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Canberra set to raid Wigan again


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On 23/06/2020 at 00:50, Liverpool Rover said:

It must be annoying for Wigan fans to see so many of their players leaving but what will be worse for them is that Wigan don’t seem to even try to put up a fight to keep them.

It's called salary cap.

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If there is ever a Perth team in the NRL it would be likely to be very Anglo. The SL Forwards and some Backs who go over from the UK, do a good job in the NRL, with some going on to be being big stars. 

Good luck to the young man and I'm sure there will be more Wigan players going to the NRL soon. 

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2 hours ago, Southerner80 said:

If there is ever a Perth team in the NRL it would be likely to be very Anglo. The SL Forwards and some Backs who go over from the UK, do a good job in the NRL, with some going on to be being big stars. 

Good luck to the young man and I'm sure there will be more Wigan players going to the NRL soon. 

After watching tbe NRL chief discussion on expansion the only move is for another Brisbane club. 

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Looking at this signing from a slightly wider perspective.

As League fans, we are always commenting on how the sport has to compete against other codes to attract the best athletic talent and perhaps they offer more attractive options re: international travel or fame to a young player.

Well, here we have an 18 year old getting the opportunity to play in arguably the biggest rugby competition in the world, get paid a decent amount and live in Australia.

These types of opportunities will do our sport no harm (and this is a player who played for Lancashire at Union and chose to stay in our sport which is a great outcome).

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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17 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

Looking at this signing from a slightly wider perspective.

As League fans, we are always commenting on how the sport has to compete against other codes to attract the best athletic talent and perhaps they offer more attractive options re: international travel or fame to a young player.

Well, here we have an 18 year old getting the opportunity to play in arguably the biggest rugby competition in the world, get paid a decent amount and live in Australia.

These types of opportunities will do our sport no harm (and this is a player who played for Lancashire at Union and chose to stay in our sport which is a great outcome).

I agree. This could be spun as a big positive for young players taking up the game. The chance to play for your hometown or favourite English club or the option to go to France or even Canada.

Now young players are getting the chance to go to Australia and play in the NRL and earn good money. 

It's a bit like British basketball players getting offered the chance to go to the NBA

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On 22/06/2020 at 21:53, Copa said:

The problem for us in Canberra is that we are the only inland NRL club and the attractions of the coast and cities are more appealing to many younger players. Their families are also often in the cities or near the coast. For years we’ve had to pay overs to quite a few players to get them to Canberra.

Recruiting players from the UK gets us an athlete who most likely lives inland and who wasn’t raised going to beaches. They are also comfortable with our winters in Canberra.

Harry is a coast lad, indeed his local beach is regarded as far better than Manly by certain ex GB players

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Think this is bad news for the game here. As much as I enjoy Wigan being made weaker, from a neutral perspective, if this is the start of NRL clubs picking off English teenagers before they’ve made a first grade debut here, it’s a worrying sign and one that will have consequences within Super League. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great opportunity and one he’d be mad to turn down but I hope this is an isolated move and not the first domino of many to fall. 

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1 hour ago, Hela Wigmen said:

Think this is bad news for the game here. As much as I enjoy Wigan being made weaker, from a neutral perspective, if this is the start of NRL clubs picking off English teenagers before they’ve made a first grade debut here, it’s a worrying sign and one that will have consequences within Super League.

Yes, fewer homegrown stars in Super League can’t be good for the comp no matter how many ‘pensioners’ come back the other way.

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11 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

Yes, fewer homegrown stars in Super League can’t be good for the comp no matter how many ‘pensioners’ come back the other way.

I agree we need lots of young home grown players in SL.

However, I like the fact that the English contingent in the NRL is growing and the clubs are getting transfer fees.

If SL clubs and the RFL can increase their investment into grassroots and advertise the opportunities both here and in the NRL that are on offer then it could hopefully increase the amount of homegrown players. 

Good quality British players playing both NRL and Super League has to be the aim

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G`day first time contributor from OZ here,  totally understand your concern with some of your best players coming over here,however           one positive imho is that having your players in the nrl should help you blokes put together a real handy test team together for the World     Cup next year,  especially now that George Williams looks like the real deal.Winning the World Cup i`m sure would be a massive boost for    the game over there.

