Just read tv thread, who slates Richards for being irish when he's a Aussie?

Jes, stop guessing and go direct to the RFL.

C1:4 OVERSEAS PLAYERS
DEFINITION OF OVERSEAS PLAYER
C1:4:1 (a) An “overseas Player” is one who cannot produce satisfactory evidence to the RFL that
he is a Professional Player in accordance with the EU Rules guaranteeing the free
movement of workers and that either:
(i) he is an EU National; or
(ii) he is entitled to be lawfully employed in England as a professional rugby league
player pursuant to a valid work permit and is a National of a country which is party
to either an Association Agreement, Europe Agreement or the Cotonou Agreement
with the EU; or
(iii) that he is a National of a country which is a current Full or Associate Member of
the RLEF and has been resident in that country for four years and is a bona fide
registered player who has played a minimum of five domestic league or cup games
in a domestic competition in that Full or Associate Member’s country.
For the avoidance of doubt a National is defined as a person who holds a current passport for an EU
member state or a country party to an Association Agreement, Europe Agreement or the Cotonou
Agreement as appropriate. Where a person claims to be a National of a country which does not issue
its own passports the RFL will review such a claim on a case by case basis but has no obligation to
decide whether a person is a National of such a country. In order to provide satisfactory evidence for
C1:4:1 (a) (iii) above the individual must hold and produce a relevant and current passport, the RLEF
member must provide records and testimony as to the player’s competition record and the RLEF must
certify that the information provided is correct and bona fide. The purpose of C1:4:1 (a) (iii) above is to
provide a performance pathway for talented players from the domestic competitions in RLEF Full or
Associate Member countries and in all matters of interpretation or judgement of this rule the RFL will
make decisions which are consistent with that purpose.
(b) Any Player who has, and who can prove to the RFL's satisfaction to have been, resident
in the EU for an aggregate of 270 days in each of five years prior to 31st December
2002 shall not be deemed an "overseas Player". For the avoidance of doubt, any
exceptions previously granted under this Operational Rule shall remain in force for the
remainder of the Player's career.

Just search this for overseas rfllive.dyndns.org/~rflmedia/doc ... 0Guide.pdf

Just search this for overseas rfllive.dyndns.org/~rflmedia/doc ... 0Guide.pdf

www.superleague.co.uk/page.php?id=346 Here for the federation rules

www.superleague.co.uk/page.php?id=346 Here for the federation rules

cheeky

he has been signed to replace flannery....excellent signing and well done on getting him as many clubs would have been sniffing around
and dave shillington has been wafted a contract by you lot to replace jammer

Would shillington come to super league?

Would he get a visa, he was banned from driving for drink driving the other year wasnt he?

Not just knocking this signing, but these Aussies must think we are such an easy touch and most teams are the same, aged 31 and talk of a three year deal? on Big Money, which they need with the current exchange rate??

I hope it's not a 3yr deal.

Surely not a 3 year deal a 31 year old? Who's had a fair few injury problems.

I'd be surprised were any SL club to sign him. With the obvious rise in the NRL cap imminent. Plus he'd have to give up his SOO and REP football career. He would be though a cracking signing though. Truly a player at the peak of his powers.

unfortunately i think that to get any half decent ozzie over here now with the different salary caps, more and more clubs will be offering older players longer deals, hoping they're a Menzies, not a crock

Age isn't that much of an issue with forwards I don't feel. Backs are a risk (Lance is a classic example) as they lose their pace and agility and become rather rubbish. But forwards don't lose strength, fitness or toughness as quickly I don't feel. Most players retire because after 10-15 years of playing professional rugby league they have had enough and their bodies are battered with so many existing injuries adding up to make the recovery every week hard. If a player doesn't feel like that (Menzies is a example) there is no reason why they can't continue playing.

I'm more worried about Lance who at 29 looks overweight and a yard slower than he used to be than Laffranchi at 32.

Menzies is an exception though IMO, and has been very durable throughout his career.

We're going for Lance's utility value though, and if he joins Saints under Simmons he will lose weight.

(He'll no doubt get an ankle injury too!) We do need experience in the halves, of that there is no doubt, so I personally don't object to him coming over at all. I think he is a sensible piece of recruitment given the needs of the team. However, although we do need a prop to fill the vacancy left by Jammer, and I do appreciate that any young potential we may have in that position isn't yet ready, I'm just not sure about recruiting ageing Aussies. An ageing South Pacific Islander might have been better! (TP Mark 2!)

To be fair I don't think he's had to many injuries over his career. He's had a shoulder and wrist op recently but I think that was a pre season op that players tend to have when the season has finished.

He is injured at the moment and was ruled at for 8 weeks but think he's due back a month early from injury.

Top signing but I wouldn't have give 3yr deal.

Saints seem to be offering fairly long term deals at the moment. Maybe they are trying to stabilise the team a bit? We've had a lot of change over the last few seasons. Or maybe we can't get these guys on anything shorter?

Lance has just been picked by the world champs again so he can't be doing to bad.

[url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/rugby_league/3541228/Widnes-want-Sheens-to-shine.htmlThe box on the right. Just specultion at the minute it would seem.[/url

I think for the overseas older players the latter is probably the case. Wigan had to give Lima a three year, but Hoffman only signed for one and will almost certainly return at the end of this season.

Do you think it was a mistake in letting Emmitt go? Wigan persevered with Prescott and O'Carroll (although he's been out for over 12 months). It's always difficult with props as they generally tend to mature later.

I don't know whether we let him go or he wanted to go. We can't force players to stay so if he wanted to be a permanent fixture in a first team this season, as opposed to a cover for injuries or whatever, then he might have seen Cas as the answer. However, we might have let him go, along with Hargreaves and Johnson. Or they might have wanted a greater presence in a first team. Who knows?

shillington to you or wire...if you get him then wire get puletua
waterhouse is being lined up by us (bulls)
leon is also coming back to us on a 2 year deal which is being finalised

Craig Fitzgibbon is 33 and the league's top tackler. If the player can still do it, their age shouldn't matter.

With the quota situation and losing jammer it may prove a mistake. If the quota rules are as I'm being told then we only have 1 quota spot and may need two props if TP goes.

Maybe thas why we are looking at leighs hill at the moment. The aunt many good English props available at the moment.

It's possible we may have to go for Keith Mason as he's the only decent off contract prop avaiable.

It think it a bit of both, stability for the squad and having to offer the going length.

As you say we have had fairly dramatic turnover and bloded a lot of youth in the last 3 years and we are rumoured to be seeing around 4/5 established first teamers go out again (Graham, Eastmond, Pryce, Puletua, Flannery) and it is hard to keep producing with turnover like this, it is a credit to all at Saints that we have been so competitive over the last 6/7 years.

Its also been well documented the chairman wants to have a squad worthy of the new stadium, I would imagine that he will want to have that experience and stability for as long as he can. Giving the over 30's an extra year is probably a risk worth taking this time, giving a more settled squad and allowing the juniors an extra year to develop around seasoned international players.

Saying that Contracts ending in 2012: Paul Wellens, Sia Soliola, Francis Meli, Scott Moore, Paul Clough, Gary Wheeler, Matty Ashurst, Andrew Dixon, Jamie Foster.... we could be doing this all again in 12 months time!!!!!!!!!!

As for Rogues I don't think we had much choice last year after Cas offered him a much improved 2 year deal and promise of first team action, had we got a full team out this year he wouldn't figure too often and there is only so much you can do to keep a player desperate to play.