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| Quote ="Codarmysaint"Im sure hes shaking in his boots to be up against players of the calibre of Ade Gardner, Amos Roberts, Dave Halley etc etc'"
The way Roberts has played so far this season he'd have every right to be shi*ting himself!
Player of the superleague season so far.
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| I suppose as a PR stunt it raises the profile of League (especially in Wales). But the notion that a 35-YO crock, with no League history - can compete - consistently - at first team level is completely unhinged and implicitly devalues the sport.
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| Quote ="Mugwump"I suppose as a PR stunt it raises the profile of League (especially in Wales). But the notion that a 35-YO crock, with no League history - can compete - consistently - at first team level is completely unhinged and implicitly devalues the sport.'"
Essentially how I see it. If it will get people talking about League like Dwayne Chambers did in 2007, ding dang do, get the contracts signed. Particularly in Wales, if they can then turn that into regular punters, then for League as a whole will be a winner.
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| Henson is half the player Thomas was yet he'd be a bigger signing imo. To be fair he [Henson wouldn't stand out and even if Thomas was 6 years younger he'd struggle.
Look at Inga the Winger at the pies for example, it took him almost a whole season to come to terms with the game and his fitness levels were shocking in comparison to all the other League players.
Do these guys that think that they can just waltz into League realise the how much more physical and energetic this game is compared to union.
I would like him to do well and to fail in equal measure.
To do well to raise the profile of the Crusaders and the Welsh game in general.
To fail because if a 35 year old, '[uover the hill[/u' UNION player can just walk into the game it eliminates the notion of superior fitness and skill levels.
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| Quote ="Wire_Yed"Henson is half the player Thomas was yet he'd be a bigger signing imo. To be fair he [Henson wouldn't stand out and even if Thomas was 6 years younger he'd struggle.
Look at Inga the Winger at the pies for example, it took him almost a whole season to come to terms with the game and his fitness levels were shocking in comparison to all the other League players.
Do these guys that think that they can just waltz into League realise the how much more physical and energetic this game is compared to union.
I would like him to do well and to fail in equal measure.
To do well to raise the profile of the Crusaders and the Welsh game in general.
To fail because if a 35 year old, '[uover the hill[/u' UNION player can just walk into the game it eliminates the notion of superior fitness and skill levels.'"
Union has moved on massively since the days they used to hide behind amateurism. Union these days is played by some giants and some superb athletes. Some of the French backs in particular would 'pwn' Super League outside backs.
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| Quote ="Saddened!"Union has moved on massively since the days they used to hide behind amateurism. Union these days is played by some giants and some superb athletes. Some of the French backs in particular would 'pwn' Super League outside backs.'"
but there is still no real pace to the game and the extra 4 men on the pitch make it easier to 'hide', you can't tell me that Union players (even with professionalism and better coaching) can compete on fitness terms with league players ?
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| Quote ="Wire_Yed"but there is still no real pace to the game and the extra 4 men on the pitch make it easier to 'hide', you can't tell me that Union players (even with professionalism and better coaching) can compete on fitness terms with league players ?'"
The sooner we stop hiding behind these stereotypes, the quicker we can see the problems in our own game
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| Quote ="Ski"The sooner we stop hiding behind these stereotypes, the quicker we can see the problems in our own game'"
enlighten me
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| Quote ="Wire_Yed"but there is still no real pace to the game and the extra 4 men on the pitch make it easier to 'hide', you can't tell me that Union players (even with professionalism and better coaching) can compete on fitness terms with league players ?'"
They would take time to adapt because it's a different discipline. I remember a program where they got Jonathan Edwards the olympic triple jumper and an incredibly fit man (Ran the marathon in a very competitive time) and made him do rugby league training. He ended up crawling round on his knees, not because he wasn't fit enough, simply because it's a different physical exercise to what he was used to.
The physical standard of Union players in Europe is better than that of league players. Big, stronger, faster and of the same level of fitness, albeit in a different kind of way. They might struggle with getting back the 10 initially but they would get over that very quickly.
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| Quote ="Saddened!"They would take time to adapt because it's a different discipline. I remember a program where they got Jonathan Edwards the olympic triple jumper and an incredibly fit man (Ran the marathon in a very competitive time) and made him do rugby league training. He ended up crawling round on his knees, not because he wasn't fit enough, simply because it's a different physical exercise to what he was used to.
The physical standard of Union players in Europe is better than that of league players. Big, stronger, faster and of the same level of fitness, albeit in a different kind of way. They might struggle with getting back the 10 initially but they would get over that very quickly.'"
Wasn't there a study by i think Northampton Uni that looked at all the sports and League came out on top by some way in terms of fitness levels ?
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| Quote ="NickyKiss"The way Roberts has played so far this season he'd have every right to be shi*ting himself!
Player of the superleague season so far.'"
When youve been up against some bona fide world class backs like Thomas has, there is no way he would be scared of a run of the mill winger like Amos Roberts.
Look, us league fans like to bleat on about how hard it will be for him, except, it wont, because if you have a rugby background, then league is much much easier to learn than vice versa.
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| Quote ="Codarmysaint"
Look, us league fans like to bleat on about how hard it will be for him, except, it wont, because if you have a rugby background, then league is much much easier to learn than vice versa.'"
Just out of curiosity, how did you come to this conclusion (bearing in mind that we are talking about backs, not forwards)?
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| Quote ="Mugwump"I suppose as a PR stunt it raises the profile of League (especially in Wales). But the notion that a 35-YO crock, with no League history - can compete - consistently - at first team level is completely unhinged and implicitly devalues the sport.'"
