True Brit Morley refused to give up Lions for an Origin jersey and shot at Roos

[nqboy]

WHEN Adrian Morley obtained Australian residency earlier this year, he was offered the opportunity to play State of Origin for NSW. To do so, however, Morley revealed he had been told he would have to give up playing for Great Britain - something the departing Sydney Roosters enforcer said he wasn't prepared to do.

"They said I could play for NSW and make myself available for Australia but that was something I wasn't prepared to do," Morley said. "It would have been nice to be the first Briton to play Origin but I wouldn't do anything to jeopardise playing for Great Britain."

With the controversy over player eligibility that has plagued the Tri-Nations tournament, it is probably just as well. But the possibility of Morley lining up for the Blues or Kangaroos invites the question of how many other members of the Lions squad would be considered good enough.

The reality is that some may not even make it in the NRL, although former St Helens and Wigan coach Ian Millward - now Graham Murray's assistant at North Queensland - points out that Morley and Gold Coast-bound Newcastle winger Brian Carney have been successful.

"I think there's a lot of players over there who would definitely do well in Australia but it comes back to the teams you put them with and the people you put them around," Millward said. "When Morley came over, he was with a coach at the Roosters that he was comfortable with in Muzza [his former Leeds mentor] and players that were good. Carney played on the back end of Matt Gidley and Andrew Johns so the right environment was there."

The biggest problem for the British, according to most of those who have experienced the game in both hemispheres, is that Super League does not provide the right environment for developing a a strong Test team. The top teams would be competitive in the NRL but beyond that the standard drops away dramatically.

"It used to be Wigan and the rest, then it got to the stages where there was also Bradford and Leeds and St Helens and obviously Hull joined that equation this year," said incoming Newcastle coach Brian Smith, who enjoyed a brief stint this year assisting Bradford coach Steve McNamara after leaving Parramatta mid-season. "But they haven't got 16 teams as we will have next season, where even Souths over the past few years - while they haven't won as many games - still give some tough contests. Until they get that, they will always have the same problem. They've got some good individual players but they don't have to learn how to prepare like the players out here do on the same scale."

Former Rabbitohs captain Bryan Fletcher, who now plays for Wigan, said the difference in standard between the NRL and Super League was noticeable.

"The first 20 minutes are the same as the NRL, but then it just dies off," Fletcher said. "You can almost pinpoint the time in the game. Maybe it's the mental attitude. It just drops off. That's probably why you see those big scores."

And then there's the refereeing: "I've never seen such bad refereeing in my life," the former Test second-rower said. "They've got no idea."

But Fletcher said a number of British players could follow the successful transition of his former Roosters teammate Morley to the NRL, nominating Souths recruitment target Kirk Yeaman as the most promising of the lot.

"He's a really strong centre," Fletcher said. "He missed about 12 games this year but he still came second in the try-scoring. And young [Wigan forward] Gareth Hock - I might be a bit biased, but I rate him. He's a big, tough kid."
Fletcher also nominated Paul Wellens, Danny McGuire, Keiron Cunningham and Stuart Fielden. "All those blokes would make it," he said.

And Fletcher said Super League winners St Helens, who provide six of the GB side playing Australia tomorrow night at Aussie Stadium, would finish in the top six in the NRL.

But Millward said the number of imports in Super League was killing the British game. "It inhibits them progressing internationally," he said. "They have one or two injuries and it cruels them because they don't have the depth of players to pick from."

Both Millward, who writes a column for SportingLife.com, and Herald columnist Phil Gould have predicted the Lions would not win a Tri-Nations game.

But Morley remained confident. "When we pick our best 17, we are as good as the Kiwis or the Australians. But they've got more depth." He believed Fielden, McGuire and halfback Sean Long would shine in the NRL.

This is a disgrace. Good on Morley for telling them to stick their Aussie jersey where the sun doesn't shine. Approaches like this make a mockery of international football. Shame on the nameless people who dreamed it up.

He's a God Damn Pommie for crying out loud. What part of that do they not understand?

