Manfred Mann

The real concern should be not that Herbert Farnworth is not in the game days 17, which have not yet been selected. The concern should be that he is not even in the squad!!

Last night’s performance by Dominic Young has established this young giant as one of the most exciting prospects that Jamaica has seen in years.

Apologies. Inexplicably, I forgot about Harlequins, despite the fact that I have been to the Stoop to watch the Harlequins rugby league (Broncos) many times. Ravages of age. My mind was focused on London Irish.

London Broncos has provided a pathway for talented southern England youth, and has produced national quality talent such as Mike McMeeken, Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Dan Sarginson, Tony Clubb, Kieran Dixon, Olsi Krasniqi, Eddie Battye, Jacob Ogden, and others.

Those two “London” rugby union teams are located outside the city of London.

Yes there is a reason for optimism. While Paris is mostly a football (soccer) city it is not as overwhelmingly football oriented as London. The fact that rugby union could establish two successful professional clubs in Paris shows that Parisians are more open to diversity in their sports than Londoners. As for the Paris-St. Germaine team that was tried before, it was plagued with administrative mismanagement, if not outright administrative corruption, and a lack of local player pool development in advance. The latter problem meant that the French player pool was mostly from the south of the country, and suffered from a degree of demoralization as a result of player homesickness. All of these problems from the previous venture can be avoided in any future enterprise.

I disagree. Paris is the national capital and the overwhelmingly biggest city in France (population 12 million, which is much bigger than the entire English M62 corridor), with a huge potential player pool. Equally important, Paris is the centre of French national media and commerce. Having a professional team located there will guarantee not only a massively expanded youth player pool, but also a national interest in the game of rugby league which is now absent. Note that rugby union has two teams located in Paris for its national professional competition, Top 14.. See the revised version of my previous post.

Having Toulouse in Super League, and thus a second professional pathway for talented French young players, will surely strengthen the French national team in 3-5 years. But will it strengthen the French National team enough for it to be truly competitive with England? I doubt it. I think we need at least 4 professional French teams in Super League, and the third and fourth teams need to be located geographically far from the southwest France base of Catalans and Toulouse, if the French player pool is to be strengthened sufficiently to make the French national team competitive with England in the future. The two best candidates for teams 3 and 4, are Avignon-Provence and Paris. The existence of those four teams in Super League will surely guarantee significant national TV coverage in France, and thereby multiply the number of French youths who wish to play rugby league. That will have a knock on effect on the quality of the French National team. At that point the French National team might be competitive with England. The enhancement of the French youth player pool by having 4 French teams in Super League, and having their games televised every weekend, will provide the impetus for two more professional teams to be created, which could be in a position to soon after join Super League. Both those teams should be located in big cities, and one of those cities should be Lyon, where there has been small rugby league activity over past decades. The other sixth team could be located in either Marseille, Lille, Nantes, or Montpellier. This will create the ability to have a French conference within Super League. At that point the French national team will definitely be competitive with England, Australia and New Zealand.

Thanks for that list. It makes it even more urgent that we get Toulouse into Super League next year, so that these talented young players can see two possible pathways to professional rugby league status, and not be lured to rugby union. Many of the best can then have places in the professional squads. If it all pans out, and there are enough of them in the coming 2-3 years, then the French Federation should be thinking of encouraging the formation of a third Super League aspiring French club, preferably based in a big city. In addition, having Trent Robinson involved with the French national team in October-November is very exciting for the French young talent because if Trent is impressed with any of them, seeing them up close, he could possibly recruit one or two of them for the Roosters.

Valencia will not be a successful member of Super League unless there are several other continental European clubs in Super League. That is because if this does not happen the local fans and potential fans in Valencia will not take Super League as anything more than an English competition in which they are odd outliers. That is why I have formulated above the long term goal of a North Atlantic Super League.

Where would Valencia fit in? In the long term (10-15 years) Super League should consist of 24 teams: Wigan, St. Helens, Warrington, Leeds, Hull F.C., Hull K.R., Castleford, Bradford/Huddersfield. London, Newcastle, Cardiff, Dublin. Paris, Catalans, Toulouse, Avignon, Valencia, Belgrade Toronto, Ottawa, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago The competition would be divided into three conferences: (1) Britain and Ireland (2) continental Europe (3) north America. There would be 28 rounds, with each team playing each other team once, and the north American and European conference members playing members of their own conference twice. The British and Irish clubs would play every other team once, and five of their own conference twice. Because of inhospitable weather, for the first two months of Super League (mid-February - mid-April) the north American teams would be based in Britain or continental Europe, playing a bloc of their away games. They would then relocate to north America from mid-April and begin their home games.

