Simply not true.

Even people like Micah Richards, hes huge! that whippet from villa, I bet Walcott or Lennon would make good wingers. There's loads about, I just dont know a lot about Soccer players' names.
We're competing with union for players too, Owen Farrell?

I have just finished my first season watching the NRL live.. and I have come to the conculusion that there are two types of Aussie player

the first is a player who is absolutely rock steady.. does everything the coach says, works hard at improving the little bits of his game, the attention to detail.. strives to become a master of his game... the ham and eggs Aussie players can all do this and this is an area of the game that english players neglect. Very few English players spring to mind that have the right work ethic and attitude... and mostly these players are never considered for representational selection but just to the hard stuff week in week out!

Ryan Tandy falls into that category! A Ham and Egger who worked had and got his reward.

then there are those players that have a special talent, size, speed, ball handling, off load etc... their skill does not absolve them of having to do the little things well and practice their skills constantly... they just have something special.

The aussies look for these special things in overseas players as they have thousands of grafters playing the game every week throughout NSW and Queensland. Funnily the UK league takes many of the first type of player expecting them to be the second type.

Of the players who offer something different from the UK and possibly have the right attitude and basic skill level to get a first grade start...


Rob Burrow, Leon Pryce, James Graham, Danny Brough, Ben Westwood, maybe Sam Tompkins (if he is protected), maybe Eorl Crabtree (if used as an impact player), maybe Danny McGuire (if his reputaion is not too tarnished here in Aus)

Really? How do you work that out? I think you will find coaching in this country follows much the same trends and techniques.

I hear this line trotted out about the forwards all too often, yet the fact is, even our forwards are light years behind the aussies

Fantastic post, especially regarding the players coming over here.
Matt King anyone?

Depnds whats meant by 'make it'. If that means take it by storm and be one of the best players in their set position then we'd have a few that could do it but if it means to simply get a game for an NRL side we have rafts of players that could.

It's a good league of course but it contains it's fair share of average joes as seen by some of the duds that come over here.

Players like Burgess, Peacock, Senior(too late mind), L Pryce(as an outside back), Roby and Graham would be outstanding in the NRL imo but there loads of players like R Hall, Gleeson, McGuire, Burrow, Tomkins, O'Loughlin, Carvell, Westwood etc etc who would easily hold down a place with an NRL team.

i could only see burgess senior and peacock even challenging to make it in the nrl as we saw in the WC the gap is massive

Even James Graham?

Surely not.

Seriously?

How good do you actually think the NRL is? It is a top league and better then superleague but teams like Penrith, Souths, Wests, Roosters etc have players that are totally average.

I could name at least 20 English players that would get a game week on week in the NRL and probably more.

Gareth Ellis has just been named player of the year at Wests which proves every side isn't filled with Australian supermen.

We shouldn't do ourselves down all the time.

yeah the likes of morley,peacock,burgess,graham,wilkin,westwood,sinfield,roby,cunningham are just second rate players aren't they.

They folow them, just a decad after the Aussies

I keed.

I reckon Brian Carney could've cracked it in Aus.

Third choice behind Cunningham and Roby at Saints, result moved out.
Third choice behind Millard and McIlorum at Wigan, result moved out.
Third choice at Wire behind Clarke and Monaghan. Leigh here he comes.

wrong moved on cos twice as much money at wigan .moved on from wigan cos noble wanted to sign the gratest hooker you have ever had riddell and didnt rate him ,got that one wrong brian didnt he ,hahaha ,so mr know all again go and get in your hole again you

Good post, though I'd class Westwood as a grafter meself, thus why would they want him?