paul deacon

[Number Seven]

We need a 6, 7 and some pace, Scott Moore has the ability to become the next "proper" scrum half for GB, the best since Andy Gregory, with a kicking game to die for into the bargain. Hopefully St Helens will give him a proper run and not do what Wigan did to Luke Robinson , who could have been something.

Hopefully by then Mcguire will have matured into a pretty decent six or Horne will have been given a chance and broke through or perhaps Moores clubmate Roby will have come good....Please Saints develop them for GB.

We just need some pace out wide, Karl Pryce of Bradford looks a good long term bet for the centers and there are plenty of very talented youngsters from the sides that have beaten the Junior Kangaroos and Kiwis recently, as long as clubs give these youngsters their proper chance we could see a very competitive GB side in 3/4 years time.Unfortunately for our national team,our clubs seem to froth at the mouth to give the latest Off Quota Kolpak their first team spot first.

Until then and whilst the likes of Deacon and Harris are the halves we have no chance.........next years Tri Nations in Aus could see some cricket scores......have your house on a Aus v NZ final yet again.

 

[Pierced Soul]

perhaps part of the prob is superleague importing washed up halves from australia to get in the way of developing their own juniors?

 

[Fairleigh Good!]

perhaps part of the prob is superleague importing washed up halves from australia to get in the way of developing their own juniors?

It is.

But from the Super League clubs perspective there is little choice.

You can either:

1 - Buy a young British half from a British club. This would cost money in transfer fees before you even get to wages.

2 - Develop your own. Hard for some clubs to afford the time to do. If a competitive Super League side or one troubled with relegation needs a player they often have no time to blood a youngster, who in the end may not be good anyway.

The perfect example of this for me is the current mess at Wigan. For the past 5 or 6 years they finished poorly and kept telling the world they were rebuilding their squad around their youth. They formed a side with a lot of young local players who looked great as kids. They turned out to be very average players with the likes of Aspinwall, Hodgson, Robinson, Briscoe, Wild, Bibey etc being shipped out.

3 - Do as Wigan and all the other sides do. Buy NRL players. They are cheaper than top British players and there are no transfer fees. They are guaranteed to be of a reasonable quality and will be established first grade players, often internationals.

The way to bring back success in one season? Sign 5 NRL players to add to those already at the club. Wigan will now finish in the top 6, with around 7 foreigners in the starting 13. The average club in Super League probably now has 7 or 8 NRL players in their starting 17.

 

[Pierced Soul]

i thought there was meant to be an 'import' limit to stop clubs stockpiling? I think clubs were gettinga round it using the granparents rule or getting players to gain dual citizenship though....

the reality is, if superleague clubs keep doing what they're doing there will be no improvements to the british game and young players may not stick to something cos there's all these 'ringers' from the nrl coming in.

 

[ParraDude_Jay]

Hopefully St Helens will give him a proper run and not do what Wigan did to Luke Robinson , who could have been something.

Robinson can still be something, he's had a great year for Salford.

But I agree on Moore though, I already rate him higher than Sean Long. Saints should have jumped at the chance to ship Long out to South Sydney when they were interested.

Chris Bridge is pretty promising too for a stand off but he's being played on the wing in favour of Lee Briers, so it looks like he'll be wasted aswell.

 

[Charge]

Cooke is injured, i think?

No, Noble just doesn't rate him for some reason. He decided to have an operation when he didn't make either the GB or England squads.

 

[ali]

Moore is the 17 year old right? And Roby is the 19 year old? From what I've seen the older of the 2 doesn't look like a genuine half, but the younger is doing great to be playing first team at that age. Looked like a big lad though. Could he end up another loose forward?

Edit, from looking at their website, Moore weighs 93 kilos. That's massive for a 17 year old halfback. He'll be bigger than Barrett by the time he is 19. Has he got good pace?

 

[Number Seven]

yeah he is a pretty stocky kid, has got a bit of pace off the mark but perhaps not as much as the more lithe Roby, his kicking game and defence are spot on and he has that cockiness that good half backs need, not afraid to boss the senior players about even at 17. Really knows how to run a pack around the field.

Parra Dude is right Saints should have let Long go, he has had his day and done his bit, time for the next generation, but as previously stated English clubs are always looking for the quick fix rather than long term thinking, they will probably start with Long and Jason Hooper as halves instead , we are never going to be able to compete with Aus until the clubs themselves embrace a bit of change and do their own bit for the national side.The talent is definately there, it just needs the right development.

I think the Aussie clubs should help us and let us send our best two dozen 16 and 17 year olds to their junior sides for a season or two, get them some good grounding and into the right habits.....................we would soon be giving you a proper game.

 

[hitro the maneater]

Cooke is injured, i think?

Paul Cooke has undergone surgery. He would have delayed it if he was picked for GB, but seeing as noble has ignored him he gone under the knife.

I am a Hull supporter and I watch Cooke and Horne every week. Cooke has had a great season. His has created many tries for his team mates. Horne is not a typical scrum half. He is not known for his creative skills but when he runs with the ball he can be devastating. Many players have worn the number 7 for hull down the years, you may have heard of a few of them: Peter Sterling, Craig Coleman, Des Hasler, Ivan Henjack, Scott Gale.

 

[nqboy]

Many players have worn the number 7 for hull down the years, you may have heard of a few of them: Peter Sterling, Craig Coleman, Des Hasler, Ivan Henjack, Scott Gale.

Any Poms played half for 'ull?

 

[hitro the maneater]

Any Poms played half for 'ull?

Not many. Since Sterling we always seemed to have a half back from Australia. The english ones that spring to mind are Kevin Dick, Mark Hewitt, Phil Windley and Craig Murdoch. Just to add to the list of Australian halves that played for are Paul McCaffery and Greg Mackey. Even Jason Smith played a few games at half.