Wigan Warriors • England 19-man squad for RLWC Semi Final
Stu M wrote:
This is a good point. When was the last time we had a real superstar in our comp who stayed long enough to add some real value? The likes of Barba and Lyon were superstars but came here under a cloud due to misdemeanours back home. Barrett was a great player to use Wigan as an example but these were years ago (apart from Barba)
One of my best mates is Polish and doesn't really folllow RL. However he works with a lot of mad Wigan fans (I don't mean crazy I mean keen match going ones). The other day we were chatting about the WC and he asked if Field and French had been playing well for Australia as he knows they are good players from his work colleagues. He presumed they would be playing. I explained that they hadn't been selected. Trying to explain to him was strange as in his eyes they are 2 of the best in SL (they are of course) and yet if we are being honest would either make even a 40 man Australia squad? Would either start in the NRL?
This isn't being anti-Wigan by using these two as an example, you could argue Coote when he first signed for us would be the same.
The point I am making is that the depth of talent in Aus dwarfs ours. Now of course if a Nathan Cleary comes over here its a different story but its never going to happen for a whole host of reasons.
i've just made a point on the Warriors fans forum about the post match on BBC. Willie Poaching was asked about Samoa's chance v Oz. He said we had 8 players in the NRL Grand Final, and we play at that intensity week in week out. He didnt seem phased. I think he's realistic that Oz are favourites, but the majority of the team play in the NRL so wont be phased by playing them
another stat was that 40% of the NRL playing rosta come from the South Sea Islands. So no wonder that Samoa, Tonga, PNG etc are progressing internationally.
In the UK we want to see the best stars week in week out, but our game isnt played at an intensity close to the NRL, so we either need to massively improve the quality / intensity every week in SL or our players need exposing to the NRL on a regular basis. I'd never seen Farnworth or Young play as i dont watch NRL, but they both looked comfortable at the top level, given their relative youth and lack of international playing time and that must only have come from playing in the NRL every week
Statistics: Posted by The pieman — Mon Nov 14, 2022 4:13 pm — Replies 66 — Views 4174