You can't criticise the Catalans when a certain English club in the so called heartlands fielded 11 overseas players against Wigan at the weekend (and had another one injured on the sidelines).

Nonsense. Of course I can. HKR or other clubs fielding 10 or so overseas players is very poor. It does not justify the catalan situation. They have a larger 'legal' cap than all other SL teams and they have virtually no SL competition for French players.



Furthermore they have had very few French players in the 1,6.7, 9 (and ball playing 13) slots. They have been preparing for SL since around 2004 under Steve Deakin.From a whole country how many 'top 6' French SL players aged 19 - 22 have they produced?

Try promoting RL in an area where RU is King and RL has been actively discriminated against for years. They are doing no better or worse than any other club, and they are now attracting 5 figure crowds, something that almost half the sides over here cannot do.

Why do you expect a team to sacrifice on-field success in favour of playing 'local' players? Are there any other Super League clubs that you have these expectations of?



Thanks to the success of Catalans, France's U16's team recently whitewashed England in a series. Last year, France U18's beat Australia, with the majority of the squad playing a year above their age group. There are numerous other young French players contracted to Catalans such as Barthau, Gossard, Pala, Bosquet, Maria, Marginet and others who are more than capable of being very good Super League players, but cannot currently get into a settled Catalans team which is challenging for the double. To expect Catalans to find a place for all these players each week simply because they are French is frankly ridiculous. Maybe if other Super League clubs such as your own were less insular and were willing to look further than your own back yard for talent then there wouldn't be an issue and Catalans could go on developing the sport in their own way, by creating a top-class team with a backbone of French players and world-class imports. To attempt to criticise them for wanting to be successful is absolute stupidity, especially when other clubs ignore the obvious benefits of tapping into the French talent surplus.

You are right, it is not a justification. But it does put it into perspective and stops you being able to single them out.



?

They do? Not disputing this, but I haven't seen any evidence that they get exemptions on players that other clubs do not. Perhaps you could show us this? Or are you just assuming?







You keep saying "from a whole country" like it's some kind of valid argument. In reality, it's not "from a whole country". The number of players in France is tiny compared to the UK. They do not have the benefits of being able to get academy cast-offs from other fully professional clubs 10 minutes down the road. They have to produce all of their own full time pro players. Whilst there are a few players at French Elite clubs that could with a bit of work become decent SL players, they still need a few years investment.



Again, it not being a justification, but how many English players in the 1, 6, 7 and 9 positions have Hull KR produced? Or some of the other lower-end SL clubs? You can't just single them out, and basing it on a whole country is just a poor attempt at tipping the argument in your favour. In reality, they have a small region to work with just like any other SL club.

There is a huge amount of RL played in the South of France. They are doing worse than many clubs given their catchment area and the strong RL tradition in their region.

Show me where i said that? Even once. Or are you answering imaginary posts?

You have implied that they should be fielding more French players because they are the only Super League club in that region.



If there was one Super League club in the North of England, would you expect it to be made up of entirely English players? No, the likelihood is that it would be similar to a Wigan or Leeds, many of the better English players coupled with top-class imports. Catalans want to be the best they can be, expecting them to fill their team with French players simply because they are the only French club is stupid.



In addition, the 'South of France' is not a small region. For Catalans to sign a player from Toulouse is the equivalent of a player from Hull signing for Warrington. To sign a player from Avignon would involve an even greater distance, in a different direction. To expect Catalans to be responsible for the development of this entire region is completely unrealistic. Of the u18's squad that beat Australia last year, only four are contracted to the Catalans' feeder club, which is about what would be expected given the demographics of the region.

:38vopt24



Why should someone refering to HKR stop me pointing out the dearth of quality french players? only 8 French born players versus Huddersfield is poor IMO. And clubs like HKR / wakey having 10 at times does not change that.



If you want to check out the French salary cap as SLE for it. You will get it in Euros, it has been consistently a couple of hundred thousand pounds higher than UK clubs. HTH.



Where do I :38vopt24[u:38vopt24keep saying[/u:38vopt24.



If people think only 8/9 French players making the Dragons team is good for the french game so be it. I disagree.

i am pleased to hear that the Catalans cap is likely to be brought in line with other SL clubs and the pressure for clubs to limit their non fed trained players will be re intensified.

I have already pointed out a number of more than capable French players who are contracted to Catalans but are unable to find a regular place because of the strength and depth of the squad. Accusing them of not developing players is ignorant in the extreme.



You are seriously suggesting that signing top-class overseas imports is the same as signing juniors from outside a club's catchment area? In that case, why should the onus be on Catalans to develop these players more than any other Super League club? As I've already pointed out, Catalans already have a surplus of talent, and they have their own youth systems in which they bring through more than their share of local juniors. Like I said, only 4 of last year's victorious France U18's side are contracted to Catalans. There isn't enough room at a single club to properly develop so many young players and still be competitive. It's absolutely baffling to me that so many Super League clubs are ignorant and oblivious to this talent pool, or think that all French players should have to play for Catalans. Like you've said, it's an entire country. To expect one club in one region to be responsible for the entirety of that country is absurd.

Just out of interest, have you ever actually been to France and are you aware of how large the country is?