Gosh you're twisting and turning like a twisty-turney thing Smokey

. Are you now saying that at Leeds if you are English you can [uonly[/u be kept out of the side by a better young English player?





It makes you wonder why Leeds need any foreign players with such high standards of youth development really.



Mike Ratu Leeds Rhinos 2004-2009 (5 years) 6 SL games.

Mike Ratu Hull KR 2010 (1 year) 5 SL games. Injured for much of the season too, well done Hull KR for giving young English players a go!

God you are really desperate to try and dance around it arent you.


Im saying that if you are a young English player at Leeds you will get games and experience and the only reason you wont is if there is a better young English player in your position.
because the overseas players are of an even higher standard. You know like world cup winners, Dally M Winners, NSW Captains. Dally M 2nd Rowers of the year etc etc. There is no problem with a few players who really are top quality.

Its packing your team with a lot of overseas players, some of whom arent particularly good instead of giving a opportunity to young English players like Hull Kingston Australia have which is the problem.

why are you ignoring the other, better young british players who played ahead of Ratu in Watkins and Gibson?

Your comparison isnt with Ratu and Leeds and Ratu at Hull KR, its between Ratu at Hull KR(your best centre prospect) and Gibson and Watkins at Leeds (our best centre prospects).

as i say your justification for Hull KR having 10 overseas players and not giving young English players an opportunity is that Leeds gave more experience to two other young British players aswell as Ratu (and strangely that Ratu didnt get many 1st grade games as a 16 year old) which is idiotic even for you.

Funny how it's only Leeds that sign top quality overseas players. Shame they're already past their best when you get them.





Yeah, three in the dream team last season. Dobson in again this season. You're making loads of sense here Smokey.





You're using Ratu's SL games at Rovers as some kind of slur on Rovers, I'm pointing out the hypocricy of your argument. You don't like that do you Smokey?





Even Leeds fans disagree with you. Regardless, it's not Rovers' responsibility to give young English players an opportunity for the sake of it. It's Rovers job to field the strongest Rovers team,as an advocate of excellence I thought you would support this view Smokey.





It's the job of the RFL to devise rules that support the development of a strong national side, which they have.

You know, it's funny. Rovers have been in SL for 4 years now and they're to blame for a poor national side. What have all the other SL sides been doing to develop young English talent for the last 15 years?

Loads. Thanks for asking


And we've been doing it with young LOCAL English talent as well......not getting 3 blokes picked for England who started their careers nearer to say, the Leeds area.

As BB said on the other thread, why does it matter where they come from? If they slipped through the net at another club we would be stupid not to take advantage.



Hey so re your crowds next season, are you going to try letting everyone in free again to see if that brings them up?

So, all SL clubs have been doing loads to bring on English players for the last 15 years? Makes me wonder why we keep losing.



Harlequins have had loads of English players for 15 years

, I wonder why you needed so many Aussies then? And since you had all these English players but played many Aussie/Kiwis you wouldn't be churlish enough to complain about the number of Aussie/Kiwi players Rovers use would you?

Nope. But when London Broncos started off and the community programme which we've been paying for started, a certain Mr L. McCarthy-Scarsbrook was 9yrs old......15 years later and he's off to Saints.

128 years of history and instead of sticking to the plan and getting a decent crop of kids you could play for your club, HKA are trying too hard to catch their better run, more recently successful and better supported neighbours.

I wonder which club defines "progress"

Having gone from around 1,500 fans to around 7,500 fans in five years , not bad

How have Quins done on that front since 2005 ?

Terribly......in fact, even worse than that.......Very Very Terribly


No worries though....the RFL keep sending us parcels stuffed with cash so we'll be OK

How exactly are we trying to catch Hull FC??

We finished above them that obviously wasn't good enough, So this year we knocked them out of the play offs which obviously isn't good enough. Mind you at least they've had more players called into the England train on squad

" No worries "

, you're turning Kiwi , you'll be saying " she'll be right " next

Where were we in league standing 3, 5 or 10 years ago? Compare that to Fulcrubronquins, I'd say we've made more progress.



Face it GF, despite having a population of 8,000,000 to dip into, Quins or a minute club compared to Hull KR, despite 30 years of bias and preferential treatment.

You are a card Gutters, with your penchant for irrelevant statistics. I'd think a Quins supporter would appreciate the value of a club "trying too hard" to be better. Much more likely to progress than one which doesn't try at all.

I do.....I really do, given Quins tick various criteria boxes like they:
Play in a modern and well presented stadium,
have a pretty good youth set up at most age groups,
an award winning community team spreading the game throughout the South East,
no other SL club within 20 miles
no bank loans or debts
2 Current England internationals that have been developed by the club from age group to senior team
The lowest number of overseas players in their squad of any SL team, in line with the RFL requirements
Supporters (see below) that do not cause trouble or throw objects onto the pitch.
No breaches of RFL rules or financial irregularities over the last 5 years


...I think Quins are trying very hard, just not in the one area that WE ALL AGREE THEY NEED TO. Lack of fans is a MAJOR issue.....but as David Hughes is committed to propping us up (not the RFL note), we have time on our side.

Still, I'd rather Quins position than some other clubs in SL...

Get some work done ya lazy pom

Prisoner of Mother England


Tea Caddy I can live with, but don't call me English.....and I am just killing time before I am off to play Golf with clients in the glorious wellington sunshine....tough life

Sod off

is that just your acceptance


Like who? Ali Lauitiiti? Danny Buderus? Greg Eastwood? Brett Delany? which out of the 24 year old current Dally M player of the year NZ international, 30 year old SoO captain Current Aus International, 23 year old current NZ international world cup winner, or 23 year old NRL regular were you thinking that where past it?

and the rest?
no your not, you are drawing a ludicrous comparison between Hull Kingston Australias best centre prospect and Leeds 3rd best centre prospect. You are using the fact that Watkins and Gibson got game time ahead of Ratu as justification for Hull Kingston Australia not giving a shot to young English players. It is hilariously nonsensical
where is the excellence then? Where is the excellence in signing numerous players not good enough to play in the NRL regularly?

are you now trying to pretend i havent criticised other clubs for doing the same

you seem to be finding fewer and fewer straws to grasp at

have you learnt the word context yet?

keep on like that and you ill even turn me against you

AFAIK. ALL established Super League are entitled to EXACTLY the same quota figures. How the respective clubs use them are up to their coaches / board. This is probably harsh on newer promoted teams and those with only a few years tenure.......it takes more than 2/3 years seasons for clubs to ensure a flow of academy products, but they are the rules.

*Well done at getting Berrigan off the quota to enable you to sign a NRL half back

For some reason here I'm thinking of that Only Fools and Horses episode where no-one turns up for Del Boy's London Bus Tours because Grandad was put in charge of distributing leaflets but binned them all instead.





Rather been in our position personally.

- A city that is rugby league mad
- A ground that is always at least 60% full for SL games
- Average home crowd for league games has more then trebled in five years
- One of the top four travelling away support (okay we have the odd problem, as would any club taking the numbers we do, whereas if we only took 5 fans to every away game then there'd probably be no issue)
- 5000-6000 season passes sold every year
- 5000 + shirts sold every season
- Top 8 finish the last 3 seasons
- Three players in the England training squad
- We earned our place in SL through hard work and on merit, not been fast-tracked whilst s******g on other great clubs (Keighley)

Etc etc.

And I even forgot to mention the Hull Derby.