Quote: Alffi_7 "
Were they exceptional players? Or were they good for their age group? It's one thing a player looking good in a group consisting of players between the age of 17-20, it's a whole different aspect them proving themselves against players aged 17 - 37.'"
This is one of the big problems with hype - it's always based on players being good against teenagers or amateur teams. You hear how such and such a junior team was packed with stars and then comments from well meaning family or friends who say I remember playing with him in the junior clubs and you could see he was a class act etc.
It all counts for nothing till they play with pros. The more games they play, the more the truth is revealed. Some players will have a good start when nobody knows them but then when other SL coaches and players have video tape on them and start sussing out their weaknesses the challenge gets harder. So you get a lot of players who come out with hype around them, or have a handful of good games early on, and then things start getting harder and they can't adapt. I have respect for guys like Riley and Cooper, who had some difficult times early on and had people doubting whether they would make it, but came through their first challenging spell (in Riley's case because of form and for Cooper a difficult comeback from injury) and established themselves. Also sometimes they players who are able to handle the pros are not the ones who were most hyped - Toby King didn't have a big fanfare around him when he arrived but he has done a lot better than those who did.
With some of our players that haven't made it, people have said well its because of poor coaching at Warrington, players can't develop, but if that was true they'd go on to other clubs and fulfil their potential, but that never happens. They just go off to lower SL clubs or the Championship. Meanwhile guys like Briers, Westwood, Bridge, Grix, who all signed for us before being formed as SL players, all developed in to top players, under the same coaching that supposedly ruined others.
When a player has 30 to 50 SL games under their belt, you pretty much know what a player is. It's rare that a player who is average at the 50 games mark turns into a great player by their 100th game. Holding out hope that guys like Livett or Patton are going to be great players is kidding yourself. They will have SL careers but not at the top clubs.