How high would you go for Sandow?

Firstly, I'm not writing off Sandow yet. It really is inconceivable to me that we might miss out on him, given our cap position.

The question is how much are we prepared to pay?

It's worth keeping in mind that from what I've heard we had up to $700k in hand to make a play for Cronk or JT if they became available and we were prepared to pay it.

I'd suggest when you're managing a salary cap with a finite number of players, the actual dollar value ceases to mean anything. Rather its an arbitrary figure totally based on supply and demand related to your individual circumstances. Sandow is the last half on the market, you could see taking a side to the top four, and its not even like you might say, we'll wait another year before X player becomes available because I've got no clear targets you'd go after next year either, except for Maloney, And he's a player you'd take if he's available, but not a player you'd wait around for as a long-term saviour.

So serious question. It's your call. How much would you pay? Personally, I'd go up to $500k. And if Souths can still manage to retain him, then the salary cap auditors need to be called in.

If you'd have said to me two weeks ago would I have been prepared to drop half a million on Sandow I would have laughed for a week. Right now, I can't see any other course of action.

So it won't surprise me at all, if despite the rumour swirling that he will stick with Souths, that we don't go back to the well again. So just as you'd have been silly to accept the rumours we'd signed him, don't accept the current swirl of rumours washing around that we've missed him either. I can't imagine any player sacrificing $100k a year and I refuse to believe Souths can go any higher than $300k if that.

"Ok? He is still signed til 2026. So unless we wait til 2027 we ain't going for Smith. Roosters wouldn't let him go to us early with how Ryles left the joint. Politis is petty."

Replies

HKF May 2, 2011 at 9:58pm

Couldn't agree more, what other option do we have? none, give him a blank check.
Brian Jackson May 2, 2011 at 9:58pm

spot on

we are seriously that desperate that we have to throw the book at him

give him 500k and be done with it, get a genuine halfback and then that will attract more players

we cannot have another year with this combination under any circumstances

so give him what it takes

we are desperate
SacDog92 May 2, 2011 at 10:00pm

300-350K. Then try to get him some sponsorship money that may not be part of the salary cap. Everyone does it now. We should stop trying to be the nice guys and learn how to legally avoid salary cap breaches.
Brian Jackson May 2, 2011 at 10:00pm

and while we are at it, give whatever left we have to hopoate and we have 2 quality backs for now and the future

we can build a team around them

we need backs and we need quality

ps why the hell did we make no play at idris by the way?????
Sinbad !!! May 2, 2011 at 10:02pm

350k max per season

he comes for 500k and wont we just spent far 2 much of our cap on a half.

We all know that hayne is a 6 Mitchell can play 7 and so can Morts or Mguire.

350 plus third party 50k

400k and if he isnt coming for 400k then we should call Shubert and ask the question what did he sign at Souths for !!!!
Normo May 2, 2011 at 10:02pm

Yeah what other options do we have is correct. And I didn't even want sandow at first. Since we looked liked signing him my opinion of him was upgraded a notch (I often do that). It's either take it up a notch too high for souths to match or we probably struggle for another year I would think.
1Eyed Eel May 2, 2011 at 10:06pm

The scary thing is if you try and play out alternative scenarios it could cost us for the next three years. That's about as long as most of the quality halves are signed for.
1Eyed Eel May 2, 2011 at 10:07pm

In my opinion we're only in this position, because we didn't bite the bullet and put Hayne at six from the start of the year. If we'd have done that by now we would have a pretty good idea if he was going to make it as a six, and if he was ripping up in the halves we'd have far less pressure to sign a seven. Given this year, was meant to be all about re-building that was one question that the club needed to have answered from the go get. Very little foresight at all, in my opinion and really once again, we only have ourselves to blame.
blueNgold May 2, 2011 at 10:12pm

Its such a tough situation we are in, desperation is one thing, but throwing money away won't help anything in the long run. Without knowing the intricities of our financial situation I couldn't answer the question. On face value I would say Sandow is probably worth around 300k, but there are so many factors to change that.

If I personally was in charge of recruitment I'd be trying to bring in 2 halves, that is on the proviso that Humble won't be re-signed and if he doesn't start playing soon then I can't see that happening.
Sinbad !!! May 2, 2011 at 10:12pm

shit bongo

you and I agree 400k max.

Deadline is wednesday take it or leave it.

Rabbits cant blame us for there stupidty.

Sandow fails,

We go after Ben Hunt from the Bronco's for 2 seasons at 200k

Sandow is only going to screw himself by playing the rabbits and the EELS with all this delaying.

Mind you he may have already signed with us and we are just all speculating that he is still thinking.

And this signing might be the 1 time our management has kept it hush hush for a reason so we dont go into a bidding war.