Quote Kelvin's Ferret="Kelvin's Ferret"The suggestion that NRL clubs, or indeed any professional RL clubs, sign players to "help out" anybody but themselves shows how daft you really are. At a strategic level RL administrations may pursue policies designed to strengthen exapansion, the international game, or any number of other things that have commercial implications both in the short, medium and long terms, but clubs don't sign players out of the kindness of the hearts they don't actually have.
Besides there are plenty of ordinary players in the NRL, there are plenty of players wo have come from the being regulars in NRL sides, or even with big reputations, only to look fairly average in SL (admittedly this is mainly because the style of play in the respective league's is different and suits certainly players better than others).
No intelligent person doubts that Australia, where RL has a bigger player pool and higher status as a sport, produces a greater number of the more talented players, but anyone with even half a brain will also realise that the better British players are perfectly capable of playing in the NRL, and would be more inclined to do so if it was financially more lucrative. Yet we get moronic comments about how Adrian Morley was the best British player of his generation simply because he played in the NRL, when the reality is there are better British players in that cohort, except the NRL couldn't afford them.'"
At last.
A poster with an ounce of common sense.
I understand what you are saying, however it is obvious (even to the likes of 'Dally' and all the others) that the NRL is hiring these players in order to help out developing nations.
Ellis was a prime example.
Ordinary player....in fact a VERY ordinary player.
Arrives in the NRL and has to be immediately coached in the basics.
Ok he is still pretty average but 10 times better than when he first arrived.
And thats just playing for a second tier club like Wests.
......and as for the big bucks....what are wetherspoons paying glass collectors nowadays?
