NRL forward

Quote: Fishermanscap "PT I think you are both talking about different things.

I think Vasty is on about players lurking around in the shadows, Championship players looking for a chance or Academy players who for whatever reason aren't going to make it at their parent club but still have the ambition. He might know who those players are, I don't but they do exist.

What you are on about is whether there are any SL or established Championship props kicking about with a similar rep to the available NRL ones?

To answer your question, probably not.

The argument for me is whether you go down the homegrown route and take a punt on that type of player or you go down the NRL route and take what in my opinion is just as bigger risk and sign one of them?

Take your pick on that one.

I have some knowledge of the Aussie game through some friendships I've made and one of those recently explained to me why SL was no longer of any interest to most Aussie players, so if you're interested here goes.

Firstly there are two types of NRL player. Those who are Australian born and raised, they can be white or black or purple but they are true blue Aussies. Just like there British counterparts most have no wish to move and would rather stay local to where they were born. They don't mind a commute if needs be but to move to a grey island 12,000 miles away, err no.

This mentality has been further compounded by the growing disparity between the two comps. SL is poor the NRL is bigger and far richer, the contracts they now offer to most players are big enough to make a move to the UK unattractive, which didn't use to be the case. Ditto NRL squad sizes have also increased in recent years leaving even fewer quality players floating about, I mean 20 years ago it was a buffet now it's petrol station sandwich.

So with the odd exception that leaves the other group. These are mainly people of Samoan, Tongan and Cook Island descent. Many moved to Australia/NZ as kids but are still effectively still immigrants. So moving from Aus to the UK is not such a biggy for them. However! Most of these players are very good and thus have no problem getting NRL deals. Meaning they remain closer to loved ones etc etc. All the same, it's this group of players that offers the best pickings but it's now a very small pond indeed.

Not saying there are none but I do believe that unless you pay really big money the quality left is now not significantly higher than those British players in the Championship and the SL margins.

So for me, I'd bite Battye type players hand off rather than take the gamble on a 30-year-old NRL squad player, wouldn't you?'"