I know as a Hull KR fan this thread will be reacted to as me defending my own club but, why is having homegrown players in your squad so important?
If they are good enough they will be signed, if not they won't. Australia has a pool of players vastly bigger than Britain. Therefore there are more quality players available from down under.
So we get hammered by the Aussies in Internationals, I don't know many people that really care at all about international RL.
Rugby is a sport, made for entertainment for spectators. If overseas players create more entertaining rugby then so be it!

Overseas players do add to Super League. But you should be able to link the profile of the sport to the international game. The Union TV deal is bigger than League's despite lower viewing figures. It's because the sport has a national profile, afforded to it by the international game.

If we don't have a competitive England team we don't have a viable international game (Only 2 teams). If we don't have that it reduces the profile of the sport and it's the reason none of the news agencies or newspapers will touch league. It's so small fry.

The attitude of clubs like Wigan and Hull KR is like yours, they care only for their own club and it's success and don't have the long term vision to see how developing English players is key to the sports' future.

Rugby is never going to be a global sport. It has one good international team and that isn't goingto change much.
What difference to global exposure do you think having one other reasonable team is going make?

because, investing in youth development is how we improve and how we move the game forward, relying on australian cast offs will simply portray us as a 2nd rate sport.

and if we do invest in better youth development then all the best players wont play in Aus, they will play here, and we will have brought them through, improving our game, making it more marketable and making it more sustainable.

it is integral to health of the game for us to develop our own players, to find more players, and to improve the game, and it is unfair to expect only a few clubs to do it.

Also, Hull KR only benefit from having so many overseas players because other clubs dont, if they did then the benefit of signing a player like Mason would lessen

Recruiting overseas players doesn't lower the quality of local players.
It just means only the strongest local players make it. Surely playing lower quality would make it a second rate sport rather than playing better imports?

It does weaken the quality of local players though, these players would improve given more first team game time, filling the team with old or second rate Aussies is just pathetic and a sign a club has either weak or no youth development.

yes it does. If clubs dont need to bring through top quality youngsters, they wont bother. They invest less in scouting, coaching, facilities, bring in fewer players, take fewer risks and generally invest less time, money and effort into bringing through top quality youngsters, We wouldnt get the best RL players in the country, we would get the best RL players that fell into our laps.

And for a while bringing through our own players would mean the league was weaker than the NRL, but when clubs start really investing in youth, when the competition isnt who can bring through they biggest Aussie name, or who can get the most value out of an average player like Rhys Lovegrove or Ben Fisher, and becomes who can produce the most juniors of the highest quality, then we will bring through more players of a higher quality from different areas, meaning our league can be better than the NRL, our national team can be better than the Aussies and our game can become bigger, better and more sustainable

I beg to differ. Players will still be given oppertunities at clubs with more Aussies but only the better players.
Do you really think that if clubs had equally good local players, they would still bring in imports?

So average players like Ben Fisher & Rhys Lovegrove are an improvement over 2 players in the KR 18s or 20s?

Giving younger players a chance will not only improve them, but will improve the team because who's going to show more heart & effort - a local lad who's supported KR his whole life, or Willie Mason who's come over for a 150k a year pension?

Take Cas as an example; 13 players have played this year who have come through the system, would they have been given the chance to play if Cas had 10 overseas players? no and some of them look to be gems - Arundal, Milner & Walker especially.

If you are talking about the cream of the crop, then that's true. There's nothing wrong with bringing over the Vainikolo's, Renouf's, Lauitiiti's, Webb's, Lyon's and Hoffmann's of this world.

The problem is that clubs have been bringing over complete idiots from Australia, complete with an elaborately acquired EU passport, on short-term deals. Those are the players that are the issue. They aren't that much better than the players we have and they aren't here for the long haul. They're just here because it is an "easy" option.

You realize we signed Fisher to help get us promoted from NL1 where he was far, far better than any player Rovers could produce and on a par with Mark Smith as the best Hooker in the league?
And this season Rhys Lovegrove has been our best prop by some distance?


And you know for a fact that Willie Mason will not maintain his form from this season, where he has been in the top 10 for line breaks and metres made?

Like when Webster was a good Scrum Half? Fisher is below average yet he's stayed on a few years longer then he should have.



Sounds more like the rest of the props have been average if he's been KRs best.



Way to miss the point

In any other sport be it RU, Football etc signing the biggest and best players in the world is classed as being a top club no matter their nationality and yet for our sport clubs get classed as poor for signing the likes of Mason, who without a doubt is one of the best players of our generation.
Lets be honest how many of the Rovers foreign players would not make any other Super league team?
lets start with the new guys
Mason
Green (supposidly)

Older Signings
Newton
Vella
Galea
Dobson
Webster
Clinton

These guys are hardly has beens (when they signed) and have had a massive impact into taking HKR into the play offs twice once with a coveted top 4 finish.

As for the international thing Rovers in previous seasons have contributed both Fox and Briscoe to the setup which is easily forgotten.

You don't watch Rovers every week so can't see Rhys or the other props play.
Fisher maybe has been here too long but our best homegrown hooker, Scott Spaven, is not as good as him. We have brought in Hodgson, who is our future there.
And go on, tell me what the point you were making was about Mason coming for a pension.

YES!!!!!

Most clubs only have a development system BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO!!!

If they could get rid, they would quicker that you could say the Whino's are a good team!!!

The point was who's more likely to show more heart & effort, a young lad who's supported KR since he was a kid or an ageing Aussie - this can be swapped for every club just replace Mason with a high paid old Aussie.

it's more about ability than heart and effort.

So you'd rather watch a player just go through the motions not bothering than someone who trys their heart out every week?

No wonder the league is a joke when people have that attitude.

I can garantee that i have never in the last 10 years bought my pass on the basis of who is playing for Rovers never mind what nationality they are, i have also never bought one on the principle that we may have several GB/England stars of the future playing in any particular season.
I buy my pass on the basis that the guys who run out may they be White,Black,Orange or Gold, English, Scottish, PNG or Aus want to play for my team and not my country.
Should i decide to watch England that is my choice but come domestic match day i have none!!!

Not what I said at all.
I would rather watch a good player then a "trier."

Possibly because they were already established Super League regulars before they joined HKR. Fox had established himself as a regular at Wakefield whilst Briscoe had more than 130 first grade appearances to his name. They are hardly "products" of the KR system.

That was close to a sensible post until the last paragraph.

Have you been listening to rado humberside?

Masons made one line break all season.

Misinformed on RLFans!

Agree fully with you.

Hull wouldn't be a better team this year if they had gone with academy products over the likes of bringing Fitzgibbon (our joint community player of the year) or O Meley in.

Just like Crusaders wouldn't be in the 8 if they had recruited Welsh players.

I'd say 90% of overseas signings will improve a team as well as improving other players, particular young English players.

I've always maintained the fact that if a player is good enough he will play, regardless of where they come from. Its not so important to beat the Aussies, whats important is having a strong club competition and the rest will happen from there.