Barnes joins Tahs!

[TOCC]

Peter Lewis has resigned as well, now Will Chambers is possibly going to renege on his contract for 2010, it had some clauses in it like the Reds having Barnes, Ioane and McMenimen in there squad.

 

[RugbyReg]

Really? What an odd clause to have in a contract. Personally I would never have offered that option and if he doesn't want to come because of it, then stuff him. We don't want him.

 

[rugbywhisperer]

I don't know how it is going to happen, but the Reds need to be separated from the QRU immediately, and a professional structure put in place.

Exactly so - let it be done professionally and - dare I say it again - let the tyranny of the marketplace work - and to avoid the complaints of Luddites - within reason (the team stays in Qld, yarda, yarda.)

A lack of faith in the market doesnt make you a heretic. If left to the market, the Reds may or may not survive and if they did survive, may not prosper again for many years. The best way to ensure a balance of talent between the squads is some sort of transfer system.

I totally agree although the thought of it is abhorent to me - it is the only way to safeguard theQRU and it's survivability

 

[cheezel]

This is becoming a joke, I can't see how the Reds are going to get out of this hole. Either Barnes was unaware of what ramifications his defection would do to Rugby as a whole in Qld or he doesn't care.

Look at the top 6 votes for the Stan Pilecki medal for the Reds for the last Super 14.
Final voting:
Digby Ioane 253 Gone/Going
Hugh McMeniman 231 Gone
Berrick Barnes 122 Gone
Scott Higginbotham 108
Will Genia 103 Yet to resign
Sean Hardman 103 Not sure, has he signed on for another year?

What the fuck! I can't see how they are expecting to get anyone to a home game next year. No one is going to see a bunch of nobodies get sodomised on a weekly basis.

 

[Redsfan]

Will we even have 22 players in our squad next season? :crybaby

 

[Newb]

This is becoming a joke, I can't see how the Reds are going to get out of this hole. Either Barnes was unaware of what ramifications his defection would do to Rugby as a whole in Qld or he doesn't care.

Look at the top 6 votes for the Stan Pilecki medal for the Reds for the last Super 14.
Final voting:
Digby Ioane 253 Gone/Going
Hugh McMeniman 231 Gone
Berrick Barnes 122 Gone
Scott Higginbotham 108
Will Genia 103 Yet to resign
Sean Hardman 103 Not sure, has he signed on for another year?

What the fuck! I can't see how they are expecting to get anyone to a home game next year. No one is going to see a bunch of nobodies get sodomised on a weekly basis.

that is pretty damning evidence. the up and comers better lift their game fast.

i understand all the anti-barnes sentiment, but i still think of his leaving as a symptom of the rot (with the biggest name) rather than the cause of it. the current problems are more than what any one player can overcome and to look at him as the only glue that held what was left together is somewhat unfair in my view. and maybe he agrees.

that said, his leaving certainly doesn't help things at ballymore. besides removing some of the headless chickens in management. perhaps some good will come of that.

 

[Sagerian]

What the fuck! I can't see how they are expecting to get anyone to a home game next year. No one is going to see a bunch of nobodies get sodomised on a weekly basis.

Some people pay good money for that.


Still excited that Barnes has join the tahs. It's going to be a good backline, although it certainly would have been nice to pick up a decent player who is a good goal kicker too. That killed us and cost us close games last season.

 

[fatprop]

This is becoming a joke, I can't see how the Reds are going to get out of this hole. Either Barnes was unaware of what ramifications his defection would do to Rugby as a whole in Qld or he doesn't care.

Look at the top 6 votes for the Stan Pilecki medal for the Reds for the last Super 14.
Final voting:
Digby Ioane 253 Gone/Going
Hugh McMeniman 231 Gone
Berrick Barnes 122 Gone
Scott Higginbotham 108
Will Genia 103 Yet to resign
Sean Hardman 103 Not sure, has he signed on for another year?

What the fuck! I can't see how they are expecting to get anyone to a home game next year. No one is going to see a bunch of nobodies get sodomised on a weekly basis.

that is pretty damning evidence. the up and comers better lift their game fast.

i understand all the anti-barnes sentiment, but i still think of his leaving as a symptom of the rot (with the biggest name) rather than the cause of it. the current problems are more than what any one player can overcome and to look at him as the only glue that held what was left together is somewhat unfair in my view. and maybe he agrees.

that said, his leaving certainly doesn't help things at ballymore. besides removing some of the headless chickens in management. perhaps some good will come of that.

