Brits in the NRL

[The Rocket]

7 hours ago, burnleywelsh said:

*Farnworth….

Growing up on a dairy farm way too many Saturday nights sat in front of the telly as a kid with my family watching ` All Creatures Great and Small `. When my daughter learnt to play the piano the opening theme music from that show was the only piece of music I wanted her to play.

 

[StandOffHalf]

18 hours ago, Davo5 said:

Whitehead to miss this weeks game against Penrith after suffering horrific facial injury in training.
https://bit.ly/3k1PSX3

My brother got a very similar injury in training 18 months ago and he still has to go to the dentist occasionally to monitor how his teeth are stabilising after being caved in. The ripped lip looks awful but it is the teeth that will be the longer term issue.

Really nasty one.

Edited April 22, 2022 by StandOffHalf

[Dunbar]

Just watching the Broncos Bulldogs game.

Thompson has a great first 30 minutes with loads of work in attack and defence.  He then gets a break 10 before half time but not brought back on till 11 minuted before the end of the game with the Bulldogs 8 points down.

No idea who will win this one but the Bulldogs are a better team with Thompson on the pitch so why would you have him sat on the bench for 40 minutes of game time.

[StandOffHalf]

Strange rotational policy for a lynchpin forward who is used to long minutes.

They were super competitive and Brisbane were looking a bit lacking. Taking Thompson off like that isn't the best use of an 80-minute player.

Farnworth pretty good, despite being skinned by Dufty for the latter's try. 

[DavidM]

7 hours ago, Dunbar said:

Just watching the Broncos Bulldogs game.

Thompson has a great first 30 minutes with loads of work in attack and defence.  He then gets a break 10 before half time but not brought back on till 11 minuted before the end of the game with the Bulldogs 8 points down.

No idea who will win this one but the Bulldogs are a better team with Thompson on the pitch so why would you have him sat on the bench for 40 minutes of game time.

Was thinking the same . He was top of the hard work index they put up , then vanished until the game had slid away . He is in good form though with some strong carries in particular . Herbie had the odd defensive issue but looks lively and likely with the ball and  is always well involved 

[EastLondonMike]

Gildart part of a winning Wests side against the Rabbits today. Only just seen highlights so not sure how much of the game he played. He was wearing 20, so suggests he maybe started from the bench.

Whatever his involvement, it will do him good being part of a winning team.

[Futtocks]

3 minutes ago, EastLondonMike said:

Gildart part of a winning Wests side against the Rabbits today. Only just seen highlights so not sure how much of the game he played. He was wearing 20, so suggests he maybe started from the bench.

Whatever his involvement, it will do him good being part of a winning team.

Yes, an injury forced a reshuffle mid-match, which brought Gildart on. Quite a close match all the way, and pretty entertaining. Hastings is making it easier for Brooks to play his natural game.

[EastLondonMike]

5 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

Yes, an injury forced a reshuffle mid-match, which brought Gildart on. Quite a close match all the way, and pretty entertaining. Hastings is making it easier for Brooks to play his natural game.

Hastings looks set to be a star. He's obviously a talented player, but his attitude to his team and team mates seems to be one of his key attributes.

Maybe I'm reading more into it than there is, but the last play of todays game, where Brooks knocked over the drop goal, Hastings was visibly pointing and gesturing to the dummy half that the ball had to go to Brooks for the one pointer, and not to him. Despite the fact that Hastings would have been the leader on the field and was the one who took the responsibility to slot over the drop goal last weekend.

To me it looked like the actions of a player who knew what it would mean to Brooks and potentially the rest of the team if it was Brooks that got them the win.

[Barley Mow]

3 minutes ago, EastLondonMike said:

Hastings looks set to be a star. He's obviously a talented player, but his attitude to his team and team mates seems to be one of his key attributes.

Maybe I'm reading more into it than there is, but the last play of todays game, where Brooks knocked over the drop goal, Hastings was visibly pointing and gesturing to the dummy half that the ball had to go to Brooks for the one pointer, and not to him. Despite the fact that Hastings would have been the leader on the field and was the one who took the responsibility to slot over the drop goal last weekend.

To me it looked like the actions of a player who knew what it would mean to Brooks and potentially the rest of the team if it was Brooks that got them the win.

I've been really impressed by Hastings' whole attitude recently.

I was listening to the ABC radio commentary online today and they interviewed him straight after the match. He was talking up coach and team spirit a lot. He also said that as he'd taken a couple of drop goal attempts already, Brooks had come up to him and suggested Souths would be expecting it again so Hastings should set up for another, as a decoy for Brooks to have a go.

