Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

As an actual Wigan fan, no, of course i'm not particularly pleased to see our brightest young talents poached. In some ways, I'm a little surprised it's even seen as necessary. Aren't there more than enough young lads coming through from Australian schools and amateur leagues? Considering he hadn't played a game of first-grade when signed, before being given a thankless run-out against a strong Saints side (where he did perform fairly creditably, as did all the youngsters). But where will he play? Will the Raiders send him out to a feeder club for experience (I assume you have one)? Will that experience be better than a season in SL? The talent drain would, of course, be a lot more acceptable if there was some movement in the opposite direction. Are there no Aussie youngsters who would not benefit from a season in first-grade in SL? I've heard it said, they wouldn't want to come. Because of rain, or something. The UK (and, indeed, Europe) has rather more to offer than that.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

And Wolford has gone from Huddersfield, BTW. I think he was heading home.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by Botman »

moto748 wrote: October 8, 2020, 8:48 pm As an actual Wigan fan, no, of course i'm not particularly pleased to see our brightest young talents poached. In some ways, I'm a little surprised it's even seen as necessary. Aren't there more than enough young lads coming through from Australian schools and amateur leagues? Considering he hadn't played a game of first-grade when signed, before being given a thankless run-out against a strong Saints side (where he did perform fairly creditably, as did all the youngsters). But where will he play? Will the Raiders send him out to a feeder club for experience (I assume you have one)? Will that experience be better than a season in SL? The talent drain would, of course, be a lot more acceptable if there was some movement in the opposite direction. Are there no Aussie youngsters who would not benefit from a season in first-grade in SL? I've heard it said, they wouldn't want to come. Because of rain, or something. The UK (and, indeed, Europe) has rather more to offer than that.
There is no easy answer for you here.

If he comes, he wont be in our top 17, likley will not debut for the club until 2022 at least and we'll be trying to develop him in whatever jnr system we have

This is a cut throat business and unfortunately for wigan fans, the ESL is a sub par competition in quality, and more importantly money... young Harry is being given a chance to come to australia where he can play the sport at the highest level, develop at the highest level and thus earn at the highest level

The Raiders have spent time being a developmental club for others in our time so we know the pain of this. It sucks. And there is not much you or your club can do about it because reasons for it arent in your control for the most part.

It is what it is. And the Raiders success in taking on english imports and turning them into genuine NRL footballers and in most cases, actual stars, must be on the minds of these kids we target. I have endless sympathy for you, because you've got your club and you want to see these kids be your stars and win for you, but you have to come to terms with the fact that those with the talent to do so, will want to test themselves in the NRL if the opportunity presents itself.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

On entry in to Australia, I'm not surprised there are issues. I really don't think you can compare him to Luke Thompson. Thompson was an experienced international player who had been a regular at one of SL's top clubs for a few years.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

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If he's coming, he's coming business class.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

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Woolford is going to Panthers as an assistant

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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by BadnMean »

moto748 wrote: October 8, 2020, 8:48 pm In some ways, I'm a little surprised it's even seen as necessary. Aren't there more than enough young lads coming through from Australian schools and amateur leagues?
There are always some good kids coming through, but there are a few wrinkles in the recruitment system that might only be apparent to a fan whose grown up knowing the club/development situation here. Sitting around hoping to get a miracle crop of juniors didn't do much for us for a decade. Almost did once, but that's a long story... You need your good juniors PLUS something extra to have sustained success.

Sydney Roosters- corporate dollars, multiple billionaire board members, "creative" accounting leaves them with what other fans refer to as a "salary sombrero" rather than a salary cap. The stereotype is that they don't even bother with juniors, they just everyone elses (not quite true but gives the picture).

Brisbane- single team in the second largest and most passionate league city in the nation, so big corporate support and great choice of players.

Sydney clubs have lifestyle, profile and post playing media career advantages that attract a lot of young players- big city and beaches drawpower.

Raiders draw from Canberra, Queanbyan and a geographically large area of all the country towns for an couple of hours drive any given direction and even South coast (competing with Illawarra). Sometimes we get country kids who play here because they don't want to live in Sydney. Basically Sydney has Sydney and most of the coast, country kids are Canberra. Country kids north of Sydney are Newcastle.

