'Rip it up' might be pushing it, I agree. Aussies use generous euphemisms though. 'Average' actually means 'cack' there. Maybe 'rip it up', would be 'does awright fer a fat lad' in Hull.



edit - mind you, what does 'poop' mean then?



2nd edit - is it time to admit it...

[urlhttp://www.cfl.ca/[/url

'This is our league' is the CFL motto. Like it's rubbish, but it's [iour [/irubbish.

Here's a tip - if a guy has played 100 NRL games and can't get another NRL contract, it's because he is finished.

Watching ESL games, you constantly see players you thought were finished 3, 4 or even 5 years ago running around still.

That's what's wrong with the ESL - it's full of old has beens who drag down the standard of the comp.

The under 20s comp in Australia has been going for four years, and each year it turns out more and more players who have trained as near fulltime pros for a few years, and only about 50 of around 200 players who turn 20 each year get a senior contract.

I reckon that leaves up to another 50 who could slip right into an ESL side, and a good percentage of them could improve to be stars of the game.

The system you use of signing guys who are finished as players of NRL standard is what is dragging your comp down. If you wanted to change the system, you could find any number of young and talented players in Australia who are the equal of guys like Dobson and Dureau, but you could just train up your own guys. Over-the-hill players is the problem.

Or we could use players from our own U20's comp?

We have had some real success with these so called 'over the hill' players e.g. Galea, turned out to be one hell of an all round player. TBF we dont really know what we are going to get when we bring players over if thats young, experienced or palyers with a massive amount of honours. Just compare players like Berrigan and Vowles!

To a lessor degree, it's the same in the NRL. You never know if a 'mercenary' will be any good.
One rule is never buy a player from Melbourne - they will always go backwards rapidly.
Up till now you can always buy players from Newcastle because they just about always kick on to be better players after leaving us (Kade Snowden, George Carmont, Scott Dureau, Luke Walsh, Greg Bird, Clint Newton - nearly everyone we release gets better), but i'm thinking that will change now that we will be the best trained and resourced team.

Other good teams to buy players from are Saints, Penrith, Warriors and Brisbane - all the sides that produce far more juniors than they can use. The worst to buy players from are Melbourne, Roosters, Manly etc - the mercenary clubs - they only release crap.

There are also a few old average NRL palyers who are poor in SL and then go back and get a game in first grade.

Again you don't know enough about SL to coment about it's standard, there are a few Sl teams that would beat Newcastle IMO, but your saying players that can't get into the Newcastle team will "rip it up" it SL.

I'm glad your not in charge of recruitmrnt for my team as you you would have us signing players of the calibre of Ah Van and Herbert.

I'm sure roopy that we signed Clinton from storm I'm probably wrong I normally am, so if we can get these two players on board for next season u reckon
They can rip up super league for us, I really like sandercock to seems to have his head screwed on and knows what he's on about hopefully exciting times ahead for us.

You mean like Clint Newton?

No like Garrett Crossman

So you siged 2 players from Storm, one good and one bad, so Roopy was taling rubbish then?

You two from The Wrong Side Of The Chocolate River's Tributary that don't even live on the same continent any more; Stop being nasty to our new pet Australian, you're only jealous because you haven't got one.

I thought Sheldon was their pet Australian..

Nah, he's just over there blocking the progress of promising young Australians in whatever line of work it is that he does.

Clint Newton spent about 6 years at Knights junior elite club Valentine/Eleebana and about another 10 years at the Knights from age 14 or 15 till his mid twenties - then he spent a year at Melbourne.
He was never more than a fringe player at the Knights except for maybe 2 seasons including the one where we won the wooden spoon. He was on far more than he was worth, and wouldn't take a paycut, so he walked out.

In short - he improved heaps when he left the Knights, and Melbourne didn't have time to get the best out of him.

Chortle! There should be a cap on well informed foreigners on rugby league.

roopy would have had a much better and more informed opinion of ESL if Sheldon hadn't held back his progress.

Just looked up Newton's wiki page, and he played 15 games for Melbourne in 2007.
He did his pre season with Newcastle but walked out without playing a game. He didn't debut for Melbourne till round 13 after he sorted out his legal issues - so basically his time at Melbourne was half a season and didn't include a pre season.

didnt newton play in the grand final for melbourne

and dragging in a high paid player mid season wasn't a salary cap rort at all.

ah that was clearly a communication issue, melbourne thought they had the same sort of salary cap exemption that warrington appear to enjoy over here

East Hull lad.

I don't tend bar!

He played a few games for Newcastle in 2007.

I think I remember he quit because Newcastle told him he wouldn't get another deal after 2007, nothing to do with a pay cut.

You remember wrong.
He was offered a reduced contract and chucked a hissy fit and walked out.
He got away with it because of his old man's influence.
Brian Smith thought most of the team were on more than they were worth, and he was pretty right.

Why would Smith ask him to take a pay cut half way through the season when he was ooc at the end of it?

Can we get back to Constantine Mika perhaps?