I personally think that professional rugby players deserve as much of a good wage as possible. However with the salary cap in place, this isn’t realistic thinking from me. Then again you’re also only assuming that average Australians are getting inflated wages – where’s the evidence to back this?

Now let’s just assume that Australians are coming here and get inflated wages. Lets assume that it’s happening right now. Who are this lot really stopping?

Most people say Young British talent. My idea of young British talent isn’t someone who gets put in the squad ahead of an average Australian merely because the British player has potential and is British. My idea of a British talent emerging is Richie Mather’s when he outplaced Gary Connolly at fullback in 2004. Gary may have not been Australian – but he was at the end of his career and putting in average performances bar that 2003 challenge cup defeat where he won man of the match. We have a few players at Leeds that are reaching the end of their careers and no young emerging talent plans to take their place anytime soon.

My conclusion is that the Sky Sports team have done their very best to make up a new definition for emerging young talent. Although I didn’t like the League freak on here (or any of his alias including his current one PHIPS), this is what he had to say about Young British talent –



It’s not that Young British Talent is been suppressed. It just that they isn’t any or it isn’t been properly developed in the junior grades.

Thanks for the compliments once again and I must go now!

Cheers RR for calling me racist! Well earned for Daring to say that I think that we pay over the odds for Aussie players. I did not mention any players as holding back British youngsters all I said was I think we probably pay over the odds for them!

I didn't call you a racist Ferdy! Sorry for the offence if you felt I did.

Was just saying, people in general seem to keep throwing this term "Average Aussie" around, when really, the fact they're Aussie has nothing (or should have nothing!) to do with it. Nobody calls Kirke "Average Pome".

Perhaps it's because it's alliterative.

Not offended, just pointing out I hadn't been having a pop at the Aussie players, just that I imagine they cost more!

AS regards to Donald I dont think it can be denied that the club got value for money from him in every way.He never had much time on the injury list 145 apps,and if he had played in the last wcc,I think he would have scored two tries in the corner and we would have won a trophy last year.
Lets face it after a wonderful period of "glorious success"we now face a period of rebuilding.I have seen two great periods this one and the 60s-70s,I am a happy lifelong supporter since 1955

There is no quota on UK trained players and they should be the first port of call and provide the bulk of any squad. Where gaps arise then most clubs tend to look overseas to fill them and without doubt it's great to see some of the finest players in the world over in our little old competition.

You need to get quality and value for money when you recruit overseas though. There appears (rightly or wrongly) a perception that a player prepared to travel from the other side of the world, (often transplanting their immediate family), needing accomodation and assistance to integrate into a new community, would not do so without an attractive package (including remuneration) being placed before them.

It's a salary capped sport, so having made the commitment (and highly probable additional investment) they really need to offer something more than average performance on the field. They have to be better than the alternative locally produced kid sat waiting for an opportunity. From a SL perspective if they aren't then why are they here?

There are lots of promising young players in SL and lots more waiting for a crack at the big-time. Getting the balance right isn't easy and fans have to accept they'll be transitional years from time to time but who now worries about Daryl Powell's puppet tenure laying the foundation for future sucess.

Clubs will recruit the best 25 players they possibly can, within the salary cap, club/fed trained and overseas player rules at that time.

Where those players were born will play absolutely no part in the consideration, aside from fulfilling the requirements above.

At the risk of getting dragged into an argument I have neither the time nor inclination for, I would suggest the reason clubs take up their full quota of non-fed trained and overseas players is simply because they offer better value for money than their UK counterparts. If you want another example, look at the sort of transfer fees being asked for promising young British footballers and compare that to the value that can be obtained overseas for the same money.

No club is going to be dumb enough to sign an antipodean player simply because he's not British.

Why didn't Leeds go with Ambler/Amor/Singleton instead of signing Cross? Why did they choose to retain Donald and not Broughton? Simply because they believe the antipodean alternative in these instances offers more to the team than the UK one. That's the decision coaches and chief executives are paid to make.

We need Smith back, Warrington look very good this year, even with injuries.

That's what consistent investment in the squad will bring you

So you take Powell's 2003 side, add Marcus Bai and Ali Lauitiiti and then allow Sinfield, McGuire, Burrow, Bailey, Ward, JJB, Walker, Calderwood, Diskin, Mathers to get a year nearer their peak and you're saying we would not have surpassed the achievements of 2003 (a CC final appearance and a very unfortunate lossin the elimination semi final at home to Wigan?)
I agree there is no evidence, there is no evience against either, the only possible evidence would be if Powell was the coach that year

Do we not invest or spend up to the cap then?

There's some anecdotal evidence of Powell's failure to win a trophy whilst he was in charge.

Absolutely there is.
Hoever I think my previous point above that holds a certain amount of weight. The squad TS took over at the start of 04 was significantly better than Powell's of 03 and that was before the addtion of Lauitiiti! I firmly believe that had Powell been in charge in 04, we'd still have won the SL. That squad was just that good. This is not to take away the achievements of T, nor to say I think Powell is as good a coach as Smith. I do however think he got a raw deal from Leeds, after putting together an excellent squad on the back of the Hay, Sheridan etc era. This was no doubt helped by the academy producing that long list of excellent players I noted earlier, but I stll think he gets less credit than he deserves.
I admit that Powell also made his f-ups, Adamson included and no match winner McGuire in the CC Final 2003, nice one that Daryl!

I think the term you're looking for which would be more accurate is Closet Xenophobia.

And you'd still be wrong.

It was either McGuire or Burrow - the Cas mafia won the battle sadly they lost the war

Whilst I am in no doubt that Tony Smith was a tactician many times superior to Powell, just as important was his ability to work on the mental side, to eradicate what seemed to me almost like a fear of success - or at the very least an inability to live with the pressure of the weight of expectation playing for Leeds involved. Smith was perhaps lucky that Powell had taken them through the Aussie-beloved "lose one to win one" phase but I don't believe Powell was equipped to bend the players' minds to the degree that they could go on to the next level as they did under Smith.

Wigan and Warrington provided the best TV game this season. The pace of the game was higher than anythinhg that I had witnessed and the defences were brutal.
Warrington dominated all facets of the game and set a marker down to Wigan that they are the ones to catch.
There is along way for us to go.

Next week should show us how wide the gap is, if indeed there is one.

Just hope someone gives Mac & Lowes a copy of the DVD of last nights game so they can see what defence is supposed to mean.

Think that TS got Warrington at the same stage of their development

I know you are a big McGuire fan (and I am too) but I'm not entirely sure why you are smiling about this. It wasn't just McGuire v Burrow that day, the completely obvious thing to do would have been to leave Adamson out to let him find the other half of his face, and bring McGuire off the bench (as he had done in the semi final).

I remembered the days when a Leeds side used to play like what Warrington currently produce ...

I thought exactly the same thing at Wembley last year.

You've hit the nail on the head regarding Powell's deficiency, shame as it is for such a talented young English coach.

I wonder if he's worth another shot at the big time now after several years away?

depends if he has learnt from his mistakes. tony smith, as someone posted earlier, seems to have learnt from his mistakes with us. this is what top class coaches do.
it's great that quins are doing well and this may encourage other clubs to appoint young, british coaches.
i think powell deserves another shot in super league, maybe not with a big club but he deserves a go