The justifications for signing yet more overseas players are all garbage. Fans of virtually every club trot out the same cr*p - 'learning' by watching or playing alongside Aussies, lack of British players etc etc. Do you really believe signing Finch and Lima (for example) will make KR capable of winning anything? I very much doubt it.

All clubs are culpable. Leeds should never have signed Delaney for example - an average Aussie (please don't any Leeds fans try to make him out to be more than that). We also shouldn't have signed Buderus - great player but we have Diskin and McShane as a real prospect. I bet McShane gained a shedload more in development by playing at Hull for a month than he would have admiring Buderus from the stands.

Leeds have a great crop of homegrown players in the first team. Nice one. Unfortunately the majority of them are in their late 20s. We haven't produced a halfback remotely looking like replacing Burrow/McGuire since they got in the first team nearly 10 years ago. We haven't produced a decent backrower since Ablett.

That's one of the key differences betwen NRL and SL. NRL sides generally produce good prospects in most positions every year or so. Certainly good enough to pressure the incumbents.

Clubs doing things within the rules but clearly contrary to the spirit of the game, and often in direct contradiction to public utterances about youth development really p*ss me off. We need to have a mindset of every club doing far far better. And we as fans should stop trying to defend our clubs when they sign cr*p overseas players.

No one expected hkr to get promoted and comply with the quota rules, but as they've already got 2 players with dispensation.

Do they need two more?

Because they are sad individuals who really need to get out more

Some clubs have an intent to populate ther teams with UK players (home grown preferably)

Wigan have always had the potential now it is being realised, Leeds have some great home grown players, Saints also. Quins have a strategy to have an English based team ed on London trained players. The process takes time. There is no question Wigan, Leeds etc are bearing the fruits of ther previous endeavours and investment(Lennegan has publicly said they will use the youth).

It would appear the likes of HKR at this stage either dont want to use HG players or dont have them available-Instant success maybe in comparison to Quins who are near the bottom due to playing to much youth(forced by injury)

I think the clubs and the game in general want a UK player based game-having said that it is good to see the best Aus players

I think we've actually played 9 players this season who've come through our junior set-up. There's obviously necessity in that, but I think it will help us come license time because we can show we're no longer a squad full of Aussies.

What your comparison doesn't really recognise is that 15 years ago the grassroots infrastructure in London was extremely limited, so it's only now that we're seeing players who've been playing from a relatively young age, and even then I'd argue that most come to the game later than in more traditional areas. Someone like Tony Clubb was in his teens before he tried RL. Is the same thing true in the Hull area, was there little in the way of junior clubs back then?

I don't disagree, the point I was trying to make was that the Quins comparison is not really a good one due to the locations of the two clubs and the length of their existence.

You make my point so much better

I wouldnt blame any club for filling the quota according to the rules that is not the issue here is it?

Surely the constant request of dispensation to try to cater for yet more overseas players is the issue and one were the RFL are more then likely about to 'expand' the boundaries of the current rule to allow this. i am sure on the back of this happening other clubs will naturally follow suit and the number of overseas players playing super league will increase significantly.

Very much against the stance of a couple of years ago were the reduction of overseas players was clearly an issue hence the quota reductions.

All clubs agreed this at the time and subsequently seem hell bent on finding ways around it!

True enough - but it is born of necessity, to prevent legal challenges undermining the rule completely. It is also old news - the availability of these dispensations has been long-known if (like the quota rules in general) not well understood, and I very much include myself in that.

Looking back at the threads on the Hull board from when the rumour was that Galea would be signed by FC to replace a Huddersfield bound Danny Tickle, the issue of quota dodging and protecting homegeown players was barely raised. I should note that there were exceptions, eg Comeonyouhull. Most of the concern centred on Galea's age and injuries or the thought that if he didn't have a dispensation, it'd force out Fitzgibbon (rather than block Mike Burnett's progress, for example). [liar, liar] It gives me no pleasure at all [/pants on fire]to remind Mrs Barista that she said the signing would more 'understandable' if Galea was not counted on the quota.

If Hull KR do this, they will be 'guilty' of looking at the short-term. As long as that isn't all they are looking at, it isn't a major problem.
IMPO we don't need to use another quota spot on a prop. I can't see any good ooc uk options for stand-off though. Hell, even Sykes has been re-signed by the Bulls. As for Galea, somebody is going to take advantage of his fed-qualification, that much is obvious. It may as well be us. Or maybe somebody will make him a better offer and we'll keep Chev Walker in his place. Whatever the club decides is best - the path to the first team is similar for Scott Taylor and the rest.

Is that the long way of telling me if this dispensation happens Hull FC would take advantage of it?

I know they would and I wouldnt like the fact that they will regardless of the quality of the player brought in.

When the clubs agreed on the reduction of the overseas quota gradually over a number of years everyone said this would be great for the English game etc, etc when all that seems to have happened is that ALL clubs simply find loopholes to get the players they want regardless!

I know at the end of the day Justin Morgan for example will be judged on were HKR are sitting in the league table and not by how many Hull born players have made first grade but it is all very short term and not helping our International chances. (This applies to every SL coach/team btw )

I wonder how many English players have fallen by the wayside simply because they havent been given that first team chance, who knows if a player can play super league level until given the opportunity?