 

[DavidM]

Excellent by Hastings again , he is THE difference for Wests . He is directing the team and never stops bossing them around , and what he’s doing  is quality 

Edited April 23, 2022 by DavidM

[Dunbar]

A nice little piece on Harry Rushton on the NSWRL website before his NRL debut tomorrow. 

https://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2022/04/23/lewys-debutant-watch--raiders-roll-out-more-english-talent/

[EastLondonMike]

1 hour ago, Dunbar said:

A nice little piece on Harry Rushton on the NSWRL website before his NRL debut tomorrow. 

https://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2022/04/23/lewys-debutant-watch--raiders-roll-out-more-english-talent/

If you follow the Raiders on Instagram theres a nice video of Harry getting his shirt presented to him by his Parents.

[Pulga]

Not sure if this has been posted:

 

https://twitter.com/rbutt60/status/1514345595460366347?t=8cxHYJYGjS4NpiaJ37HCDg&s=19

[Dunbar]

It's bizzare to say it but the Raiders played pretty well going down 36-6 to the Panthers today.  They did absolutely nothing wrong, just the Panthers are absolutely relentless.

Anyway, both Sutton and Rushton came off the bench for the Raiders.  Sutton was ok I thought, he added plenty of aggression in defence while Rushton had small minutes but he wasn't bullied by what is a dominant Panthers defensive machine.

[Scubby]

5 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

It's bizzare to say it but the Raiders played pretty well going down 36-6 to the Panthers today.  They did absolutely nothing wrong, just the Panthers are absolutely relentless.

Anyway, both Sutton and Rushton came off the bench for the Raiders.  Sutton was ok I thought, he added plenty of aggression in defence while Rushton had small minutes but he wasn't bullied by what is a dominant Panthers defensive machine.

Agree, reminded me of old Aussie/England (GB) tests where we would be digging in but the scoreboard at the end was a heavy loss. Panthers defence and pressure was awesome today.

[Harry Stottle]

On 19/04/2022 at 23:21, The Rocket said:

WTF, I hope you`re not serious, that`d be f*#!ing crazy, I can understand national pride and all that and it wouldn`t be like you`d have a complete team full of ring-ins anyway, if they really want to call him that. Maybe he`ll see sense if Hastings continues to string some good games together. Surely winning the Cup has got to come first, who gives a toss how you do it.

Me Rocket and seemingly Mr Wane, I have aired my views on this topic many times, I was totally against previous selections of "guest" overseas player's in our national teams, and no more so than in the '19 GB touring party to NZ and PNG, 3 player's selected for GB by Bennett included Hastings - 18 months in the UK, and Coote and Austin both arrived that season, they put up their hands for selection as it was their only chance of donning an international jumper, none had a snowballs in hells chance of representing the nation of their birth so they sought to take the mercenary route, I could not identify with those player's on that tour to me they were not representative of my country, to qoute you and I think you describe it perfectly I don't want any "ring-ins" not even one. 

I honestly hope that Mr Wane keeps to his principles, I don't care what other nations like the Island teams, Greece and Lebanon do in nearly 100% selection of Australian born and bred player's it is not for me, I would sooner be a gallant loser than a falsely manufactured winner. 

All my opinion of course, I respect others may differ.

[Harry Stottle]

On 20/04/2022 at 08:14, Sir Kevin Sinfield said:

Every country in every sport picks players who qualify using their heritage. If he qualifies and he’s the best available option get him in the squad, place of birth should not be a deciding factor, it’s simply do they qualify and are they good enough. Every country in the World Cup will have players who qualify on heritage. If Wane does go for this little Britain attitude and we have a poor World Cup I’ll be furious.

Yeah let's go down the Union route of all the Japanese 6'-6" caucasians, or the English and Scottish union players that can't get selection for their own nations.

[The Rocket]

4 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Me Rocket and seemingly Mr Wane, I have aired my views on this topic many times, I was totally against previous selections of "guest" overseas player's in our national teams, and no more so than in the '19 GB touring party to NZ and PNG, 3 player's selected for GB by Bennett included Hastings - 18 months in the UK, and Coote and Austin both arrived that season, they put up their hands for selection as it was their only chance of donning an international jumper, none had a snowballs in hells chance of representing the nation of their birth so they sought to take the mercenary route, I could not identify with those player's on that tour to me they were not representative of my country, to qoute you and I think you describe it perfectly I don't want any "ring-ins" not even one. 

I honestly hope that Mr Wane keeps to his principles, I don't care what other nations like the Island teams, Greece and Lebanon do in nearly 100% selection of Australian born and bred player's it is not for me, I would sooner be a gallant loser than a falsely manufactured winner. 

All my opinion of course, I respect others may differ.

G`day Harry, I don`t want to derail this thread because I know that those on here like to discuss Brits in the NRL and not have it hijacked by other topics, so I`ll attempt to be brief.

