Re: Sbw to Toronto : Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:23 pm  

Anthony Jones wrote:

To be honest, I can't think of a 'top name' RU player who'd boost Toronto and Super League.

I can.
Sonny Bill Williams is being signed from Union to League. It is a big story here, because at NZ$10 MILLION over 2 years, it makes him the highest paid Rugby Player of either code, in the world. He is squeezed into the "cap" on the basis he's been recruited from Union.
It will make headlines in 'stralia, the UK, NZ, the Pacific Islands, Canada, North America...in fact pretty much everywhere. Then we have 10 weeks of static as the off season ticks along, before the RL press continue to preach to the choir and the mainstream, press in North America return to their staple diet of Yank Sports and soccer football. SBW may add the odd extra bum on a seat in West Yorkshire, but he's a complete unknown in North America......like that bloke from Parramatta who tried out for the 49'ers and failed.

Looking at the England RU squad from the recent World cup, I reckon , George Ford and Owen Farrell would easily make the starting 13 of any of the top 5 SL sides. There are another couple of loose forwards who I think might make the grade as well.
The reason you can't think of a top name RU player is one of the reasons that our game is seen as tin-pot in terms of wider public opinion in England and why a load of fat English blokes beating New Zealand in Japan peaked at a 10,000,000 TV audience figure on ITV, whilst BBC figures for GB v NZ have been harder to come by

BTW. If you use the SBW was a League player first stance then 2 things.

1. He should count against the cap and not be considered a Union import, which is how argyle is getting him in.
2. Jason Tamalolo was a Kiwi RL player first and therefore shouldn't have been allowed to switch to Tonga!

As I say. Given the current low standard of SL, I think it a tad disingenuous to sweepingly decry all current top flight Union payers as "not being good/well known enough" to boost SL.

Re: Sbw to Toronto : Thu Nov 07, 2019 12:11 am  

National news coverage in Australia this morning re SBW signing, with the ABC sports commentator saying he'd never heard of Toronto Wolfpack and giving a short history of the club. Other articles say Noble has been swamped with NRL player resumes today.

Another news bulletin this morning speculated that SBW could captain Samoa in the World Cup and other high profile Samoans like Payne Haas and RTS could join him.

Re: Sbw to Toronto : Thu Nov 07, 2019 1:16 am  

AXE2GRIND wrote:

I can.
Sonny Bill Williams is being signed from Union to League. It is a big story here, because at NZ$10 MILLION over 2 years, it makes him the highest paid Rugby Player of either code, in the world. He is squeezed into the "cap" on the basis he's been recruited from Union.
It will make headlines in 'stralia, the UK, NZ, the Pacific Islands, Canada, North America...in fact pretty much everywhere. Then we have 10 weeks of static as the off season ticks along, before the RL press continue to preach to the choir and the mainstream, press in North America return to their staple diet of Yank Sports and soccer football. SBW may add the odd extra bum on a seat in West Yorkshire, but he's a complete unknown in North America......like that bloke from Parramatta who tried out for the 49'ers and failed.

Looking at the England RU squad from the recent World cup, I reckon , George Ford and Owen Farrell would easily make the starting 13 of any of the top 5 SL sides. There are another couple of loose forwards who I think might make the grade as well.
The reason you can't think of a top name RU player is one of the reasons that our game is seen as tin-pot in terms of wider public opinion in England and why a load of fat English blokes beating New Zealand in Japan peaked at a 10,000,000 TV audience figure on ITV, whilst BBC figures for GB v NZ have been harder to come by

BTW. If you use the SBW was a League player first stance then 2 things.

1. He should count against the cap and not be considered a Union import, which is how argyle is getting him in.
2. Jason Tamalolo was a Kiwi RL player first and therefore shouldn't have been allowed to switch to Tonga!

As I say. Given the current low standard of SL, I think it a tad disingenuous to sweepingly decry all current top flight Union payers as "not being good/well known enough" to boost SL.

Have Ford or Farrell played any RL of note?