Until Toulouse is admitted to Super League -- something that should have happened years ago, and would have happened years ago had Richard Lewis remained in charge of the RFL -- no meaningful expansion of the game beyond the M62 corridor will take place. Without expansion the game of rugby league will rightly be either unknown or treated as a joke in Europe and most of the UK. There needs to be at least four SL teams from continental Europe, plus London and Newcastle, if the game is to attract more players, spectators, and money. There needs to be a limit of eight clubs maximum from the M62 corridor. They have to include Wigan, St. Helens, Warrington, Leeds, and Hull FC. Hull KR would also be advisable. Two from Castleford, Bradford (if they can find competent management) and Huddersfield could make up the eight. The sooner that Leigh, Salford and Wakefield, are relegated to make way for the expansion clubs, the better. After Toulouse joins Super League, and ignites much greater interest in the game in southern France, we can start thinking about Super League attracting and admitting other European clubs like Avignon, Paris, Lyon, Valencia, and Belgrade. A North Atlantic Super League, with at least six clubs from continental Europe, at least four from north America, plus London and Newcastle, is the only way forward to a prosperous future for the game.

I am sorry that you feel that way. But I want you to know that Herbie Farnworth has the makings of a champion centre. The Australian TV commentators love him. It is only a matter of time before we start to think of Herbie in the same glowing terms that we previously thought of Sam Burgess, James Graham and John Bateman as NRL super stars.

The failure of Luke Keary to gain a point in the Roosters vs Tigers game, when Keary was obviously the best player on the field in a game won by the Roosters 40-6, has caused an uproar in rugby league circles in Australia. The judge, former Brisbane player Sam Thaiday, even gave one point to Wests Tigers full back Dane Laurie ahead of Keary. That is ridiculous. Thaiday's points went: 3. Brett Morris 2. James Tedesco 1. Dane Laurie. In my opinion, and the opinion of many other astute judges, the points awarded should have been: 3. Luke Keary 2. James Tedesco 1. Brett Morris ‘What the hell is going on?’ NRL ‘farce’ exposed after Keary snubbing NRL PREMIERSHIP March 22, 2021 12:07pm by ANDREW JACKSON Source: FOX SPORTS Luke Keary did not get any Dally M points. Picture. Phil HillyardSource: News Corp Australia The Dally M’s controversial points-scoring system is under fire again after Sydney Roosters halfback Luke Keary’s masterclass against the Wests Tigers went unrewarded. Keary was at his classy best in the 40-6 win on Sunday, finishing with an imposing stats line that would have earned him man-of-the-match honours in most games. The 29-year old had four try assists, two linebreak assists, two linebreaks, 74 running metres, 19 tackles and 316 kicking metres in an all-round dominant display. Watch The 2021 NRL Telstra Premiership Live & On-Demand with No Ad-Breaks During Play. New to Kayo? > Get your 14-day free trial now & start streaming instantly > Round 3 Red-hot Roosters rip through Tigers 3:03 Keary though did not receive a single point, with judge Sam Thaiday instead giving three points to Brett Morris, two to James Tedesco and one to Tigers fullback Daine Laurie. Morris scored three tries, busted six tackles and ran for 197 metres in the win while Tedesco was also at his devastating best with two tries, 11 tackle breaks and 181 running metres. The decision to give Laurie a point in a team that was outclassed by 34 points has caused the most controversy though. Admittedly, the Tigers fullback was far and away his side’s best on a dismal afternoon with 178 running metres, nine tackle busts and three linebreaks. But Fox League commentator Andrew Voss could not believe Keary did not poll a single point given Laurie, in spite on his stellar individual effort, played in a team that lost by 34 points. MORE NRL NEWS DISGUSTING: Roosters star calls out vile Instagram message TRANSFER TALK: Teams tipped to go after Souths star; Woods open to Tigers return TALKING POINTS: ‘Time’s up’ for battling Bronco, ‘awful’ Tigers need overhaul Keary's UNREAL flick sets up Morris! 0:41 “We’ve got a massive problem,” he said on SEN 1170’s Breakfast with Vossy. “Let’s not make light of this. The Dally Ms are meant to be the most prestigious award in rugby league. You can talk about ‘it’s personal judgment and all that’ but the round one call on James Tedesco only getting one point when he set up three tries and scored three himself - that was a farce.” For context, Tedesco had three tries, six tackle busts, three try assists, four linebreak assists and 98 run metres in the 46-4 win over Manly last week. “Now we’ve topped it. We have a new gold medal winner,” Voss continued. “Sam Thaiday what were you watching? Did you see the bloke wearing the seven for the Roosters. “The authority and dazzle Luke Keary played with yesterday, I’ll put it in his top 20 games of his career and he hasn’t picked up a point in the Dally M voting. “Daine Laurie was elusive when he touched the ball but how on earth did he get a point ahead of Luke Keary. What the hell is going on? We have a crisis here.” Get all the latest NRL news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!! Ennis: It's time for Milford to go 1:23 While Brett Morris etched his name into the record breaks by becoming the first player to score hat-tricks in the opening two rounds, Voss added Keary still deserved the full three points. “Brett Morris, I will say this - has he got the three points because of the feat,” he said. “It was a great feat but he wasn’t the best on the field. I would’ve given the three to Keary, two to Tedesco - you can take your pick. Keary has not picked up a point from yesterday. That is a joke.” While voting will always be a subjective process, an overhaul of the Dally M system has been floated before by Peter V’landys. Last year he suggested every player be ranked out of 10 for every game before adding up those points to determine the Dally M medallist. He said at the time that it would address players who are in a strong team where multiple stars are competing for points. The Daily Telegraph reported last month that idea was one of many on the agenda as an advisory panel met to discuss proposed changes.

