www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... ml&BID=480 Its looking like Kyle Eastmond's move to union will be confirmed next week. It will be a great shame for rugby league and a major blow for England. If Eastmond goes, and with Tomkins given the 1 shirt playing full back at wigan, who will be the half backs for England? Will we have to bring Sean Long back? Or try and convince Brough to turn his back on Scotland?

www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... ml&BID=480 Its looking like Kyle Eastmond's move to union will be confirmed next week. It will be a great shame for rugby league and a major blow for England. If Eastmond goes, and with Tomkins given the 1 shirt playing full back at wigan, who will be the half backs for England? Will we have to bring Sean Long back? Or try and convince Brough to turn his back on Scotland?

Someone moves jobs shocker!!!

Are the Wail aware?

TBH, given the injury history of Eastmond, even with his undoubted rugby ability, he may be more likely to take the larger pay packet of Union than a career in League.

Take the money! He's massively overrated!!!!!

My thoughts as well. I can see him really struggling in the Onion code though. Half backs in Union are closer to League's Hookers. Eastmond's game relies a lot more on improvisation, which I don't think he would be able to do in Union.

He's too small as well, he'd got rolled over in every tackle

Sooner he goes the better. Don't want someone hanging around who doesn't want t be here. Cash in Saints bank plus room under cap for a replacement

I cant beleive people cant wait to see the back of one of Englands best prospects. So refering back to the original post, with Eastmond going and Tomkins playing full back, what decent half backs are there for England?

Only want him to go because he clearly doesn't want to be here anymore. Prior to that I'd have been happy for him to stick around.


As for decent half backs.........hmmmmmm

Seeing Ashton basking in it at the moment may also tip the scales in Union's favour. What can we do? Suck it up - like Union had to do in the eighties and nineties when we raided them of their stars.

If he goes to union he'll most likely end up on the wing or similar - he hasn't the kicking game to play centrally. He's not too small to play fly half or scrum half in union. If so someone ought to tell the Wallabies, for whom the wafer thin Berrick Barnes and Matt 'quite short' Giteau seem to do OK.

FWIW I hope he stays. If he takes the money and runs to Union I hope he fails miserably.

Eastmond was superb yesterday, marvellous technique. He'll be fine, whichever form he plays.

shame, but money talks he will earn a fortune in union

As much as it sticks in my throat i agree. He is a young English player and will have a long career in SL if he stays. We need to keep these guys in the game but money talks.
The saving grace is if he does go on to rip it up a la Ashton, we can all gloat he is one of ours and RU has to poach league players to improve!

I'm not sure we should be so negative.

The success of Ashton has brought a lot of "on air" praise for rugby league support play and lines of running. Some of the TV pundits are attributing his success in Onion to his RL background and I think we can expect more players to make the swap.

We can either moan a bucketful, make the most of the reflected glory or do something that will make the players not want to move in the first place.

A big factor is money, but many of the top converts do it for national honours, something that RL cannot match at the moment.

Until we address the fundamental issues that hold our national game back we are on to a looser.

Like all that have left,he will be back also!!!!!!!!!!!!

After he either fails to make the switch effectively or after Onion eventually goes bust

Going bust would be more appropiate.................

No he wasn't....

Kyle Eastmond:

7 tackles 4 missed tackles
10 Carries 14 Metres
0 Clean Breaks
1 Error
11 Kicks

Superb?

Micheal Witt:

tackles 9
missed tackles 3
carries 21
metres 102
clean breaks 1
error 1
kicks 8
Not to mention three tries

Witt, Schifcofske and Sammut; all superb this weekend.

Just to put a comparison, same game, it was a draw so stats should be even-ish, same position....

Thomas Leuluai:

18 Tackles 1 Missed Tackle
17 Carries 53 Metres
0 Clean Breaks
0 Errors
9 Kicks

I'd agree with you, also Sammuts 'tash has matured from a strong 7 or 8/10 to a 9/10. If it improves any more it will be in the same league as Magnum PI, Kevin Webster and, of course Nigel Mansell.

We need him interviewed on BBC Breakfast dressed as a Dickensian gentleman, wearing a monical!

That's sure to get a few extra outsiders tuning in.

The problem would be when he opens his mouth and his mad accent comes out!

So long as he says "I'm a pirate" and people understand him it'll be fine.