Which current sportsmen would you choose to give league....

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

... a go and why? 

From any sport except union

Would he get to SL level from scratch? Championship+

[MZH]

Straight off the top of my head. George Kittle from the San Francisco 49ers. 

Plays a sport with a comparative skill set. Big, strong, quick, good hands. He's a very good blocker so presumably could learn to be a good defender too. Seems like a good guy to have around the dressing room as well. 

[Moscow01]

Tyreek Hill on the wing would be quite a sight. 
 

And what about Ben Stokes in the centres? 

[absentee thoughtlord]

Anthony Joshua (as a prop). Adam Gemili (full back or wing because of speed). Ben Stokes (stand off, for attitude).

[Futtocks]

1 minute ago, absentee thoughtlord said:

Ben Stokes (stand off, for attitude).

Plus he could probably pick up a few playing tips from his old man.

[Futtocks]

I think Darts player Mervyn King might enjoy the experience of being hated by fewer people if he became a RL referee...

[Mr Frisky]

1 minute ago, Futtocks said:

Plus he could probably pick up a few playing tips from his old man.

And hes a marra so RL is in his blood.

[Futtocks]

1 minute ago, Mr Frisky said:

And hes a marra so RL is in his blood.

50% Marra by volume. But the other half's Kiwi, so that's good too.

[Eddie]

13 hours ago, Moscow01 said:

Tyreek Hill on the wing would be quite a sight. 
 

And what about Ben Stokes in the centres? 

I was going to say Tyreek Hill, nobody would catch him. I’d like to see Derrick Henry give it a go too. 

[DavidM]

13 hours ago, Futtocks said:

I think Darts player Mervyn King might enjoy the experience of being hated by fewer people if he became a RL referee...

Gerwen Price ... back to where it started 

[bobbruce]

Men Ben Stokes possibly Tyson Fury. Women the Williams sisters. 

[Sports Prophet]

I would have loved to see Aussie Rules player Nick Davis have a shot at league. He was a star for the Sydney Swans but growing up in Sydney has a strong RL background.

He was considering a move to RL mid career but stayed with Aussie Rules and went on to win a premiership.

A great talent now retired so, sadly we will never get the chance to see him have a crack at NRL level.

[MZH]

2 hours ago, scotchy1 said:

THe problem with NFL players is the switch from short burst explosive tasks to a stamina based game. I remember when Dwayne Chambers gave it a go, his speed and power were obvious but he was done after 5mins.

Im not saying that there arent any who couldnt make it, there are almost certainly plenty who can but it probably wouldnt be superstars.

Someone like Tyreek Hill would need to be a fullback because he would get bombed constantly at only 5"8. I think Jakeem Grant would be great to watch returning bombs as well if he could be taught how to tackle.

Running backs are a funny one as there isnt a position they could really fit in. Obviously destructive runners but you couldnt play them in the middle because they dont defend.

I think you are more likely to get some value from defensive players, linemen are obviously too big but linebackers play a lot of snaps, make a lot of tackles and are pretty much impact prop size (6"1-6"4, 110kgs to 120kgs), Someone like Kuechly

Wide Receivers and Cornerbacks and Safeties would probably do some good out wide.

Its a bit of a cheat, but pretty much all the Fijian 7s players look like great impact league second rowers.

I think the stamina thing is a bit overplayed. Yes they would all have to work on their stamina, but there is a big difference between Chambers and most NFL players. These guys are involved in a lot of snaps and cover a lot of ground during a game, and they are receiving contact on most plays. 

I think if you play linebacker, tight end or full back in the NFL you probably have all the attributes needed to be a very good forward in RL. Some of the more athletic defensive ends would do really well too. Handling would be the main thing to be worked on. The O line guys are just too big and immobile. Wide receivers and defensive backs would depend on the player, but some would be very exciting on the wings.

[Dunbar]

As a sport we have access to a very small pool of athletic talent. The situation in the UK is obvious but even Australia, despite the popularity of the code, has a relatively small population. 

If Rugby League could dip into the talent pool in the US Collegiate system then there would be some phenomenal players unearthed. 

