I once had a go at this about 10 years ago when Wigan were top producing players, and Leeds were doing very well too at that time. Saints were doing well too.

Struggling were such as Salford, and IIRC Warrington weren't doing to well..............

As I have said Featherstone won the cup with 12 Featherstone born players. It's clear over the decades the production of local quality RL players has been tumbling across the board big time. Even the city of Leeds with so much success in fairly recent years isn't doing so great.

I don't know if Cas are "fourth in the table" they could be, but the fact is academies across the board aren't producing the quality they did and everyone seems to max out on their import quota and despite these players being NRL rejects they are often the clubs best players.....

The RFL flipped quickly. What a joke and shows just how badly the sport is ran over here.

If you are going to make a decision at least believe in it and stand behind your convictions.

I don't know if it was the right decision but if you are going to to make big decisions don't give up so quickly.

As for the idea that players playing first grade is some kind of measure of the quality of acadamy it isn't. More important is if they are actually good enough and actually stay in first grade for a sustained period.

Playing a handful of games means nothing.

Obviously lads with high squad numbers can get games late in the season covering injuries, and I agree that dosen't make them "professionals" nor the academy a producer of professionals.

Leeds were the first club to push for academies followed by Wigan. I am thinking Carl Ablett, Danny McGuire, Lee Smith, Ryan Bailey, Matt Diskin, Jamie Peacock (via Bulls academy) matt Diskin (from Dewsbury) Luke Burgess (Liversedge), Ben Jones Bishop, Jamie Jones Buchanan, Richie Mathers, Mark Calderwood, Chev Walker, Paul McShane, Danny ward and Ryan Hall (rothwell)....

All successful players indeed, but where are such players now at Leeds? Liam Sutcliffe and Ash Handley seem to be the only successes from the Leeds area academy.

If the founding academy with a lengthy record of producing it's own talent is struggling badly what of other clubs beyond Wigan & Saints......

Stevie Ward (retired), Cam Smith, Mik Olezdski, Tom Holroyd, Morgan Gannon, Jack Broadbent, Jack Walker, Alex Sutcliffe

Then there's others at other clubs like Ash Golding, Alex Foster, Brad Singleton, Kalum Watkins, and Paul Mcshane etc

many thanks

You can't have Stevie ward as he dates back to when Leeds had a productive academy, and I named Paul McShane as well and he too dates back to then, and Kallum Watkins was enticed from Salford's academy.

The more up to date products you name prove my point that Leeds Academy are nothing special anymore so it's a bit rich the RFL having a go at Cas etc. Golding never really made it in SL and Jack Walker has proved to be talented but not physically up to it.as for Cameron Smith here is the ironic fact......

Smith was at Castleford Academy, the one the RFL want to shut down, and in Leeds desperation for talent he was made an offer by Leeds to join their academy.

Leeds is a city of 800,000 people and Castleford is only 40,000......

I'd like Ralph Rimmer to explain why Leeds Academy with 20 times as many kids to target for development into Rugby League professionals but is no longer producing quality RL players from the Leeds area, is supposedly so great................ yet Cas's academy should be shut down??

How does Jamie Peacock count? He’d already won the man of steel and captained a grand final winning team before he signed for Leeds.

BTW that’s not taking anything away from Leeds academy success. They’re still churning them out too.

I’m not even sure Bradford can really count him as a. Academy product because he was about 19 or 20 when we signed him from Stanningley and sent him out on loan to a uni team in Australia.

Peacock counts because he was developed by a Leeds amateur club. I'm just noting geographically where we get our players from and in what numbers, it isn't a competition, you don't have to claim Jamie as one of your own....... https://www.leedsrhinosfoundation.org/ I think Salford who have no academy still have a foundation

https://twitter.com/SRDFoundation?ref_s ... r%5Eauthor

We've got to be fair here, SL clubs deliver a lot of hard work to try to encourage kids to play and have done for most of the current 5 year TV contract.....