Rugby League players who could have/could make the switch

[The Rock]

So is Sandor Earl still heading to France or is he now banned from all professional sports?

Earl's end-of-season move to French rugby union second-division club Section Paloise, has been put on hold as a result of his provisional suspension. Further meetings are to take place at the talks with the NRL and ASADA, Earl look to have a prospective four-year suspension reduced to 12 months. I can't see it happening.

 

[en_force_er]

Earl's end-of-season move to French rugby union second-division club Section Paloise, has been put on hold as a result of his provisional suspension. Further meetings are to take place at the talks with the NRL and ASADA, Earl look to have a prospective four-year suspension reduced to 12 months. I can't see it happening.

The media comments from the French clubs president seems to suggest there's no fucking chance he'll play for them.

 

[Swat]

I was watching the Roosters Knights game on the weekend and couldn't help but think that there's got to be a bunch of Australian talent floating around Rugby League that could, should any of them have the nous to do so, be converted to a backrower and make the wallabies. Sure they currently spend half their time walking or being subbed on and off but if any of those big boppers want a career where they can travel the world, get paid better than they do in League and get to smash some c**** now has to be the most opportune time to step into the light.

 

[The Rock]

I was watching the Roosters Knights game on the weekend and couldn't help but think that there's got to be a bunch of Australian talent floating around Rugby League that could, should any of them have the nous to do so, be converted to a backrower and make the wallabies. Sure they currently spend half their time walking or being subbed on and off but if any of those big boppers want a career where they can travel the world, get paid better than they do in League and get to smash some c**** now has to be the most opportune time to step into the light.

The problem is the Wallabies Hierarchy are too picky. I know so many great talented young players that Union Snubbed and have gone onto get contracts with the NRL and are receiving great Perks as well. At least the Leaguie Boys can catch and tackle and are fit ! Too many Old Farts running the Organization. After watching the Wallabies they could do with a Good Clean Out in all areas and play a faster running rugby game that fans and prospective players would enjoy.

 

[light]

Daly Cherry-Evans and Cooper Cronk would be my top two right now.

Warea-Hargreaves wouldn't be too bad either

 

[The Rock]

Daly Cherry-Evans and Cooper Cronk would be my top two right now.

Warea-Hargreaves wouldn't be too bad either

Warea Hargreaves was an Australian Schoolboy Rugby Union player

 

[light]

Warea Hargreaves was an Australian Schoolboy Rugby Union player

Yep, as was Cooper Cronk.

 

[Swat]

Warea Hargreaves was an Australian Schoolboy Rugby Union player

But a League NZ international?

 

[Braveheart81]

Waerea-Hargreaves also played in the one and only ARC then went to league.

He would have almost certainly become a Super Rugby player if he'd hung around in rugby for a couple of years.

 

[TOCC]

Nah, there is no room in Australian rugby for an aggressive 120kg, straight running back-rower like Waerea-Hargreaves...

 

[The Rock]

But a League NZ international?

Just copied this from his site. ....schoolboy rugby union at Iona College (Queensland), through some impressive performances in the AIC competition, he made the AIC rep side versing the GPS rep side. He joined the Waratahs Academy in Sydney. He played for Australia at the 2007 Under 19 Rugby World Championship in Ireland alongside future-Super Rugby players, such as Dan Palmer, Pat McCabe and Blair Connor.

 

[Braveheart81]

Nah, there is no room in Australian rugby for an aggressive 120kg, straight running back-rower like Waerea-Hargreaves.

Were the four Australian franchises negligent in not offering him a contract for the 2008 Super Rugby season though?

That's what it came down to. He didn't get a rugby contract and then was offered one in league with Manly.

I think it's all well and good to look back at a player like Waerea-Hargreaves and see him as a rugby junior who played in the JWC and then went to the NRL as being a big stuff up on the part of the ARU, but at the point he decided to leave, he wasn't quite there.

If we'd had a fifth franchise and the EPS at that point in time there's a decent chance Australian Rugby would have retained him. He must have been reasonably close.

 

[The Rock]

Just copied this from his site. ..schoolboy rugby union at Iona College (Queensland), through some impressive performances in the AIC competition, he made the AIC rep side versing the GPS rep side. He joined the Waratahs Academy in Sydney. He played for Australia at the 2007 Under 19 Rugby World Championship in Ireland alongside future-Super Rugby players, such as Dan Palmer, Pat McCabe and Blair Connor.
He has then changed over to Represent NZ as he was born there, so many of them do.

 

[p.Tah]

There is a thread on JWH when his Roosters contract was up for renewal last year
http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/community/threads/waerea-hargreaves-to-the-tahs.10420/

 

[wamberal]

Waerea-Hargreaves also played in the one and only ARC then went to league.

