NFL players could turn to Rugby League in droves

[The Future is League]

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/reverse-trend-nfl-players-could-turn-to-nrl-in-droves-says-bennett-20180623-p4zn9m.html

[Futtocks]

Some forceful support for the Denver test from Wayne Bennett as that article goes on.

[Lowdesert]

Got to keep the ball rolling now.  

Lessons will, hopefully, have been learned in Denver.  If it’s an individual, or small group of businessmen, that back international games, let’s back them.

[paulwalker71]

Didn't Eric Perez say the same two years ago?

Remind me how many ex-grid iron players have been signed by Toronto...

[TheLegendOfTexEvans]

19 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

Didn't Eric Perez say the same two years ago?

Remind me how many ex-grid iron players have been signed by Toronto...

That was just cheap publicity stunt in an effort to create a reality tv show.

Which is shame because a genuine opportunity existed.

I think the reality is we could look at taking players from 7s in the us.

Gridiron is too specific for players to cross over and a decent standard.

However they could find they enjoying playing in the usarl.

 

 

 

[Lowdesert]

3 minutes ago, TheLegendOfTexEvans said:

That was just cheap publicity stunt in an effort to create a reality tv show.

Which is shame because a genuine opportunity existed.

I think the reality is we could look at taking players from 7s in the us.

Gridiron is too specific for players to cross over and a decent standard.

However they could find they enjoying playing in the usarl.

 

 

 

Not so sure about your 4th point Tex.  Tim Anchors and Pat Kelly did ok at HKR, some years back! with TA being the better player.  Back rower and decent lad.  Certainly Champs standard.  But, bottom line is, we won’t know until we see them.

[TheLegendOfTexEvans]

13 minutes ago, Lowdesert said:

Not so sure about your 4th point Tex.  Tim Anchors and Pat Kelly did ok at HKR, some years back! with TA being the better player.  Back rower and decent lad.  Certainly Champs standard.  But, bottom line is, we won’t know until we see them.

Guess its what % you think can make and if they are a quarter back or wide reciever.  They might be more likely.

But the all round sports skills just arent there in the us schools system to see players come over in mass.

But we certainly need to look for them.

 

 

 

 

[Big Picture]

39 minutes ago, paulwalker71 said:

Didn't Eric Perez say the same two years ago?

Remind me how many ex-grid iron players have been signed by Toronto...

Gridiron players won't come over in big numbers until RL acquires a much higher profile here, and it will have to pay better than their other options in sport.  That will require more teams over here, playing at a level high enough to justify paying them at least better than playing in the CFL which is the next best option for them below the NFL.  The CFL average salary is 92,857 C$ or 71,560 US$ this year and the  CFL minimum is 54,000 C$ or 41,638 US$.

[Big Picture]

3 minutes ago, TheLegendOfTexEvans said:

Guess its what % you think can make and if they are a quarter back or wide reciever.  They might be more likely.

But the all round sports skills just arent there in the us schools system to see players come over in mass.

Those guys would all have to learn to play defense though.

Defensive players could transition more easily, playing defense in RL would just require some adjustment on their part and they would learn the offensive side of the game in less time than offensive players would need to learn to play defense IMO.

[Chamey]

20 minutes ago, TheLegendOfTexEvans said:

I think the reality is we could look at taking players from 7s in the us.

No chance, the US 7s players are on the $20,000 annual stipend (USOC limit), although a decent few of them now have sponsorship deals with nike etc, if they wanted money then MLR, or some other league would have got them, they're there purely for the olympics.

[Rupert Prince]

10 minutes ago, Big Picture said:

Those guys would all have to learn to play defense though.

Defensive players could transition more easily, playing defense in RL would just require some adjustment on their part and they would learn the offensive side of the game in less time than offensive players would need to learn to play defense IMO.

There are a lot of college teams. Lots of opportunity for players.

[JohnM]

35 minutes ago, TheLegendOfTexEvans said:

That was just cheap publicity stunt in an effort to create a reality tv show.

Which is shame because a genuine opportunity existed.

I think the reality is we could look at taking players from 7s in the us.

Gridiron is too specific for players to cross over and a decent standard.

However they could find they enjoying playing in the usarl.

 

 

 

Remember when Ellery Hanley signed for London Monarchs?  Did he actually play a single game? 

[Man of Kent]

8 minutes ago, Chamey said:

No chance, the US 7s players are on the $20,000 annual stipend (USOC limit), although a decent few of them now have sponsorship deals with nike etc, if they wanted money then MLR, or some other league would have got them, they're there purely for the olympics.

Would 7s or MLR pay more than a Super League club like, say, Toronto? 

[TMF]

Would they be brave enough to take the padding and the helmets off is the point?

