u r damn rite there after all there are young enough to learn and for it to sink in them. just hope this year when i go to watch a game i dont see coaches shouting at players when there loosing after all they are still learning this fab game.

Totally agree with that - it's fantastic to see lads who aren't immediately obvious as RL players, learn and develop under a positive coaching regime; their confidence goes through the roof and it could be argued that they're the ones who'll turn out more rounded players, as if they don't have the size or pace to smash it up at jr level, they have to work harder on basic skills.

Have I mentioned that Sandal Spartans are currently recruiting under 13's...

It's also pretty poor form to not award player certificates at the end of the game if the result isn't a win, I've seen it a number of times as a coach wants to put sole responsibility on a group of young boys, disheartening for them.

Eastmoor Dragons Under 12’s have started life in division 2 with a defeat at Oulton Raiders followed by home victory against a spirited Batley Boys outfit. Both games were close affairs which could have gone either way.
There have been some recent posts on this forum questioning why Eastmoor would want to drop down a division for the summer season. During the mini season we only won 1 out the 10 league matches and it became obvious that, due to the loss of some key players, we were unable to compete at such a high level. Having seen the first 2 matches it looks as though we are in a division where we will be more competitive playing against sides of equal ability which can only be good for the players development on both sides.
Just for the record, the Crig win at Eastmoor, where to quote Mutley ‘The lads went on to spank Eastmoor all over the park, ended 20-18 to Crig
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story Mutley!!!!

Taken out of context Muts - my response to Rob was regarding 'big lad syndrome'. No slurr on JD our CT or anyone else. But at the end of the day when players tend to level out size wise so do results. Make hay whilst you can thats what I say!
Remember the commentator on the YC vid who said Easts looked much smaller than Crigg???

Mosts teams have strike players - they are the lads that always want the ball and the ones their team mates always want to give it too - but there comes a time when their team mates want to keep it for themselves or have plenty of other options!!!

Till then enjoy - and good luck!

I agree - but my OP was about size being a dominant factor - not having a go at Crigg!

does anyone know if BARLA are running a Junior Yorkshire Cup Competition this year?
... Ive heard it possibly is!

If you've got a number of 'big' lads, they should be taught to run good lines, offload in contact, fix the defence and pass before the line, win the floor, improve their carry, all these thing that'll develop a more successful player in later years, some though just seem to rest on their laurels of getting these boys to run over the top of people.

Thats the way!

has i said at the start dont take it out of context,the whole post was about views on whether we should be following the aussies and plaing weight and height rather than age groups.

i dont have a problem with big players or little players,in my team we have 1 player that weighs 5 stone and others that weigh 12 stone it cant surely be right that they are expected to play and compete with such handicaps they cant move down a couple of years to play against kids there own size.

mutts has for your one man team well crigglestone arnt a one man team you have some wonderfull players and a great team spirit but you also have a player thats beyond belief who to be quite frank frightens the living daylights out of teams and can litterally score when ever he chooses,9 tries in the opening 2 games says it all im sure thare will have been plenty more good performances from the other players too but he his the edge that makes your lot better than the rest at the moment,what would you say the said player is at 12 years of age 6ft tall and broad with it who does 100 metres in around 12 seconds well when your that size running at 5ft tall players who weigh around 8-9 stone who cant run half has quick and then you can see its a complete missmatch "see what im getting at" what it not do the player more good playing with and against players the same size in the long run.

But isn't that Rugby League? Would the likes of Robbie Burrow, Danny Brough and Luke Robinson have benfited from having the playing field artificially levelled for them, only to go on and play the game as adults and find that big lads will try to run over you? Equally, would they have learned that you can make the same big lads look like right nana's by learning to put a big step on and skinning them on the outside?

At our game this Saturday for example, our fb made three try-saving tackles on the opposition's 13 when he broke clear and was romping in for a score. Our fb is the second smallest lad on the team, but has the heart of a lion, a fantastic tackle technique and the ability to be in the right place at the right time; magic moments like that are what RL is all about - I wouldn't want to lose them by grouping lads together according to their size or weight.

