And now we stand above and superior.

I can't see Skolars overtaking Harlequins with the same vigor, though



I think this is a negative thing disguised as a positive thing to be honest, similar to the whole Quins RL/RU thing a few years ago.

Not a friggin chance. If you ever do visit Skolars you will understand why they would rather die than merge with us (and lets face it, there 200 fans aren't worth the trouble anyway

)
Nice post though. Does it come from experiences you've had in the past?

what took you so long principled one?
We often spend summers evening down here using the cash from the RFL/SKY and anyone else you care to mention to light out BBQ's whislt sipping Pimms with our union buddies......whilst laughing at the youth policy of much older teams with real pedigree

Ouch, I guess that is The Key owned

R-E-S-E-R-V-E-S.....does that help?
These are the guys who don't make the 17 for S-U-P-E-R-L-E-A-G-U-E- games.....not the under age kids.

Accademy teams are youngsters.....something that Wigan builds by nicking your best prospects, not ours

If you'd been in administration for 7 years would you have been able to afford a strong youth set-up





As it is we are slowly but surely getting there. We can field at least 8 players either 25 or under (Fox, Briscoe, Colborn, Welham, Dobson, Murrell, Cockayne, Mills), and I think our academy + reserve teams are doing steady.

+ we have four times the amount of support, so I think we're doing quite okay.

is that the same Scotty Murrell who enjoyed his time in London whilst on LOAN FROM LEEDS RHINOS?
Nice try, but no cigar


BTW....his (Murrell's) reaction to being sledged by Littler from Salford was priceless.....nailed him...properly. Always rated the little fella after that 1 moment. Has heart!

Fantastic player Murrell, okay we didn't bring him through ourselves, but Morgan deserves credit for trusting the 20 year old Murrell (at the time) with the crucial stand-off role during our promotion season (and having had faith in him since) when he could have gone for say a veteran Aussie for the role.

I know that.

But the 3 Harlequins players I saw turning out for Skolars against Hunslet a couple of weeks back were all definitely from the academy - with the young lad at full back looking like he might be pretty useful when he's finished growing. If you're saying that Harlequins are going to start sending fringe first-teamers instead then I apologise, as that will have a bit more of an impact. Although TBH, it probably means scraping home wins against Workington & Rochdale rather than making the play-offs.

the point is......this is the start of something bigger. If the RFL sanction this "loan" agreement, then expect to see the reservve grade players from Superleague flooding championship sides.
Not saying it's bad/good......it is the thin edge of the wedge, that's all.
As for O'Callaghan (lad you refer to)...he is local (Hammersmith) and a real prospect....and to be honest, the tip of a very large iceberg.

Completely serious point/question now. I can see that Quins do have some promising young players and clearly a good youth set-up. So, if there has been a strong flow of talented young people taking up RL over say the last 10 years, why do you think this hasn't translated into improved crowds?
I.e. surely the more young people playing, the more would go to watch Skolars or Quins? I found that when I decided to play rugby at a young age it went hand-in-hand with becoming a fan and supporting Rovers.
Again, this isn't a dig (for once eh



), just a thought.