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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Yeah, with Haas gone they will have the money.
Home is Taree. Parra is closer.
Lol media reporting Titans, Knights and Broncos and all close to home 😂
If we are talking about close to home, he goes to Newcastle.
If we want him we'd be a pretty good chance. We have cash and are in the market for an experienced rep middle. 32 isn't ancient. He is the current starting prop for nsw. The acl is a risk but one worth taking I believe.
Broncos obviously have Broncos dollars and still are seen as in a premiership window. However, no Haas and Reynold's really brings them back to the pack. A big start to the year for us might be crucial in swaying Barnett.
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
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