Same here, but then again i'll reserve my judgement on dobson until the end of the season. Looked good in 2 poor teams (catalan and wigan) couldn't make it in the NRL and has gone missing in some of rovers bigger games.

Neither Gleeson nor Fielden were the most [iimportant[/i players at their respective clubs IMO.

I never mentioned [ibest[/i player.

Who,s that Sir Les Patterson

Click your heels 3 times Dorathy, it may be true.

He was, at best, their third best prop in his last season there. After the WCC against Wests he didn't have another genuinely good game (and hasn't since).

Well I am truly gutted that we won't get the chance to see Crocker play for us. I honestly believe he would have had an amazing impact on the club and squad much like Kearney did and I also think he would have added hugely to the quality of SL.

However after being rejected for a second time I think Hull are right not to pursue it any longer and need to identify other targets.

We all know we need a SH but we won't get one this season as their is no one free, however we need to make sure we sign a top SH for 2010 its an absolute must!!

Best of luck Mick!

do a deal with south sydney rabbits. get craig wing from them

Not the type of player we need.

Obviously I'm not happy Mr Crocker will not be with us but I wish him the best to do what is best for him in the future. If we can get him next year great. If he choses a deal to be in Aus for the next few years then that is all well and good.
I'm a big believer that as one door closes another opens so let's see who we can get in the future for our team. Even the board bashers here will believe that they will be keeping their eyes open for available talent.

FWIW I think the immigration authorities have it all wrong, why the hell are they rejecting someone who has a job to come to (and a very well paid one), who is going to pay tax and NI into the system, who is now a family man with responsibilities and all because he made a small mistake a few years ago while allowing all and sundry from god knows where who cannot prove who they are (and in some cases where they are really from) and have pasts we know nothing about enter the country.

Bloody crazy.

Just read back through the letters pages in [url=http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/letters/The Independent[/url for some even crazier examples

What a shame that we and SL will miss out on his talent. What a shame that our youngsters will not have his RL skills to learn from. What a shame that the country will miss his contribution to the higher tax limit. What a shame that our country allows serious offenders into our country and those people looking for state handouts and yet keeps out people who have speeding fines and minor affrays to sully their good name. What a shame that we cannot forgive someone who has paid his dues for a crime committed years in the past. The only good thing is that the High Commission are on the other side of the planet and can't directly affect our lives with their tortoise-paced beaurocracy.

Fundamentally, I think the decision not to let someone enter the country due to a criminal record is the right one, however we all know that this isn't being applied consistently across the board which is the disappointing thing for me

Expect his signing in due turn...

Sad not to see him in the black and white but guess thats life move on!!!

On another issue didn't luaki apply about the same time crocker re-applied?? In which case surely we should have some better news soon

It was about a fortnight later when we signed Lauaki so iwould expect it to be a couple of weeks before we hear anything

It does? It is enshrined in law that people who have been convicted of serious offences are allowed to come into the country? I haven't seen that one.

It is ridiculous that he's not allowed over, but to suggest that we operate an open door policy for murderers, rapists and terrorists is boIIocks.

We've now signed a youth development agreement with an Aussie club, to ensure we have no such visa problems in the future.

These are the potential recruits:

We all know that if Mick Crocker had been a soccer or union player, then he would've been fast-tracked into the system. Because Rugby League is still seen as a 'small' sport to the 'powers that be' then we are gonna see a lot more of these situations......afterall, the authorities have got to show that they are stemming the flow of 'undesirables' into our green and pleasent land.(

)
HYPOCRITES THE BLOODY LOT OF 'EM

After the dust has settled on this, I just feel very disappointed that the decision is negative, after all the effort the club and Crocker have apparently gone to to show that although there is a conviction there, he is a reformed character, the offence was (relatively) minor and as part of the deal he would do community work etc etc.

I just wonder if the club have missed a trick and not focussed effectively enough on this angle, leaving the application open to the interpretation that has resulted (and the club do have a major input into the visa application even though Crocker would have actually submitted it himself).

On the basis of the huge precedent that this case sets I fully expect to see other sports being affected (and I hope the RFL are writing to Jacqui Smith to point that out), and visa officers the world over will now be trawling the internet for information on applicants just in case they've forgotten to declare a conviction for a driving offence. If the conviction is declared of course, this should outweigh everything else in the application and a refusal should now follow almost automatically.

As I've said in the past, having a conviction is NOT an automatic visa refusal (despite what people seem to be saying) but it appears that either the BHC in Oz are operating their own set of rules, or the policy has changed to mean that minor convictions are now seen as major issues that allow visa officers to override the immigration rules. (On this basis, Greg Bird should be refused entry from now on as a convicted criminal)

Either way, very disappointed and, depending on the actual circumstances, something that I feel should be challenged (and certainly a FoI request should go in for the background to the decision). I doubt that it will be, and perhaps the time is right to move on. Or RL teams just look to sign choirboys as coddy points out

It's an odd one really. I'm glad the UK immigration is taking measures to keep certain people from our shores and if it's to be as strict as to not let someone in who had one brawl and paid the price then so be it as long as it applies to everyone trying to come in to the country.

This of course all falls apart when we allow the channel tunnel to be used as a flood gate that allows anyone in via any illegal means possible, and amongst these people are a few who come here with a motive to cause harm to the nation and its population.

For me the super league as a whole has been robbed of one of the best players in the world performing in our country on a regular basis.

Those few that do come in, tend not to draw attention to themselves by appearing on Sky Sports programmes though

[url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/eno-directors-boycott-shines-light-on-british-visa-scandal-1680403.htmlThis story[/url kinda blows your argument. Unless the English National Opera is seen as a minority sport and not part of 'The Establishment'.

The fact is that most visa applications are now processed by outsourced private companies and they patently are not up to the task.

Not strictly true, as the consideration and decision making is done by civil servants, but the majority of the application receipt, file preparation etc is outsourced.