 

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We are looking at this as Wigan losing a potential star player but also look at it from the players point of view.

He is an 18 loose forward coming through the ranks at Wigan and  seeing Morgan Smithies in the first team just a year older than him and getting rave reviews.  Clearly, he could turn out to be a better player than Smithies but equally he could see this as a barrier to his progression.

And in the second row, Wigan have their established first team players like Farrell, Isa and Greenwood and another three youngsters in the first team squad (Jack Wells, 22, Joe Shorrocks 20, & Kai Pearce-Paul 19).

With Wigan securing the future of the likes of Smithies, Partington and Havard, they will not be short of forward talent for a while. 

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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7 minutes ago, Liverpool Rover said:

What is about Wigan that has NRL clubs after their players more than they seem to for other clubs? You don’t hear of Saints, Leeds etc players been targeted as regularly as Wigan players. 

Because they have more of the better young players in the game. This St Pat's / Shevington sharks lad comes from Blackpool , which might tell you something about the size of the net that Wigan caste via their community clubs.

 Captained at Rep level and a big unit. Wigan well covered in the forwards for the next few years  and can't keep them all with the cap as it is  and no reserve football .

So good look to the lad......Poole's pies will be on offer shortly in the Aussie capital at this rate....

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As said above, Wigan generally produce more of this country's best young players. I can't remember how many academy Grand Final's the club has won but I think it's something like 9 of the last 10. It's testament to the quality within Wigan but also that the club scouts from other areas. Having the reputation of the being the strongest academy and a club that will promote young players is attractive to players from other parts of the country. That's why along with Wigan-based players our academy brings through plenty from other areas.

While the Australian media often seems to be ignorant about Super League and it's players, NRL scouts certainly aren't. They don't just watch Super League games and identify a few players who play well, they keep tabs on our academy players too. Ryan Sutton was generating interest from the NRL since he was a teenager.

So NRL scouts will always be keeping close tabs on the most promising youngsters (quite a lot coming from Wigan) as well as just generally the best players in the competition (again, quite a lot playing for Wigan). Those who were on their radar as youngsters AND quickly become some of the best players in the competition probably stand an even greater chance of being approached by NRL clubs.

Wigan also have a lot of young players who have already experienced success at a young age, so the obvious next step is often to test themselves further. If you experience success in one area at the age of 22, it's only natural to start looking for the next test. Add to that the fact that young players are probably less likely to be in serious relationships and having settled down with families, that's one less thing to tie them down to Super League and Wigan. It's the reason Joe Burgess wanted to move to the NRL - he didn't know if he'd get the chance later down the line. That attitude is probably mirrored by the Williams, Sutton and I'd say Gildart too.

Then you have Harry Rushton, who, presumably due to the success of UK based players in the NRL, has been chased a little more purposefully than if he'd been coming through the ranks a few years ago. The fact that Williams and Sutton are at Canberra makes a potentially scary career decision for an 18-year-old much easier.

The departure of Luke Thompson shows that every clubs best players are under threat. We have to hope that we can sign some good quality NRL players in return to counter any reduction in quality.

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10 hours ago, The Rocket said:

G`day first time contributor from OZ here,  totally understand your concern with some of your best players coming over here,however           one positive imho is that having your players in the nrl should help you blokes put together a real handy test team together for the World     Cup next year,  especially now that George Williams looks like the real deal.Winning the World Cup i`m sure would be a massive boost for    the game over there.

 

Welcome to the forum.

I agree that a decent number of English players in the NRL is no bad thing.

And even with Thompson and now Harry Rushton we are not really cracking double figures so it is hardly an exodus. 

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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While it may be bad for the super league it’s good for the England national team. Most aussies want a competitive English team again, loved the battles Aus and GB had in the 90’s. It’s good for England to have a lot of their best talent playing in arguably the top rugby comp in the world. It would be great for the game if England won the World Cup next year. 

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