Some clubs would probably be more succesful scrapping their academies and then throwing big bucks at these talented kids when they reach a certain age or before they commit to a longer contract.

Explain exactly how you want them to ' work harder ' ?

From the changes I've seen at Bradford. Invest in the youth setups. Coaching, facilties, kit etc

Working more with community clubs. Not just sending a scout there. Engage with them. This has been one of the biggest changes at Bradford in that we work much more closely with the local amateur and junior teams. Also work harder in the local schools.

Create a culture and a pathway in the club from U16s, 19s to the first team.

You can do ALL of that , but if Wigan offer a kid from Eccles a scholarship , he'll be at Orrell for training , it is that simple

And what ' investment ' do you mean ? , money ?

'Engage ' , what exactly does that mean ?

Exactly how do you ' Work harder ' in a School ?

Explain ' Create a culture and a pathway ' ?

All nice clever sounding words usually used by people trying to sound intellectual , but actually just ' BULL '

A return to P+R and clubs are over-spending, bringing in more overseas players, and giving up on youth development. Surely nobody could have foreseen this.



Oh.....

Why is that? What natural advantage do Wigan have? There is absolutely no reason to suggest that this is true, if everyone put the same work into the youth categories as Wigan.

Ceteris paribus the youth will pick based on proximity to home.

By definition you are pointing out that there is something extra you can do to make the young players join your club.

Unlike that time when we had licensing and we dissolved much of the youth leagues...

when all clubs had academies, the number of overseas players went down and the number of british players went up?

Reputation , for being essentially the biggest but certainly the most famous RL club in the country if not the World

So all things will not be equal

I've seen it so many times , the tap room snobbery of a Dad , bragging to all and sundry that his lad was at Wigan Scholarship , despite the fact there were 20odd others within his age group and Wigan were only supposed to have 10

I wouldn't call "investment" and "working harder" clever sounding words.

Bradford have done all the above in the last few years and are seeing the benefits slowly but surely. Like I said, we're in our third year in the championship, have £250k central funding but have some of the most exciting juniors in the game. If we can do that and fight off Warrington, Leeds Huddersfield etc for these lads signatures, then other why can't other clubs like you suggest?

Again , explain how you ' Work harder ' in schools to improve junior players to sign for your Scholarship than somebody else's ?

You are reaping the benefits of your success 10-12-15 years ago , remain where you are for another ten and you'll probably abolish your academy , you just won't be getting the raw material to work with

This is Salfords position now