Re: Sbw to Toronto : Thu Nov 07, 2019 1:25 am  

AXE2GRIND wrote:

I can.
Sonny Bill Williams is being signed from Union to League. It is a big story here, because at NZ$10 MILLION over 2 years, it makes him the highest paid Rugby Player of either code, in the world. He is squeezed into the "cap" on the basis he's been recruited from Union.
It will make headlines in 'stralia, the UK, NZ, the Pacific Islands, Canada, North America...in fact pretty much everywhere. Then we have 10 weeks of static as the off season ticks along, before the RL press continue to preach to the choir and the mainstream, press in North America return to their staple diet of Yank Sports and soccer football. SBW may add the odd extra bum on a seat in West Yorkshire, but he's a complete unknown in North America......like that bloke from Parramatta who tried out for the 49'ers and failed.

Looking at the England RU squad from the recent World cup, I reckon , George Ford and Owen Farrell would easily make the starting 13 of any of the top 5 SL sides. There are another couple of loose forwards who I think might make the grade as well.
The reason you can't think of a top name RU player is one of the reasons that our game is seen as tin-pot in terms of wider public opinion in England and why a load of fat English blokes beating New Zealand in Japan peaked at a 10,000,000 TV audience figure on ITV, whilst BBC figures for GB v NZ have been harder to come by

BTW. If you use the SBW was a League player first stance then 2 things.

1. He should count against the cap and not be considered a Union import, which is how argyle is getting him in.
2. Jason Tamalolo was a Kiwi RL player first and therefore shouldn't have been allowed to switch to Tonga!

As I say. Given the current low standard of SL, I think it a tad disingenuous to sweepingly decry all current top flight Union payers as "not being good/well known enough" to boost SL.

Unlikely. SBW doesn't qualify as a New Talent Pool Player, but does as a Returning Talent Pool Player. The dispensation for a player returning from union amounts to 50% of their salary in year 1 and 25% in year 2, so using that would still leave a huge sum of money on their salary cap.

What they're using is the other dispensation, for a marquee player, which allows that only the first £150,000 of his salary counts towards the salary cap.

Re: Sbw to Toronto : Thu Nov 07, 2019 2:05 am  

Anthony Jones wrote:

Have Ford or Farrell played any RL of note?

Ford has admitted he would like to play Rugby League, and probably even more now after that abject England performance in the union cup final and rumors persist about Farrell wanting to play Rugby League again.
If they are going to switch its going to have be soon, but all down to money i would have thought.

Re: Sbw to Toronto : Thu Nov 07, 2019 6:28 am  

Anthony Jones wrote:

Have Ford or Farrell played any RL of note?

You make it sound like playing rl requires a degree
.. Its not the most complicated gamw in the world as a stong tongan ack just proved
....

Re: Sbw to Toronto : Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:40 am  

Anyone saying RU players can't cut it obviously doesn't even remember the recent past when a lot of our top backs were from RU. If anything I'd say the professionalism of RU would mean they'd be more likely to make it now.

Re: Sbw to Toronto : Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:50 am  

The english RU back line and A team back line would walk into the Rugby league england team back line with the exception of Makinson

Re: Sbw to Toronto : Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:53 am  

roopy wrote:

Other articles say Noble has been swamped with NRL player resumes

And this is my point. Not RU vs RL (this time anyway).

NRL players are paid millions. If Toronto are willing to pay millions for each player, how long before existing players start demanding huge pay rises?

The sport cannot afford that level of increase and we'll end up with rich prima donas like in football.

Re: Sbw to Toronto : Thu Nov 07, 2019 10:32 am  

Gallanteer wrote:

And this is my point. Not RU vs RL (this time anyway).

NRL players are paid millions. If Toronto are willing to pay millions for each player, how long before existing players start demanding huge pay rises?

The sport cannot afford that level of increase and we'll end up with rich prima donas like in football.

Demanding is good. It's something the game should do more of. It's no good going cap in hand to Sky for an increased TV deal while the clubs are openly paying peanuts under a little-changing salary cap against a backdrop of static viewing figures. Up to RL to up the ante.