Upto Benji?
Well Benji Marshall is now a St George Illawara Dragon.
He signed for a pretty decent amount of cash, which kinda mad me sad.
You see, when Marshall left the Tigers he did so because he could no longer get the deal/amount of money he was promised.
So he left to the Auckland Blues where he not only got a fair amount of money but his missus got some TV work and Benji began an awesome acting career.
His return to the NRL started a battle for his signature, a battle which resulted in Marshall's camp creating 'deadlines' for offers.
Don't quote me, but I've heard on the grapevine that Melbourne was ruled out because it wasn't Sydney ... Sydney is where the big media gigs are his missus loves a bit of media work ... you do the math.
It then became clear, as the Sharks and the Dragons went in to battle, that money was a factor.
Any logical footy brain would have told Benji Marshall to take shit money and prove himself.
For example - sign a 1 year deal with Melbourne for pennies, help them turn their season around go deep in to the finals, show that you're back playing tough footy then the NRL is your oyster and you'll have buyers lining up.
Decisions based on money rarely work out awesomely. While he would never say so, I mean I like the guy and want to give him the benefit of the doubt, he's building a bit of a track record of making decisions which are influenced by money ... not by footy.
I'll happily eat my words should the Dragons win the comp.
I just feel underwhelmed.
I feel like we're being set up for failure, again.