Brits in the NRL

[DavidM]

1 hour ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

Maybe Wane has been on here and realised that having someone so much better than the rest of the squad could seriously disrupt the balance of the side.

Why do we keep getting this , it’s so tedious . People have explained their positions and opinions in a reasoned debate ,  but you still get all nuance thrown out for rubbish like this and that he’s a rugby god . 

[DoubleD]

54 minutes ago, DavidM said:

He’s a bit good isn’t he ? Pure instinct and natural talent . Lovely to see a young player just playing what he sees 

That’s what a good system like they have at the Roosters allows you. Slotted in seamlessly 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

On 28/04/2021 at 16:55, graveyard johnny said:

drop farnworth - a young player playing very well in the nrl against the worlds top centres and talented back lines

keep watkins- an old has been who bottled it in the nrl and ran home -playing against other has beens and never will bes 

sean wane turning in to a joke coach before a single game 

 

Had a good game for the Broncos this weekend too. Imagine picking some average, albeit England-based, player over someone the Broncos think is better than all the tens of thousands of centres in their Queensland pyramid, which let’s face it is the biggest of any League club on earth. Not saying he’s a starter, but he should certainly be in the squad. 
 

There’s probably 3 or 4 better centres in the QLD Cup behind Herbie in that queue than some of the other England squad members

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

On 28/04/2021 at 17:38, DavidM said:

Must be . It’ll come out , it always does. 

If there was anything even vaguely non-rugby related it’d have been in the Courier Mail before even he knew about it, the local media’s interest in League is nuts in Brisvegas 

[Alan Robertson]

54 minutes ago, Hull Kingston Bronco said:

If there was anything even vaguely non-rugby related it’d have been in the Courier Mail before even he knew about it, the local media’s interest in League is nuts in Brisvegas 

Good point regarding the CM.

I desperately hope that I'm wrong but I'm worried that Farnworth has had a conversation with Paul Green about SoO. He's gone onto tell Wane and then the announcement...

Despite the thoughts of the NRL-haters/trolls, we're not exactly blessed with 6' 3", 105+ kg athletic backs. 

 

[Hull Kingston Bronco]

4 hours ago, Alan Robertson said:

Good point regarding the CM.

I desperately hope that I'm wrong but I'm worried that Farnworth has had a conversation with Paul Green about SoO. He's gone onto tell Wane and then the announcement...

Despite the thoughts of the NRL-haters/trolls, we're not exactly blessed with 6' 3", 105+ kg athletic backs. 

 

Aye agreed, it wouldn’t be good - can’t imagine they’ve had that conversation yet though (or that he’d entertain it)

 

[jim_57]

I'll squash the Farnworth Origin rumour.

He isn't eligible, you need to have resided in NSW or Queensland before your 13th birthday. Or have been born there, or your father played Origin.

He'd be eligible for Australia soon (5 year residency) but will never be eligible for Origin unless they change the rules.

Edited May 3, 2021 by jim_57

[jim_57]

22 hours ago, Dunbar said:

I don't really understand why Walker would have any ambition to represent England. He was only here as 1 year old as his dad played a single season for Leeds.

I would have thought his ambitions are Queensland and Australia as every other Aussie kid has.

As for England, let's build a team around the likes of Trueman, Smith and Dodd. They are talented enough.

Dare I say it but if he stays injury free Walker will replace DCE as QLD halfback within 3 years. I'd say he'll be around the squad as early as this year too, it'll be hard for England to talk him over.

[Exiled Wiganer]

18 hours ago, DavidM said:

Why do we keep getting this , it’s so tedious . People have explained their positions and opinions in a reasoned debate ,  but you still get all nuance thrown out for rubbish like this and that he’s a rugby god . 

It’s a hyperbolic reaction against the position that he must be picked, which is simply repeated ad nauseum. There is only one precedent for a player who has played his career in the NRL and not come through the system in the UK having much of an impact, and that was Widdop, who was shining in the NRL in a spine position. I have watched dozens of NRL games over the last 18 months and seen nothing to suggest he is a stand out player in the NRL, and have been nothing but under whelmed whenever we have picked average NRL players for England/GB.

