Quote knockersbumpMKII="knockersbumpMKII"Aside from the coin I reckon he'll get bored and come back to league..unless he plays at openside flanker..he'd be wasted anywhere else frankly..he'd be in the thick of the action at the breakdown and getting in plenty of tackles and supporting breaks by the scrumhalf or number 8. He might well shed a bit of timber for that role but not much.
Even so I can see him coming back to league for a couple of years at least..whether that would be here in the UK or back in the NRL, who knows.'"
Where Sam plays will come down imo how quickly he learns to ruck and maul and a couple of other skills. IMO the 2 positions he'd be best suited to, is like you say open-side flanker and also No 8.
By and large the No 8's job is to tackle, get over the gain line and support the backs, which is what Sam is great at and he's decent with his hands which the best No 8's are. I also don't think he'd after lose any of his muscle mass for that role.
The best Open-side Flankers like Neil back and Richie McCaw, were/are renowned for being literally everywhere on the pitch, getting the turnover at rucks and tackles and also being on the shoulder of the man with the ball in attack. Basically they are generally a pain in the to the opposition. It might take longer for Sam to pick up some of those skills. Personally I think it would be slightly easier transition for him at No 8. Although I can see the benefits of Sam at Open-side.
It wouldn't surprise me at all if Sam picks up the relevant RU skills up quite quickly and becomes a very good RU player, the dudes got it all. How long he stops and if he comes back is anyones guess.
