Geez I wish we were as good as Quins at developing top quality English players, I really am green with envy at the amazing success of your club and the way that success has brought the masses flooding through the RU gates of Twickenham!



2008
7th Hull KR
9th Harlequins

2009
4th Hull KR
11th Harlequins

2010
7th Hull K R
13th Harlequins

Ouch.





I tell you what, if it was possible it would be very interesting to compare facts and figures of Hull KR in 2006 (in NL1) with Quins in SL over the last few years, i.e. I bet in 2006 as an NL1 club we have nearly as high an average home attendance as Quins last season in SL, + we probably sold more shirts & took more away on average.



Like you said though, great to see Quins thriving like they are.

WTF do league positions have to do with development of homegrown talent?

Best watch out nobody sets fire to that straw man you're building...

Well isn't league position often an indicator of strong youth development, e.g. Leeds Rhinos success over the last few years?

So you'd rather finish higher in the league than produce quality English players? No problem if you would (lots would) but I'm not sure it's an argument for saying KR offer more to RL than Quins

not when you dont really have any youth development products in the team.

Oh right, apologies, I always thought Leeds did, my mistake.

yep every season! Call me selfish if you like but if at the start of every season someone said to me:

your choice is
A) Have more English players in your squad this year but finish 13th and have diminishing crowds
or
B) Have more foreign players and finish in the play offs with increasing crowds

I know which one I'd be taking every time!

Agree 100% JB. What I also find very funny about all this 'HKA' crap is when you look at our starting 13 and 17 man squad, do we really field that many more non-English players then everyone else? (doubt it):

1. Briscoe (English)
2. Fox (English)
3. Welham (English)
4. Webster (non-English)
5. Colbon (English)
6. Green (non-English)
7. Dobson (non-English)
8. Mason (non-English)
9. Fisher (non-English)
10. Vella (non-English)
11. Newton (non-English)
12.Galea (non-English)
13. Murrell (English)

14. Cockayne (English)
15. Cook (English)
16. Netherton (English)
17. Watts (English)

That means nine of a typical Rovers squad is English (just over 50%). The only area I feel we can be slated for as a club is our pack, but hopefully if more lads like Watts develop through our academy this will be addressed gradually.

Another thing is that if you removed all the Australians from our squad tommorow, IMO we'd still have a stronger squad then Quins.

My arguement re Quins will always be that their youth development has (IMO) been forced by them not been able to generate revenue through traditional means (e.g. attendances) to add experienced overseas players to their squad. If they were actually drawing crowds now and selling plenty of merchandise, I'm sure they'd have nearly a full-17 of Australians like they did for most of the 90's.

What a load of Bo&$£cks

Are you off your rocker



Londons SL team started from scratch and had to rely on overseas players for 5 years.....since then, we have never had more foreigners than all the other SL teams......we started attracting northern talent down whilst developing our own youth. Since 2005 this has really taken off.
This financial hardship you talk about with regard to us is in direct contradiction of your assertion that we get bundles of cash weekly from the RFL. In fact, I berate the club regularly for spending too much on development and not enough on marketing...I would have binned the academy for an extra 2k on the average.......just like you have done.




The club you support on the other hand has had 125 years, is a founding member of the RFL, is based in a supposed RL heartland and yet you have no youth in any of the elite squads and are reliant on overseas talent. You will win the same as Quins in 2011 (unless we win the taps again) and will have achieved nothing other than "treading water" for another year when what you should do is bite the bullet, take a few hammerings and get your English players match hardened.
As I say.......there are loads of criteria we are all guessing about with regard to the next licence procedure......and Wakey and Castleford are better on the pitch than we are too.....your fans numbers are good, but their behavious isn't...your stadium is a wreck and you are reliant on overseas talent. I believe that you have more foreigners than Hudds and Quins combined.....outstanding effort

The RFL bailouts have continued to enable you to run as an experiment, didn't say to sign players.



Stadium a wreck? Oh $hit, this must have somehow gone unnoticed by those silly RFL blokes when they did their ground inspections for 2009-2011 franchises.



Nah, think we should continue taking a gradual approach, bringing through youth slowly, rather then all-out-youth-due-to-having-no revenue-due-to-no-fans tactic.

Re behaviour - what an appauling thing to say, the behaviour of all 8000+ home fans is bad isn't it?

In four years in SL, we've maybe had problems with 100 of our fans (2007 home derby, odd things thrown on pitch at DW in Sept, etc). 100 of 8000 means 1.25% of our fans behaviour in SL has been unacceptable. Considering we have nearly 3x as much home support as Fulcrubronquins then yes we will have more problems with fans, but our support is nonetheless praised by all involved with SL (and BBC with Cup games).

Have a go at our youth policy all you want, but after four seasons as a top flight club we are achieving more and have a brighter future IMO then Fulcrubronquins have after fifteen seasons (and your crowds will never increase no matter how much 'yoof' comes through, so you'll always be struggling for revenue, thus probably languishing near the bottom most the time). If so many young player are playing the game in London, why aren't those crowds rising anyway?

Experiments are usually the route to great discoveries...pencillin, DNA Profiling, Tony Clubb



...er, you were awarded your licence with a comment on the state of your stadium........

CHEATING
NOT CHEATING



did I dream the pitch fracas.....when the better club from Hull were playing you?




ZERO TOLERANCE....it's the only way



....you think




Really.....we finished 2nd in year 2......have you won more TOP GRADE trophies in this 15 year period?


