O/T Rugby League

[CuriousMattUK]

Originally Posted by jake1669

Yep, love the Warriors!

I've always had a soft spot for Wigan with the Kiwi connection. Some of my favourite players have played there.

Nice to find someone who shares a common interest other than the obvious one that brings us to this forum on a regular basis

Shaun Johnson is a great young star for you guys at the moment. Kevin Locke is also a handy full-back.

Of all the NRL clubs I probably have a soft spot for Souths more than any other due to their rich heritage and the fact that Michael Maguire will be coaching them from the 2012 season onwards. Don't mind the NZ Warriors though.

No doubt the soft spot is helped too by Wigan also being "Warriors". We have had some great kiwi players over the years. Graeme West, Dean Bell, The Iro brothers, Thomas Leuluai (currently) etc. just to name a few

[jake1669]

Some absolute legends have played there all right. On top of that we had Dennis Betts here as our captain for a while.

Frano Botica is probably my favourite Kiwi to ply for Wigan. He's a local boy and went to the same high school as me (a few years ahead of me).

Speaking of Souths, I see Sam Burgess is still injured. He one of a couple of English players making a huge impression down here!

[CuriousMattUK]

Originally Posted by jake1669

Some absolute legends have played there all right. On top of that we had Dennis Betts here as our captain for a while.

Frano Botica is probably my favourite Kiwi to ply for Wigan. He's a local boy and went to the same high school as me (a few years ahead of me).

Speaking of Souths, I see Sam Burgess is still injured. He one of a couple of English players making a huge impression down here!

Frano Botica is one of our all-time record point scorers due to his excellent goal-kicking ability and he knew his way to the try line too.

Sam Burgess was a stand-out for Bradford over here it's no surprise he's going well at Souths. Gareth Ellis is ripping it up Down Under too isn't he?

[jake1669]

Yea, Gareth Ellis is on fire!!

It's great to see some of the English guys down here now. We used to only see them on the end of year tours. They have started to show a couple of Super League games live each week which is fantastic.

[CuriousMattUK]

Originally Posted by jake1669

Yea, Gareth Ellis is on fire!!

It's great to see some of the English guys down here now. We used to only see them on the end of year tours. They have started to show a couple of Super League games live each week which is fantastic.

James Graham is signing for the Bulldogs another stand-out player from Super League.

We have had some fantastic overseas players over the years but we're trying to reduce the number and promote our own young English players (in order to grow the national team and enhance our chances of winning some silverware on the international stage).

That's not just a Wigan thing it's a Super League thing. The view over here is that we still have too many overseas players.

It's nice to see the NRL recognising that there is some talent over in England rather than dismissing us which perhaps has been the case with some figures in the Rugby League media over there.

[jake1669]

I know what you mean. It seems that the aussies sometimes think that no one plays the game outside their coastline. It's pretty hard to get any kind of respect from the media over there.

[jake1669]

I think you guys will benefit from developing your own talent. There were too many guys at the end of their careers going over and taking places that could have gone to young local guys.