 

[CliffyIsGod]

If the intesnity droppped after 20 minutes, then how come Bryan Fletcher was sh*t in his stint in the ESL?

 

[nqboy]

Cos he's past his best?

 

[PARRA_FAN]

If Morely did play Origin, then they might as well drop the word "Origin" and just call it Residents like the old days. When will people learn. :roll:

Well done to Morely for staying loyal.

 

[Canard]

Two words for how was behind the push for him to play Origin.

Phil Gould.

He was been desperate for SBW to play since his first NRL game.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

I suggest Phil Gould should look up the word "Origin" in the dictionary.

Then get a kick up the @rse.

 

[Lantana]

I suggest Phil Gould should look up the word "Origin" in the dictionary.

Then get a kick up the @rse.

and then a punch in the face

 

[brendothejet]

and then a punch in the face

and a cricket bat to the balls

 

[fourplay]

It seems Phil Gould hates the international game and wants to destroy it... all he ever does is bag it.

Imagine if Morely(and SBW) said yes to Origin and was right now playing for the Kangaroos vs GB. The whole competition would be a joke.

 

[nadera78]

Two points about that article, first if the refs are so sh*t in the UK how do you explain Simpnkin's performance last week? That was probably the worst reffing display I've seen in 10 years. What a joke!

And apparently some of the GB players wouldn't "make it" in the NRL. Right, okay then, some of them are PL or QLD Cup standard are they? What a stupid statement, the top 6 teams in SL would go well in the NRL, St Helens would go damn near winning the thing. But no, it's not australian so it must all be complete sh*t.

And aussies wondered why everyone else wants to see them lose!

 

[nadera78]

Oh, and good on Morley for telling the arrogant Aussies to stuff origin up their jacksies!

 

[JF_Henson_Hill]

I think it is a complete disgrace that Morley would even be considered as eligable for NSW Origin selection just because he became a resident here. It makes a complete mockery of eligibility criteria & in the long run cheapens the State of Origin brand.

He is an English as rainy summer, as Yorkshire pud, as rugby league grounds resembling Stonehenge. And so he should remain.

JF

 

[icewind]

i thought origin elegibility criteria wasn't just based on residency, but also where they played their first game of junior football? surely that would have been in England? Also i think the fact that he's played for GB, he shouldn't be able to switch even if he wanted to.

 

[Micistm]

It makes all this 'rules & eligability' stuff a joke. 'International Leagues Darkest Day' was said about the Fein thing. Hysterical. Greame Lowe said his piece on it before in NZ, but no one in NZ except the media has listened to him for years, since he big noted himself on how he was going to 'save' the Warriors and nearly killed them for good.
This is the annoying thing about the 'shameful' Fein thing-It goes on a lot. But good on Morley for having the principles of sticking to playing for his country and ignoring the State of Origin carrot. Are you listening, Tony Carroll? Oh, sorry...that was under the (Aussie made) rules and was 'allowed.'

What a joke.

 

[Holla if ya hear me]

Two points about that article, first if the refs are so sh*t in the UK how do you explain Simpnkin's performance last week? That was probably the worst reffing display I've seen in 10 years. What a joke!

And apparently some of the GB players wouldn't "make it" in the NRL. Right, okay then, some of them are PL or QLD Cup standard are they? What a stupid statement, the top 6 teams in SL would go well in the NRL, St Helens would go damn near winning the thing. But no, it's not australian so it must all be complete sh*t.

And aussies wondered why everyone else wants to see them lose!

Whinge bitch moan complain...go n sit on blackpool beach..get ya ass all filty n read leons webpage

 

[Micistm]

Quite frankly Aussie is as arrogant when it comes to League as New Zealand is when it comes to Rugby Union. For the good of both codes on an international stage, both teams need to be knocked down a peg or two. Ideally, which won't happen this year of course, a final without Aussie there would be great for the game. Hasn't hurt Union not having NZ in the World Cup final for some time (Although you wouldn't know that from the Rugby Heads over here who boast the ABs superiority to anything and everything and go into mourning when they're knocked out in the semis...again).