[Chamey]

Would 7s or MLR pay more than a Super League club like, say, Toronto? 

 

Depends on the player, and their motives. The best USA 7s players are either on very good money once you include their Nike etc sponsorships, in it for the Olympic glory, or already in the long form.  For fringe players who have realised that they're unlikely to get to the olympics shouldn't be hard to lure away, however things have got more expensive now that San Diego Legion have based themselves next to the 7s base, and all the fringe players (i.e. not World Series players) are contracted to them for the MLR season, so they've suddenly gone from $20k/yr to $40k/yr, with rises next year.

In summary, yes TWP could lure over players for around the $60/70k mark, but they wouldn't be getting the cream of the crop, and it'd be a big risk to see how they transition. However if they want some 'home continent' players then it's a decent shout. 

Even better though, Rugby (Union) Canada is a total mess, it's players are on around $25,000 CAN, don't have sponsorships, and while the Vancouver MLR team when it comes online may contract them, it's not guaranteed. You could get some very good talent out of RC's 7s team in 2021 for not a lot at all.

[rushend]

Well, why not have a go at making one of the rosters (and figure out the number of teams x number of roster spots) in the NFL and  - whilst you’re at it - see what the minimum salary is. If you care to have a look then you’ll see that it’s quite a bit more than the average salary in either code of rugby. And you know what, they only have to play a 16 game season too. But don’t believe anything about it being hard, and certainly don’t believe any of that nonsense about CTE or anything about the kind of physical damage the game might create . 

Rugby League is a super tough sport, but so is American Football. There’s enough similarities between the two sports that there should be a mutual respect, and it’s certainly a game that North Americans could ‘get’ if they are given the opportunity.

mind you, hopefully the post was in jest and this mini rant isn’t necessary, if that’s the case, apologies!

 

[Cowardly Fan]

1 hour ago, paulwalker71 said:

Didn't Eric Perez say the same two years ago?

Remind me how many ex-grid iron players have been signed by Toronto...

I suspect as a completely new club they weren't getting the ideal candidates applying yet.  I also think we have to target players at a younger age - the focus seemed to be on ex-college players but at 21-23 it is quite late.  If switching from American Football I think they need to find a way to attract some at the end of high-school.  

[TheLegendOfTexEvans]

1 hour ago, JohnM said:

Remember when Ellery Hanley signed for London Monarchs?  Did he actually play a single game? 

But Hanley knew that he wasnt exploited.

 

[Big Picture]

2 hours ago, Rupert Prince said:

There are a lot of college teams. Lots of opportunity for players.

There sure are, and they have rosters of 80-100 players each, so on average something like 17,000 gridiron players graduate/exhaust their eligibility each year and there will be a good number of those with the ability to play RL if and when they decide to try their hand at it.

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, TMF said:

Would they be brave enough to take the padding and the helmets off is the point?

It has happened before: http://www.tony-collins.org/rugbyreloaded/2015/6/9/rugby-league-in-america-in-the-1950s

[headtackle]

NFL and CFL players wont switch but the player pool is massive and loads of college kids get cast aside early in their careers

RL may offer a new career or at worst for both sides a way rejected can market their skills to a wider audience

 

[Chamey]

20 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

It has happened before: http://www.tony-collins.org/rugbyreloaded/2015/6/9/rugby-league-in-america-in-the-1950s

That's one hell of a website, I could lose a few days in there.

[Futtocks]

8 minutes ago, Chamey said:

That's one hell of a website, I could lose a few days in there.

"Days" could be an underestimation!

And Gavin Willacy wrote a book about the American All Stars tour called 'No Helmets required', which is an amazing and (at times) barely believable read.

[Oliver Clothesoff]

It’s quite an easy and a cheap statement to make.

There are some similarities between American Football and Rugby League. Not many, but a few and it’s quite easy to say that there are transferable skills and people wanting to transition between the two could find success. 

The thing is though, College players will be transitioning over in their early twenties and like most sports, Rugby League teams don’t/won’t allow the required time for these players to get up to scratch. 

You’d need to get these lads at a much younger age for them to stand a decent chance of making it as a good standard Rugby League player in the UK. The chances of luring these kids away from American Football is slim mind. 

[FearNothing]

The other thing that could be a barrier is the cardio state of gridiron players. They train for short bursts of energy rather than the continuous nature of rugby, soccer, so overall fitness would need working on for most of them. I know when I went from soccer/rugby/hockey to gridiron it was an easy transition, but after a while going back the other way would have been difficult and required a fair old change of training regime.

RL could do worse than look at recruiting from ice hockey - better cardio sport, with a bit of physical contact and biff thrown in