I stand to be corrected, and like yourself would like to see more British players in the game but perhaps you could point to any other S.L. club who have achieved the above after just two and half seasons ?

Did Fox have any England caps before he joined Rovers or did his development stop two seasons ago......and he has suddenly been given the chance. !!

I’ve never understood those who think overseas wingers are a waste of a quota place. All Fridays game did was highlight what a massive contribution wingers & full-backs make these days.

Check out the Opta stats & see how many wingers & fullbacks are in the most meters category. Virtually all of these play for teams at the top end of the table. 5 of the 6 wingers at Rovers, Quins & Giants (the “surprise” teams of the season) are in there. This isn’t coincidence.

Kick returns & exit sets are the most important thing wingers & full-backs bring to a side (something totally lost on the army of Calderwood lovers down the road). If these guys can make good ground on the first 2-3 tackles they allow their forwards to conserve energy as well as getting the side into an attacking position. Scoring tries & being defensively solid is just a bonus.

With no kick return on Friday Quins found it too easy to kick early & pin us down. For me Briscoe, Fox & Colborn are the biggest single reason for us being where we are in the table.

I wouldn't, because one club sits 3rd in the league and the other one will finish in the bottom 3.

MY darkest days as a Rovers fan were when we had a team full of "local lads" and it was at those times when I cut ties with sentiment towards players because I was sick of watching shocking players taking us nowhere - afterall, they don't owe me anything and I don't owe them anything.

What is the game actually about? - winning trophies or bragging about how many "local lads" you've got in your team even if you're lurking around in the bottom of the table?

As long as every player who pulls on the Rovers shirt plays with pride, passion and commitment and also understand what Hull Kingston Rovers is about and stands for, then I don't care where they come from - they'll get my unconditional support.

Thats the biggest plie of self important clap trap ever.

Not at all.

GML and GJB would verify I certainly don't view myself as "self-important". If I was so self-important I wouldn't give £104 a year to the Rovers lottery, set up specifically to aid youth development. It's just I've had a gut full of this "local lad" talk and it bores me to tears.

When Rovers were in a CVA and kicking round the NFP, I used to tell the FC fans back then about how many local lads we had in our team whilst they had a team full of Aussies and all I got was "We're in Super League" you're not... blah blah blah".

Now the shoe is on the other foot, the FC fans trot out the same old . They (and some sections of the RL media), talk about that their team is "under-achieving" when the harsh reality is that they are the 3rd worst squad in the SL and this will be validated by their end of the season league position. But I suppose they can rattle the old chesnut of "having a team full of local lads".

Take Websters try against Wire - that is why I go to watch RL, tries like that; Murrell to Fitzyhenry to Dobson to Webster. If you look at the equivalent players in FC's side ie; Washbrook / Houghton / Thorman / Whitng the reality is that type of try could never happen from those 4 players because they simply don't have the necessary skills.

In an ideal world I'd love to see the team full of local lads which is why I shell out my hard-earned cash for the Rovers Lottery because I understand it is a necessity for long term success - not for the sake of bragging about them being in the team for it's own sake.

I've seen all the lean times as a Rovers fan and although this may sound selfish, I want my team to win the Super League trophy more than I would the Challenge Cup.

I'd give my left nut to win the Super League!
Challenge cup would traditionally be amazing but now if you win the SL Grand Final you get the opportunity to be the best club in the world!

Now thats got to be a better thing to show your kids on YouTube.

That is where we differ.

Perhaps if you had to tell 5 or 6 English kids they have no future at the club like I did with lads earlier this season you would be less inclined to want Aussies here milking the sport dry.

If the RFL did something about the likes of Lovegrove then the British kids, local kids, would be swamping Super League.

What the hell does Rhys Lovegrove bring to Super League that Ryan Esders or Rich Beaumont couldn't given some First Team Rugby?

It is a joke.

If I had the time I am sure I could find a squad list for Cas and show 10 British players who have played first team for them since they came back up and who were trained in the Wakey and Cas district, I was talking to someone about it on Friday and they reeled off a long list.

If you are more bothered about success of your own club than the future of the British game then you keep having the attitude you have in which success comes before development. I am sure the second rate Aussies over here care so much about your support of them

What he said.

I'm all for cutting the amount of overseas players and taking the game in that direction as long as it doesn't dilute the quality.

The bottom line is that IMO the fans come first, and most fans want to see quality RL, and if fans didn't pay to watch the game then players wouldn't be able to make a living in the first place.

So why do those same 'fans' complain when we are an embarrassment at International level?

It aint hard mate, get rid of em, 1 in each team, simple way forward.

I'd be happy to see it cut down to a total of 5 overseas players to give opportunities to emerging nations players like PNG etc.