no, they said it MAY have helped his case which is a cop out. no one has been given exemption because they played for an international team without having a passport as well, you can play international through your grand parents but you cant always claim citizenship through your grand parents. if the rfl gave him exemption because he played for serbia it would have opened the door for alot of aussie players who play international rugby but are not entitled to citizenship. they ere never gonna let stosic off without citizenship because every man and his dog would have been asking for the same tratment.

James explained all that on sunday and another player backed up those views so i'll take it on face value has opposed to forum titlle tattle.


Unless anyone can tell me different of course

is it me or have the rest of you thought why someone from a Macedonian background would want to play for Serbia, thats like asking Jamie Peacock to go and play for France if he wants to stay with his club

Not quite. There are pretty fuzzy distinctions between them, both being Southern Slavs who at various times have been lumped together at various times, under Ottoman rule, as Yugoslavia and as Southern Serbia. They share similar languages, religion and culture, although they have tended to make an effort to emphasise the differences in order to assert national identity.

There isn't quite the same mistaking us and France. We share a common past of our beating them when they get uppity, bailing them out when they're getting knacked and in return they dick us over behind our backs given a sniff of a chance.

The guy from the Simpsons?

"My name is Otto, I love to get blotto"

does it really matter whether macedonian or serbian..he is an aussie using a loophole to play for us..does anybody really think he will use single nationality macedonian or seribian passport? think the aussie one will be the only one ever used !
or i may be wrong!

I think he's from New Zealand actualy but you are right he/we are exploiting a loophole and quite frankly i don't care. I've said it before I care about Wakefield Trinity first not England/GB and if loopholes allow us to be a better side and compete with the big spenders I don't care if we have green men from Mars playing for us but that would be hell of a loophole.

this just shows how much the fans really care to know about the players...


James is was and always will be a New Zealander... a new zealander born of yugoslav (as was) heritage!

when I look at my map of the world here in Sydney I can see a pair of islands a few hundred miles off the south east coast of Australia, a pair of islands about the size of the UK... that is New Zealand!

My brother-in-law (born in Barnsley and still a UK citizen) has two children born in Sydney (both have Australian Passports) and they are entiled (by right) to obtain UK passports... but is unlikely that they would do so until it suited them.

The same applies to James, unfortunately his heritage is a war torn group of states who all claim soverignty.. and makes the process of obtaining a passport dificult...


this is not a loophole it is one of his constitutional rights, it is written into and catered for in the rules!!!... and in his position I would have attempted the same route for the benefit and betterment of myself and my family.

oh and one more thing... he is a freakin KIWI! not an Aussie!

Well you will have to BE surprised then, coz at the mo he has no job.
And I totally agree with underground, but only because it is actual fact.

Well said

remember that in another 40 years (if were no all dead!!!) when we still haven't beaten the Aussies.
And also all these loophole players are keeping Wakefield/English/British kids out of the first team.
Said it before, say it again, 2 overseas players per club, only the very best. Not only are killing our own development were promoting there own by clearing the nrl of it's deadwood.
Ironically not in the case of James, but largely!!!!!!

I'll more than likely be dead in 40 years. Don't disagree with you but the problem we have is that we don't have enough quality English players to fill 14 SL teams. If you ridgedly only allow 2 overseas players per club all the quality English players will end up with the richer/bigger clubs and we will have little competition unless you lower the salary cap further to ensure that the talent is spread evenly around the competition - but of course the bigger/richer clubs are not going to allow this are they.

Loophole players or whatever you wish to call them have resulted in a more even competition, certainly from our point of view and enabled us, with some good coacking also to finish 5th.

As I have said beating the Aussies in not and never will be on my radar, a successful Wakefield Trinity is.

then the mandate of the rfl to have 14 unsustainable clubs goes against there drive for a) reducing overseas players or b) improving development, you can't have it both ways!!!

sorry new zealander

Exactly, you have to decide if you want development by restricting or even stopping overseas players leading to a few teams dominating the competition. If you accept that no problem.

I don't think that it's a given that any domination will happen.

Not a given, its an opinion.

I just think that the only way you will get development is to restrict or stop overseas players and have a salary cap like they do in Australian that ensures that the talent/better players are distributed evenly throughout the competition. You will then get an even competition.

In Australia ther arn't a few dominant clubs, the competion is relatively even due to how they operate the Salary Cap. Here we have a few richer/dominant clubs and its not in their interest to have an even competion so they are unlikey to let it happen.

Of course there is EU Law that will allow overseas players with EU Passports to play in Europe - legally I don't believe you can stop that happening whatever you do - it would be restraint of trade.

So in my opinion there will always be "loopholes" and unfortunately to compete with the big boys a club like ours will have to exploit those loopholes - unless I can win the Eoro Millions on a Mega Rollover.

Agree! There would need to be agreement from all/most clubs. Short term the clubs would save money, so that's a carrot to the smaller clubs with "operational" issues presently. A cap on playing squads and a reduction in the salary cap would also be helpful, but as you say the bigger teams would be reluctant at best, but a word of caution to these clubs, the bulls would not have voted for such a change five years ago, but I bet they'd bite your hand off now!! Not all bog clubs bow will be big clubs in five or ten years time, sustainability through development is the success that benefits all.

I dont believe thats true... it is due to the junior ? amateur game being aligned in leagues under an elite professional club...

the Sutherland league covering an area about the smae size and population as wakefield has over 100 structured teams operating and feeding under the sharks... its a constructed production line!

but you don't have the competition of football like we do..there must be 20 teams in a 5 mile area around me who play football and 2 rugby league teams..ruby league and football until under 10 both play on sundays so where do most kids go ? my little un still plays a year out of his age because of this at rl but at under 14 will have to choose rugby or football because again it goes to the same day..

wrong mate

there is massive competition from Soccer... seems to be the most popular sport amongst kids (boys and girls) here... what does happen however is that the sporting season is split into two 6 month periods.. kids and adults play one sport during the summer... (cricket/ basketball/ touch football/ indoor soccer/ baseball/ tennis/ surfing - iron man) and during the winter they play League/ Rugby/ Soccer/ Netball it gives everybody the opportunity top play more than one sport and really raises the appetite for the season coming.

and take it from someone who has seen player bans... international sanctions... positive discrimination... open invitation to have a team full of overseas players... none of them have worked... and never will! until the grass root structure of the sport is managed professionally, and local RL is seen as a sexy thing to do for young people... we will never beat the Aussies... oh and getting our best players playing in the intensity of the best league competition in the world...

Released.. www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... field.html

Released.. www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... field.html

Quote ="Frosties."Released.. www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... field.html'" From what i have heard regarding his salary not the worst move in the world, good solid Prop but was a big earner at the club.

Quote ="Frosties."Released.. www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... field.html'" From what i have heard regarding his salary not the worst move in the world, good solid Prop but was a big earner at the club.

Good luck to the lad, but it's time to move on....

I really think the club are sticthing Stosic up plain and simple and using the macedonian pasport as ane excuse, they were doing this type of thing back when i was playing there.