SmokeyTA wrote:if anyone advised you not to buy Berrigan they made a mistake,
no team is going to do anything with two players in important positions as bad as Fisher and Webster, if you dont like it fine, but thats the truth
your important positions are your 1, 6, 7, 9, 13 right now, none of these are really comparable to the top teams, i dont think either Leeds or Saints would take a second look at what you have there compared to what they already have,
next year both leeds and Saints (probably) will have two hookers a class above Fisher,
Berrigan could have changed that, he would have been the first player in the important positions who was true international quality,
regardless of how much he cost (which obviously isnt ridiculous amounts) or who you would have had to release (Gene or Aizue wouldnt have been greatly missed) he would have improved your team hugely, and made you much more likely to make the six
plus im fairly sure i would listen to Wayne Bennett and Mal Meninga over John Dixon
In a way, I agree with you, and incidentally the four players you mentioned are the four most speculated to be leaving before next season.
Although I think Webster and Fisher are better than you think, I agree that Berrigan is a class above. But like I said in my earlier post, it didn't simply come down to 'is he good enough'. Releasing Gene or Aizue would've been a loss because we're light as it is for forwards. They're not in the same league granted, but we did have Fisher, Netherton, Cockayne & Webster who could play hooker.
Theres always a chance that the advice given to JM was regarding his fitness or an injury he may be carrying, rather than it being an attitude or ability issue. Also, at the risk of throwing some credibility my rival's way, even if we had offered him a deal, he could've turned us down for another club.
I think you're missing the point because as I've said countless times, most Rovers fans would love to have him, and rate him very highly, but there was simply a number of reasons why we didn't/couldn't put an offer in for him.