I am not the one trying tediously to shoe horn him into the squad every day of the week. The one eyed obliviousness in the never ending Herbie For England camp is not just tedious but goes against history and reason. In my opinion. As you get 10 Herbie for PM posts compared to every “err, maybe not” I am sure you can cope. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Exiled Wiganer

[Damien]

38 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

It’s a hyperbolic reaction against the position that he must be picked, which is simply repeated ad nauseum. There is only one precedent for a player who has played his career in the NRL and not come through the system in the UK having much of an impact, and that was Widdop, who was shining in the NRL in a spine position. I have watched dozens of NRL games over the last 18 months and seen nothing to suggest he is a stand out player in the NRL, and have been nothing but under whelmed whenever we have picked average NRL players for England/GB.

I am not the one trying tediously to shoe horn him into the squad every day of the week. The one eyed obliviousness in the never ending Herbie For England camp is not just tedious but goes against history and reason. In my opinion. As you get 10 Herbie for PM posts compared to every “err, maybe not” I am sure you can cope. 

You seem to be reading a completely different thread than the one I have. Most posts I have read of Farnworth are pretty well rounded and pragmatic.

We are not blessed with centres, those we have are very undersized and/or not good enough. Farnworth's key attributes for me are his size and speed, that is why I am inclined to pick him over the likes of Gildart and Percival. I don't particularly see any stand outs in Super League and on that basis would rather have a 6'3 near 17 stone centre than a 6 foot 13 stone 5lb centre when there isn't anything else that differentiates them. This is even more so when you consider the level of competition. Others have expressed similar sentiments. I don't see how that's hyperbole.

[graveyard johnny]

9 minutes ago, Damien said:

 

We are not blessed with centres

what are we blessed with?

[Cumbrian Mackem]

2 hours ago, jim_57 said:

I'll squash the Farnworth Origin rumour.

He isn't eligible, you need to have resided in NSW or Queensland before your 13th birthday. Or have been born there, or your father played Origin.

He'd be eligible for Australia soon (5 year residency) but will never be eligible for Origin unless they change the rules.

There was some talk about changing the rules about SOO eligibility a few weeks back which would allow players of tier 1 nations turnout for either Queensland or NSW.

[Damien]

11 minutes ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

There was some talk about changing the rules about SOO eligibility a few weeks back which would allow players of tier 1 nations turnout for either Queensland or NSW.

But Farnworth still wouldn't be eligible. They have also said they aren't changing the rules anyhow.

[Cumbrian Mackem]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

But Farnworth still wouldn't be eligible. They have also said they aren't changing the rules anyhow.

He would be under the proposed new rules but it’s all gone quiet.

[jim_57]

7 minutes ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

There was some talk about changing the rules about SOO eligibility a few weeks back which would allow players of tier 1 nations turnout for either Queensland or NSW.

Yeh there was a bit of a media frenzy about Taumalolo potentially playing for Queensland. He is also ineligible under the 'before 13' rule as well I believe not just because he played for NZ.

The end result, for now at least was no changes.

So Farnworth is ineligible and there is no guarantee even if they do one day loosen the rules that the age cut-off would change.

For what it's worth I think they should ditch the part about not being able to play NZ or England and Origin. Keep the Birth & Under 13 rules as is and let any eligible players then choose whatever country they want to rep. If a player moves from Port Moresby or Darwin at age 12 they are no more "Queenslander" than someone who moves from Auckland or Leeds.

[Damien]

1 minute ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

He would be under the proposed new rules but it’s all gone quiet.

No he wouldn't. Again Farnworth still wouldn't have qualified under what was proposed, they never proposed dropping the requirement to reside in NSW or Queensland before your 13th Birthday.

Its also all gone all quiet because they have said they aren't changing the rules, that was announced weeks ago.

[Cumbrian Mackem]

Just now, Damien said:

No he wouldn't. Again Farnworth still wouldn't have qualified under what was proposed, they never proposed dropping the requirement to reside in NSW or Queensland before your 13th Birthday.

Its also all gone all quiet because they have said they aren't changing the rules, that was announced weeks ago.

Apologies in advance but I was under the impression that farnworth moved down under before hitting his teens?

[Damien]

2 minutes ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

Apologies in advance but I was under the impression that farnworth moved down under before hitting his teens?

He never went until he was 14 and even then it was just going for 6 weeks in the summer. He never moved properly until he was 16.

[Cumbrian Mackem]

2 minutes ago, Damien said:

He never went until he was 14 and even then it was just going for 6 weeks in the summer. He never moved properly until he was 16.

Thanks for the info marra

[Exiled Wiganer]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

You seem to be reading a completely different thread than the one I have. Most posts I have read of Farnworth are pretty well rounded and pragmatic.

