I couldnt agree with PSF and WTF. For the uneducated, the QLD Cup is arguably the 3rd best rugby league competition in the world behind NRL and Super League. There are 3 NRL teams in the Broncos, Cowboys and Storm who play their 2nd grade side in this comp (Aspley Broncos, North QLD Young Guns and Norths Devils) and a 4th NRL team - the Gold Coast Titans - actually "farm" out players to 3 QLD Cup clubs (Ipswich Jets, Burleigh Bears and Tweed Heads Seagulls). Other teams like Redcliffe and Wynnum have strong links to the Broncos, Easts Tigers are alligned with South Sydney Rabbitohs, Central Comets with Cowboys and Souths Logan with Canberra Raiders. This year alone in the QLD Cup we have seen former NZ internationals Jake Webster (Ipswich), Andrew Lomu and Tame Tupou (Aspley) and Joe Gulavao (Easts), while also witnessing a host of current, former and upcoming NRL stars.
So with all that in mind, let us think about some of the things facing poor Akarika in his travels. The first and biggest is the fact that he has only played 4-5 games of rugby league in his life. Sure he may be a great athlete, but I have said this on another forum, you could go down to any suburban football field around Australia and find athletes with Akarika's physical stats - I would suggest, some even bigger, stronger, faster, fitter and more skillful, that have played the game their whole lives, yet are only good enough to play in possibly QLD Cup, FOGS Cup, Jim Beam Cup or local A Grade comps here in OZ. So, with that taken into consideration, what sets Dawn aside from one of the hundreds of other players with his stats? Is it his experience? 4-5 games in his life! So you can rule that out. What about specialised fitness for rugby league? Continuous running, back fowrard, side to side, contact and wrestle in the tackle, then up off the ground time and time again. Somehow (and I have never played American Football so I might be talking out of school) but I dont think rugby league and American Football fitness could ever be compared. Next is the knowledge of the game and when I say knowledge I refer to not only the laws of the game, but the other facets of the game such as how to run good lines, knowing your indiviual job and how best to execute your role within the team, changing game scenarios, the tempo of different games, the ability to dominate tackles in defence, communication when you feel like you have no more air to give, and the list goes on and on. These are all things that players here in Australia have been taught, skilled and repeated since an extremely young age. You would find guys that are playing at QLD Cup level would have had these same principles drilled into them for a number of years, all the time learning through training and more importantly experience through going through these issue in game scenarios.
Now I dont want to sound like I am having a go at Akarika Dawn, as anyone who has read my posts in the past knows that I am for the development of the code in the USA above just about all others, and by having players like Akarika travel to Australia is the first step in hopefully a well thought out process by the AMNRL. The point I am trying to convey is that for all those out there that want to believe that Akarika is going to be an overnight sensation here in Australia, please dont be disappointed if it doesnt eventuate. The news articles are great and it is opening up peoples eyes to the fact the game is played in the USA. But if we take into account all the above issues that are facing Akarika, let us be content if he comes here and just plays the game for Burleigh's local A Grade side. Let us not think that he will gain an NRL contract from his time here, more so that he has a good time, enjoys the game and then hopefully continues playing the game when he returns to the USA.
With all this said and done, I wish Akarika the very best in his travels and I hope that he has a wonderful time and that he will embrace the game of rugby league as so many of us here in Australia have done all our lives.
