This week we have seen 3 imports decide that they are homesick and time to return home ( Wade Mackinnon Anthony Watts and Shannon Mcdonnell.) No doubt the clubs concerned paid the air fares , provided them with accommodation , a car and a salary in excess of the average British player . Trinity have not been immune to this phenomenon in the past and might experience it again before the end of the season . Isn't it about time we invested all this money in to bringing through our own youngsters even if they do get poached by other clubs eventually. I have nothing against aussies paying there own fare over and asking for a trial as JD did at Lancashire Lynx. Then they have an incentive to make a go of it- but i am convinced we will not suffer in the end .Is Isaac John better than Jamie Rooney at the same age? Is Smith better that Brough ? Is Southerrn better than Westwood ? Is Mellars better than Murphy? The money wasted on overseas players in the past could have been used to keep our emerging stars.

McDonnell is off to Catalans

I remember the first training session held by Peter Roe, up at the Crigg all blacks on a cold wet day, a couple of the players from overseas made comment about the cold and he told them if they did not like it to sod off home.



Sadly they stayed.

Anthony Watts hasn't gone home because he was homesick. He was fully intending to stay until last friday night.

tachetée faire des beignets dans la voiture Gilbert Brutus parc, apparently!!!

Slightly misleading as one of the players mentioned has signed for another SL club and one had no option to leave.

Watts going home due to injury simple as,will say Wakey have had some great overseas players South Africa,Australia,New Zealand etc. But by the same token they have had some real garbage who by rights would have been lucky to get in the second string if we had known before hand.

Yeah his hands were sore.

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His injury had nothing to do with his reason for going home.

100% correct. British RL clubs seem like junkies at times; addicted to Anzacs. Look at us taking Hickey! Did nobody think 'look at the state of that?' If it's not better than what you have available at home don't be fooled by the antipodean passport!

The issue here though is most if not all of the mentioned players that have left wakey were sold down the road by Ted Richardson when the club was being badley run. We've got to be patient there are quite a few gems playing under 20's and under 18's. What we need ir RA to start and play some of the youngsters when they are ready to help with club development. Lets see more home grown players in the team like dare i say it saint and leeds to name two.

Based on this logic we would never have seen Wally Lewis Ray Price Steve Ella or for that matter JD, Sid Domic, David Solomona.



I'm all for developing youth but if we are excluding overseas players we will have a nice British based team playing in Championship

I'm all for bringing on our own players but despite seemingly have a youth structure in place for years we've not seen the benefit as we should have done. Some don't get played, (like now for instance) some simply don't make the grade, some just fade away and those who do make it are tempted by other clubs.

That latter part must be corrected! Just imagine if we'd kept Ellis, Westwood and Brough!

So, I think it is high time our youth policy produced players who make the grade and want to stay. There is no objection form me of having a couple of imports but I would rather us have a look at one or two South African RU imports than the constant flow of those from the bottom of the globe, many of whom as the OP has said are no better, if as good, as what we already have.

I think the OP has conflated two issues here, perhaps to suit the current mood.



As someone else has pointed out, the imported players who are departing early from SL (not from WTW) are doing so for reasons totally unconnected to homesickness or failing to settle, and there's no evidence that any of our current imports will be leaving before the end of the season for those reasons.



As for the wider issue of imported players - in general terms, many of them add significant value to SL and the game would be poorer without them. Unfortunately, we haven't been in a position to attract those types for a number of years and even where we do unearth a gem, they can be easily lured away by one of the richer clubs and their elastic version of the salary cap.



I'd advocate some changes that would force clubs into more virtuous behaviour around importing foreign players and developing young British players. For example, I'd like to see the quota reduced to 3, with all the daft loopholes in the system closed off, so more clubs are incentivised to do what Saints, Leeds and Cas have done in terms of youth development; at the same time, I'd also like to see a review of the requirements placed on SL clubs around their youth and academy structures, so that the model some clubs use of hoovering up talent from their neighbours is not rewarded. Finally, I'd suggest that placing a cap on the number of games a 1st team player can participate in during a season would be of benefit.



Overall, there'd probably be a dip in quality for a season or two, but that would be an acceptable cost if it reduced the number of average Aussies in SL and incentivised clubs to behave in a way that would benefit the English game in the longer term.

I'd agree with this apart from the restrcted games part.

Apart from the restraint of trade issues, both Sky and supports will want to see the best possible team available every game.

Sky will soon stop paying money if they end up with Salford playing London when their best players aren't playing cos they've played too many games....or more imporatntly to them Wigan and Sts playing, with no Roby or Tomkins

I don't think there'd be a restraint of trade issue by placing a cap on the number of games a player could participate in, unless they were paid by appearance rather than paid a salary, which I gather is rarely the case.



As for the quality issue and Sky - what you've described happens week in and week out anyway, due to injuries and bans/suspensions; my system could even have an unintended positive effect on injuries, as key players would play fewer games over the season and have greater opportunity for rehab and recovery. Jamie Peacock would love it!



Overall, I think it's in everyone's best interests to secure the future health of the British game; clubs have demonstrated that they're not willing to do that on a discretionary basis, so a bit of coercion seems appropriate.



Sky wouldn't give a hoot who was playing as long as the audience remained the same, and I'm pretty sure it would.

The Watts thing has hit the news now. He was a very naughty boy...



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Silly boy

Dennis Betts growled some interesting comments towards the end of that article; nothing new, but it's refreshing to hear a club official saying something more than the usual bland management-speak that organisations tend to reel out in situations like this.



As for the lad himself - whilst a season-ending injury on debut is obviously devastating, his response has cost him a year of paid rehab and a new contract for next season; I doubt it was worth it.

Its a wonder he hasn't made his way to the Galpharm

I reckon we will do the same again this close season and sign the same mixed bag of waifs, strays & crocks from the Queensland Cup or whatever and most probably have the same results. We need less imports but better. I would say Aiton & Lauititi are the only imports that if replaced by a UK based player would have a tangible effect on the quality of the team - most of the rest of them could and probably should be replaced with domestic players.



We never seem to learn, and continue to throw money at it looking for a quick fix that rarely pays off......

I believe Aiton was Agars first signing as opposed to those signed by whichever secret committee was signing them before. I also know that Agar stated he would be the best overseas signing in SL this year - he's certainly one of them. Had he signed for a proper team he'd be Eddie and Stevo's new love interest IMHO. So Agar may not be a good Coach as many suggest but at least he knows a good player when he signs one. To have Aiton on a three year is a great deal for us unless he gets tapped up as Nathan Wood and a few others have and exits early.

Whoever signed him has pulled a blinder - dont know who it was. Agar though, regardless of any other (fair) criticism always had a knack of attracting big names to the KC, along with some very average ones too.



The test for us is when the likes of Tony, Mellers, John, Smith etc come to the end of their contract, and we see who Agar replaces them with.

Nope Collis was credited as Agars first signing according to the clubs website. The only new players signed prior to his appointment were Lauitiiti, Southern, Fox, Ellis, Mellars & Wilkes along with a few contract extensions for some of the younger guys. All the others were after his appointment.



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