Only time will tell roofs...and we have loads of that thanks to Uncle Rupert





Because the people playing in London are scattered over an area bigger than you can comprehend.....we have fans who travel for over 3 hrs each way for HOME games.....you on the other hand have trouble getting to the end of your road.....on principle



Roofs...the fact reamains that regardless of how many fans we have or in fact, don't have....the fact also remains that Hull Kingston Australians are blatantly flaunting the regulation breaches regarding overseas players in the pursuit of a trophy......and you are still 15 points off the mark.

You will win the same as Quins RL in 2011......just more fans will watch you fail than us

So none of your fans in the history of Fulcrubronquins RLFC (30 years now) have ever acted in a negative way at a game?!





Bit of a negative attitude then haven't you - if you don't win a trophy then it doesn't matter where you finish in the table? You keep thinking that way whilst we keep progressing and enjoying the experience of play-off games, cup runs longer then Fulcrubronquins etc.



As Eddie Hemmings said at the end of the play-off game against Hull, "Since Justin Morgan took over 5 years ago, things have got better, and better, and better".













Oh, and IMO Widnes should take Fulcrubronquins' franchise on principle.

Please expand on this.....have we had pitch invasions (other than the very funny Wakefield Ostritch event at Griffin Park)? Thrown things at the opposition players?....please, I would love to hear when our (few) fans have behaved in such a way?

...so the answer to my question would be none then!




You're a closet wiggy fan

It's worse than I thought





If it were to happen, I would have no argument with the decision. We have terrible crowds...and that really does need addressing as the RFL have said. Difference is, if HKA were to be removed at least the stadium cleaners at the other clubs wouldn't have so much puke and urine to clean up and their police bill would be less.

Let me explain it for you.
Stadium. Quins YES......HKA NO
Finance. Quins YES.......HKA NO
Development. Quins YES......HKA NO
Fans. Quins NO.......HKA YES
Overseas Quota. Quins YES.....HKA NO
Contribution to Competition. Quins NO...HKA YES

...as you will see, both clubs have "issues"...but as this thread was originally about overseas players, you will never win this debate...but do carry on trying...it's fun

Point was that if (as you seem to be saying) there has never been a single negative incident with a Fulcrubronquins Experiment in the 30 years of the club, then it must be the only professional RL club in the country that has never had anything of a negative nature happen with a single fan (e.g. no crowd trouble, nothing thrown, etc). All big clubs have had problems at some point (inc us).

So you're saying you're quite happy for Fulcrubronquins Experiment to be near the bottom of SL forever unless they win a trophy?

Actually fans of other clubs appear to be generally very happy for the travelling support (and vital revenue) that we take on average. But if you feel that you contribute the same taking 5 fans as our 500 (or more) do then fair enough.





1. How is it a No for our stadium? Surely it must be SL-standard for us to have got a franchise last time? If so, then it must be a Yes surely?





2. A Yes for your finances? Why are you constantly near the bottom of SL then? And how can you have good finances with such poor support and revenue?

3. Overseas quota? Have we ever been penalised for breaking RFL rules at all? Thought not.



You were right, it is fun!

You implied our fans had caused trouble in the past.....I just asked for proof and as usual, you haven't got any. Hull KA fans DID throw objects at Wigan players and DID get involved in an on-field fracas with FC fans......see, there's factual accounts,,,,,not straw grasping acqusations




No...but I would rather do it inside the rules and in the spirit they were written.



I have no doubt you bring millions to away games.....shame the RFL didn't state that wa a licencing criteria.



...er, a number of clubs were awarded a licence with warnings about stadiums, including you and St Helens. Caravan Park needs knocking down an rebuilding, not a lick of paint.

...we have no overdraft, no loans that will ever need to repaid and owe no money at all. We have DH which I have said is a recipie for disaster, but as it stands, we are debt free.....not many other SL clubs can say this.


Let's see what the RFL say next year when they are handing out licences shall we....I suspect that you will get a mention in dispatches regarding your overseas quota. You have asked for and got dispensation regarding quota though....are you London Broncos circa 1996-200 in disguise....



...you have no idea....
I love the way that it always comes down to fans with HKA.......when the topic is about overseas players. I believe that 5 is supposed to be the limit.......how many have you got again

the day Quins get passionate enough to actually sum up the energy to care so much that your team has lost will be a joyous one. For now enjoy rattling around in your RU stadium, in your RU shirt, with your RU name finishing near bottom year after year after year and wondering where the next xheque will be paid from. Us? we'll enjoy our continued progression as a SL club, and just have to find a way of living with the colour of our first teams passports and funny accents!

So Cook/Netherton are getting in the squad in place of Lovegrove and Clinton???

You're hardly in the healthiest of positions though, at least Quins (rightly or wrongly) know that their SL place is secured for the forseeable future.. Can Hull KR say the same? Harlequins despite all their short falls are a much more valuable asset to the league than Hull KR.

Spoken like a true biased Gateshuller

Mason Delay could be due to him being asked to come on a Tongan passport to allow for a quota space to be available for another import (according to the article) www.thisishullandeastriding.co.u ... ticle.html Disclaimer: Do not shoot the messenger. K Thanks.

Mason Delay could be due to him being asked to come on a Tongan passport to allow for a quota space to be available for another import (according to the article) www.thisishullandeastriding.co.u ... ticle.html Disclaimer: Do not shoot the messenger. K Thanks.

Yes

HTH

AFAIK, the quota rules are exactly the same for every super league and whilst the bigger clubs have the ability to attract the better players whether from the UK or further afield and the less attractive clubs will have irate and envious fans who take every opportunity to have a dig and a moan.

The fact that overseas players are being signed should be a cause for concern, but myopia is alive and well in RL as a lot of posts show.

Slowly, slowly................