Will be the first to regularly put out a team of home trained players?

There are a few teams getting very close but which one of them will put out a 17 of home Federation trained players for say 5 consecutive matches?

My guess is Huddersfield but Wigan, Warrington, Harlequins and Wakefield are also possibilities. Leeds could probably do it while HKR could go the other way.

I would venture that Saints have less overseas players than a few of those listed above.

Leigh played 17 Englishmen at the weekend, the vast majority of them coming from the area.

And have done for the last 4 matches (since Robbie Paul got injured against Sheffield).

I think we are really only interested in PROPER sides jonny, ones that play in the superleague






Sides like Leigh don't matter.



Huddersfield for me please.

Many a true word said in ' jest '

S Tomkins
Goulding
J Tomkins
Marsh
Charnley
Lockers
Mellor
Prescott
McIlorum
Mossop
Hansen
Tuson
Farrell

Davies
O'Carroll
Walker
L Tomkins

Looks like a very strong line up. I'm sure other clubs could put out some similar teams.

That team would look even stronger if we were talking all English players. Fielden, Gleeson, Coley and Deacon could all be included.

I wasn't joking

At one stage I thought Leeds would be the first, I do think Saints have a very good shout at doing it but I wouldn't expect any coach to do such a thing just to be the first.

Although an exageration about HKR, it is true we are going the wrong way but in a results based industry our head coach feels this is the way we should go. Obviously the game isn't played on paper and some might call our overseas contingent average at best but I do not see who else we are to put in those positions right now? I'Anson was nowhere near what HKR needed at half back, Liam Welham isn't SL standard like his brother. On the other hand Frankie Mariano and Andy Ellis are currently playing some very good rugby although their styles do not suit the Morgan game plans so maybe wouldn't look so great at HKR.

I know it is never going to happen but wouldn't the CC be interesting if the SL clubs had to play the first round with an all European born 17?! I bet there would be a couple of shocks and as it is one of only two pieces of silverwear we can win it might encourage teams like HKR to invest more in their home grown youth.

M Blaymire
G Johnson
A Murphy
J Griffin
L George
K Hyde
M Wildie
P King
J Davey
P Johnson
F Mariano
C Dean
S Howarth

T Lee
B Gledhill
K Trout
L Higgins


J Vievers
D Morton
K Penny
C Anakin

so is this basically where fans are supposed to post a team that their team 'could' put out ?

Not exactly, I think the point is the strength of the teams own home grown players. That team I put for Wigan will probably never play but does it not show how strong the talent coming through wigans system is? It shows that super league has a bright future even when the Salary Cap starts to fly up down under.

thats what i'm saying - we can all put a list of potential teams we could put out, doesn't mean those players are ever going to be good enough though.
i cant wait till most of SL puts out all homegrown players but till then all clubs need to work hard to achieve this.

Are Cas not close??

Apparently not.


I could put out a list of 17 to look good like "the clan" has. But I won't.

thats the point i made...yes Wakefield might be able to list 17 homegrown players but realistically how many of those listed are going to make and impact in SL in the future ?

I can see something like that happening; one of the big clubs resting their big international names, but, rather than saying that, making a point of selling it as "rotating the squad to give the youngsters a chance" and display the wealth of young English talent at the club. They'd get a nice bit of PR out of deliberately fielding a weakened team.

It wasn't a d!€{ measuring contest or meant as a slight against any club, the point being made is that a number of clubs ARE playing a 17 that only has 3 or 4 non Fed players. That's a he'll of an improvement and maybe a sign that one or two clubs are close to regularly fielding a 1st choice and strong home grown team.

Why does every thread have to degenerate in this way!

Yeah and more often then not, we're one of them clubs that out of 17 have only played 3/4 non fed players. Not sure why you failed to recognise that because it's been fairly common knowledge this season.

Its a difficult question to answer though. I don't think you can definitively say one club will get their first. All clubs have strong home-grown policies now, thanks the licensing system. For all that folk get hysterical about the amount of Aussies in the league we're in a better situation now than ten years ago. Clubs are gradually moving away from the reliance on foreign players, but its going to be a while off yet before we get to a situation where there isn't a non-Fed in the starting 17.

If I were a hazard a guess I would say though Wigan, Leeds, Saints and Hudds all have great home-grown policies, which they successfully put in to practice and are reaping the rewards they won't be the first to achieve it. Teams like these sign quality non-Fed players. On the one hand its to strengthen the squad and on the other it brings the star-quality to the club, which gets bums on seats. These clubs invest far too much time and money into these players and they're not going to stop anytime soon.

Its most likely going to be the clubs lower down the rungs. They don't have the money for the stars and are discovering that you can get a better squad together with local youngsters. As Jonny said Leigh have already done it and I would imagine its for this reason; its cheaper. It won't be long before Cas, Wakey, Quins, whoever, do it, but we're still a few seasons off, unless a big club rests their big players for the first round of the CC as I said above.

the point i was making is its all well and good teams putting out 17 'token' english players to look good on paper but they have to be competitive and upto standard.

pointless saying 'my club can put out 17 english players ' and then listing 16 / 17 year old kids who, chances are, wont get anywhere near Super standard in their careers

Wellens, Gardner, Shenton,Wheeler,Foster, Lomax, Gaskell, James, Roby, Clough,LMS, Wilkin, Dixon, Pyrce, Moore, Magennis, Eastmond would make a very good 17 from Saints ............12 of those already been in the England training squad.

Workington Town put out 17 Cumbrians at the weekend and usually have 16 Cumbrians and our 1 Australian any other week.

Who be that?

Our were all from this side of the hill as well