Re: More competitive than ever or just a poorer standard? : Sun Jul 07, 2019 6:43 pm  

Him wrote:

Nowt to do with summer rugby. You wouldn’t get Aussies coming here at the end of their season there’s no way an NRL club would allow nor would they want to. They need the off-season to recuperate.

It’s money, the lifestyle and the challenge of the NRL that is appealing to some of our best players.

I believe that they'd still (top Aussies) come on a short term contract if we still played in winter.

Re: More competitive than ever or just a poorer standard? : Sun Jul 07, 2019 6:46 pm  

Salford red all over wrote:

Your absolutely bang on don't get me going regarding that man, yes he kept us going but some of the stuff he's done to our club is not printable on here, but just say when you scrap the academy of which I believe Jake Bibby was one of the last to come through and is now off to Wigan as presumeably Wigan haven't been able to produce anyone as good ? we have players in our tiny squad not playing because of stuff in their contracts, reduced payments from the RFL I could go on forever, anyone heard anything else about his Cumbrian/Liverpool dream ? If he told me it was dark at midnight I would have to check for myself.

We are screwed without a local billionaire, we have one who sponsors Super League but he's not interested in his local club. (Not even a bit of spare change from the back of his sofa).

I've served my time many years a season ticket holder once JH is officially announced to the pies I'm done Good luck to Jackson he came to us under circumstances but for mine he's far to good wasting his talent by staying here in (and here's the link to the thread) a sub standard competition, but if true the pies are that desperate there going to pay him a quarter of a million for a season with an NRL get out clause which could mean him leaving at any point even before he's played then that says everything about the competition, that one of the supposed giants of RL are falling over themselves for potentially ONE season.

Also once we've been picked to the bones again and we eventually join Widnes/Leigh/Bradford the big boys will then look to strip the others of any talent and only when there's nothing left will the "self preservation society" themselves be done and semi-pro returns to Rugby League.

Sorry for the negative post but after watching us on Thursday after all the heads have been turned was enough for me, that was a team who nilled Catalan whist scoring nearly half a century away, hammered Wire at Wire and put thirty unanswered on Saints.

I think you should be criticising your own club rather than the ones tempting players away with big pay deals, for once you looked a side that could of taken on the top teams

Re: More competitive than ever or just a poorer standard? : Sun Jul 07, 2019 6:51 pm  

IR80 wrote:

£££££££££££££££ simple.

Exactly, it's a short career for rugby players, and if we still played in winter, agents would want to maximise their clients earnings with short term contracts in the SL and NRL. Take the point about recovery time - they didn't come every year back in the day, and the same would happen now.

Re: More competitive than ever or just a poorer standard? : Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:07 pm  

MorePlaymakersNeeded wrote:

I believe that they'd still (top Aussies) come on a short term contract if we still played in winter.

Those days have gone.

They need longer and longer off-seasons, a top Aussie isn’t going to put at risk their start to the NRL season or god forbid their Origin hopes over a few games in the UK. That’s not withstanding their clubs actually allowing them to.

Re: More competitive than ever or just a poorer standard? : Sun Jul 07, 2019 10:28 pm  

Everybody looks to their past teams with rose tinted specticals.

But as a competitive season this is pretty good.

The key is about how teams can grow their fan base.
Warrington are the only team in recent times that I can think of who have made significant headway in growing their fan base.

Re: More competitive than ever or just a poorer standard? : Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:25 am  

MorePlaymakersNeeded wrote:

That's a downside of summer rugby. We don't see any top Aussies coming here anymore, once their season finishes, either.

It's more down to the salary cap limitations / exhange rates that are the problem.

As a Leeds fan I've seen the likes of Ali Lauitiiti and Brent Webb give some outstanding years in SL, Danny Burdeus, despite being the wrong side of 30, still prove himself to be one of the world's top #9s, the first year we got out of Toni Carroll was outstanding and I've also seen my team ripped apart by the likes of Lesley Vainikolo, Jamie Lyon, Steve Renouf and Trent Barrett.

