Rovers have only had an Academy set up for 3 years so it is going to take time before we are producing players in the same quantities and quality as Wigan and Saints. That said, we have already seen the emergence of Watts, Taylor, Spaven and Sam Latus from our inaugural Aacademy side so the shoots are there. This seasons under 18s are up there with the best in the country and we have already seen some sign full time deals so the conveyer belt is developing.

Until such time that we are producing enough numbers to be more self sufficient we need to look outside the club (and country) to bolster our squad.

TBH I'd prefer to see competitive teams and a harder competition rather than teams full of less-able homegrown players.

I would expect that with the shadow of relegation hanging over them HKR would have all 17 overseas, franchising is working.

Well IMO the overall quality of the league has gone down since the RFL cut back on the quota players.

It's just as people said, there aren't these magical English players who're being held back or prevented playing by overseas players. There's just mediocre players who are elevated to SL level simply because they happen to be English.



I'm all for encouraging the development of young talented british players. I'd love for us to be able to compete with the aussies on the international stage. but if the young players are coming into a competition of a lowering standard, where instead of clubs being forced to raise themselves to the levels of the top clubs the top clubs are being forced to lower their standards.

Well, no, not really. He came through Cas's academy and was signed by Hull KR.

there arent these magical English players held back by overseas players, and for a time we will simply elevate lesser players to cover for what previously was overseas players..........



but then the difference between clubs will become who has elevated the best mediocre English players, and then the competition becomes not who has spent the most bringing in a Willie Mason or Ali Lauitiiti, nor who has got the best value from a Rhys Lovegrove or Kylie lueluai but who has scouted, trained, coached, developed and brought through the best 'mediocre' English players, and when we do that it wont be very long before many of these 'mediocre' players become quality players, added to the quality players we already have, giving us a more competitive, more sustainable, better quality league, and as a by-product a better international side and all the benefits we would get from that.



We are never going to raise the quality of our league to the level of the NRL by riding on its coat-tails and paying over the odds for its lesser names.



Your point would be valid if we had every athlete who could be a quality RL player fulfilling their potential in RL, but that plainly isnt the case

this coming from the team that binned him off at 17 saying he wasnt good enough so rovers picked him up and taught him how and he is currently in the run for young player of the year so yea what a good job cas did bravo

Ooooh...

A gateshead thundersharks fan starting a thread so as to have a whine about hull kingston Australians......don't see many like threads that on here

Longs right in what he says but then do we follow our example and have 6 forwards in our squad?



The quota should be 5 overseas players, dropping eventually to 3.



I wouldn't be surprised if we have over a hundred overseas players in sl next season.

Watts was signed from Cas and went straight into your first team squad - that's not developing players, that's signing them...







Probably because we have youngsters coming through that the club deem to be better prospects, like the six that played against Saints this weekend...

Wasnt it his issues rather than ability as to why they banned him off?

Sure I heard that on the grapevine

When

1. The RFL care enough to set some proper quota rules and make clubs stick to them

2. The SL/RFL get serious about developing the game below SL and especially jnrs

3. We have had another few years to build our home grown stocks



then I'll be disappointed at us signing a rep player with massive experience and massive profile!