So what did Raiders do? When it was a NSW comp only, Canberra brought in Qlders to supplement local talent. When the Qld teams were invited into form the NRL and became harder to get the best QLders, the Raiders were one of the first to go heavily to NZ and Fiji. Once all the other clubs are replicating that and we needed a new idea, Ricky began to go heavily to England.

Raiders used to have a feeder team in QLD cup, but found we would put time into these juniors and then lose them once they became stars and got "homesick" for Brisbane. So the relationship with Souths Logan ended.

At their best the Raiders have always had a core of local legends: Ricky (Qbyan), Clyde (Cberra), Cotric (Cberra), Croker (Goulburn), Wighton (Orange), Daley (Junee) + great imports- Mal, Walters, Belcher, Backo, Papalii (qld), Wiki, Lomax, Pongia, Hoppe (NZ), Whitehead and co (Eng).

So there are good players but every club is out there seeking an edge. There's plenty of African and South American players in the EPL- doesn't mean there are no good players in England. But clubs always seek talent. To match the advantages of Sydney or Brisbane, other clubs have to find a way- Melbourne push the rules and innovate wrestling (+massive cap rort to set it all up), Canberra need to recruit cleverly.
But where will he play? Will the Raiders send him out to a feeder club for experience (I assume you have one)? Will that experience be better than a season in SL? The talent drain would, of course, be a lot more acceptable if there was some movement in the opposite direction. .
Raiders also used to have a team in NSW Cup- Mounties- we partnered with but will be entering our own team in NSW next season (covid permitting) so he'll have the opportunity to play for them, if not FG.

As for players the other way- it may happen. I fear many players fear being tagged "not NRL standard" if they go to England too early and getting forgotten as the next wave of youngsters comes through. Back when the pound was higher though, I distinctly remember it was OZ worrying about the loss of good players "too early" to England, as the pound was near 3:1 vs the oz dollar. There was plenty heading both directions. That's 10-15 years back though.


There may be a few
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by greeneyed »

I hope that the Raiders enter a team in the NSW Cup, but it isn't clear what will happen with lower tier footy. The most recent indications from Don Furner was that we'd either look for another association with a NSW Cup team (Mounties have gone to the Bulldogs, Wentworthville was tested for their interest in 2021, but no go)... or we'd play players in the Canberra Raiders Cup. Neither of those options are the best option for player development. The Raiders having their own NSW Cup team would be the best option, IMO. It might be the case that COVID rules out our players playing in lower grades again entirely, if there is the need for another bubble next year.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

Appreciate those thoughtful comments, guys. It's late here now, may speak more on this later.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by Northern Raider »

One thing that shouldn't be overlooked. Despite the way it's portrayed in the media these young guys may not necessarily be "poached". They might be consciously seeking an opportunity to play in the NRL and willing to work from the ground floor to achieve that goal.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by Seiffert82 »

moto748 wrote: October 8, 2020, 8:48 pm As an actual Wigan fan, no, of course i'm not particularly pleased to see our brightest young talents poached. In some ways, I'm a little surprised it's even seen as necessary. Aren't there more than enough young lads coming through from Australian schools and amateur leagues? Considering he hadn't played a game of first-grade when signed, before being given a thankless run-out against a strong Saints side (where he did perform fairly creditably, as did all the youngsters). But where will he play? Will the Raiders send him out to a feeder club for experience (I assume you have one)? Will that experience be better than a season in SL? The talent drain would, of course, be a lot more acceptable if there was some movement in the opposite direction. Are there no Aussie youngsters who would not benefit from a season in first-grade in SL? I've heard it said, they wouldn't want to come. Because of rain, or something. The UK (and, indeed, Europe) has rather more to offer than that.
I think NRL players will always be keen to go across to the UK for the life experience of playing in the SuperLeague and travelling through Europe.

Unfortunately money talks and at this stage the NRL salary cap (pre- COVID) was almost AU$10 million, whereas the £2.1 million cap over there is just over 1/3 of the value of ours.

Once upon a time it was the other way around and Australia had plenty of players over in the UK. Not so much these days.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by Neeeegz »

I'd say this has been put on hold, let him develop at home for another season, he won't make first grade for a few years, and we don't know about the NSW cup next year, we have unreal depth..
Give him another year at home in first grade
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

Seiffert82 wrote: October 11, 2020, 3:09 pm

I think NRL players will always be keen to go across to the UK for the life experience of playing in the SuperLeague and travelling through Europe.