A couple of points: 1) for some on here it appears to be picking Australians, even if they are legitimately eligible, to beat Australia is the problem, if they were a different nationality who had become eligible for English selection would that be different ?

2) I read a bit of English history and with all due respect you blokes have been using mercenaries for ever, only the other day I was reading about the famous Polish fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain, so famous they were used in promotional material around England. No problems with ring-ins there, it was all about winning.

 

[DoubleD]

56 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

It's bizzare to say it but the Raiders played pretty well going down 36-6 to the Panthers today.  They did absolutely nothing wrong, just the Panthers are absolutely relentless.

Anyway, both Sutton and Rushton came off the bench for the Raiders.  Sutton was ok I thought, he added plenty of aggression in defence while Rushton had small minutes but he wasn't bullied by what is a dominant Panthers defensive machine.

Yes it is bizarre to say. Raiders are really poor and beyond half a dozen stars, they have a big step down in quality. There’s a real lack of squad depth, I feel sorry for the English contingent there because it looks like being a barren few years for them unless there’s a big shake up

[Farmduck]

The Parramatta Eels have reportedly joined the race to land Broncos young gun centre Herbie Farnworth.

The Englishman is off contract at the conclusion of the 2022 season and Brad Arthur’s side have expressed interest in acquiring the 22-year-old.

According to News Corp, the Eels are eyeing off Farnworth, who started the year with four tries in five game before missing the Broncos’ clash against the Panthers.

Fox Sport

[Dunbar]

4 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

Yes it is bizarre to say. Raiders are really poor and beyond half a dozen stars, they have a big step down in quality. There’s a real lack of squad depth, I feel sorry for the English contingent there because it looks like being a barren few years for them unless there’s a big shake up

I guess I am describing effort and you are describing quality.

And I was taking into account the quality of the opposition.  The Raiders were competitive for a lot that game and some of their defence under extreme pressure from the best attacking team in the competition was worth complementing.

They went down by 30 points but the Raiders performance was night and day to the Knights (for example) that went down by 37 to the Eels in an embarrassing performance that their coach has apologised for.

If I were a Raiders fan I wouldn't be finding anything today to complain about - they showed plenty of heart and just went down to a quality team.

[StandOffHalf]

Rushton didn't get much time (20-25 mins at the end) and joined the game at rather a thankless stage for the Raiders. They spent the whole second half camped in their own end, after turning around only 8 down. Still, he showed up okay and didn't seem out of place.

I was quite impressed by Sutton, who added energy, application, and defensive stoutness.

That second half was just an inexorable turning of the screw by the Panthers.

I did think the mock clapping from their supporters was a bit classless. Not surprised there was an all-in handbags session at the game's conclusion - that thankfully fizzled out rather quickly.

[Pulga]

1 hour ago, Harry Stottle said:

Yeah let's go down the Union route of all the Japanese 6'-6" caucasians, or the English and Scottish union players that can't get selection for their own nations.

Well, I don't think anyone is surprised by your stupidity.

If anyone represents a nation and puts their body on the line for it then they're just as worthy as anyone (as long as they meet the IRL criteria).

These guys aren't being paid millions to play for these nations. And if you qualify by residency then all the more power to you. Taking 5 years out of your career so you can represent your adopted nation? Pretty big commitment when the average career is probably less than 5 years.

But hey, let's keep the bloodlines pure and all that.

[Damien]

2 hours ago, The Rocket said:

G`day Harry, I don`t want to derail this thread because I know that those on here like to discuss Brits in the NRL and not have it hijacked by other topics, so I`ll attempt to be brief.

A couple of points: 1) for some on here it appears to be picking Australians, even if they are legitimately eligible, to beat Australia is the problem, if they were a different nationality who had become eligible for English selection would that be different ?

2) I read a bit of English history and with all due respect you blokes have been using mercenaries for ever, only the other day I was reading about the famous Polish fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain, so famous they were used in promotional material around England. No problems with ring-ins there, it was all about winning.

 

On 1 people were similarly against the selection of Rangi Chase.

On 2 the Polish pilots were also fighting for their own country, which had been invaded, and had fled to France and then Britain to continue this fight. Many nations were at war and involved with the allies fight, it certainly wasn't just a case of mercenaries fighting for Britain against Germany.

Edited April 24, 2022 by Damien

[Dunbar]

I don't want to be a hypocrite as I have posted on this thread about international eligibility but I think we should keep it to the subject in hand.... Brits playing in the NRL.... otherwise we are in danger of massive thread drift and a lock because it is such an emotive topic.

It's a world cup year so I suspect we will have plenty of chances to discuss international eligibility.