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| Player Coach | 822 | No
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| Mar 2008 | 17 years | |
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| Aug 2023 | Jun 2017 | LINK |
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| Quote ="barton baird"Presuming your team isn`t one of them to go?
Wonder what your thoughts would be if you followed London?'"
There are so many mediocre clubs which don't contribute to the national side: Widnes, Wakey, London,, Hull KR which is why RL would benefit from 2 'super leagues' with promotion and relegation | | |
| Rank | Posts | Team |
| International Star | 138 | No
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| Joined | Service | Reputation |
| Apr 2012 | 13 years | |
| Online | Last Post | Last Page |
| Aug 2012 | Aug 2012 | LINK |
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Quote ="JB Down Under"Didn't say the whole team was made up of Union imports but it was supplemented by imports, especially in the backline.
1. Alan Tait
2. Martin Offiah
3. Scott Gibbs
4. John Deveraux
5.
6. Joanthin Davies
7. David Bishop
Not a bad International top up from that era!'"
Alan Tait - not in the same class as Hamson or Chris Bibb
John Devereaux - very naive - reponsible for Oz winning at Wembley in '92 when Renouf made him look like a monkey
David Bishop  icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" /> icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" /> icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" />
I'll give you Scott Gibbs and Davies - both excellent converts, Davies possibly the best I've seen since Lewis Jones. Offiah was quick. Once he stopped being quick his career was over. |
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Quote ="JB Down Under"Didn't say the whole team was made up of Union imports but it was supplemented by imports, especially in the backline.
1. Alan Tait
2. Martin Offiah
3. Scott Gibbs
4. John Deveraux
5.
6. Joanthin Davies
7. David Bishop
Not a bad International top up from that era!'"
Alan Tait - not in the same class as Hamson or Chris Bibb
John Devereaux - very naive - reponsible for Oz winning at Wembley in '92 when Renouf made him look like a monkey
David Bishop icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" /> icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" /> icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" />
I'll give you Scott Gibbs and Davies - both excellent converts, Davies possibly the best I've seen since Lewis Jones. Offiah was quick. Once he stopped being quick his career was over. | |
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| Rank | Posts | Team |
| International Chairman | 27757 | No
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| Joined | Service | Reputation |
| Dec 2001 | 23 years | |
| Online | Last Post | Last Page |
| Jan 2021 | May 2018 | LINK |
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Quote ="major hound"Alan Tait - not in the same class as Hamson or Chris Bibb'"
Better than both for me. You can make an argument for Hampson but he was just good under a high ball. Tait was a better attacker, runner and defender than Hampson. On Bibb, I'll have to pass on that because I don't remember him doing anything that stuck in my, admittedly woeful, memory.
Quote ="major hound"John Devereaux - very naive - reponsible for Oz winning at Wembley in '92 when Renouf made him look like a monkey
David Bishop
icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" />
icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" />
icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" />
I'll give you Scott Gibbs and Davies - both excellent converts, Davies possibly the best I've seen since Lewis Jones. Offiah was quick. Once he stopped being quick his career was ">over.'"
I thought Devereaux was okay and I'm not sure you can condemn a man's entire career on a slip up against one of the best centres to ever play the game, in a World Cup Final. Agree on Bishop. Had a couple of good games but never enough to seriously suggest he was international quality.
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Quote ="major hound"Alan Tait - not in the same class as Hamson or Chris Bibb'"
Better than both for me. You can make an argument for Hampson but he was just good under a high ball. Tait was a better attacker, runner and defender than Hampson. On Bibb, I'll have to pass on that because I don't remember him doing anything that stuck in my, admittedly woeful, memory.
Quote ="major hound"John Devereaux - very naive - reponsible for Oz winning at Wembley in '92 when Renouf made him look like a monkey
David Bishop
icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" />
icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" />
icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" />
I'll give you Scott Gibbs and Davies - both excellent converts, Davies possibly the best I've seen since Lewis Jones. Offiah was quick. Once he stopped being quick his career was ">over.'"
I thought Devereaux was okay and I'm not sure you can condemn a man's entire career on a slip up against one of the best centres to ever play the game, in a World Cup Final. Agree on Bishop. Had a couple of good games but never enough to seriously suggest he was international quality.
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| Rank | Posts | Team |
| Player Coach | 22320 | No
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| Mar 2006 | 19 years | |
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| Feb 2025 | Sep 2019 | LINK |
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Its not just the union imports its the players we've lost to union.
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| Rank | Posts | Team |
| International Chairman | 7155 | No
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| Joined | Service | Reputation |
| Dec 2001 | 23 years | |
| Online | Last Post | Last Page |
| Sep 2024 | Sep 2024 | LINK |
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Quote ="Kelvin's Ferret"Where the difference comes in is at the lower levels of the game, where the investment in equipment, facilities and coaching is missing, and that feeds through. Unless picked up by a SL club youth set-up at an early stage it is unlikely a player will progress to first grade, and we don't have a wide enough base of grass roots clubs with excellent coaching facilities to prime the ">pump.'"