He would have almost certainly become a Super Rugby player if he'd hung around in rugby for a couple of years.

I don't think he got much match time in the ARC, he was on the bench for a few games. I don't think he ever started.


I do remember that there was a lot of newspaper speculation about him at the time, I guess he had a pretty aggressive manager.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Funny how a run of poor form by the Wobs seems to be the fire this thread back into life.

1. Rugby needs to devise strategies to keep players in our game.

2. Rugby needs to develop Rugby players rather than continue to look for the easy way out and try to convert athletes from other codes.

3. Australian Rugby League is NZRU weapon to keep All Black at #1 rank in the world.

4. Get rid of AFL as well.

 

[TOCC]

Were the four Australian franchises negligent in not offering him a contract for the 2008 Super Rugby season though?

That's what it came down to. He didn't get a rugby contract and then was offered one in league with Manly.

I think it's all well and good to look back at a player like Waerea-Hargreaves and see him as a rugby junior who played in the JWC and then went to the NRL as being a big stuff up on the part of the ARU, but at the point he decided to leave, he wasn't quite there.

If we'd had a fifth franchise and the EPS at that point in time there's a decent chance Australian Rugby would have retained him. He must have been reasonably close.

I remember there was talk during the ARC about him and his contactual position, NSW were keen to retain him and offered him an academy position but couldn't go higher as at the time they had a pretty full roster. At the time he was 12 - 18 months away from been a super rugby type player and thus no province could afford to have him taking up a full contractual position...

I think talent identification has improved since with the added competitiveness of recruiting from the new teams, also the EPS is allowing the clubs to secure those younger players..

For many years in QLD it was regularly reported that Elton Flately was the first player contracted directly from school.. 10 years later Caleb Brown was the next one in 2006, obviously in part to the Force poaching a lot of talent... These days it's quite common to sign straight from school, Liam Gill, Beale, PAE and CFS to name a few. I think many clubs do it to protect the talent, in years bygone they would have made those guys play in club rugby and academies for 12-24 months.

 

[It is what it is]

Were the four Australian franchises negligent in not offering him a contract for the 2008 Super Rugby season though?

That's what it came down to. He didn't get a rugby contract and then was offered one in league with Manly.

I think it's all well and good to look back at a player like Waerea-Hargreaves and see him as a rugby junior who played in the JWC and then went to the NRL as being a big stuff up on the part of the ARU, but at the point he decided to leave, he wasn't quite there.

If we'd had a fifth franchise and the EPS at that point in time there's a decent chance Australian Rugby would have retained him. He must have been reasonably close.

I'd say we fucked up, he was under our noses.
As you say he played OZ schoolboys, 1st grade and ARC rugby and was big and aggressive all the way through.
Types like him are as rare as rocking horse shit.
Those of you who watched the movie "Blindside"will remember that NY Giants lionbacker Lawrence Taylor revolutionised NFL player's salaries.
Taylor was effectively a human wrecking ball, damaging and destroying quarterbacks and NFL franchises soon realised that it wasn't only quarterbacks who were important and valuable. They figured out that the guys who could effectively protect their quarterback's blindside from guys like Taylor were invaluable and their salaries rose accordingly.
The point - When will Australian rugby wake up and realise the importance of having world class tight 5 players? We need to find/develop/steal enough to take us through the next 10 years, like yesterday.
This will require investment to keep tight 5 players in Australia. At a time when our scrum is on skates and we can't even secure our own ball, Dan Palmer, who many say is our best THP scrummager, is off to play club rugby in Europe, Fardy and MMM are recently back from playing in Japan, Timani is about to go away etc etc.
When is the light going to go on at the ARU?
If the answer to our dearth of locks is to buy back Waerea-Hargreaves I say go for it. Rocky Elsom came back from rugby league quite effectively and he wasn't half the rugby league player Waerea-Hargreaves is.

 

[TOCC]

JWH was never a lock, he played centre at school and back-row following school...

 

[en_force_er]

Eh, JWH's contract expires after next season.

Package him up a nice deal where he signs for a Japanese club (plenty of Aus friendly coaches over there) and then 1 Super rugby season. If this happens he'd be in Super rugby by 26, right at his peak.

He can go two ways from there:
a) Be okay at rugby. When the contract finishes he goes to France or back to Japan, make squillions.
b) Make Wallabies, stay till end of WC cycle. Go to Japan/France at 30ish, make squillions.

Win-win. After the Roosters win the granny this year and he plays a league "World" Cup (cough-cough) he's seen all there is to see.