Quote: SmokeyTA "is Stevo wrong? Our game is littered with unfulfilled potential. Just as 30 years ago for every Hanley wringing everything out of every ounce of talent he had there was a Schofield getting every drop out of every pint he had, no there are Ellis' or Peacock or Sinfield making the absolute most of their career, theres a Gaz Hock, or Jordan Tansey losing most of their career to Absolut.'"
But that exact same situation applies in Oz too - with plenty of talented players not making the grade as a result of their attitude.
This isn't the reason for the gap in standards.... It's a fundamental difference in many aspects that affect the environment and culture from Junior leagues right up through to the top level clubs in the UK... There is no quick fix...
Our very best players will get close to or match their best, unfortunately though, we just don't have enough players coming through of that highest standard to create a consistency of intensity - that's where we need changes from grass roots all the way to the top to have more higher calibre players.
The gap below our absolute best players and group of 2nd best players is fairly significant, there just simply aren't enough 'top class' players. In the NRL, the group of 2nd best players are significantly better than ours, and they have far more 2nd best players than us. Part of it is simply a numbers game - more juniors playing = more talent coming through, but also those juniors are learning the game in a better climate, meaning they have better conditions for learning the basics (and pretty much all year round) - then throw in better junior league structures and coaching, and they're simply preparing more players from a young age to become top RL players.
That's then before we even start talking about the media exposure and subsequent money in the game in Aus opening up further opportunities for retaining the best talent (including making becoming a pro RL player the most desirable sporting career path in the first instance), better facilities, better/more sports science/coaching etc etc....
You could even then grow in some biological stuff around body types of Polynesians etc, but I think that's going too far, as elite athletes should be able to overcome issues associated with body types.
To me, what is clear is that players over here having a beer is a ridiculous 'explanation' for why we're getting hammered.