I had forgotten to mention Sam Burgess’s TV commentary career in my original posts. He had been stood down by Fox League after the earlier intimidation charge, pending the outcome of the trial. His conviction in that trial made a resumption of his TV career most unlikely. I never thought that Sam was good on TV commentary, especially when he was placed alongside highly intelligent and articulate ex-players such as Cooper Cronk, Ben Ikin, Greg Alexander, and Michael Ennis. In addition he compared poorly with the articulate and personally engaging player commentators James Graham and Benji Marshall. But he was there on TV because he was a very highly respected and popular player, almost a cult figure, regarded along with Jason Taumololo as one of the two most important forwards in the modern game. It was that reputation as a player that got him his potentially lucrative TV job. Now Sam’s fledgling TV career has been wiped out because of his reckless public behavior. That loss of income, along with the loss of valuable sponsorship deals that would have been possible had he pursued a squeaky clean life, and the loss of his coaching position, will be more significant for his life than whatever punishment is meted out by a court judge.

But they are players. Sam Burgess has no playing prospects. He would like to be a coach, which is more demanding of a good character record than playing. Any criminal convictions will make him unsuitable for a most important leadership role in any club.

Sam Burgess has been pulled over by the police on the Hume Highway in Sydney, on his way to pick up his children. He was charged with driving an unregistered car, never having held a NSW driver's licence, and most important failing a roadside drugs test for cocaine. He will appear in court in May. https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2021-sam-burgess-arrested-allegedly-failing-a-roadside-drug-test-south-sydney-rabbitohs/news-story/095313252c90b02916f5e13937487417?utm_source=breaking_sportsmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=crm&utm_content=statici Sam Burgess has already been found guilty of intimidating his father in law. For that crime Burgess was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order and given a two-year apprehended violence order. Given his past record, the judge may not be lenient again this time. What is the matter with this man? If he is found guilty no rugby league club will want to have anything to do with him as a coach in the future. At age 32 he appears to be destroying his life.

Here is the television report from the NRL hotbed of Australia, confirming the Zane Tetevano move to Leeds: https://www.foxsports.com.au/video/league/nrl/panthers-release-tetevano!793006

Wow! Double Wow! (as Phil Gould would say).

Yes. Either in place of Watkins, or in place of Hall with the versatile Farnworth moving to the wing. . You are correct.

Good point. My bad oversight.

You may be almost correct about the three quarters, but Herbie Farnworth is one of the few good performers at the Brisbane Broncos, and is knocking on the door of international selection. Watkins had an unlucky time with injuries at Gold Coast, but is doing okay with Salford. Ryan Hall is past his best but did reasonably as a substitute with the star studded Sydney Roosters three quarter line. Joe Burgess did reasonably well when he moved to South Sydney. That not overly impressive three quarter line would do sufficiently well in support of a star studded forward pack, playing with a selected star full back and star half back. The forward pack, with Luke Thompson selected in place of Sam Burgess, as suggested by the estimable TRL commentator Dunbar, would be a very good international standard. So the low bar you set of being impressive only by comparison with Jamaica is just flat wrong, even ridiculous. That England team could well be top 4.

Yes. You are absolutely correct.

That is ridiculous comment. On current form: Sam Tomkins is the best full back in Super League. Herbie Farnworth, George Williams, John Bateman, Eliot Whitehead,, Tom Burgess, and Ryan Sutton are currently top rated NRL players. Before his injury so was Josh Hodgson. Sam Burgess was a super star of the NRL before he retired. Gareth Widdop was a star in the NRL.

Best British team to have played in the NRL in the past five years: Sam Tomkins Ryan Hall, Kallum Watkins, Herbie Farnworth Joe Burgess, Gareth Widdop, George Williams Sam Burgess John Bateman, Elliot Whitehead James Graham, Josh Hodgson, Tom Burgess Interchange: George Burgess, Ryan Sutton, Joe Greenwood, Dan Sarginson With the exception of Sam Burgess, all these players could take the field for England today and perform extremely well.