I'm up for debate on this one.
Yes there are flaws in the proposal, and I've always advocated pro clubs forming alliances with the local amateur clubs, but throwing money at young players does not make them better.

What Brian Noble is advocating is cherry picking some of the best Rugby Union talent.

I accept that we (as a sport) have to be able to afford it, and I presume that is why he was looking at the sponsorship and image rite route.

Surely by spreading the net further we have a better chance of bringing top class talent into the game.

I have some thoughts on that as well which I'll share on here at a later date.

I really don't think that we as game can afford to be so insular.

Its not insular its about having faith and investing in your own talent.

In the past RL signed RU players for two main reasons.

1. RU wasnt professional so working class RU players who wanted to make a decent living had no choice but to sign for RL clubs.

2. The sporting apartheid sytem that existed within the UK until the mid 1990's whereby RL was treated as an outlaw sport, forbidden to be played in most schools, colleges, the armed forces etc meant that the sport was historically denied huge swathes of talent, and therefore had no option than to sign up RU players, athletes or even wrestlers. This has now changed with a genuine open gangway throughout society, and it now means RL for the first time can truly invest in developing its own young talent. Hence the huge national growth in children playing the sport.

The best 50k any RL could invest in would be to bring the best youth coaches over from Australia. It would take a few years to pay off but it would definitely work It's what the successful Olympics teams did, just poached the best Aussie coaches, and look at the Brit medal success as a result.

Coaching/conditioning is the area where Australia is streets ahead of SL and Union for that matter.

It's not just that though.

When I was in us for the World Cup I had along conversation with a former Aussie International player, about the dreadful state of the English team and what could be done to improve it.

His response was that the many of junior Aussie players are "cherry picked" at a young age and sent by their clubs to specific schools which specialised in sport, Rugby League in particular.

Rugby Union are doing it now to a certain degree I know of one young Sale player who ha been "placed" in a University close to home to alow him to continue his studies but train on with the Sale squad.

Even before professionalism in RU, you had private schools like Kirkham offering scholarships to u17 and u18 internationals players.

I can't remember which school it was, but I went to watch mini-ski play up in the North East. While walking round the halls, I noticed the Underwood brothers names. I remembered then a friend who I was best mates with all the way through school down south. His dad had got one into school based on Rugby ability but suffered an injury that was career ending back then. I was at the same school as he attended. And all around the walls, school boy internationals.

Greenwood (I think) got the same over Blackburn way.

The problem we have, are such specialist powerhouse schools going for Rugby League?

Wiga have now formed a partnership with Lancaster University that will allow some young players the opportunity to further their education whilst in Wigan academy.

It's a step in the right direction.

Saints don't have an exact match to that, but they will not let an Academy player play without having a trade/education behind them. Players like Wilkin and Roby have done degrees, while Thompson remained part time so he could carry on as a builder.

Kirkham, from up past Lancaster, covered our area and I remember one from the south west called Colston. In the [idaily mail[/i cup, 6 of the 8 quarter finalist tended to be the same teams.

Professionalism in RU and the signing of kids as young as 16 has bypassed this sort of thing now, mind.

Talking about RU players, Matthew Tait is a lovely player and, assuming his defence could hold up, would be a good signing for a SL club imo. So long as he's getting his club england pay though, it would be a far too expensive gamble for a poor northern club to take.

Bollocks!

I dont think you would be so accomdating should the situation be revered.

It would serve to inflate agents pockets and I am pretty convinved there would be a significant number of recruits who would return to Union with their bank accounts boosted by a couple of years in League.

Hardly what the game needs, and prime example of putting a band aid on a severed artery.

Then again, you would expect as much from a man who once played Mike Forshaw at hooker.