Quote bren2k="bren2k"As I've said before - pull up the drawbridge to overseas players, put a limit on the number of games a player can participate in during one season and compel pro and semi-pro clubs to forge meaningful links with amateur clubs; at the moment, we see academy scouts once or twice a year who have a quick word with the Dads of your big lads in the car park, and that's about it - it's not good enough. There should be a national curriculum for junior RL coaching that sets a standard and is properly overseen and monitored by the governing body - there are too many morons involved in amateur and jr rugby who just want to win every week, with no idea how to equip young players with the right skillset and attitude to make the step up.
I agree, the game needs a complete overhaul and we should start by forgetting about the Aussies for ten years and getting our own house in order, from grassroots up.'"
at the recent yorkshire v lancashire under14s match at cas panthers the only scouts in attandance were warrington and wigan. at the junior cup finals last month on the saturday the only scouts there were wigan, on the sunday the only scouts there were wigan and bradford.
the junior game in yorkshire is in a bad state. there is so many leagues its a joke. west riding league, hull league, yorkshire youth, yorkshire juniors, for gods sake have one body run the game and make it yorkshire. some play winter, some play summer, teams dont like summer, teams dont like winter, someone needs to get a grip and tell some of these power peed idiots to do one.
odd teams are coached well, some teams/players cant pass at 16 its just poor. since the coaching badges were introduced by the rfl the standard as got worse not better, its all robot, robot robot.
looking at different areas, featherstone got 6 turn up for an open age match the other week, they had three teams not so long ago, a fev junior team playing with 11. bradford, hardly any kids playing to a decent standard and maybe 1 school playing, thats it. castleford, no team up airedale. the rfl need to go to fev and ask why this is happening when they have had such great history of producing there own.
the life is being strangled out of the game, bring back prom/rele give places hope. the rfl are pathetic, run by idiots who appoint idiots top bring players through.
bring back the gb team market properly and give the game back to the people instead of taking stupid game to cardiff and ireland where no one gives a toss.
central contract the top players so they wont sod off to ru.
rugby league is in a right mess and to me looks like becoming a second rate or dying sport.
a piece of advice to any parent of a junior, if you know what your doing develop them yourselves, dont trust these junior coaches to do it cause most of them are just people been thrown in with no knowledge of the game.