Has Ashton not being doing so well then? Sounds like Danny Williams at Newcastle has done OK - again probably not a huge loss to SL, but given the rarity of half-decent British backs I really don't think we can afford to be blase about losing players at all. Check the threequarters from the top 8 teams competing in the play-offs (excluding Cats) for confirmation - a lot of overseas players and a smattering of good British players.

League's supporters problem is that we concetrate on the negetives too much. Lee smith leaving isn't going to make the slightest bit of difference to our sport, it won't even hamper Leeds that much.

Concentrate on improving our sport through coaching and infastructure and work towards a decent international team and we'll hopefully be able to offer our lads something that vaguely compares to unions pulling points. We'll also hopefully be able to negoteate a more realistic package from sky in relation to ru clubs.

Its not like 10 years ago, premiership ru is in the full swing of proffessionalism. Our lads can't just turn up for a cake walk any more. Even the likes of gasnier and SBW haven't exactly shone like you'd have expected a fews years back. Any signing from RL is a big gamble, so don't expect them to come hunting our big names very often.

Agree and in the case of Lee Smith / Leeds Rhinos there'll be another one along. In fact the lad that signed from Doncaster, Michael Coady looks a good prospect given that he's now moved into a full-time regime.

Given that Leeds have also chosen to release Ratu and Gibson, it doesn't look like they're struggling to fill a shirt. They have a good young player in Watkins and (if I'm right) have imported a centre for next season?

offiah played for the dragons

This is only going to be a problem because of the mindset of pommy players.


For Poms, its about feeling important ahead of anything else.


Become good enough to go to a big club. Become good enough to be well known in the town you play for. Become good enough to be talked about in the paper.

Now, its about being important enough that you can go and play rugby union.

I think even Rugby Union in the UK gets these English League players and doesn't think much of them. I mean, your players are struggling to make the grade at club level....in rugby union....

So I don't think its about a challenge or going over and playing test matches, because the fact is the biggest test in English "Rugby" is trying to beat us in Rugby league.


Its about being important like Sean Long and Keith Senior and Andy Farrell and all of the players who were really important in their little towns in Northern England but who were nothing once they left.

..................and Jason Robinson of course - who withered into obscurity once he switched codes.

creamed

What about the rest of them?

2 of the biggest losses to union IMO are George Ford & Owen Farrell. There's no doubt IMO that both players would have been great League players, now they've turned to the dark side

Lets clear something up.....they are English....so no, they wouldn't have been great at League.

I really do think that Union in the UK is going to implode in the next 5 years… they have two massive hubs of support in Leicester and the West Country… Leeds and Bath (Leicester in particular getting 24k at home matches while they haven't scored a try all season!)

The rest are trying to run a £4.5 million salary cap on gates of 4 - 10k a week. Anybody running a business knows this is not sustainable and if the sugar daddies up and leave half the clubs would go under tomorrow

I know it isn't glamorous but let's keep running our sport prudently and keep spreading the word at the grass roots level and the strategy will pay off. Full marks to Richard Lewis for instilling this discipline

If we lose one or two Lee Smiths along the way, so be it