Quote dick scratcher="dick scratcher"I dont think Jonny was aiming that criticism at you Matt. Youre well known for being reasonable and generally positive about RL in general.'"
Can I put that in my signature?
Quote dick scratcher="dick scratcher"Just to add a point. I think McNamara had a choice to make, either carry on as before (and maybe carry on losing as before) or try every avenue possible to make England as competitive as possible and give us every chance to compete. A winning English team will always encourage youngsters more to play than a losing one. Without wanting to go back to cricket but Kevin Pieterson is hero worshipped and has probably got a lot of kids playing that sport who previously wouldnt have done.'"
Fair point, although I long for us to have an exciting English half back that kids can aspire to be, something we're lacking even more so with Tomkins reverting to full back. Maybe Widdop could be that player, and I must admit I find his and Reed's story of effectively chancing their arm in the NRL as something quite inspiring for kids who might feel they get overlooked by the SL clubs etc.
Quote dick scratcher="jonny the leyther"It wasn't you I was referring to who was blaming big bad super league.
If you hadn't missed and England/GB game in the last 10 years you musn't have been that upset at Ireland International Ben Harrison or Maurie Fa'asavalu playing for England/GB. Or Jim Sullivan playing for Wales and England, it's always happened. Before we were a twinkle in our Dads eyes.
My point is we produce more English born players than Australia and NZ do to represent their countries.
How do we offer hope to the kids who want to play for England? Winning, the same way the Aussies and Kiwis did when they won major trophies, I bet the New Zealand public really gave two 5 when Nathan Cayless, Nathan Fein, Jason Nightingale and Setaimata Sa were passing the World Cup Trophy about drinking Billy Slaters tears.
I hear it wrecked the game in New Zealand, or, is there more kids playing RL in New Zealand than ever?'"
For what it's worth, I wasn't exactly chuffed at Fa'asavalu's inclusion but I hoped it was just a one off. Again, in terms of Harrison, Carney, Brough etc then it comes down to the international prospects of players for smaller nations, something that is improving hugely with European Cup and hopefully the same for the Pacific Islanders that are picked off by the big two down under.
To me, a reduction in the Super League quota and much tighter restrictions on international selection should be one of the biggest priorities for the RFL/RLIF for the near future.
