Wollo-Wollo-Wollo-Wayoo wrote:Saints moved in pretty quick so I would guess either Murphy or his agent didn't particularly fancy Wakefield as a first option for some reason.
You'd think that was patently obvious and thus doesn't require a question.
Still, it's a free country and if people wish to ask pointless questions then fine.
FWIW I'll tell you what I think happened and I'm 99.9% sure I'm right.
Saints were interested in Murphy from the moment he burst on the scene, and it was no secret that they wanted him. No surprise, he has Saints player written all over him.
However, Murph decided that Easts was where he wanted to go.
Unperturbed, Saints probably gave him the option that should it not work out in Oz they would take him in a heartbeat, and probably offered him a draft contract. Something I seriously doubt Carter was able to do, or does that need explaining as well.
Move one year forward and it's not really worked out for Lewis, all the same he's not disgraced himself and he will have learned a lot, so his value has not diminished.
So, why would his agent even bother shopping him around. He has a deal at Saints waiting and ready. Despite a bit of a lull over the last year or so, Saints remain along with Wigan the two premier clubs in SL, almost guaranteeing some medals. It's the perfect storm.
Even if he had been put on the open market, why would he be interested in us? We may be on a bit of a roll right now but we ain't Saints, not even close. Likewise I suspect that Saints, who are a smart club, will have made it very clear that the offer was take it or leave it and that they wouldn't enter a bidding war. So I doubt Murphy was shopped around anyway, it was as they say, a done deal.
If you need someone else to tell you all that, then you need to concentrate harder or be less naive.
Sure I've just burst a dozen egos, but it just seems so obvious to me.