Unfortunately money talks and at this stage the NRL salary cap (pre- COVID) was almost AU$10 million, whereas the £2.1 million cap over there is just over 1/3 of the value of ours.

Once upon a time it was the other way around and Australia had plenty of players over in the UK. Not so much these days.
That's true, and that salary cap situation isn't going to change anytime soon. And I can kinda understand the worry of being branded 'not NRL standard'. But I always look at it this way. There are sixteen teams in the NRL. Don't tell me there aren't more than 32 good half-backs in Australia! Double that to 64 if you want to allow for bench, injuries etc. Then remember all the Kiwis and Islanders playing in the NRL. And the odd Englishman like George. The rest, presumably, play in lower grade leagues (are any lower grade leagues in Australia fully professional, or are they semi-pro?). Or get a job as a plumber, or whatever.

You certainly don't get rich playing league in the UK. I think even second tier footballers earn more. But I don't imagine you get rich playing in the Queensland Cup or whatever either. And certainly the days of attracting superstars to England like Sterling, Kenny, and Barrett are long gone. Unless they are old and clapped out!
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

Northern Raider wrote: October 11, 2020, 1:26 pm One thing that shouldn't be overlooked. Despite the way it's portrayed in the media these young guys may not necessarily be "poached". They might be consciously seeking an opportunity to play in the NRL and willing to work from the ground floor to achieve that goal.
Yes, you are right; 'poached' isn't the most neutral term. Youngsters may look at George Williams and think, I want a shot at that too! I get that. I think it's more how early this is in his career for Rushton. I think most people here, certainly including myself, took the view with George that he had given us years of good service, bringing silverware to the club, and if he wanted a shot at the NRL, good luck to him, and thanks for your past efforts. But it's a bit different with a guy who hadn't even played first-grade!
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by Seiffert82 »

moto748 wrote: October 11, 2020, 10:04 pm
Seiffert82 wrote: October 11, 2020, 3:09 pm

I think NRL players will always be keen to go across to the UK for the life experience of playing in the SuperLeague and travelling through Europe.

Unfortunately money talks and at this stage the NRL salary cap (pre- COVID) was almost AU$10 million, whereas the £2.1 million cap over there is just over 1/3 of the value of ours.

Once upon a time it was the other way around and Australia had plenty of players over in the UK. Not so much these days.
That's true, and that salary cap situation isn't going to change anytime soon. And I can kinda understand the worry of being branded 'not NRL standard'. But I always look at it this way. There are sixteen teams in the NRL. Don't tell me there aren't more than 32 good half-backs in Australia! Double that to 64 if you want to allow for bench, injuries etc. Then remember all the Kiwis and Islanders playing in the NRL. And the odd Englishman like George. The rest, presumably, play in lower grade leagues (are any lower grade leagues in Australia fully professional, or are they semi-pro?). Or get a job as a plumber, or whatever.

You certainly don't get rich playing league in the UK. I think even second tier footballers earn more. But I don't imagine you get rich playing in the Queensland Cup or whatever either. And certainly the days of attracting superstars to England like Sterling, Kenny, and Barrett are long gone. Unless they are old and clapped out!
Yep, there is certainly a greater depth of talent here. It's what all the English players talk about when asked about the difference between the NRL and playing in the SuperLeague...every game here is generally a hard contest.

FWIW, I like that the best UK talent is coming here to test themselves. It can only benefit the standard of international League in the long run, and hopefully encourage more kids to take up Rugby League over there with the incentive of earning decent money. Ultimately the SuperLeague will benefit, but it will take many years.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by Postman Pat »

moto748 wrote:
Northern Raider wrote: October 11, 2020, 1:26 pm One thing that shouldn't be overlooked. Despite the way it's portrayed in the media these young guys may not necessarily be "poached". They might be consciously seeking an opportunity to play in the NRL and willing to work from the ground floor to achieve that goal.
Yes, you are right; 'poached' isn't the most neutral term. Youngsters may look at George Williams and think, I want a shot at that too! I get that. I think it's more how early this is in his career for Rushton. I think most people here, certainly including myself, took the view with George that he had given us years of good service, bringing silverware to the club, and if he wanted a shot at the NRL, good luck to him, and thanks for your past efforts. But it's a bit different with a guy who hadn't even played first-grade!
Don’t forget the fact that NRL clubs have very good development systems and Rushton could learn a lot more over here development wise. Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s pretty equal when it comes to established SL players coming over and making it in the NRL to not.

