PARRAMATTA has announced the re-signing of seven current players for periods up to 2018. Sadly, halfback Chris Sandow was not one of them.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is what is wrong with rugby league in the modern era.

Every time I turn on the TV to watch Parramatta play, I have my eyes glued to the mercurial little halfback. He is one of the few remaining players in the NRL who is actually unpredictable.

A guy who plays off the cuff and takes left-field ­options. From one play to another he’s different.

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Which is why he has the second-most try-assists in the competition this year, behind only superstar Johnathan Thurston.

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Yes, he misses tackles and makes mistakes, especially when coach Brad Arthur plays him out of position at fullback, where he is obviously too small. Yes, he’s pranged cars and had his off-field issues.

And yes, he is not one of those more reliable playmakers you can shackle to a rigid game plan.

The same could be said for a lot of other great players in the past who have become champions on pure instinct and not boring structures. We’re talking Alfie Langer and the great Steve Mortimer.

Sadly, rugby league has become a game of hit-ups, metres, kicks and simplicity.

Can you believe we are now in an era where a steady halfback like Trent Hodkinson can get $600,000 a year out of the Newcastle Knights yet at the same time a far more brilliant No. 7 like Sandow can’t get an offer anywhere outside of the English Super League.

Sure, Hodkinson is more consistent but, seriously, who would you rather watch?

With the interchange to be ­reduced to eight next year and possibly six in 2017, little players like Sandow will become even more valuable when big men tire.

There are a number of reasons why NRL crowds are down to the lowest level in more than a decade this year.

One is the predictability of the footy and low quality of the games we’re watching every week.

Everything is too safety-first. Too predictable and too boring.

On Sunday the Eels announced forwards Pauli Pauli, Peni Terepo and David Gower had extended their contracts. So too Kaysa Pritchard, Vai Toutai, Joseph Ualesi and boom Holden Cup fullback Bevan French.

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Yet the little guy who is capable of winning more games than the lot of them is on the outer.

The little guy who has kicked as many 40/20s as any other player in the competition this year.

The little guy who has 17 try-assists to his name — the second most behind only Thurston.

The little guy who should not be lost to our game. We actually need more like him.