Reserve Grade : Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:14 am  

Sam Tomkins has tweeted, "I think it’s criminal that a reserve grade isn’t compulsory at every SL club.
This article is worth a read for anyone wondering why it is so important. Nothing in reserve - why rugby league could lose generation of talented players". Most players back reserve football. (Not sure I can put link on but its in the Daily (when you look and see yourself back in).

Fans favourite Arona is now 29 but he didn't make his first team NRL DEBUT till 22! Dean Hadley is 25 hasn't been given his proper chance with Hull until this season.
Kirmo was given his SL DEBUT at 22 & farmed out on loan to us at 25!
Justin Horo 31, didn't make his first grade DEBUT till 23 years old!
Our star player Fiffita didn't make his first grade DEBUT till 25! It's easy to forget how old these players were on debut or when they got their chance. Obviously not deemed good enough at 21, 22, 23+ but now rocking the show!

Too many youngsters with potential are going to be lost unless clubs realise players take a while to mature like the above named players and keep faith. Theres no point in having a pathway at clubs through Scholarship, U19s if they then get bombed for ready made costly seniors.

Our SL clubs fringe youngsters in the game are on peanuts compared to the NRL boys.

I have watched a few reserve games earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Hopefully the comp gets going and youngsters throughout the game can flourish.

Re: Reserve Grade : Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:25 am  

Great idea but i reckon Tompkins et al will likely have to forego a percentage of their paypacket to allow clubs to fund a second team competition.

Would he be so keen then?

Re: Reserve Grade : Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:51 am  

Khlav Kalash wrote:

Great idea but i reckon Tompkins et al will likely have to forego a percentage of their paypacket to allow clubs to fund a second team competition.

Would he be so keen then?

Money is always the problem Khlav. But if we aren't careful clubs will say we cant Afford reserves, U19s, Scholarship etc Already happened at Salford. For me it's made up of U19s, 20-23 year old fringe players, players older not quite getting in and those coming back from Injury.

Tomkins last wage was obscene and I think Wigan know now they got it wrong.

Re: Reserve Grade : Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:44 pm  

Mick Amos 9 WTW wrote:

Money is always the problem Khlav. But if we aren't careful clubs will say we cant Afford reserves, U19s, Scholarship etc Already happened at Salford. For me it's made up of U19s, 20-23 year old fringe players, players older not quite getting in and those coming back from Injury.

Tomkins last wage was obscene and I think Wigan know now they got it wrong.

Maybe with hindsight they have yes. But if they didnt I am pretty sure he would be at your place now with Wigan saying we didnt miss a trick. There would have been mutiny had they not taken him back

[PopTart]

Re: Reserve Grade : Wed Aug 01, 2018 4:37 pm  

Doesn't this part slight defeat the argument rather than support it?

Mick Amos 9 WTW wrote:

.....Fans favourite Arona is now 29 but he didn't make his first team NRL DEBUT till 22! Dean Hadley is 25 hasn't been given his proper chance with Hull until this season.
Kirmo was given his SL DEBUT at 22 & farmed out on loan to us at 25!
Justin Horo 31, didn't make his first grade DEBUT till 23 years old!
Our star player Fiffita didn't make his first grade DEBUT till 25! It's easy to forget how old these players were on debut or when they got their chance. Obviously not deemed good enough at 21, 22, 23+ but now rocking the show! .....

All these players achieved Super League or NRL first team debuts without the reserve grade.
I agree they developed later in their career but the duel registration process worked for each of them......I think.

NRL clubs use feeder clubs as their way of supporting "the not quite there" players while keeping them on their books.
We don't do the programme very well over here but it does the job when done correctly.
Kirmond and Hadley have both benefited from it. I'm sure Hadley developed his game more with us than he would playing with a second string team.

Same with our young players. I think it is better for let's say Jordan Crowther to play full time at Dewsbury against tough opposition in a genuine competition than playing against Salford's second team who are either not good enough for first team or coming back from injury or kids not big enough yet for the 1st team.
The principle of the reserves worked better in the past when costs were lower and to be honest the difference between best and worse was closer but I can see why chairmen are reluctant to invest when they can loan to a championship club.

Saying that, I see the value to a team like Wakefield to get their players playing regularly. I'm not against reserve grade if that's what everyone signs up to, but I'd actually rather we create a team and play them in div1 as a feeder club if we can't get a genuine reserve league going.

Re: Reserve Grade : Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:40 pm  

a better option may be to have an extra academy competition with a limited number of over age players allowed. eg, u18s, u21/23s

this way you can still play your fringe players and returning from injury players.

Re: Reserve Grade : Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:54 pm  

TheMightyTrin wrote:

a better option may be to have an extra academy competition with a limited number of over age players allowed. eg, u18s, u21/23s

this way you can still play your fringe players and returning from injury players.

The reserve grade is a little closer to "first grade" rugby, which makes it a better option and gives the young players the change to play against blokes, instead of youngsters.
With the 2 academy sides and reserve grade, it seems about right.
Unfortunately, there aren't enough reserve sides, which has led to a couple of clubs stopping and of course, some clubs dont have either, which is just plain wrong.
In the mixed up world of RL, it seems plastic seats are more important than bringing young players into the game.

Re: Reserve Grade : Thu Aug 02, 2018 8:33 am  

I wonder for the bigger clubs whether having a 'wigan b' team and playing in the lower leagues would be financially viable? That way they would have an opposition every week and be playing against men, but they would still be within their own system playing under their own structures etc, which should then help with a transition in to the first team

Barcelona and real madrid to it in their competitions.

Re: Reserve Grade : Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:54 am  

Don't one of the Yorkshire junior cricket sides play in the Yorkshire senior league?