Rickys recruited smartly and very well against the grain.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by bonehead »

I've mentioned before a mate has 2 sons playing juniors with Super league teams, both making national squads, they've both been keen to come out here into nrl u20s setups to further their career opportunities.

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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by FuiFui BradBrad »

Yeah it is a tricky one, and as a Canberra fan, we can relate. After the Rushton signing I was thinking "Man, it must hurt being a Wigan fan at the moment."

For me, the shining light I've tried to put on this is that this could potentially strengthen the National competition. You would think the more english players who come into the toughest comp and ply their trade will ultimately increase the standard of the English national team. Add to that, if they're all in one team, it can ony be a good thing in terms of chemistry in the English side. Plus, if you guys ever go and sign a coach like Bennett, who only seemed to look at players in the NRL, the best players are already in one comp!

I know, its easy for me to say all of this because we're part of the problem from a Wigan POV, but as Studman said there's no easy answer
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

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bonehead wrote: October 12, 2020, 8:47 am I've mentioned before a mate has 2 sons playing juniors with Super league teams, both making national squads, they've both been keen to come out here into nrl u20s setups to further their career opportunities.

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Yeah it's just how it is... those that feel they can be NRL players are going to come out and test themselves, and so they should. The level of play and pay is too good to knock back... and if you're a pom and you want to come and play NRL footy and be successful, its hard to argue that there is a better place than the Raiders to do so given the success we've had with soap dodgers

I think the only one that didnt really pan out was Jordan Turner, but he was probably on the end of his career and too old to adjust by the time he came over
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by BadnMean »

moto748 wrote: October 11, 2020, 10:04 pm Then remember all the Kiwis and Islanders playing in the NRL. And the odd Englishman like George. The rest, presumably, play in lower grade leagues (are any lower grade leagues in Australia fully professional, or are they semi-pro?). Or get a job as a plumber, or whatever.

You certainly don't get rich playing league in the UK. I think even second tier footballers earn more. But I don't imagine you get rich playing in the Queensland Cup or whatever either. And certainly the days of attracting superstars to England like Sterling, Kenny, and Barrett are long gone. Unless they are old and clapped out!
The lower grade leagues (QLD cup and NSW Cup) are semi-pro. Some of those clubs have affiliations with NRL teams which mean they might have a sprinkling of guys playing with them on the weekend who are full time footballers attached to an NRL club. But yeah, most might be picking up some handy pocket money but it's not a full time career and they have a job or study or what have you.

SL clubs may be able to get more access to NRL and NSW/QLD Cup players if they establish a partnership with a club here- but perhaps they are wary of just creating a link that encourages the player drain the other way. And you're right, there are plenty of good ones, Maka Sivo was plucked out of NSW Cup at 25 years old.

There's still an odd mix of players heading over to England- there's "almost" NRL guys like Sam Williams, who was good enough to lead the Raiders deep into NRL finals as a youngster but just never overcame his weaknesses to really kick on. And then guys like Aiden Sezer- our 2019 GF halfback who is certainly not a poor player, not clapped out and certainly NRL standard but almost priced out as he's not regarded as a top elite halfback here but too good and expensive to be a second fiddle or backup so he went to SL to be a starter and see the world.

But I'd say the days of Meninga and Ferguson heading to SL in their prime won't return unless the pound/dollar ration rises significantly or one of those SL innovations like including Toronto and New York actually take hold and increase the SL market size a bit which might allow a salary cap raise. That'll take 5-10 years to come to fruition, if covid doesn't wreck it.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by Raiders_Pat »

The NRL is the NBA of rugby league. This situation was inevitable. By making the peak competition in the sport even stronger by bringing over the best players from England, the game will become stronger imo. You raise interest which means more juniors playing the game which over time leads to more talent. I think you will also find that over time more younger players from this end of the globe will seek out opportunities in the ESL as a pathway, I just can't see a trend of more players coming over from England as having a negative effect on the game. English rugby league will benefit from it.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

Don't talk to me about Bennett! Never wanted him as England coach. I'm not saying the coach *had* to be English, but he always gave the impression his heart wasn't it, his grumpy manner was a PR disaster (compare and contrast Eddie Jones), and it was hard to escape the idea that he only took the job to spite the ARL bigwigs anyway. Plus, his record, for all his reputation, was no better, if not worse, than his much-criticised predecessor. More than happy to see Shaun Wane in the job now.