Yeah

it is only a symptom.

Look at Houston's weight gain after signing as another.

Link said on ruggamatrix that he rates attitude more highly than talent and I think he had a point.

 

[cheezel]

i understand all the anti-barnes sentiment, but i still think of his leaving as a symptom of the rot (with the biggest name) rather than the cause of it. the current problems are more than what any one player can overcome and to look at him as the only glue that held what was left together is somewhat unfair in my view. and maybe he agrees.

Newb, I do understand that he is not solely to blame for what is going on. As the vice-captain, interim captain and in the leadership group you'd think he would stay. He was very vocal about changes needed, changes were made but things still weren't good enough for him. All of the Reds yet to re-sign are now thinking if they weren't good enough for him, why should they be good enough for me?

A lot of people had a go at Tahu about leaving it so late that they couldn't find an adequate replacement, but QLD can't whinge about our vice-captain leaving even later.

I probably am a bit harsh on him, but i am very bitter about it and not looking forward to another 5 or more years of re-building

 

[Sagerian]

I don't remember quite so much drama when Sharpe (then captain) left, or when the Force were busy pillaging half the reds roster. Barnes obviously meant more to the team than I realised.

 

[RugbyReg]

You just don't remember Sage. It was very big.

 

[naza]

You just don't remember Sage. It was very big.

There were tears at the Chief Banjo Player handover ceremony.

 

[Scotty]

Sage,

It is sort our last hope of rebuilding sometime in the near future. Losing Barnes on the back of Moore last year is a kick in the guts for all Reds supporters.

 

[Gagger]

Just got back from a week's hols, and FARK!

I might not feel like this if I were a QLDer, but I'm with Scarfie on this actually being better for Aussie rugby overall.

Does anyone seriously think the Reds are going to make even the top half of the S14 in the next 2-3 years, let alone the finals? NONE of the 3N have enough international level cattle to spread around all their teams (look at the Highlanders, Cheeters, etc) and we feel this more acutely for well documented reasons.

This strengthens the chance of us having two teams in the finals, rather than two just missing out and the other two coming no-where anyway.

For Berrick, I think it's harsh to blame him. He's a professional sportsman. Is he supposed to watch the rest of the Aussie backline form a super team at ACT while he plays the happy loser again?

I can't begin to fathom the amateur hokiness at the top of the QRU, but an old boys club of ex-players taking over doesn't fill me with confidence.

And as for re-building a team around BBQ footy rather than a solid forward pack......surely this is mistake 1a) in rugby coaching 101?

I seriously feel for you guys.

 

[The Amazing Tah-Man]

Barnes seems like one of the young blokes on the team I would actually have the time of day for. So when you get quotes from rugbyheaven.com saying

"‘At the end of the day my family want to see me happy. They don’t want to see me coming home, drudging around, and we felt this was the best decision for me to move forward."

and

"Barnes, 23, said the main reason for moving to Sydney was that he ‘‘needed a spark-up personally’’. ‘‘I have lived in the womb of Queensland for a long time and I’ve lived at home. So I’ve lived in my comfort zone, to be honest, and I’ve never really challenged that. So this is going to be a bit of a test for me. It is nothing no one’s done before … I’ve just got to grow up."

I feel for him personally wanting to buck up a bit off the field. Sure it could just be making excuses for the papers but like I said, he genuinely seems like a nice kid to me. Sure he had some undue responsibility to the Reds but you gotta wonder at the Reds administration for allowing them to get into a situation where they depended entirely on a 23 year old kid.

(Although I wonder if I were to be this supportive if he were off to the Brumbies...)

 

[Lee Grant]

(Although I wonder if I were to be this supportive if he were off to the Brumbies...)

You got that right TATM - condescending remarks about feeling sorry for anybody north of the Tweed in any sporting endeavour can only go so far.

I would be pontificating about a draft system, salary cap and probably dog licences if he went to the Randwick pro team in Canberra.

We fans forget, or have maybe never considered, the human aspect to player movements. Andy Goode said he made the move from Leicester to Brive because he was sick of the pressure of playing in England; Lachlan Mackay, went from Sydney to Perth because he had never lived away from home. Others can think of 5 differenct reasons why players move to other sporting teams, apart from playing for more dosh, a valid reason in its own right - and even if the main reason is the desire to play in what they perceive to be a more competitive team - you can't knock that desire.

So long as they don't go to the Brumbies, that is. There is too much jealousy.

 

[Gagger]

My only problem with him going to the Ponies would have been the logjam of inside backs.