Why don't we ever "raid" Union?

[taste2taste]

Will Freddy be dumb enough to pick him now for origin

I think once a player goes to union they should be ineligible for origin when they come back

the qrl seems to have an unofficial policy of this which they nswrl should adopt

indeed they probably shouldn’t be allowed back at club level either

mercenaries like sonny bill Williams are all about their inflated egos rather than rugby league

the game produces these guys all the time if they want to be purely selfish rugby league shouldn’t be a doormat to them

He's not good enough to make the Blues on current form, the only way he'd be picked would be as a development player. There's no piont in picking him if he isn't hanging around.

 

[Foreign Legion]

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/isnt-going-to-help-the-wallabies-brandon-smiths-cheeky-rugby-sledge-after-joseph-suaaliis-16-million-code-switch/news-story/d0a1ced5768cfbf5a20d9ec053e4fff0

 

[Wb1234]

You can add the basketball FIBA world Cup, the audience in China alone would dwarf the Rugby World Cup.

World rugby and rugby fans love quoting that 857 million people watched the last world cup. This number is pure fantasy but the rara fans lap it up. I can just imagine that 10% of the world was glued to the RUWC ... it's all anyone was talking about across Aisa, Africa, Europe and the America's

Union are like that annoying 5ft 7inch guy at the gym who walks around with his chest pumped out thinking he's bigger than everyone else.

Oi that last paragraph is me

 

[King hit]

Well past their prime.

Tuquri went pretty well when he went to the Tigers from memory.

 

[Wb1234]

 

[Bazal]

Anyway the problem with Union players isn't ability. RU isn't dying in Aus because the players have no talent, although it's probably true that the fact it's dying has cost them a lot of players before they reach the highest level and thinned the talent pool.

It's just a totally different game, especially in terms of fitness and effort. Many of the roles in the forwards need a different body type that doesn't necessarily correlate to a role in the NRL. Backs would have a lot less problems, but the roles are still different and importantly their involvement levels are way different. You won't snag a top RU player on bottom 30 money, but all bar the superstars are probably going to be at that level for a while.

It's very questionable whether it's worth paying premium dollars for a top level RU player to spend a year or two on a top pay packet learning the game and completely rebuilding their fitness base for the required effort.

 

[taste2taste]

Rugby Australia haven’t posted a super rugby crowd figure since 11 March and that was 6000.

They are in huge trouble.

Rugby Union Results & Attendances | Austadiums

List of latest Rugby Union results including attendance figures.

www.austadiums.com

I watched a bit of Rebels V Reds last night and the Brumbies the week before and I would guess the crowd was about 3 to 4 thousand.

You know it's a small crowd when the TV mics pic up individuals yelling out sledges.

 

[taste2taste]

https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/isnt-going-to-help-the-wallabies-brandon-smiths-cheeky-rugby-sledge-after-joseph-suaaliis-16-million-code-switch/news-story/d0a1ced5768cfbf5a20d9ec053e4fff0

Gotta love Smith, doesn't talk in boring cliches.

I'm a bit bemused by all this hype around Suaallii, I haven't seen him do anything out of the ordinary. With this many games played SBW, Inglis, Beiji had already teared opposition to threads with highlights.

Reading comments across news sites and social media it seems 95% of comments are bagging Union, so what do they hope to get out of this signing ? Players loyal to the ARU who have turned down big offers from over seas would be pissed ! League fans are pissed and will continue not to watch Union..and most Union fans think the money should of been better spent on grass roots.

All the ARU has done is over spent on potential and in the meantime pissed off everyone.

 

[Wb1234]

Illias
Crichton
Murray
Sualli
Koala
Can’t remember the rest

throw them in the wallabies and it’s a good side

they still have a gun like Jorgensen who the roosters are trying to poach

poor guy stuck loyal with union and got peanuts and sualli is on multiples of his wages

 

[Wb1234]

He's not good enough to make the Blues on current form, the only way he'd be picked would be as a development player. There's no piont in picking him if he isn't hanging around.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Will Freddy be dumb enough to pick him now for origin

I think once a player goes to union they should be ineligible for origin when they come back

the qrl seems to have an unofficial policy of this which they nswrl should adopt

indeed they probably shouldn’t be allowed back at club level either

mercenaries like sonny bill Williams are all about their inflated egos rather than rugby league

the game produces these guys all the time if they want to be purely selfish rugby league shouldn’t be a doormat to them

Completely agree. The guys that want to build their "celebrity" status in the NRL (because people actually watch it), then leave and give their best playing years playing in and promoting another sport should be told they are not welcome back, instead of embracing them with open arms when they want to return to the NRL for one final big payday well past their best at the twighlight of their career.

 

[Dark Corner]

Completely agree. The guys that want to build their "celebrity" status in the NRL (because people actually watch it), then leave and give their best playing years playing in and promoting another sport should be told they are not welcome back, instead of embracing them with open arms when they want to return to the NRL for one final big payday, well past their best at the twighlight of their career.