As for strengthening the international game, well, true up to a point, but that would carry more weight if we had an international calendar anywhere near what we see in rugby union. Sadly, we don't. International sides only playing once or twice a year at best is a joke.

Jordan Turner was pretty ordinary anyway, never NRL standard in my book.

Sezer has been good at Huddersfield, as has Jackson Hastings for Salford and Wigan. He seems to have lost the 'bad boy' image he had at the Roosters, and is one of those for whom coming to SL has really been a good move, he has really got his act together and looks a much better player. Of course, the corollary of that is that he (apparently) now wants to return to Australia too!

The pound will not strengthen against anyone's currency: the lunacy of Brexit has made sure of that.

Don't forget in the days of Meninga and Ferguson, league was a winter sport here, so players could play NRL and in England (it wasn't Superleague back then) at the same time, the seasons barely overlapped. Fortunately, we no longer play in the mud, happy to leave that to RU!
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

Raiders_Pat wrote: October 12, 2020, 11:31 am I just can't see a trend of more players coming over from England as having a negative effect on the game. English rugby league will benefit from it.
Nope. If the best English players all leave, and, at the same time, we find it more difficult to attract good players from Australia/NZ, gates will decline, interest will be reduce ,and what follows from that is less money from TV deals. A vicious circle.

Upthread someone mentioned Dutch football. I wonder what gates Ajax and Feyenoord get now, compared to their heyday when they were a real force in world football? Nowadays their top players end up in England or Spain or Italy. Absolutely a good parallel.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

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moto748 wrote: October 12, 2020, 11:53 am
Raiders_Pat wrote: October 12, 2020, 11:31 am I just can't see a trend of more players coming over from England as having a negative effect on the game. English rugby league will benefit from it.
Nope. If the best English players all leave, and, at the same time, we find it more difficult to attract good players from Australia/NZ, gates will decline, interest will be reduce ,and what follows from that is less money from TV deals. A vicious circle.

Upthread someone mentioned Dutch football. I wonder what gates Ajax and Feyenoord get now, compared to their heyday when they were a real force in world football? Nowadays their top players end up in England or Spain or Italy. Absolutely a good parallel.
It's not really comparable imo because soccer or football or whatever you want to call it is already the world's most popular sport, it's potential for growth is small if not non-existent. So you take away players from one area and it will negatively effect that area. Rugby league has the potential to grow as a sport. More English players coming over to Australia to play in the world's best competition opens up opportunities and possibilities. Younger English players see opportunity beyond ESL and the potential to earn more money... surely that keeps talent in the game in the long run. More English players coming to the NRL means less room for Australian/Kiwi/Pacific Island players so the fringe NRL guys will naturally seek opportunity in the ESL. The way I see it, the ESL will take a minor hit in the short term for net positive result in the long term.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by Raiders_Pat »

The standard of English rugby league and the pay is still well above any of the lower tiers in Australia so I think you will find that it will remain as a pathway for those guys who were unlucky to make the cut in NRL teams. A lot of guys recognise (and more will begin to realise) that it's better for their development to be starting at a top team in the ESL each week than to be mainly running out for NSW cup with the occasional NRL appearance for 20 mins off the interchange.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by Elcaptcroker »

The ESL has an import limit too dont they? Each team can only have upto a certain amount of non english players?


