Exiled Wiganer

As others have said, Gildart was useless the last 2 years he was at WIgan, He was very good in the last decade though, and would still be a good SL player on his day. Like Farrell, though, you can’t put in what God left out and he will never be big enough.

It’s crazy to jump to conclusions? On a thread with dozens of posts castigating Wane for turning his back on Farnworth for no reason???

Actually, I think it’s entirely justified. These were team meetings - they were the only way at the time that the group could get together. If he’s late, he’s wasting everyone else’s time, and let’s face it is hardly a commitment to hop on one of those. If Farnworth knew he was likely to have issues, because of travel or whatever, then he should have notified Wane in advance. He had one thing to do for the cause - turn up on a Zoom call - and failed. What do you expect Wane to infer? In any case, he’s now back in the fold by the sounds of it.

Maybe. And of course this is a thread for the 100 or so British NRL fanatics who will notice him. It would be, in my view, far better for the game as a whole and especially the British game, for these players to be strutting their stuff on Sky, BBC or Channel 4.

I know I am labouring the point but how is Rushton being picked good for British RL? Beyond the 100 or so British NRL fanatics his progress or lack of it will be unknown over here. He is playing in a competition opposed to playing internationals, so even if he is very good the likelihood of anyone over here actually being aware of it is vanishingly slim. That said, on an individual basis, he can be proud of himself.

It isn’t a net positive for the game over here, as the NRL has no interest in the game outside the NRL. They won’t improve our product or our game, and will be prevented from playing internationals if at all possible. Their loss exacerbates the differences between the 2 comps in favour of the NRL, leading to declining quality and interest over here. Given the talent pool available locally, there is virtually zero benefit to the NRL. The will be unknown and unseen by 99.999% of the British public as opposed to being the sorts of players who can attract TV viewers and fans to the ground.

Could Young make it in SL? Would he be a star or a run of the mill signing?

On Sutton, anyone who is surprised that Stuart will bear a petty grudge has not being attention these last 20 years...

I can see why people do it, but it does seem a bit harsh to have hanged Wane for something he hasn’t done yet.

Because we can’t be sure that we will see any of them play internationals, given who pays them and the alluring call of pre season games? Plus, how many people over here will have any idea who he is, compared with Newman and Percival, and even Gildart? Finally, he’s a good player, but he’s not Steve Renouf, so I am not sure what you’d be selling: “Roll up for someone you’ve never heard of who is better than Lyne, and probably a good option alongside Percival and Newman...”

I am not sure why Wane is getting so much stick, when none of us knows what he is thinking. No NRL players were named in the recent squad, and so we don’t know how he views any of them. Oh, and if he picks Bateman ahead of Whitehead he may argue that Bateman played better when they both played on the same team.

I have always rated Farnworth. Fine player.

Err, that would be if the NRL allowed national teams to play any matches.

I can’t say that Sutton loss was felt that keenly. I think he has exceeded people’s expectations at Canberra. He was young and a lot of props either develop or stagnate at the age he went over there. If you are big enough, skilful and can do a job, there will be a place for the Suttons of this world. Super League develops young forwards very well, I’d say. It’s in the spine where the game over here needs to improve its hit rate.

Sad news about the vultures around Pryce. We need to find a way to stop the talent flow, particularly given the NRL’s hostility to the rest of the world.

If Farnworth jumps ship for the Dark Side, will there be counselling available for everyone on here affected by the loss?

I disagree. Our game has a long tradition of considering international competition to be the pinnacle of the game. We have never before been in a position where one competition has such financial power and influence it can take anybody from anywhere. We have never before been in a position in which a league can dictate if and when any internationals are played. The scenario of doom for the game outside Australia is one in which they sign up any talented youngsters and all of the top talent, play them or hoard them (and they will soon have 18 clubs, so the potential for both is clearly there), while the world outside is left with the scraps. Having successfully gone “nah, don’t fancy it” to this year’s World Cup, next time it will be even easier. Give them a couple of years and they will have their own international calendar, with England and France “allowed” to arrange their own fixtures not including any NRL players. As a sport, we will have become the NFL. Which might be sort of ok as far as long time fans like us are concerned, as we can sell tickets, and pay some decent quality players, but we can forget anyone ever seeing a Hanley or Schofield, a Boston or a Myler playing most of their careers over here. Losing our quality youngsters is even more pernicious than our top players being cherry picked. But we better get used to it, because they have the money and, like the former President used to say to inspire his fans, they will use it to build a wall around themselves.

A young player drain adds to the senior player drain to a competition whose strategy is to place itself first, above the rest of the sport, with no interest in the wider game. Hence no World Cup, and no 2022 WCC. They are a threat to everybody looking to play or watch the game anywhere outside the NRL.

You’re still watching the NRL? After this week?

Deleted toollish comment from me.

I don’t know how long you have watched the game, but it is based on purely logical reasoning. I have seen lots of players selected to play for England based on their form in the Australian competition, and cannot recall a single one whom I had not seen over here who made me think that the NRL was producing better England qualified players than our competition. Hence my argument is simple - I would counsel caution in assuming that Sutton, say, has become a better player than the middle of road squad player that we see. We can call this the Josh Hodgson Principle if you like.

I had watched the game with the sound off, and saw that he had 1 on his back I fast forwarded to when Brisbane had the ball, so saw his taking it out of defence I assumed they had an odd formation for kick returns. Edited to remove toollish comment from me.

I thought Farnworth was good in the game I watched against the Raiders, in a really poor side. Not great, and not in the top 5 NRL fullbacks I have seen in the last week, but not hopeless by any means. He may develop in time to be a really good player, or do a Sutton, and cement his place as an NRL top 17 player. I remain unconvinced that he is a better 1 than Tomkins or Hardaker or a better centre than Percival, Gildart, Newman or King, but he may be as good as those centres. Again, everything I have seen over many years makes me doubt the assumption that any NRL starter is bound to be better than the best of SL.

I really don’t mean to offend the Farnworth fan club. You love him, I get that. I am sure there are still annual reunions of the Reed and Heighington fan clubs as well, where they can swap stats all day. As I don’t pick the side, you will be pleased to know, whether he is selected or does well for England is out of my hands.

It is not a lazy comparison at all, it is directly relevant because he was 1) an NRL starter but not an NRL star, 2) played for Brisbane and 3) was a centre. It would be impossible to find a more like for like comparison. I would pick all of the 4 SL players - Gildart, Newman, Percival and King - on what I have seen of the 5 of them. I have yet to see an answer that addresses the Jack Reed precedent/comparison, simply “you’re a nutter for doubting him”. To show that I do not have a closed mind when it comes to players plying their trade in the NRL - which is a very good competition, don’t get me wrong - if I were looking at NRL players who could make a difference, then Burgess, Thompson, Whitehead and Radley (though I think he has said he isn’t British) would be in my squad. I accept that Burgess played no top level rugby over here, but I can, I’m afraid, be hypocritical when it suits me...