With not watching the reserve sides what youth players do you thinks Smith will include in the squad for next year. Is Ben Evans good enough to make the step up? Are the half backs as good or better than Gareth Obrien?- Heard a lot about Goulding junior just wondering if he will be up to his dads standard.
Personally I would like to see us produce some decent props and second rowers and wondering if there is anyone likely to step up. Opinions please.

Simon Moran's car roof and door handles better watch out, then

Gaz O'Brien does indeed look at cracking prospect, I just wonder if he'll get the opportunity now we've signed Ratchford to play alongside Myler as Briers long term successor in the half backs

Why's that?

Its no good just sticking them in because they have came threw our ranks. Correct we should be looking long term to do so but the players have to force there way in when they get the chance and then take it, not relying on them.

Mr Goulding Snr had a nice habit of dancing (with rugby boots on) on the Leeds owner's shiny Jag, and doing something inappropriate to the car door handles, about 20 years ago

This

Gotta be good enough to take the man in their positions place. if they are home grown, brilliant, if not then so be it, gotta deserve the spot

Very few players would be able to do this though. Look at Saints' woes through the first few months of the season with Foster, Makinson, Lomax and Gaskell thrown in. You have to give them time to gain experience and develop.

A player who could force his way into the Warrington 13 would already be an international quality player, you don't get that in many young players. You've got to remember that winning every game is no longer essential and it pays to blood young players.

Fair point sad one

But I believe Saints did this through necessity not choice. If they'd have had a fully fit squad all year, then they wouldn't have got as much game time.

We have rotated players for some of the games and I am sure O'Brien and Evans would have got more if not for injury

I think James Laithwaite has what it takes to make it in SL, down the track Ben Currie might too.

Still not convinced that Warrington is the best place for an aspiring young player due to the reasons mentioned above.

I've got to disagree there. You can't wait for them to magically become good enough for SL without giving them game time. While we've got the luxury of squad depth we've got to give game time to some of our youngsters to bring them on and sure some won't make the cut but we won't know until we give them the opportunity to prove it, otherwise there will be a point in the season where we suffer some serious injuries and there won't be a replacement.

On Saturday both Saints and Wigan had ten players who played in that game that have come through their respective academies.

Leeds had ten on Friday, Warrington had two.

Wire are getting there but it's not an overnight process.

Well said Rogues. Developing a decent youth system takes time & in the 3 years that John Bastian & Ben Lazonby have been in place they have started to produce players that are breaking through to the 1st team. It will take quite a few years to get to the same position as Wigan & Saints

I've said it before, giving up the youth side of things in the DVDV era and then just paying lip service to it for the next 5 years really hurt us. It will be at least another 3 years before the current work being done really pays off. Once it does though, we'll be laughing.

It was coach Doug Laughton's car. Apparently.

Apparently he booted the wing mirrors off it.

Our problem with youth is the lack of accessability youngsters have to RL in our town.

Granted, we have
Woolston Rovers
Crosfields
Rylands
Latchford Albion and a couple of newish ones in the last couple of decades , but that's about it. Wigan and StHelens are brimming with clubs.

Couple this with amount of RL played in schools (good Lord, five years ago, when Cullen was our coach, his son went to Broomfields school, just a couple of miles from our ground, and they played RU, FFS). Unless I'm mistaken, all schools are interested in, is playing football (I stand to be corrected) as their main sport. WE'RE A RL TOWN.

Until this changes, we'll never get much town-grown talent in our first team.

Lets look at the amount of Warringtonians that have played in my RL watching lifetime that have come through our youth
Cullen
Duane
Forster
Thorniley
Wainwright
Penny K
and (iirc) Riley, not a great deal after those, is there.

Off the top of my head, our more celebrated youth players have come from out of town, in this era
Mike Gregory (Wigan)
Mark Roberts (Oldham)
Sculthorpe (Oldham)
Harris (Oldham)
Penny L (Wigan)
Hilton (Wigan)
Roper (Cumbria)

Until we get more local amateur clubs, and more RL representation in schools (yes I know the club goes round schools, all the time) we're a bit stuck.

But that doesn't explain why so many Warrington youffs sign for Saints though does it?

We had 11 actually:

1. Paul Wellens
28. Tom Makinson
22. Jamie Foster
25. Lee Gaskell
20. Jonny Lomax
10. James Graham
9. James Roby
16. Paul Clough
14. Scott Moore
17. Gary Wheeler
19. Andrew Dixon

plus Wilkin played in our academy too (albeit after playing for Hull KR first team!

)

The outstanding bit about that is that 6 of them have come through in the past 2 years.

Wheeler didn't play, which is why I said "played"
So I was correct.

Quote ="lefty goldblatt"snip Until we get more local amateur clubs, and more RL representation in schools (yes I know the club goes round schools, all the time) we're a bit stuck.'" Good post. Despite RL being the number one sport at town level, football has definitely ruled the roost at junior level. Hopefully things are changing though. I have heard of some football clubs struggling for numbers as they have lost lads to RL, inspired by the teams success in recent years. Also, I know the club has increased it's efforts into youth development every year for the past 10 years and now invests significant amounts of money and time into it. Squadbuilder helps play its part with that too. Timely article on the website today: www.warringtonwolves.org/rugby-l ... hools-4740

Quote ="lefty goldblatt"snip Until we get more local amateur clubs, and more RL representation in schools (yes I know the club goes round schools, all the time) we're a bit stuck.'" Good post. Despite RL being the number one sport at town level, football has definitely ruled the roost at junior level. Hopefully things are changing though. I have heard of some football clubs struggling for numbers as they have lost lads to RL, inspired by the teams success in recent years. Also, I know the club has increased it's efforts into youth development every year for the past 10 years and now invests significant amounts of money and time into it. Squadbuilder helps play its part with that too. Timely article on the website today: www.warringtonwolves.org/rugby-l ... hools-4740

I was involved in a discussion a couple of months back regarding junior RL and how the switch to summer would effect the game at that level.
TBH there were more against the move than for it, citing rock hard pitches, kids being away on holiday etc.

However there were a few who thought that teams may be able to pick up some players who played football and Rugby Union in the winter months.

It'll be interesting to see if participation increases or decreases.

True.

Thank god Harrison Hansen played in both the games though

Anyone read the story of the wire website - touches on lefty's assertions,