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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by julian87 »

greeneyed wrote: October 9, 2020, 12:07 pm I hope that the Raiders enter a team in the NSW Cup, but it isn't clear what will happen with lower tier footy. The most recent indications from Don Furner was that we'd either look for another association with a NSW Cup team (Mounties have gone to the Bulldogs, Wentworthville was tested for their interest in 2021, but no go)... or we'd play players in the Canberra Raiders Cup. Neither of those options are the best option for player development. The Raiders having their own NSW Cup team would be the best option, IMO. It might be the case that COVID rules out our players playing in lower grades again entirely, if there is the need for another bubble next year.
If things are back to a semblance of normality it would be catastrophic to use the Canberra competition for top tier players. Has to be NSW or Qld Cup if they are running.
well, I guess you could say that I'm buy curious.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by FuiFui BradBrad »

Are there any club in Qld worth aligning with?
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greeneyed
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by greeneyed »

Fuifui Bradbrad wrote: October 12, 2020, 5:48 pm Are there any club in Qld worth aligning with?
There are, but the NSWRL won't allow them to.
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Botman
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by Botman »

julian87 wrote: October 12, 2020, 2:58 pm
greeneyed wrote: October 9, 2020, 12:07 pm I hope that the Raiders enter a team in the NSW Cup, but it isn't clear what will happen with lower tier footy. The most recent indications from Don Furner was that we'd either look for another association with a NSW Cup team (Mounties have gone to the Bulldogs, Wentworthville was tested for their interest in 2021, but no go)... or we'd play players in the Canberra Raiders Cup. Neither of those options are the best option for player development. The Raiders having their own NSW Cup team would be the best option, IMO. It might be the case that COVID rules out our players playing in lower grades again entirely, if there is the need for another bubble next year.
If things are back to a semblance of normality it would be catastrophic to use the Canberra competition for top tier players. Has to be NSW or Qld Cup if they are running.
Let me play devils advocate here... And it's only that, because generally i agree with you but...

We haven't had any level of competition this year. None what so ever. THese guys have just trained, no competition at all... and we've had to go deep into the back up roster this year and aside from natural learning curves that come with rookies, we've mostly gone about our business without skipping a beat.

This weird season has certainly given some credence to the idea that maybe having our top back ups playing in the top teir competitions isnt as important as we think it is for development and its more about fitness, and as far as cardio goes, i dont know that there is a HUGE benefit from cardio and getting miles on the legs in CC vs NSW cup.

Again, just playing devils advocate and im at best 15% in on this take... but it's food for thought imo.
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

Elcaptcroker wrote: October 12, 2020, 12:49 pm The ESL has an import limit too dont they? Each team can only have upto a certain amount of non english players?


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Yes, but the rules are complicated. The one sentence answer is that there an overseas quota of 5, but there is also the concept of 'Federation-trained' players, of which you can have 7. And there are exemptions for players, who, for example, come direct from rugby union.

Wigan actually have the fewest overseas players of all the SL clubs, just Tommy Leuluai, Bevan French and Jackson Hastings. And Willie Isa, who is classed as NFT (not Federation-trained). Of course, the reason for that is largely due to our world-class junior development programme, which brings us back to... :lol:
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

Do you guys come under the rules of the NSWRL, then? So Canberra (or ACT) is like a colony of NSW? Bit like Swaziland and South Africa? :lol: There's plenty I find hard to grasp about the rules in Australia too! I suppose there has to be some way of separating the sheep from the goats and deciding who is a Blue and who is a Maroon (and yeah, I'm aware there is controversy about that too!).
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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by bonehead »

moto748 wrote:Do you guys come under the rules of the NSWRL, then? So Canberra (or ACT) is like a colony of NSW? Bit like Swaziland and South Africa? Image There's plenty I find hard to grasp about the rules in Australia too! I suppose there has to be some way of separating the sheep from the goats and deciding who is a Blue and who is a Maroon (and yeah, I'm aware there is controversy about that too!).
Yes Canberra is treated as NSWRL for origin.

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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by BadnMean »

bonehead wrote: October 13, 2020, 7:04 am
moto748 wrote:Do you guys come under the rules of the NSWRL, then? So Canberra (or ACT) is like a colony of NSW? Bit like Swaziland and South Africa? Image There's plenty I find hard to grasp about the rules in Australia too! I suppose there has to be some way of separating the sheep from the goats and deciding who is a Blue and who is a Maroon (and yeah, I'm aware there is controversy about that too!).
Yes Canberra is treated as NSWRL for origin.

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But everywhere else? That's in Queensland!

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Re: Canberra Raiders sign young English forward Harry Rushton

Post by moto748 »

Heh! I've seen that before!

What happens if a guy comes from the Northern Territory or somewhere else in Australia? Surely that must have happened a few times? Would it devolve down to, whichever NRL club he played for?
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