It depends if he does or not.
Granted if he fails dismally it will be completely ignored by the RU press...
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| Quote ="Saddened!"Union has moved on massively since the days they used to hide behind amateurism. Union these days is played by some giants and some superb athletes. Some of the French backs in particular would 'pwn' Super League outside backs.'"
They would try until the finally felt what a tackle feels like
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| Quote ="Saddened!"They would take time to adapt because it's a different discipline. I remember a program where they got Jonathan Edwards the olympic triple jumper and an incredibly fit man (Ran the marathon in a very competitive time) and made him do rugby league training. He ended up crawling round on his knees, not because he wasn't fit enough, simply because it's a different physical exercise to what he was used to.
The physical standard of Union players in Europe is better than that of league players. Big, stronger, faster and of the same level of fitness, albeit in a different kind of way. They might struggle with getting back the 10 initially but they would get over that very quickly.'"
please stop posting these comments I cant take the laughter anymore
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| Quote ="Billinge_Lump"It depends if he does or not.'"
[i"You hear that Neo? That is the sound of inevitability".[/i....
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| Quote ="Ski"Essentially how I see it. If it will get people talking about League like Dwayne Chambers did in 2007, ding dang do, get the contracts signed. Particularly in Wales, if they can then turn that into regular punters, then for League as a whole will be a winner.'" How can you compare Gareth Thomas to Dwain Chambers? One is a rugby legend with over 100 caps, former British Lions captain and record international try scorer, the other is a headless chicken?
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| Fellow poster Dux asked me what I think about it, given that I'm more familiar with the unioin code, since I've had a lot of experience playing that code. I'm sure he won't mind me sharing the content
Quote ="dux"What are your thoughts on the Gareth Thomas? Crusaders signing a 35 year old who has never played the game strikes me as a desperate plea for publicity, but then I've never seen him play - good?'"
Quote ="Offside Monkey"Gareth Thomas won’t be an awful signing, he’s a tough character who could play as either centre positions as well as wing and full back, so he’ll have a decent skill set and was a good enough defender. Openly gay, which would make him a one off in the Super League. His age is a concern, but let’s face it, there’s plenty of e running round in superleague that’ll make him look OK.'"
Quote ="dux"Yeah, the gay thing was all I really knew about him to be honest. I was thinking he can't be a mug with the record he's got, but 35 has to be pushing it a bit. I suppose it'll be good publicity though.'"
Quote ="offsidemonkey"Sounds like some teams (ie Bradford) are absolute dog turd these days anyway. I’m not saying he’s going to be pulling up trees, but I don’t think he’ll let anyone down for a year or so.'"
Those who are convinced that just because he's from union he'll be an [iautomatic [/ifailure are not only about 15 years out of date in terms of many of their veiws on union, but are aslo forgetting all the good cross code players we've had over the years.
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| Quote ="headhunter"How can you compare Gareth Thomas to Dwain Chambers? One is a rugby legend with over 100 caps, former British Lions captain and record international try scorer, the other is a headless chicken?'"
If they're both dismal failures the comparison is perfectly valid.
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| He's a publicity signing and nothing else. How many other 35 year olds are playing in Super League and yet some people are thinking that a guy who hasn't played the game before and is used to making a couple of tackles a match is suddenly going to be able to meet the grade in this game. I remain to be convinced.
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| At his peak he had the attributes to make an excellent RL player.
However im somewhat sceptical about how he hcan adjust to the intensity of RL at 35 years of age.
While wing and Centre are probably the most similar positions between League and Union there are still differences.
For example in League a winger is expected to take the ball into the tackle a good 10-15 times a match. They are also expected to be good at taking high balls from kicks.
As a result we see that the modern day winger is generally a fairly stocky in frame. They are quick, but out and out pace isnt a prime requirement these days, its more a bonus.
In RU the winger is not expected to get involved in any form of midfield play. The thought of wingers forming rucks and mauls horrifies union people. That is the job of the forwards. The game itself also has more breaks in play. Union features little of the cross field bombardment that RL wingers face. Its also rare for a RU winger to need to make a tackle. The ability to kick of football out of hand is however a useful skill.
As a result of this, a RU winger does not need the stamina, or physical size to take the ball into the tackle, as is required in League. They can therefore concentrate on explosive pace and acceleration, within a more lightweight frame. This enables them to exploit the few opportunities that come their way
In many respects the RU winger is more akin to the RL winger of old.
Thomas is lucky in that he is quite a large person for a RU wing, but i expect he will still need to work on his physical frame, in order to be able to handle the workload required of a rl wing.
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| Quote ="Wire_Yed"but there is still no real pace to the game and the extra 4 men on the pitch make it easier to 'hide', you can't tell me that Union players (even with professionalism and better coaching) can compete on fitness terms with league players ?'"
We (Warrington) have a former RU conditioner, Wigan also. We had one prior to Halmsley. They must have something about them.
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| Coming from Union, he'll have a lot less miles on the clock than a league player s at 35 he may get through a season.
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| Quote ="getdownmonkeyman"We (Warrington) have a former RU conditioner, Wigan also. We had one prior to Halmsley. They must have something about them.'"
Ours is also an NFL conditioner
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| The Crusaders may do well with the signing of Thomas, it will get them into such as school's and allow them to use him in club PR work, he may also pull others RU players in Wales to the game. Some people think he stands no chance in RL, I'm not sure, he was seen many times watching the Crusaders last season. Let's give him a chance at least to prove himself.
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