Youth development isnt the only option for bringing in British players. There are other ways of bringing in british players, Ways which leeds have and are using hence there being only 6 overseas players at Leeds next season.



The calibre is less the issue than the numbers. Whilst it is my opinion a player like Cross is a better bet than a player like Lovegrove if Morgan wants to bring in a Lovegrove rather than a Cross then thats his decision. The issue is bringing in a lovegrove, fisher et al aswell as Newton, Galea etc. Bringing in your 8th, 9th 10th overseas player crosses the threshold from adding overseas players to the league to taking opportunities from british players because there are British players who can do a similar job if there was the opportunity. I would like Leeds to cut down by one or two and i think over the next two or three years we will see this, but adding one or two from the top 3 or 4 clubs isnt going to increase the pool enough, we need to be adding the 5 or 6 from the other 6 or 7 clubs.

It isnt only a numbers game, it is also changing the mind shift to make it imperative that you bring through the best young players you can. Whether that be from picking up the best 15/16 year old athletes into academies or the best 19/20 year olds from the fringes or the lower leagues.

Thats true, you have brought in a few Wakey players in your time

I think Ben Cross is a good signing. He will add a lot of substance to Leeds front row.

You just couldn`t make it up could you?

At 31 he hasn't made a hundred first grade appearances yet, which could be a worry, but he did make 23 of 24 appearances last season.

A hard hitting no nonsense prop, He'll do very well in super league.

Yes, well it would be wouldn't it?



Comparing Cross to Lovegrove in any sense is totally irrelevant. The question is, is Cross better than the props that the Leeds production line is churning out? If not you probably ought to asking questions about that rather than taking the moral highground over Rovers' squad.

Unluckily for you, you've been done up like a kipper by your own club, who quite understandably, take a more pragmatic approach to recruitment and player development than the one you would like to impose on other clubs.

Clearly, to anyone with half a brain.

comparing Cross to Lovegrove is relevant when you go on to make the point you do. If you are comparing Leeds to rovers, then comparing Cross to Lovegrove is clearly relevant.

The Question isnt whether Leeds production line is churning out props the quality of Ben Ross, however desperate you are to make it so. The true question is how many, and of what quality Props Leeds are 'churning out'. Considering that there are at least 7 Leeds produced props playing in SL first teams right now, including at least 4 full English/British internationals + the England Captain I dont think we have too much to worry about in that department. In fact had all the other clubs done the same then we would have a surplus of quality Props and Leeds would have had no need to go abroad to fill this gap.

I would be happy for all the other clubs to take a similar approach. Were Hull Kingston Australia going into next season with only 6 overseas players, and 15 developed players in their 25 man squad there would be no complaint from me!

But in your desperate attempt to defend your club you are sticking to your nonsense straw man argument that I am arguing for 0 overseas players rather than just fewer, and certainly fewer than 10 in a side in the supposed heartlands of the game

Is he the guy that Tallis battered?

nm, it was Ben Ross

RESULTS - 1986-2008 - Australian Schoolboys 14 wins, England 3 wins

2008 - Australian Schoolboys beat England Academy 68-6 and 17-10.
2006 - Australian Schoolboys beat England Academy 36-22 and 32-20.
2004 - England Academy beat Australian Schoolboys 33-24.
2002 - England Academy beat Australian Schoolboys 28-22 and 22-12.
2001 - Australian Schoolboys beat England Academy 18-12 and 44-22.
1999 - Australian Schoolboys beat England 24-4 and 16-12.
1995 - Australian Schoolboys beat England 62-2 and 42-2.
1991 - Australian Schoolboys beat England 44-12 and 28-0.
1986 - Australian Schoolboys beat England 34-2 and 26-14.

I think going back 24 years is stretching your point a fair bit.

Over the past 10 years we are looking at 6-3 with plenty of pretty close results, we are certainly more competitive at this level than at full team level.

Interesting how when Bulls signed any import over 30 (two in last 2 years) quite a lot of Leeds supporters delighted in having a go, on these forums and elsewhere. Even though the average age of our overseas contingent was less than theirs. Now they sign one though, that's OK.

In fact IMO is IS OK - looks like a good signing, and for the reasons the sensible of the Leeds fans state. Makes a whole lot of sense in their particular circumstances, and can't see why folk would knock it.

Just wish when we made similar points, more of them would have acknowledged the same.

I was just querying your opinion that we compete "equally" with the Aussies at youth level in terms of results.

Incidentally, those 3 England wins against the Australian Schoolboys in 2002 and 2004 are the only occasions we've ever beaten them.

I'd agree that we are more competitive against them at youth level in recent times than we are at full team level, albeit marginally so.

2001 onwards:

England Academy 3 wins, Australian Schoolboys 6 wins.
Played 9, Pts For 175, Pts Against 273, Average Score 19-30

GB/England 3 wins, Australia 14 wins.
Played 17, Pts For 225, Pts Against 490, Average Score 13-29

Are you taking the pi$$?

Let's tot up how many Academy players broke through at Wigan last season, then do the same for Leeds last season shall we.