One word.....Appalling.

Obviously not.

Start a thread then!

Answer the questions raised - give yourself a chance.

This was back on page 10. I wonder if you thought you should take your own advice? Or did you ignore it because it was so lame? Let's see

Why have you not started a thread then??

If you so want a thread on it...start one. I am likely to contribute. Moreso if they have around 10 non UK players on their books.

I've answered many qs. The fact that you can't undertand them or don't like them is your problem, not mine

Back to topic.

Perhaps the RFL should tighten rules re overseas players. The 50% NRL rule (down from 75% sadly) should be the benchmark. That way young british players will get a fair crack. Though i suppose the RFL expected a relegation free SL would encourage less use of reserve grade NRL guys.

we are supposed to be improving, we are supposed to be making efforts to catch up to the NRL, you dont do that by bringing in players not good enough,

as for Poching- have we not improved are we not a more professional game than 10 years ago? its 14 years since the game went fully pro not 4 we should demand more of our clubs now than 4 years in to professionalism, and besides, the first 5 or so years of SL were an embarrassment from an administration point of view and saw more money wasted that at any other time in the game,

also he has pretty much the same junior pedigree, Poching was a junior Kiwi and had played for Brisbane, Auckland, NQC and Hunter, and was brought over by a semi pro second division outfit, not a franchised SL side

and again, your desperation to hide behind the 'who knows how good he is yet' argument still fails to address the point, that bringing over 1 overseas player and taking a punt on him, is different to bringing over 11 and building a team around them



hmm, did i say he was a decent player or a decent prospect? think on about what prospect means,


i would say his natural position will be british style second rower or and Aussie style loose forward

Make your mind up.....thought this thread was about the RFL allowing this through.....not about the number of overseas players???

"The RFl should stick to their criteria and not allow Winterstein in. "

"This is not anti wakey. For eg I have no objection to Stosic being given the okay."

i dont question it, unless things change i dont think they are a sustainable SL entity,

they may be able to rely on antipodeans and other SL clubs right now but that wont last forever, probably not even another 10 years



suppose if Leeds, Saints, Bradford, Hull, wigan et al decided to take the same approach, suppose they all said sod the rest of em, we are looking after number one,

suppose Paul Caddick, Ian Lenegan, Peter Hood, Kath Hetherington, Eammon McMannus got together and said, Why on earth should we continue to spend thousands of pounds on youth development systems, only to lose players to teams that havent because of the SC,

Suppose they decided it would be cheaper and easier to simply bring over ready made players from Australia like Wakefield do, so they stop bringing youth through which means other clubs cant pick up the scraps anymore, so they have to bring even more overseas players in, and because there are so many to fit under the cap, the quality of those brought in falls, the quality of the league falls, it loses touch with its market, no longer provides a pathway for amateurs, and we simply become a 2nd tier of the NRL

who wants to watch 2nd tier rugby, well as the championship proves, not many people, so some clubs go to the wall, those that dont slash their player budgets, which means an even worse quality of player is brought in and we then have a league full of frank Wintersteins, and again, nobody wants to watch that so everything spirals until the game dies

improvement compared to what?

Compared to pervious GB teams with players not coached by them you clot.

like which ones?

the one which got stuffed in the trinations final at elland road?

the one which lost all three tests to the Kangaroos second string?

or the ones of the early to mid nineties, when we had very few imports as a comparison and plenty of union players

btw, when was the last british coach to coach a GB/England side to a 3-0 series whitewash?

I think an established SL club signing a reserve grade NRL player is very poor. Likewise them having 10 or so non UK players. You think it is acceptable...bully for you.

You may think signing FW is progress for your club. I think iit is a backward step.

We differ.

More info on Frank, he played five times for the Bulldogs 1st grade last year getting decent reviews in all his games.

He finished the season strongly holding down a place in the 1st grade for the last three rounds of the rgular season.

Frank Winterstein appearances for Canterbury Bulldogs 2008
Round 13 v Newcastle
Round 15 v Canberra
Round 24 v Parramatta
Round 25 v Canberra
Round 26 v Brisbane

That's absolutely fine......why did you just not say that on your original post, rather than try and make some lame point, which by the way was incorrect and just showed your ignorance to Rugby League and Visas in this country!!!

Yes all those, that's the point ffs NO IMPROVEMENT

It's pretty clear that Wakefield have been hit hard by the unfortunate loss of Watene and Moore, coupled with Sculthorpe's on going injuries. Winterstein is a big forward with an off-loading game which will serve as a temporary replacement until fingers crossed Moore will be back.

Winterstein has come in to allow the youngsters at Wakefield to develop. Players such as Bibb, Pitts and Ferguson all first team players should not just be dumped on the field and asked to play week in week out. These lads are still developing, and as such shouldn't be thrust into the team recklessly. They need slow progression, to ensure their bodies are upto it and they aren't brunt out and pick up injuries which could shorten or even destroy their careers.

Wakefield has spent alot of money on youngsters in their academy and the standard of the players being produced is steadily increasing. However, it would be reckless of the club to throw in players who are simply not developed yet.

John Kear constantly searches through the lower leagues and watches numerous players on a weekly basis. He isn't afraid to bring in players who he believes are good enough, as was proven with Blaymire, Blanch and Fox. If he felt there was a player availabe who could do a job for Wakefield i'm sure he would have made an offer assuming that suits the club financially, the player and the player's club.

I trust our English coach, and as supporters, we understand the club is going through a tough time. If Winterstein can help us to ensure or youngsters have a prolonged career whilst covering for our injuries then i'm all for it.

Please don't burden it with reason, it can't handle the truth.

It really is looking silly now.

TBF, i kinda think it strengthen his point


Thats me done

I did not see that the reserve grader played a developmental game back in 2006 that his own club did not think was worth recording. wow.

That you are resorting to such a signing shows a club going backwards. You may think otherwise.

Tony Smith.


Edit: not sure if this is a 'matter of fact question' I can't be bothered reading this boring squabbling.

So he managed less than less than 20% of games. I expect in 2007 it was even fewer.