After seeing the BARLA cup final I would say the player in question is about 5ft 6 and would do 100m in around 14 sec



And bren is 100% correct, how do you improve the smaller players skills if you don't play them against bigger and more skilful players I think we have it right in the UK the Aussie way is not the correct way IMO. The only thing you get from playing lesser opposition is over confidence and complacency which in most sport is a bad thing and in RL it's a killer

im neither for or against playing to weight and height im just interested to get peoples views on it and whether or not it could work,i think it has its positives and its negatives has others have said there are some very good smaller built players knocking around and always will be.

i also want to make it perfectley clear this isnt a dig at the the bigger players because again there are some very good big players around and some big lads not so good at rugby.

im a coach that views things long term and that not everything is geared up to winning the following sat but producing a better player long term and i believe anyone that see`s how my players play the game would vouch for this.

at the end of the day every coach should be looking at giving kids the skills they need to become better players when they are older and hopefully a few of them will be lucky enough to make a carreer out of it or at the very least have found some friends for life.

Very good - I suspect you need a visit to Spec Savers - and even if you are correct at 5ft 6 -it is the juxtaposition of these lads against the average sized boys that is the issue!

Think its time we set a few records straight. Jd is actually 8ft 4 , 37 stone, eats lightening and craps thunder and hes actually 36 years old. Well actually he's a 12 year old boy who at the age of 5 saw a rugby game and begged to play it. He played union until he was 9 and then switched to league and played against crigg in a friendly. Bearing in mind he played for the under 12s when he was 9 as people on here suggest should happen and still scored against crigg. Unfortunately his knowledge of the game and position awareness was below that of his team mates due to age and experience and thus wasn't good for him or the team. He moved to play for crigg and has found a coach he would trust with his life and a group of mates who play with extreme effort each week. He's a proud allblack. He doesn't believe he's a superhero and simply wants to learn the game. Your comments on here only add to his fire. He is a big lad but there are teams with bigger (east hull) he has played older and bigger so doesn't really make much of the levelling off theory the experts keep bleating on about. He. Knows he has to develop his all round game and both he and I am becoming a little wound up about the negatives. He hates the talk of a one man team. He simply wants to learn his rugby under a coach who has his best interests at heart. He will listen and take on board ur comments if they are constructive so why not all put ur thinking caps on and get behind him. With your help ( not hinderence ) he really may have a chamce of being one for the future.

Sorry bud - must pull you up here when you call comment on East Hull - our strike player is at least 4 inches smaller than JD, we have another tall lad a little smaller than that and the rest are 'average!
JD is an excepional talent - however as been mentioned by numberous posters on here - if lads are much bigger than opponents then this is a factor to their success at this age!

Suggest u watch the video , the lad u have is same height but broader. And also exceptional. But what do I know, like I say Jd is 8ft 4 obviously because everyone allows him to be on their own minds. He's 5'10, no denying he's big and I know people dont mean to come across negative but what happens when theu reach open age and suddenly come across the earl crabtrees of this world.

Can anyone confirm the rumour that the CAA have to restrict the airspace over Crigglestone when JD plays in case planes crash into him as he is sooooooooo tall.

Rumour has it he gets his height from his mother and his athletic ability from his dad... he he he

This season's jr RL thread descended into bickering even quicker than last season. Shame.

A farther sticking up for his son is hardley bickering, however I do agree thet some peeps need to take


Things were different when I was a lad, even the shirts were in black and white

How would that work ,would you just play the same age groups as last year.

The Mods agreed to this thread on the understanding it would be watched and any sign of it decending into last years mess would see it closed or posters removed.

Its always going to create heated debate at times, its the nature of the beast and throw in some whinging and its a fire waiting to start if not damped down from time to time.

Up to now its running smoothly and hopefully it will continue.

No hassle Al - just wanted to put a point accross - not wanting the thread to decend into anarchy.
Anyway it's, as I've always said about lads playing rugby - and if we can all remember that - perhaps for the most, the lads are more adult than we are!

No idea, I understand BARLA are factoring in the Junior Yorkshire Cups on their seasons agenda but it will take some doing as there is the issue re the RFL being the governing body and also communicating and agreeing fixtures between the different leagues - sounds a difficult task but one I suspect will come to fruition later in the year!