From the GF winning team in 04 to 07 Smith rebuilt half the side - McKenna, Furner, Poching, Calderwood, Mathers, Walker, Bai, Ward and McDermott had all gone. Of the starting 1-5 in 04 only Senior remained. The 2007 side that Smith built then went on to win two more GFs under Bluey with only a couple of changes.

Absolute cr*p - yet again - that Leeds would have won the GF in 2004 under Daryl Powell. There was and still is absolutely no evidence to back that up apart from some bizarre desire to big up DP's achievements as coach.

Aye. He had his opportunity and didn't nail it. Those fools who suggest otherwise can't see that Tony Smith got that bloody monkey off our back.

Thanks for the compliments pal!

I can’t really make points that everyone agrees to anyhow. But the least I can do is offer an interesting read. Again I just want to say a big thanks to Southstander.com (aka Paul) for having faith in me and hopefully that faith has worked out like he hoped it would.

I think this is the first time I’ve managed to string together two Damo Bits that people have openly admitted is a good article. So I really appreciate it

Edit: Just remembered that the Christmas specials where well received. I've got such a bad memory

My main gripe with average australians coming over here is that i would imagine that most will be on inflated wages to get them here. and probably costs the club more.

Good article by the way

This "Aussie" thing doesn't stack up.

People always seem to quote Donald, Cross, Delaney (in recent times) and say [iJoe Bloggs[/i could do as good a job, so why sign an Aussie?!

Funny though that you rarely here people throwing Webb, Leuluai or Lauitiiti's names into the mix?

I employ over 100 people. Sometimes when you interview someone, you think they'd fit right into your organisation. You think they're exactly what you're looking for, sometimes you're right, sometimes they turn up for work and they're not what you thought.

Or sometimes you just see potential in their attitude, demeanour, and work ethic, and think even if they lack some of the skills, given time under your regime and your working environment, you can develop the talent side. And sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.

Or sometimes you're just short staffed, think "they'll do" and they turn out to be the best employee you've had in years.

Sometime your recruiting decisions work out, and sometimes they don't.

Have any of us ever had a relationship with Brett Delaney (example) that isn't as player/fan? Perhaps when GH spoke to him, he was professional, dedicated, hard working, honest, punctual, committed & driven. Perhaps GH knew he was an "average" centre, but thinks that Brett Delaney, the person, is the sort of person he needed in his organisation, and that he would put his faith in his coaching staff to make Brett Delaney, the player, work for what his organisation needs him for.

Maybe that will work out and he'll become a stand out second rower, maybe it won't and he'll go home as 'average' and a poor choice at the end of his contract.

Either way, I would suggest that the fact he's Australian has little, or nothing, to do with either outcome.

As Bloodbath would say... Closet Racism.

I personally think that professional rugby players deserve as much of a good wage as possible. However with the salary cap in place, this isn’t realistic thinking from me. Then again you’re also only assuming that average Australians are getting inflated wages – where’s the evidence to back this?

Now let’s just assume that Australians are coming here and get inflated wages. Lets assume that it’s happening right now. Who are this lot really stopping?

Most people say Young British talent. My idea of young British talent isn’t someone who gets put in the squad ahead of an average Australian merely because the British player has potential and is British. My idea of a British talent emerging is Richie Mather’s when he outplaced Gary Connolly at fullback in 2004. Gary may have not been Australian – but he was at the end of his career and putting in average performances bar that 2003 challenge cup defeat where he won man of the match. We have a few players at Leeds that are reaching the end of their careers and no young emerging talent plans to take their place anytime soon.

My conclusion is that the Sky Sports team have done their very best to make up a new definition for emerging young talent. Although I didn’t like the League freak on here (or any of his alias including his current one PHIPS), this is what he had to say about Young British talent –



It’s not that Young British Talent is been suppressed. It just that they isn’t any or it isn’t been properly developed in the junior grades.

Thanks for the compliments once again and I must go now!

Cheers RR for calling me racist! Well earned for Daring to say that I think that we pay over the odds for Aussie players. I did not mention any players as holding back British youngsters all I said was I think we probably pay over the odds for them!

I didn't call you a racist Ferdy! Sorry for the offence if you felt I did.

Was just saying, people in general seem to keep throwing this term "Average Aussie" around, when really, the fact they're Aussie has nothing (or should have nothing!) to do with it. Nobody calls Kirke "Average Pome".

Perhaps it's because it's alliterative.

AS regards to Donald I dont think it can be denied that the club got value for money from him in every way.He never had much time on the injury list 145 apps,and if he had played in the last wcc,I think he would have scored two tries in the corner and we would have won a trophy last year.
Lets face it after a wonderful period of "glorious success"we now face a period of rebuilding.I have seen two great periods this one and the 60s-70s,I am a happy lifelong supporter since 1955

There is no quota on UK trained players and they should be the first port of call and provide the bulk of any squad. Where gaps arise then most clubs tend to look overseas to fill them and without doubt it's great to see some of the finest players in the world over in our little old competition.

You need to get quality and value for money when you recruit overseas though. There appears (rightly or wrongly) a perception that a player prepared to travel from the other side of the world, (often transplanting their immediate family), needing accomodation and assistance to integrate into a new community, would not do so without an attractive package (including remuneration) being placed before them.

It's a salary capped sport, so having made the commitment (and highly probable additional investment) they really need to offer something more than average performance on the field. They have to be better than the alternative locally produced kid sat waiting for an opportunity. From a SL perspective if they aren't then why are they here?

There are lots of promising young players in SL and lots more waiting for a crack at the big-time. Getting the balance right isn't easy and fans have to accept they'll be transitional years from time to time but who now worries about Daryl Powell's puppet tenure laying the foundation for future sucess.

Clubs will recruit the best 25 players they possibly can, within the salary cap, club/fed trained and overseas player rules at that time.

Where those players were born will play absolutely no part in the consideration, aside from fulfilling the requirements above.

At the risk of getting dragged into an argument I have neither the time nor inclination for, I would suggest the reason clubs take up their full quota of non-fed trained and overseas players is simply because they offer better value for money than their UK counterparts. If you want another example, look at the sort of transfer fees being asked for promising young British footballers and compare that to the value that can be obtained overseas for the same money.

No club is going to be dumb enough to sign an antipodean player simply because he's not British.

Why didn't Leeds go with Ambler/Amor/Singleton instead of signing Cross? Why did they choose to retain Donald and not Broughton? Simply because they believe the antipodean alternative in these instances offers more to the team than the UK one. That's the decision coaches and chief executives are paid to make.

We need Smith back, Warrington look very good this year, even with injuries.

That's what consistent investment in the squad will bring you

So you take Powell's 2003 side, add Marcus Bai and Ali Lauitiiti and then allow Sinfield, McGuire, Burrow, Bailey, Ward, JJB, Walker, Calderwood, Diskin, Mathers to get a year nearer their peak and you're saying we would not have surpassed the achievements of 2003 (a CC final appearance and a very unfortunate lossin the elimination semi final at home to Wigan?)
I agree there is no evidence, there is no evience against either, the only possible evidence would be if Powell was the coach that year