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The Reserves League.


marklaspalmas

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Full-time Sheffield Eagles have packed in their reserve team so Rovers reserves lose three matches from an already thin-looking fixture list.

 

The league is now just eight clubs, four from SL Hull, Wigan (who wont play Yorkshire teams), Warrington and Saints. Plus Keighley, Hlaifxa and Dewsbury. We're down to 12 games all year long.

 

Remember when every club had an A team? Mix of young uns and fringe first teamers playing to a decent level. It much have been very complicated, expensive and difficult to run, as it's too much trouble nowadays.

 

 

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.............

 

Remember when every club had an A team? Mix of young uns and fringe first teamers playing to a decent level. It much have been very complicated, expensive and difficult to run, as it's too much trouble nowadays.

The A team system in the days when all clubs had one, was a superb set up giving aspiring young players the development and progression they needed. For the club it was a great way to nurture and monitor future prospective 1st team players. Clubs that choose to save a few coppers by not having one are very short sighted.

Maybe it should be made a condition of being in a league, certainly the Super League and maybe even the Championship

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It's not just a few coppers tho is it....

An A team will cost a ridiculously large amount....[/quote

Would it be the price off a Aussie comin over and being looked after

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I would have thought much more jt.... I could be wrong but I'm sure I recall silly numbers being mentioned with regards to running even the scholarship

"I love our club, absolutely love it". (Overton, M 2007)

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I would have thought much more jt.... I could be wrong but I'm sure I recall silly numbers being mentioned with regards to running even the scholarship

I havn t got a clue either but surely with the S/L money they get the top flight teams should be made to run one

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Everything money wise has gone mad. Perhaps the only way is to run an A team as amateurs and for them to get game time to play amateur teams. If a first teamer is getting fit he still gets paid. When I saw a footballer was getting £60K a day I understand how clubs feel the pinch. Ok SL is on a lower level money wise than soccer but proportionally they will pro rata be spending money they can ill afford hence the abandonment of A teams. Stupid. And they call themselves business men.

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There's equipment, coaching, insurances, docs and physios to pay for. Kit, mandatory health equitment, officials, power heat n light etc.... It all costs a bloody fortune running an a team.

"I love our club, absolutely love it". (Overton, M 2007)

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Realistically, yes it is more than coppers to run an A team, the wider benefits do help the balance though. Homespun players who strengthen the first team, some of who will become top players. We have seen them come through in the past giving us good service and then moving on for a large fee to the club.

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That's why the rugby league need to put there hand in there pocket, how many millions have been blown in London and Wales to no prevail. While 100s of talented kids in the heartland areas have had nowhere to go and fallen out of love with the game. The bigger pool of players you have playing a good standard obviously the more talent you produce, but our pools got smaller hence the lack of talent been developed in the game. That's why the aussies came and made a show of our top 3 in there off season.

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When the chairman at Batley was asked regarding the setting up of an A team he stated that it would cost about £30k per year to run one.

That's a lot for a club like Batley, but not for SL clubs who get benefits in the salary cap for bringing on their own youngsters. Maybe the RFL should bring in more laws on the transfer of young players to find ways around the Bosman ruling?
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could "A" team games be played as curtain raisers, playing the same opposition as the first team.

joe mullaney is a god

the only good tiger is a stuffed tiger

oldrover.gif

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How do you do that on crowds of less than 1000 and do funding of 160k and 10% of sod all by way of sponsorship??

I agree 100% in the ideal.... but reality I'm afraid is a long way away...

"I love our club, absolutely love it". (Overton, M 2007)

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The amateur clubs survive and they have overheads. As I said before run A teams as amateurs. The older one's amongst us played as amateurs and covered most of our own expenses. The better ones went on to play first team rugby. Example in the early fifties I played for Featherstone Rovers under 18's. I played against Don Fox who played for Sharlston. He went on from amateur to professional via that path as did his brother. We also had an Under 21 team. Apart from the bath and the shirt we found our own overhead expenses. It is not a situation that has to cost 30K. If the lads are keen to get on they will go down that path.

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Waste of time? Not sure any RL is a waste of time, but still.

 

We all know the economic realities, but there gets a point where you have to ask, if we can't do this basic thing properly, what are we doing here at all?

 

I was probably too general with my waste of time comment. My opinion is that it is a total waste of time at our level and I could argue forever why I think that so I will list a few points below.

 

1. SL teams will always have 1st choice of talent and will basically snap up anyone who can hold a rugby ball "just in case".

2. The whole set up of the RFL academy/u21's/u23's/scholarship/whatever you want to call it is a total farce in general.

3. Anyone deemed not good enough or borderline is then palmed off to Championship teams to "further their development" in this wonderful thing called dual reg.

4. At 22 most of the players snapped up early in their careers are deemed not good enough and with little first team rugby most championship teams are unwilling to take a chance on them and they are subsequently lost to the game.

5. Most of the players lost to the game would have had decent opportunities at lower teams if they had not been scooped up by Sl teams.

6. A championship team has to pay a fortune with very little money to try and unearth a gem that the SL teams have passed up on. You can probably count on one had the number of times this has actually happened.

 

As most people on this forum know, I could go on and on about what is wrong with the system.

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Marklaspalmas spot on mate ,how did we manage running A teams over years don't think clubs were flushed ,second teams is just the way of sport only way clubs get momentum and supporters know who plays for who Dr there not players I want to support

Most clubs ran A teams in pre-Bosman days because if you unearthed a gem you would get good money for him if you sold him on. Nowadays clubs can't afford to pay long term contracts on unproven players, so if they do come good the bigger clubs get them for virtually nothing. I can remember Tex getting sold to Hull KR for £8K around 1970 when he wasn't a regular first teamer- They only got £15K, a then world record, for Nashy 4/5 years later.
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