I'll start by saying I know I was staying off this site but this question's been annoying me for the past few days.
SBW was ahead of his time when he debuted. Most second-rowers were still in the Hindy mould back then. They were work horses who made their tackles and ran their lines. SBW was something different, a breath of fresh air. He had pace, footwork and good ball-playing skills as well as a mean shoulder charge. Now the question is whether or not he will still be as good as he was back then if he was to return next year?
The answer is probably no. These days it's normal to have a second-rower who has footwork, can ball-play and be strong in defence. Think of someone like Glenn Stewart or even Dave Taylor. SBW was good back in his day but his time has passed. He's still got the talent but I don't think he'll have anywhere as big an impact as he once did. Imagine him squaring off against the rolling block of flats in Taylor. Taylor, for mine is a better ball-player and a harder runner. Even a guy like Tony Williams. He may not be as adept with his hands but his ability to wind up off a 2 step run-up is un-paralelled. I simply can't see SBW coming back and putting team's to the sword like he used to. Too many teams these days have players who can do the same job as SBW without the price-tag.
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I reckon he'll have a huge impact if he came back to league. I'll never forget his debut, was against Parra,
thought then and still think now he's a freakin freak.. At his best, he is more damaging than any current RL forward going around..
Hopefully Ricky will bring the best out of him, if given the chance.
^This. I don't think enough people have watched him in Union this year. He is incredibly fit, he's very fast and has more strength than anyone in the RL. Which ever team picks him up will be VERY lucky. Even at a million a year, i think SBW is worth it.
So maybe the real question is not about his price-tag, because SBW's price-tag is obviously inflated so there might be no point wondering if he is worth it, and nor is it about whether other players have caught up, because really there are very few triple threats like SBW. But it is whether he can come back and play at or near the level he was at when he left. Some would say his years away may make him more dangerous, especially as a ball player. He will slot back in as one of the very few triple threats, in other words, so the real question comes down to what level he will attain for himself, setting other comparisons aside.
PS: none of this denies he seems a self-important dude maybe not worth the hassle
The only concern for him IMO will be how he handles the public and media cause they will all over him like nuns are on vibrators.
Taylor in the same league as SBW? hahaha, Taylor is nowhere near SBW, he's soft and thinks he's a halfback. If Taylor used his size and speed properly he would be the most damaging forward ever but instead he wants to be fancy and put in grubbers and such. Sonny is a top athlete the only problem is the NRL hasn't changed, he supposedly left because he wasn't being treated correctly and only looking at a very shallow view it seems as if nothing has changed.
Is it not past your bed time??