There is no evidence to support the argument the Jets are an impediment to the Sharks developing players. I could give you 20+ examples of players who have come through the Jets in the last 7-8 years without top 30 contracts and gone on to become full time NRL players, but I think people would be hard pressed to find one example of a player who was held out of the Jets by a cup-only contracted guy so left and kicked on elsewhere.
Fans like to whinge about the Cup-only players taking jobs away from Sharks players but if the Sharks had their own team they wouldn't fill it with 21 year old players. They'd go sign some older guys on cup contracts just like Souths have. Same end result.
People act as if the Sharks say they want some kid to play and the Jets tell them to piss off they are signing Rajab instead. That's totally unrealistic. Fans need to accept is that in 2025 Rajab, Betham-Misa, Leui and Clark were better players than some of the young kids who people pump up, and that shuttling back and forth between Cup and development comps is the preferred pathway for a lot of players.
The Jets have shown they will let players go to accommodate the kids when they are ready to play full time. If this is a Rajab/Pollard conversation there are two precedents. Both Jack A. Williams and Marshke were let go when Trindall was ready and Rhys Davis was let go when Puru was ready. If Rajab is still a jet in 2026 it will be because Pollard isn't ready. Not because the Sharks don't get a say.
Harper is definitely an odd signing, but whose job is he taking? The most you could say is that it probably had a hand in John-Paul Doneski moving on, but the Sharks have about 8 other guys ahead of him anyway.
One team in the Q Cup this year (Sunny Coast) is fielding a development team of u23 players. but they are playing that team in the local Sunny Coast A Grade. Not at Cup level.
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