We are not blessed with centres, those we have are very undersized and/or not good enough. Farnworth's key attributes for me are his size and speed, that is why I am inclined to pick him over the likes of Gildart and Percival. I don't particularly see any stand outs in Super League and on that basis would rather have a 6'3 near 17 stone centre than a 6 foot 13 stone 5lb centre when there isn't anything else that differentiates them. This is even more so when you consider the level of competition. Others have expressed similar sentiments. I don't see how that's hyperbole.

My god, it’s the Farnworth Inquisition. My comment around hyperbole was a comment on my own comment, which was originally light hearted but seized on in a self righteous rant. I don’t mind the group think, and am not personally attacking anyone (at least as far as I recall, and if I have I apologise), I simply believe that we would be wasting our time picking him ahead of the 4 SL players I have named above, based on having spent many hours watching all of them (thanks, Sky) and seen ourselves repeatedly mistaking average NRL players for the way forward for the national team. 

I don’t mind swimming against the tide, and would likewise be an outlier on whether Sutton was now worth a place. I am surprised by the assumption behind the praise that 1) he is more than a Jack Reed standard player, and 2) that a Brit who holds down a place at a lower level NRL side should be considered ahead of SL stars. The first is from having watched every minute of every NRL game they have shown over here in the last 18 months and the second is from overwhelming evidence. 

[Scubby]

3 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

My god, it’s the Farnworth Inquisition. My comment around hyperbole was a comment on my own comment, which was originally light hearted but seized on in a self righteous rant. I don’t mind the group think, and am not personally attacking anyone (at least as far as I recall, and if I have I apologise), I simply believe that we would be wasting our time picking him ahead of the 4 SL players I have named above, based on having spent many hours watching all of them (thanks, Sky) and seen ourselves repeatedly mistaking average NRL players for the way forward for the national team. 

I don’t mind swimming against the tide, and would likewise be an outlier on whether Sutton was now worth a place. I am surprised by the assumption behind the praise that 1) he is more than a Jack Reed standard player, and 2) that a Brit who holds down a place at a lower level NRL side should be considered ahead of SL stars. The first is from having watched every minute of every NRL game they have shown over here in the last 18 months and the second is from overwhelming evidence. 

Only you keep mentioning Jack Reed. It is a bit of a lazy comparison just because he played for Brisbane. Farnworth came through the Wigan development system, is young, big and athletic and has been a promising light in a dreadful Broncos side. We have no other options at the moment. The four players you mentioned on another thread shows exactly this - two aren't even playing regularly atm never mind pulling up trees. All we are saying is that he is in the mix for a centre place in the current England squad - we are not saying he is the next Paul Newlove.

[Damien]

6 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

My god, it’s the Farnworth Inquisition. My comment around hyperbole was a comment on my own comment, which was originally light hearted but seized on in a self righteous rant. I don’t mind the group think, and am not personally attacking anyone (at least as far as I recall, and if I have I apologise), I simply believe that we would be wasting our time picking him ahead of the 4 SL players I have named above, based on having spent many hours watching all of them (thanks, Sky) and seen ourselves repeatedly mistaking average NRL players for the way forward for the national team. 

I don’t mind swimming against the tide, and would likewise be an outlier on whether Sutton was now worth a place. I am surprised by the assumption behind the praise that 1) he is more than a Jack Reed standard player, and 2) that a Brit who holds down a place at a lower level NRL side should be considered ahead of SL stars. The first is from having watched every minute of every NRL game they have shown over here in the last 18 months and the second is from overwhelming evidence. 

What an odd reply, you indeed seem to be reading a different thread.

[graveyard johnny]

what sort of a deal does luke thompson have at the dogs? surely one of the heavyweights in the nrl must have him on the radar- would  imagine he would be exactly the sort of player craig bellamy would love

Edited May 3, 2021 by graveyard johnny

[Exiled Wiganer]

1 hour ago, Scubby said:

Only you keep mentioning Jack Reed. It is a bit of a lazy comparison just because he played for Brisbane. Farnworth came through the Wigan development system, is young, big and athletic and has been a promising light in a dreadful Broncos side. We have no other options at the moment. The four players you mentioned on another thread shows exactly this - two aren't even playing regularly atm never mind pulling up trees. All we are saying is that he is in the mix for a centre place in the current England squad - we are not saying he is the next Paul Newlove.

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... 

[Dunbar]

2 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

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... 

Out of interest what are the aspects of Fanworth's game that you think are below those of Gildart, Newman, Percival and King?