Rugby League players who could have/could make the switch

[terry j]

is he actually 'that good'?

never watch the game so would not know. Surely there has to be more than only 'played as a junior'

 

[qwerty51]

Well he's rated as the best prop in the game and was excellent in State of Origin and for Australia last year.

 

[Tomikin]

Qwerty51 im not disagreeing with you.. just cautious.. sounds like he only thought he should have join union as Coronlla fsns are giving him stick

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[TOCC]

I think his a great player and ultimately would go very well in rugby union, if his form from rugby league were to translate to rugby union then he would be worth every cent of the $800'000/annum that he is reportedly getting paid, by reports there are quite a few Wallaby forwards who take home similar amounts annually so its not an extravagant figure to expect a Wallaby to be paid.

However, the crux of the issue is that the ARU isn't going to chase him with a competitive contract because he is an unproven product in professional rugby union.. Those days are over.

 

[terry j]

best league prop? sounds a bit of an oxymoron. If he was a great prop whilst in union, then fairy enough.

I mean prop has no meaning when used in league.

 

[TOCC]

no one is suggesting he be signed as a rugby union prop, he would obviously be signed as a back rower, likely a number 8

 

[I like to watch]

So,who else should we sign for the 2019 season?
(assuming AF doesn't sign any contract extensions between now and then)

 

[terry j]

well that's quite my point TOCC, so the response to the question 'is he any good?' that 'he is the best league prop around' has no real meaning or use as an answer, not give a current insight whether he'd make it in union.

Do ANY of the league 'skills' in the forwards translate automatically to union? We will always 'have the Brad Thorn' example but I'd be wary of extrapolating that too far.

 

[Ash]

He's big, quick, and tough, with good ball skills. He may or may not make it. It's often hard to tell with league props, as the bigger ones these days can get away with surprisingly few minutes per game, and they spend a lot of time with hands on hips when their team is on attack.

And I am not sure that "league prop" means anything in league anymore either. Now there's middle forwards, edge forwards, and so on. If they could have 5 SBWs with a Cam Smith in a forward pack, every team would.

 

[Bullrush]

And I am not sure that "league prop" means anything in league anymore either. Now there's middle forwards, edge forwards, and so on. If they could have 5 SBWs with a Cam Smith in a forward pack, every team would.

I reckon most would go with 12 SBWs and a Cam Smith.

The problem is you'd only have them for 2yrs max before you need to replace 12 players

 

[Braveheart81]

BOOM!

 

[RugbyReg]

well we could see him sooner rather than later as the Bulldogs have torn up his contract because of his preferences for rugby.

 

[EatSleepDrinkRuck]

Well, Fifita just gained one more follower.

The reds would enjoy his skillset

 

[Tangawizi]

Seems a bit stupid from the Dogs. Wait and see if there are more reasons to it than that.

But if not, I hope someone from the Reds is getting on a plane to Cronulla at some point during the week.

 

[tigerland12]

So RG & Jim Carmichael your on the phone to him right now....right?

 

[GaffaCHinO]

DO IT REDS!

 

[EatSleepDrinkRuck]

Ok, so hypothetical:

The Reds have signed him, done whatever they need to get him ready for Super Rugby season 2015 - how do you use Fifita?

I was thinking like a Will Skelton style- run him on with 25 to go to bash people for a while.

Or, alternatively, Play him at 7 for the first 30 then run Gilly on for the rest so he's playing tired and battered opposition.

 

[AngrySeahorse]

Very happy to hear this news. Welcome back to Rugby Fifita!

I actually think this was a sensible decision from the Bulldogs. There is no point having someone playing for you when you know their heart just isn't in it.

When he was talking about signing the deal with the dogs he spoke a lot about looking after his family. I think maybe he let that get in the way of choosing what truly was going to make him happy, then got buyers remorse.

What Super Rugby team would he most likely end up at?

 

[tigerland12]

Ok, so hypothetical:

The Reds have signed him, done whatever they need to get him ready for Super Rugby season 2015 - how do you use Fifita?

I was thinking like a Will Skelton style- run him on with 25 to go to bash people for a while.

Or, alternatively, Play him at 7 for the first 30 then run Gilly on for the rest so he's playing tired and battered opposition.

Or he could just play as an 8?

 

[EatSleepDrinkRuck]

Or he could just play as an 8?

So you'd replace Schatzy with him?

I don't think you can slot a league player (even if he did play juniors) into the forwards as a run-on player without significantly hurting your technical accuracy at ruck, maul and lineout.

He'll just be a big-human for a while.