Whilst some of those players arrived in the UK under slightly inauspicious circumstances, SL could still attract a better quality of overseas player than they can today. That's the consequence of a salary cap that has barely moved with inflation for 20 years, a failure for clubs to grow and a weakening exchange rate.

Re: More competitive than ever or just a poorer standard? : Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:26 am  

Salford red all over wrote:

Your absolutely bang on don't get me going regarding that man, yes he kept us going but some of the stuff he's done to our club is not printable on here, but just say when you scrap the academy of which I believe Jake Bibby was one of the last to come through and is now off to Wigan as presumeably Wigan haven't been able to produce anyone as good ? we have players in our tiny squad not playing because of stuff in their contracts, reduced payments from the RFL I could go on forever, anyone heard anything else about his Cumbrian/Liverpool dream ? If he told me it was dark at midnight I would have to check for myself.

We are screwed without a local billionaire, we have one who sponsors Super League but he's not interested in his local club. (Not even a bit of spare change from the back of his sofa).

I've served my time many years a season ticket holder once JH is officially announced to the pies I'm done Good luck to Jackson he came to us under circumstances but for mine he's far to good wasting his talent by staying here in (and here's the link to the thread) a sub standard competition, but if true the pies are that desperate there going to pay him a quarter of a million for a season with an NRL get out clause which could mean him leaving at any point even before he's played then that says everything about the competition, that one of the supposed giants of RL are falling over themselves for potentially ONE season.

Also once we've been picked to the bones again and we eventually join Widnes/Leigh/Bradford the big boys will then look to strip the others of any talent and only when there's nothing left will the "self preservation society" themselves be done and semi-pro returns to Rugby League.

Sorry for the negative post but after watching us on Thursday after all the heads have been turned was enough for me, that was a team who nilled Catalan whist scoring nearly half a century away, hammered Wire at Wire and put thirty unanswered on Saints.

But you're signing Sarginson from us so look on the bright side.

Re: More competitive than ever or just a poorer standard? : Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:29 am  

bramleyrhino wrote:

It's more down to the salary cap limitations / exhange rates that are the problem.

As a Leeds fan I've seen the likes of Ali Lauitiiti and Brent Webb give some outstanding years in SL, Danny Burdeus, despite being the wrong side of 30, still prove himself to be one of the world's top #9s, the first year we got out of Toni Carroll was outstanding and I've also seen my team ripped apart by the likes of Lesley Vainikolo, Jamie Lyon, Steve Renouf and Trent Barrett.

Whilst some of those players arrived in the UK under slightly inauspicious circumstances, SL could still attract a better quality of overseas player than they can today. That's the consequence of a salary cap that has barely moved with inflation for 20 years, a failure for clubs to grow and a weakening exchange rate.

Those would be marquee players though surely and therefore cap exempt?

Re: More competitive than ever or just a poorer standard? : Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:49 am  

What I would say is that often the lower standard games are the most exciting to watch. The NRL is often less exciting because the teams are so fit, so well structured, so they cancel each other out and defence wins.

Errors, poor decisons, poor fitness all promote good attacking matches.

Re: More competitive than ever or just a poorer standard? : Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:52 am  

MorePlaymakersNeeded wrote:

Exactly, it's a short career for rugby players, and if we still played in winter, agents would want to maximise their clients earnings with short term contracts in the SL and NRL. Take the point about recovery time - they didn't come every year back in the day, and the same would happen now.

No, it wouldn't, the players will not want to come and play in Hull in November, have a 50/50 chance that the bus gets over the pennines.

The CEO's of NRL sides will not want their box office players spending a few months in the SL at the risk of their investment.

Those days are gone, setting off at 5 am on Friday to make sure we made Whitehaven, camping in barely +ve temperatures, all for the love of the club.