IIRC Vella has a Maltese passport and though that makes him non quota he is still classed as overseas/non fed trained.

www.hullkr.co.uk/article.php?id=1048 Is Justin telling fibs?

www.hullkr.co.uk/article.php?id=1048 Is Justin telling fibs?

Wouldn't he also get around that by being here for the 2007 season?

Edit - these are lifted from the Wire board.

=#800080***

RFL "RELAX" RESTRICTIONS ON EXISTING OVERSEAS PLAYERS:

The RFL has now announced that clubs will be able to renew or extend the contracts of non-federation players who were signed before the rule was changed in June 2007.

Those players can be retained on top of the non-federation players that clubs are allowed, though the new dispensation will expire if players switch clubs or at the end of any contract extension.

***

SUPER LEAGUE CLUBS AGREE EXTENSION:

Tuesday 21st October 08

After consultation with engage Super League clubs at this week’s end of season meeting, the RFL board has approved an extension to a recent exemption to the club trained rules.

At the meeting held in Harrogate, engage Super League clubs unanimously agreed that the club trained rules should remain and that a number of players registered in the competition prior to the adoption of the club trained rules should count as federation trained players.

Clubs also agreed that any legal case brought against the RFL for introducing such rules should be defended vigorously.

Rod Findlay, the RFL’s in-house lawyer said: “The club trained rules were introduced at the start of the year to increase the number of home produced players in the top flight. Clubs are fully behind these rules and reaffirmed their support this week.

“What this extension does is accommodate those players who have made a career in the game before they were aware of the possibility of club trained rules. Long term once the people qualify for the current exemption retire the club trained rules will do what they were designed to do and that is bring through more home grown talent.”

To take advantage of the extension of the exemption a player must apply to the RFL to be ‘federation trained’ at the end of their current contract. They also must have registered with the RFL prior to 1 February 2008, the date when the club trained rules were introduced.

Their status as a federation trained will then apply throughout their career, even if they move clubs in the future.

I'm not sure in all honesty.

But Vella's classification in 2007 was 'Quota' not 'Non-Federation trained' and the exemption clearly states it is for Non Federation trained players.

Hmm. Interesting. Dobson to Canberra? Galea qualifies as non-quota [iand[/i fed trained (don't you just love Malta)? Galea (or Webster

) is our new stand-off?

Gutted for Liam Colbon.

That is bad news, we have really missed him.

morgan on humberside,saying they are in deep negotiatons with webster and his agent regarding a new contract,and the same with galea,and said he expects webster to be at rovers next season.could it be dobson leaving.........

For someone who has legs like tree trunks he must have the hamstrings of a chicken.

You seem to becoming rather disillusioned with all things Rovers lately blakeysrobin (always wondered is your name something to do with "On The Buses?"icon_wink.gif are you turning into or are you actually Larry Billey? Cunningly or rather not, disguised as our ex chair person Barry Lilley?

dobson will go so we'll need 2 halfbacks

Should be interesting, there's a load of top half backs dying to come over to the uk.

Sorry if mentioned elsewhere but on humberside this morning morgan said they are interested in Finch and lima from melbourne.

I'm not even going to try to get them into the quota. I reckon he's just having a laugh.

I did wonder about the quota and he did seem to suggest that he wanted them both of them
We shall see

Dobson restated his commitment to seeing out his full contract at Rovers on Rovers official website less than a month ago, so surely it's only 1 halfback you're looking for?

Plenty of conflicting rumours/reports coming out of CP at the moment which is kind of indicative of the crazy up and down season they are having.

With Justin saying Rovers are interested in Lima and Finch as well as stating he wants to re-sign Webster and Galea, and assuming Vella is fed-trained (yet to be confirmed i think), which two of Clinton,Dobson and Newton would make way on the quota??

Its all very confusing.

If an NRL club comes sniffing you cannot blame him for leaving early, so long as it suits Rovers as well I don't have a problem with it, but we will need to replace him with someone of the same or better quality. I don't get too excited when players want to leave, they usually dip in form if they are kept where they don't want to be, teams change and if he goes, so be it.

I can't see newton or clinton going and i'd be very suprised if dobson left.
as you say it's very confusing.

=#FF0000So much better to act in knowledge than in ignorance.


=#FF0000MR

See that young off half at Wakey is looking good, just set up a cracking try with a smart cut out pass

maybe you should break the bank to sign him and hope he isnt a waste of space with loads of baggage

Obst and Cooke look like the makings of a decent partnership; a runner and a creator. I don't think Rovers even used Cooke to half his ability, but as I've said before he did the simple things right and we've missed that at 6 since he's gone.

Important we fill that role for next year, but even more important we get someone who will compliment Dobson.

yep, just before he kicked off on the full and had a dodgy 2nd half. Typical Cooke jeckyll and Hyde performance.

I'd be more than happy with a good British 6 coming in and keep the quota we have. Dobbo will see his contract out then wfhich would suit all parties.

Fed-trained solved - but that still leaves quota. I think fed-trained quota players count still count as overseas. So, they need an EU passport too. However, they [ucould[/u be phasing out the quota rule, as the fed-trained quota player shouldn't be an issue in the future, as they retire.
It isn't just a case of the overseas quota coming down - in a belt and braces approach, the club- and fed-trained minimums also increase. From next year on it is.
Top 25 earners:
Club-trained - minimum of 8. Fed-trained - minimum of 20-club trained number (most likely 20-8=12 for Rovers). Overseas - maximum of 5.
Possibly...
8 Club-trained - Lovegrove, Watts, Welham, Taylor, I'anson (?), Bell (?), 2 of Spaven, Mariano, Latus Bros and Beaumont.
12 Fed-trained - Hodgson (who'll be 21), Fisher, Vella, Briscoe, Cook, Fox, Colbon (fingers crossed), Cockayne, Ratu, Murrell, Galea (???), Netherton. Leaving no room for Walker or Wheeldon or a new stand-off (?!). When you think we've got Mills and had Cooke at the start of the year, I don't see how we meet the current quotas. There was the theory that one of Wheeldon or Murrell was given a club-trained dispensation. I wonder if the rule has been phased in more gently for us. To go from essentially zero club-trained in 2007 to almost a third of the squad by 2011 was always going to be tough.
5 Overseas - Newton, Clinton, Dobson, Webster, +1 ?

Tbh, sticking to the rules I think it is an insouble riddle. I think we must have a dispensation - not on overseas, but on fed-trained. Probably needed it, too.