramatta are interested in Mitch Barnett. Now at 33 in 2027 and coming off ACL, good idea? Having Paulo and De Belin being 34 and 36 respectively is it good to have that much age?
Ryles wants a Paulo replacement that can lead the forwards, Barnett is a year younger.
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You say 32yo isn't ancient but he would turn 34 only 1 month into his first season if we sign him for 2027. Also plenty here said Koloamatangi wasn't worth a 5 year risk despite a 5yr contract seeing him through to age of 33 or 34.
With the young forwards coming through who have speed, size, skill and endurance now, I don't think we need to get into a bidding war for him. If he falls in our lap like Beau Scott of course you would take him otherwise plenty of young forwards will emerge far cheaper with players like Williams and Hopgood to lead the pack after Jnr and JDB retire to bring through our young forwards.
He will be 33 next year, that is my thinking. We are looking for a Paulo replacement yet are looking at someone who is a year younger? No denying his talent, he is an incredible player and if we don't have de Belin next year then yeah he would be great though. Yeah 33 is not ancient but it is still getting to the twilight of a career.
If we signed him i would not be fully against it. At least Keaon would have been turning 29 in his first year with us, so still a few good years of his prime.
You are right though, many here did say 4 years was too much for Keaon as he would be 32 by the end of his deal. But 33 year old Barnett who would more likely get a 3 year deal is fine?
If he joined us he would be 32 in November and then turning 33 a month and a half into the season. Sign him for 2 years and he is 34 when he retires. Take the risk and offer 3 years and he is 35 for the last year of his deal.
I'm not saying he is perfect but for what we are looking at he ticks a lot of boxes. Experienced, tough, leadership, origin player etc. He would essentially replace JDB for next year which is an upgrade.
You also can't just categorise players solely on age. For what its worth I was big on getting Keaon. It didn't turn out the way I wanted. But the difference between them is salary. Hence why you can't just purely take age into account when deciding on your roster. Its all about balance. Balance of cap resources and balance of players age. KK would be on nearly 1.2m in his last year at 33 years of age. Barnett on 800k in his last year at 34 or 35 is better use of the cap imo. JDB on 350k is fine. RCG on 850k, Matto 750k and Lane on 650k is not. Too many older players tied up on big money. If we only had one of them like we do with Matto this year it isn't that big of a deal.
Im not saying start a bidding war but talk to him if he is around that 800k-850k mark, make him an offer and go from there.
It's not only his age solely, it's the fact we have 2 other middles who are older. If we didn't have De Belin and Paulo, absolutely go for Barnett. But we do have them, Paulo in talks to extend for 2027 and De Belin has a deal there if Ryles wants him. We have enough experience, we need to get you get younger.
If De Belin is finished this year, then I'm more open to it but at this stage De Belin still has a deal for 2027.
JDB is worlds away from Barnett. Barnett is a NSW starter and Australian level prop.
Happy to see Junior extend but would be on a cut price deal IMO
Ummmm did I say I prefer de Belin over Barnett? Where did I say that?
Also, I believe Barnett is a lower chance of NSW now with AFB eligible and Murray back.
But that's the thing. We currently don't have JDB for next year. Barnett would effectively be taking his spot. If JDB plays out of his skin we do keep him and that's a good thing. If he is average then we just cut our losses and move on. I don't hate the idea of him staying on as reserve grade captain and only playing nrl if we are absolutely short.
The contract is there, it's up to us what we want to do but if JBD has a decent year we will keep him.
Ryles won't keep De Belin to be in Reggie's. He won't play Reggie's. He would either retire or try to get another deal. I love this idea of it's ok they'll stay just to be a back-up that people have it's a lie. Could De Belin stay at the club after retirement in some capacity? I think that will definitely happen but he won't play reserve grade. He might even try SL to try and get some cash beforehand. Why relegate himself to an emergency option? Sorry but your ideology on De Belin what he would be in 2027 if we get Barnett is ridiculous with all due respect. Sorry for being harsh.
He would also be on ok money, nothing extreme but starter type money. Around $400k or so. He was brought to the club to start. Now Ryles won't guarentee if de Belin is kept it is he is good enough to start. If he is not Ryles will cut bait. Now if we cut bait, Barnett is not a bad replacement for meantime. But right now there is a deal there for De Belin to play for.
The plan would be Paulo to bench, Barnett to start with Hopgood and De Belin in middle. That's what Ryles has wanted, someone to replace Paulo and that would let Paulo be that impact bench player.
How is it a lie? We take up his option in the top 30 and then the coach plays him where it best suits the squad? If that's reserve grade perfect. If its not then it means that Doorey, Moretti, Brown etc haven't kicked on the way we'd hope. Plenty of older players stay on and get their money but know they will see out their time in reserve grade. Woods, Gower, Mannah, Taupau, lussick, just to name a few.
I don't see why the idea of signing on for a year and potentially playing reserve grade is so ridiculous, but just uprooting his family overseas is not? Don't you think if he was getting these big money offers overseas he'd have taken them for this year? As opposed to a 1 year earn your stripes contract. As far as I can tell his actions so far prove he wants to stay in Australia and if he gets paid 300k next year to run around in ressies I'm sure he'd prefer it to retiring.
If he is signed for next year it doesn't mean he is locked in for the top 13 every week.
It's ridiculous as he won't do it, he would retire. Plus Ryles wouldn't keep him to play reserve grade. I highly highly doubt it. If somehow it does happen I will come back here and apologise but I do not see it. de Belin was signed to start and if Ryles doesn't see him starting then he moves on.
In terms of taking offer overseas, if you have one offer in Sydney you take it. If we say no for 2027 high chance he has no other choice and wants to play then goes to SL. He had a choice with Parramatta so took it.
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