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Reasonable people who follow both sports knew this was the most likely outcome. Good for him for getting paid, having a memorable time abroad, and trying his luck.

In order of priority for me: 1. Ikitau 2. Wright 3. Frost 4. Lolesio 5. Tupou Tupou is a dominant prop but the injuries and inability to play huge minutes really limit his value. I don't see Lolesio being head and shoulders above our other available playmakers either even if he is the best of...

"We need a third tier development series for up and coming Australian talent to play in" *monkey paw curls* Super Rugby becomes that third tier development series after the Giteau law is scrapped and every class Wallaby heads to Europe or Japan.

yeah he's at easts now

One less week of preseason won't make or break a club. Other clubs wouldn't have close to full numbers at training anyway.

Jock Campbell isn't a fullback that trades on only his athleticism. Could see him maintaining his current level for quite some time.

The Boks play more rugby before they move to Japan and then have a functioning alignment infrastructure that keeps all their players on the same page. Meanwhile we've spent years hand-wringing over Will Skelton despite him going well in Top 14.

If McReight does go, I'd prefer to see him in Europe rather than Japan even if it makes the logistics more difficult. I'm not convinced the Japanese domestic leagues offer an intensity close to Test rugby or even Super Rugby.

everyone is back into it except Easts

if it's Laurie does that imply that we might be finally switching to a rush defense?

That would be quite the limitation these days. I feel like most grade rugby players I play with or know are 2-4 years out of uni if they attended and in the age range of 22-28. At least at my club, the balance swings toward tradies as you get toward Prems and 2G.

Was that stipulation for Colts only or for the entire club?

Good on you and your club for keeping rego to $250, it's around 500-600 up in QPR. Wish more clubs would take that mindset and realize those high fees scare players off and choke the growth of the game.

if Jeffrey Dahmer could kick a 50/22, New Zealand Rugby would say he had an eating disorder

Not really much else to talk about right now anyhow. Most clubs finished off-season training and don't begin proper preseason until January. Don't think we'll have a good read on final player movements until trials in March.

If a financially strong club in eastern Sydney with one of the best hospitality arrangements around is cracking only 250 a game, that might not bode well for another more expensive tier of rugby becoming financially self-sufficient. I've been to Easts, their bar and restaurant gets heavy...

Shute Shield apparently charges gate fees, I'm not a strong advocate for that but it seems preferable to raising rego (north of $500 for grades at all QPR clubs). It's good to see that someone involved with their club like you @PhilClinton is aware of the impact of fees.

Another worry with implementing this would be the financial aspect. Speaking speculatively, I'm unsure how much higher rego can go without killing player numbers.

At the time of his appointment there was some very silly commentary about how Eddie's methods might resonate more with the sporting culture in Japan. As if being an inflexible blowhard is something deeply appreciated there.