You're probably right with the amount of money in the game at lower levels.
But exactly the same applies to a kid if they aren't picked up by an NRL club. The junior rep comp for example in NSW would start at Harold Matts (U16s), though all sides have development squads looking for good players. Before that there are clubs that have juniors. And of those clubs, more and more are disappearing.
One more thing to consider is that with kids, I've seen St Helens come over here twice and beat their NRL counterparts. So maybe the perceived problem is after that.
We've had countless australian coaches go to the UK. Do people really think no-one learnt anything from them if they were so special and different?
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Quote ="Kelvin's Ferret"Where the difference comes in is at the lower levels of the game, where the investment in equipment, facilities and coaching is missing, and that feeds through. Unless picked up by a SL club youth set-up at an early stage it is unlikely a player will progress to first grade, and we don't have a wide enough base of grass roots clubs with excellent coaching facilities to prime the ">pump.'"
You're probably right with the amount of money in the game at lower levels.
But exactly the same applies to a kid if they aren't picked up by an NRL club. The junior rep comp for example in NSW would start at Harold Matts (U16s), though all sides have development squads looking for good players. Before that there are clubs that have juniors. And of those clubs, more and more are disappearing.
One more thing to consider is that with kids, I've seen St Helens come over here twice and beat their NRL counterparts. So maybe the perceived problem is after that.
We've had countless australian coaches go to the UK. Do people really think no-one learnt anything from them if they were so special and different?
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| Rank | Posts | Team |
| International Star | 138 | No
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| Joined | Service | Reputation |
| Apr 2012 | 13 years | |
| Online | Last Post | Last Page |
| Aug 2012 | Aug 2012 | LINK |
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/has Quote ="McClennan"Better than both for me. You can make an argument for Hampson but he was just good under a high ball. Tait was a better attacker, runner and defender than Hampson. On Bibb, I'll have to pass on that because I don't remember him doing anything that stuck in my, admittedly woeful, memory.
I thought Devereaux was okay and I'm not sure you can condemn a man's entire career on a slip up against one of the best centres to ever play the game, in a World Cup Final. Agree on Bishop. Had a couple of good games but never enough to seriously suggest he was international ">quality.'"
I'm not saying Tait wasn't a good attacking fullback - but then so was Chris Bibb - but he was very suspect defensively. He didn't seem to know how to use the touchline as an extra defender -this was badly shown up by Offiah's try at Wembley in 1993 -Offiah was fast but Tait should have at least been in a position to tackle him - he wasn't. I saw Bibb play quite a lot - as a Fev fan I admit I'm biased. But he kept us in games against the top sides in the late 80's by his sheer defensive positional abilities. Devereaux was as you say "ok" but not in the same class as say Henderson Gill, or Robinson say.
Union imports had their place in RL international sides, and there were some good ones - not mentioned - but the core of a top RL side had/has to of solid RL pedigree or they'll never really win anything. Look at the Salford side of the seventies, stuffed full of Union talent. Maurice Richards, Mike Coulman, David Watkins, Keith Fielding, and what did they actually win in the end? Same sould be said of the80's/90's Leeds sides. packed with big name Union players Gallagher, Young, Fallon - what did they win?
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/has Quote ="McClennan"Better than both for me. You can make an argument for Hampson but he was just good under a high ball. Tait was a better attacker, runner and defender than Hampson. On Bibb, I'll have to pass on that because I don't remember him doing anything that stuck in my, admittedly woeful, memory.
I thought Devereaux was okay and I'm not sure you can condemn a man's entire career on a slip up against one of the best centres to ever play the game, in a World Cup Final. Agree on Bishop. Had a couple of good games but never enough to seriously suggest he was international ">quality.'"
I'm not saying Tait wasn't a good attacking fullback - but then so was Chris Bibb - but he was very suspect defensively. He didn't seem to know how to use the touchline as an extra defender -this was badly shown up by Offiah's try at Wembley in 1993 -Offiah was fast but Tait should have at least been in a position to tackle him - he wasn't. I saw Bibb play quite a lot - as a Fev fan I admit I'm biased. But he kept us in games against the top sides in the late 80's by his sheer defensive positional abilities. Devereaux was as you say "ok" but not in the same class as say Henderson Gill, or Robinson say.
Union imports had their place in RL international sides, and there were some good ones - not mentioned - but the core of a top RL side had/has to of solid RL pedigree or they'll never really win anything. Look at the Salford side of the seventies, stuffed full of Union talent. Maurice Richards, Mike Coulman, David Watkins, Keith Fielding, and what did they actually win in the end? Same sould be said of the80's/90's Leeds sides. packed with big name Union players Gallagher, Young, Fallon - what did they win?
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icon_lol.gif" alt="icon_lol.gif" title="Laughing" /> 