Maybe take a leave out of the old Rugby Union book pre 1996 and ban them for life.

 

[_Johnsy]

Because very few top level union players would cut it in the nrl.

 

[Dogs Of War]

Anyway the problem with Union players isn't ability. RU isn't dying in Aus because the players have no talent, although it's probably true that the fact it's dying has cost them a lot of players before they reach the highest level and thinned the talent pool.

It's just a totally different game, especially in terms of fitness and effort. Many of the roles in the forwards need a different body type that doesn't necessarily correlate to a role in the NRL. Backs would have a lot less problems, but the roles are still different and importantly their involvement levels are way different. You won't snag a top RU player on bottom 30 money, but all bar the superstars are probably going to be at that level for a while.

It's very questionable whether it's worth paying premium dollars for a top level RU player to spend a year or two on a top pay packet learning the game and completely rebuilding their fitness base for the required effort.

Not sure I agree that there aren't players who could come across and succeed. It's just the cost vs risk is just weighted badly. Anyone who is half decent and isn't being selected by the Wallabies (or in line to) to get that essential top up, is weighing up options in England, France and Japan domestic union scenes. We just can't compete with the money on offer. Don't need to learn a new sport to risk your career. While the money that would be on offer for someone to come over and try their hand at league would be half the amount, as it's better to invest that into someone who has played league all there life.

 

[Chimp]

The real answer to the original question is quite simply ‘we don’t need to’.
Our development pathways produce more than enough talent for our game to flourish. Suallii will move on, and he’ll be replaced by another superstar in the making.
We don’t need to poach players from Union, we create more than enough of our own - they absolutely do need to poach players from RL.
We’ve heard the doom and gloom merchants declaring many times over the years that RU poaching our players is terrible for our game, yet in reality, it’s not made a blind bit of difference. For every SBW, there’s a Kikau; for every Suallii there’s a Mulitalo…
Union is shite, and other than being underpinned by a society of rich posh boys and a well established World Cup, they’ve got nothing going for them. Poaching a handful of established RL players and paying extortionate money to them will not change how crap that sport is, won’t help bring through their own talent, and if anything, will just drive more of their juniors over to RL.
Whereas the NRL goes from strength to strength. We don’t need any of their established players, they’d be a huge and expensive risk/experiment.

 

[Sphagnum]

Do you get penalised for lifting your knees in Union? If not, maybe that’s why he is going.

he looks like he has some ability this guy but I wouldn’t be slitting my wrists about him leaving.

 

[Dogs Of War]

The real answer to the original question is quite simply ‘we don’t need to’.
Our development pathways produce more than enough talent for our game to flourish. Suallii will move on, and he’ll be replaced by another superstar in the making.
We don’t need to poach players from Union, we create more than enough of our own - they absolutely do need to poach players from RL.
We’ve heard the doom and gloom merchants declaring many times over the years that RU poaching our players is terrible for our game, yet in reality, it’s not made a blind bit of difference. For every SBW, there’s a Kikau; for every Suallii there’s a Mulitalo…
Union is shite, and other than being underpinned by a society of rich posh boys and a well established World Cup, they’ve got nothing going for them. Poaching a handful of established RL players and paying extortionate money to them will not change how crap that sport is, won’t help bring through their own talent, and if anything, will just drive more of their juniors over to RL.
Whereas the NRL goes from strength to strength. We don’t need any of their established players, they’d be a huge and expensive risk/experiment.

Well we do poach union players. It's just they are all under 18. Cause it's much easier to entice young players to get some decent money early rather than risk it playing union and hope you make the Australian team. So many more pathways available in League.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Well we do poach union players. It's just they are all under 18. Cause it's much easier to entice young players to get some decent money early rather than risk it playing union and hope you make the Australian team. So many more pathways available in League.

The wannabes brand is poor.

The wannabes are bata shoes. No kid wants to wear bata shoes, they want nike, converse, Adidas.

The NRL is nike, convers, Adidas.

 

[Dogs Of War]

The wannabes brand is poor.

The wannabes are bata shoes. No kid wants to wear bata shoes, they want nike, converse, Adidas.

The NRL is nike, convers, Adidas.

The brand part wasn't required. Union is poor in cash terms in this country. With each team having a salary cap of around 4-5mil to fit larger squads than NRL teams do and only 5 teams to make it in. It's not a lot to spread around. So having to hope for top ups from the ARU to make it worthwhile staying in Australia. The talent is there, it's just the ARU pathways are broken and the game is too technical for young players to succeed early and hit that pay day. They then get thrust into the Wallabies too early, fail and get discarded. Then Europe/Japan coming knocking and they run.

 

[King-Gutho94]

I always say the rugby players that get to super rugby are just failed league players anyway.