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.
Replies
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.
He was granted a release for his child illness so Newcastle would be favourites as that is where his family is closest. But they spent all their cap on Dylan Brown and Ponga.. Not sure the issue with Barnetts child but one would think Westmead hospital is the best hospital for a child but why woutd he wait a year then have to change hospitals and specialists. Only guessing but his child may have Autism or development disorder which needs more family support than medical support so it would come down to who offers best support which may include support for the family in some way or modified training schedule similar to what we offered Beau Scott to support his child when treated at Westmead Hospital.
Pass
He an asset, our young forwards are playing out of their skin because of De-Bellin & Paulo they are teaching them the way. It needs to continue with an experienced prop that will teach them how to be professional & mentally strong. No better than the NSW prop Barnett.
Like the player don't like the age of the player though imo this is Custers last stand.We've got enough experience in our pack id just extend Jnr and call it a day.What I wouldn't do is put a road back ahead of Tuivaiti Moretti Brown Talagi and co unless they don't believe these guys are ready.I'm expecting a lot from this young group of middles coming through that's our foundations.
If you'd have told me Barnett was available 2-3 years ago I'd be all over it but I'm cautious now and coming back after an acl I don't think I'd do it.But I guess others are involved in this chase so it decreases the chances of this actually happening.
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next