It wasn't a d!€{ measuring contest or meant as a slight against any club, the point being made is that a number of clubs ARE playing a 17 that only has 3 or 4 non Fed players. That's a he'll of an improvement and maybe a sign that one or two clubs are close to regularly fielding a 1st choice and strong home grown team.

Why does every thread have to degenerate in this way!

Yeah and more often then not, we're one of them clubs that out of 17 have only played 3/4 non fed players. Not sure why you failed to recognise that because it's been fairly common knowledge this season.

Its a difficult question to answer though. I don't think you can definitively say one club will get their first. All clubs have strong home-grown policies now, thanks the licensing system. For all that folk get hysterical about the amount of Aussies in the league we're in a better situation now than ten years ago. Clubs are gradually moving away from the reliance on foreign players, but its going to be a while off yet before we get to a situation where there isn't a non-Fed in the starting 17.

If I were a hazard a guess I would say though Wigan, Leeds, Saints and Hudds all have great home-grown policies, which they successfully put in to practice and are reaping the rewards they won't be the first to achieve it. Teams like these sign quality non-Fed players. On the one hand its to strengthen the squad and on the other it brings the star-quality to the club, which gets bums on seats. These clubs invest far too much time and money into these players and they're not going to stop anytime soon.

Its most likely going to be the clubs lower down the rungs. They don't have the money for the stars and are discovering that you can get a better squad together with local youngsters. As Jonny said Leigh have already done it and I would imagine its for this reason; its cheaper. It won't be long before Cas, Wakey, Quins, whoever, do it, but we're still a few seasons off, unless a big club rests their big players for the first round of the CC as I said above.

the point i was making is its all well and good teams putting out 17 'token' english players to look good on paper but they have to be competitive and upto standard.

pointless saying 'my club can put out 17 english players ' and then listing 16 / 17 year old kids who, chances are, wont get anywhere near Super standard in their careers

Wellens, Gardner, Shenton,Wheeler,Foster, Lomax, Gaskell, James, Roby, Clough,LMS, Wilkin, Dixon, Pyrce, Moore, Magennis, Eastmond would make a very good 17 from Saints ............12 of those already been in the England training squad.

Workington Town put out 17 Cumbrians at the weekend and usually have 16 Cumbrians and our 1 Australian any other week.

Who be that?

Our were all from this side of the hill as well

We almost did against Wakey, Solomona played, but he was an interchange so there were moments in the game when they were all Brits.

Lazy journalism from me, edited for accuracy.

Not Cas, As much as we could make a team up. We wouldnt be the force we are without Rangi Chase's influence

We could I reckon, we'd be weak in the halves but we'd certainly have a team somewhere near to what we put out now. When you consider our starting pack is Lynch, Diskin, Hargreaves, Elima, Whitehead and Langley, swap Elima with Donaldson. And have O'Brien, Kopzcak, Scruton, Addy on the bench, we look good towards doing it.

It's our backline where'd be a little bit weaker where at the moment, you'd be looking at Royston, Ainscough, Platt, Walker, Raynor, Briggs and Southernwood. Naturally weaker without Kearney and Herbert. But we could do it, and it would be competitive.

What you on about? Rangi Chase is English.

Alright,

Castleford might be one of the clubs that could field a 17 of all home grown players, don't know why they didn't spring to mind immediately alongside Sts who I also overlooked.

Happy now?

I doubt we'll ever see it happen unless through freak injuries. SL sides will always - and rightly - want to strengthen their side with overseas players. The issue has been and still is the quantity. TBH I don't think that 'only 3' overseas players in a squad of 17 is that much to boast about - its only because we're so used to seeing sides with double or even triple that number that it seems good.