[bobbruce]

1 hour ago, Dunbar said:

Unfortunately, the shelf life of League fans deriding Premiership Football for player feigning injuries, berating the referee and conning decisions from ref's has well and truly expired.  That type of behaviour is firmly embedded in our game now.

Always has been every single scrum half I ever played with new exactly when to stay down and feign injury to get a defender in trouble. 

[Big Picture]

19 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

... a go and why? 

From any sport except union

Would he get to SL level from scratch? Championship+

If they were a bit younger (both are 32 now) and not financially set from their current/former endeavours, former star NCAA quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernick.  Both are big, strong, mobile men who are adept at spotting the openings in a defence and getting the ball where it needs to go to exploit those openings (Tebow especially so) so they'd be good as acting halfbacks, possibly from a position such as loose forward.  If they also wrestled when they were in high school, they might have transferable defensive skills already too.

When Doug Flutie (a shorter and lighter equivalent of Tebow and Kaepernick more like Geoff Toovey and Rob Burrow) was young enough, he'd have made a great RL player too.

[JM2010]

I think most top sportsmen are interchangeable between sports as long as they start the game early enough. Most children who excel in one sport are usually good at others too.

A lot of footballers would have made good RL players but football hoover up most of the top sportsmen as children denying them the chance to have a go at RL

[Sports Prophet]

If Wolfpack really want to make an impact on headlines in the UK and Canada, Owen Farrell is ripe for bringing back to league following Saracens confirmed relegation.

[OriginalMrC]

Tyson Fury as a prop would be interesting. Usain Bolt on the wing

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

8 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

If Wolfpack really want to make an impact on headlines in the UK and Canada, Owen Farrell is ripe for bringing back to league following Saracens confirmed relegation.

Well now he won't be playing for Sarries (assuming he doesn't want to be playing for them at Bedford and or Ampthill next year) 

[philipw]

18 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

I would have loved to see Aussie Rules player Nick Davis have a shot at league. He was a star for the Sydney Swans but growing up in Sydney has a strong RL background.

He was considering a move to RL mid career but stayed with Aussie Rules and went on to win a premiership.

A great talent now retired so, sadly we will never get the chance to see him have a crack at NRL level.

Ask and ye shall receive  :

https://www.roosters.com.au/news/2020/01/17/swans-hero-nick-davis-switches-codes-to-represent-roosters-at-nrl-nines/

[headtackle]

Other sports have had TV programmes inviting anyone to compete for a contract with a pro club

There are all sorts of skills  out that there and athletes that we are not currently tapping into

The game would get loads of interest if it ran something like this over a few weeks and would probably unearth some rough diamonds.

Anyone could apply to regional heats. Loads would be filtered out very early on basic fitness tests. Then rounds to test endurance, speed, strength, mind set etc. Move on to a specially arranged  games against a reserve team. Award contracts and SL to cover cost out of marketing budget for season 1.

Sounds daft but the GB Olympics team have done it and unearthed a gold medal winners. Players are out there and they don't just live along the M62.   

  

[The Future is League]

Perhaps not as talented as Fury or Joshua, as a boxer but for sheer toughness Dillian Whyte for me would make an outstanding Rugby League prop and also i think Wayne Rooney would have been an outstanding Scrum half or stand off in Rugby League.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 hour ago, The Future is League said:

Perhaps not as talented as Fury or Joshua, as a boxer but for sheer toughness Dillian Whyte for me would make an outstanding Rugby League prop and also i think Wayne Rooney would have been an outstanding Scrum half or stand off in Rugby League.

Agreed, Rooney must be gutted when he thinks what could have been

[LR23]

There have been a fair few NFL players that I've thought would be brilliant at rugby league but as mentioned the transition would be very difficult. Getting their general fitness up would be one thing but going from playing a full speed short burst game with lots of rest periods to a more constant, grinding game is really going to test their durability. Add to that the length of the NFL season compared to Superleague and you are looking at a very expensive player who spends most of his time on the injury list. They just won't be used to the wear and tear. The younger you get them the better though.