So it seems our good friend, Ivan "STOP THE GAME" Cleary, has made an impassioned plea to all other NRL clubs to stop poaching their juniors.
"They're ours", he said. "We raised them. You don't see us poaching juniors from other clubs". He then proceeded to cry like a little girl.
Well, not really. I made that part up.
I didn't mind this bloke at first. Went about his business quietly and with good ethic.
But then he did the dirty on the Tigers (which was somewhat enjoyable), gets exposed by Bennett for his politics, and resorts to grubby tactics to get him over the line.
Suck it up, Ivan, old buddy, old pal.
Replies
Theyve been sniffing their sisters ugg boots again.
Clever Mr Mozart, unfortunately Ivan's tactics of bending the rules seem to be ok with the NRL. That's where the problem exists.
There definitely should be some reward for clubs which develop juniors. Running massive junior rugby league competitions is a huge and costly undertaking. The benefits to the NRL squad are precisely zero. When every club has an equal shot at your developed players, having a large junior nursery ultimately counts for naught. Just take a look at NRL clubs with the largest junior nurseries and their distinct lack of success at NRL level to see that statement is true.
Obviously Penrith have done extremely well recently identifying, developing and debuting their local talent. The Eels are beginning to bare fruit their also. However the Roosters and Storm have shown very clearly that success is attributable to what you do at NRL level and one or possibly two grades below that. All the rest of the junior nursery is a massive burden to any club which simply doesn't pay.
Fair Call.
Lets watch all the Parra fans cry in 4 years when all our then current Juniors have been poached if we win a premiership in 1-3 years.
What was that kid supposed to do wait behind Cleary for the next 7 or 8 years for a shot at first grade you can't blame the system when you have state of origin halves already tough luck they should stop whining and realise they already have a premier team he will get a chance somewhere else good luck to him
Like Manly scooping up all the talent from Cabramatta - Fairfield, Blacktown. The trial last night showcased this amazing production line going through our catchment areas straight into the Manly junior rep pathway. The Fulton ( scott ) led affiliation with Westfields Sports High is reapinf massive benefits. And will continue you to do so for years to come.
Sounds like we dropped the ball on this Paul