Read in League Express last week.

Flanagan said he is so glad to be out of Wigan, five drives and a kick rugby agt Wigan to off the cuff rugby with Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall at West Tigers he is loving down there.

Scored at weekend too

Funny how he is slagging off the coach, who is one of the coaches who actually really rate him. Dont burn your bridges pal

He's only burnt his bridges if Nobby comes back to us.

I also thought that Noble & Flanagan's Dad were good mates and that Noble was a family friend?

I might be wrong though.

isn't Nobster his Godfather

Is it me or has Flanagan bulked up considerably?

I dont mean coming back to Wigan I am just saying the only coach that has really rated him was Nobby.

I dont think he has bulked up.

He just looks the same player to me

I think it's a dig at SL in general than Noble.

Do you think if flanagan can hold down a place in the nrl that puts him in the hot seat for rep honours for the quad nations? he must be on mcbannana's/smiths radar.

There's at least 4 Second Rowers infront of him at the moment. He needs to have an exceptional season to be considered.

I would play Lee Mossop before flanagan,

There are far more than 4 ahead of him,

Yes he is. Flannagan was obviously too young to notice at the time and nobody bothered to tell him after!

I am living in NZ art the minute and have been watching him on Sky. He has been awful at first but has got better each week. I think the fact Flanaghan has got into the Tigers team each week shows you the NRL is not leagues ahed of the SL anymore, its just hyped up and marketed better than SL unfortunatley.

I don't think he'll be trying to sign for Crusaders any time soon

Showed good support play to score at the weekend but also missed a poor one-on-one against Luke Lewis to concede a try too. If he would have done the same for us he would've been slated.

Saying that I like the lad and if he put on another 15kg he would be a shoe in for England.

No its a hell of alot better than Superleauge, and is way ahead. You only need to watch afew games to realise that, Superleague doesnt even come close. Anyway one who disagree's i suggest they watch both NRL games this sat morning before they watch 4 superleague games, and note the difference.

Regards rep honours anyone holding down and playing week in week out at that intensity must be an England prospect. For me he makes the ideal bench player for us at the moment as he can cover hooker, back row and even half.

The miss one on one on the weekend was a shocker mind.

If he keeps and working hard and getting better this year i see no reason why he wouldnt be in the squad. Like you said, playing at that intensity week in week out makes him a prospect.

Mate, I could not agree with you more, the whole structure of the game is miles ahead of SL, 2 referees is by far the best thing to have happened in my opinion.
The players are bigger physically and may I suggest a lot fitter, the games I have seen during my stay in Brisbane have been excellent value for money, the only drawback for me is the crowds (although larger in number) are less passionate about the game than in England.

The game down there is faster, more intense and i do reackon they are more fitter. But one thing for sure is that they are far tougher mentally. I saw some games a few weeks back and it was over 30c and yet the intesnity and speed of the game was still higher then most superleague games.

Yea i know what you mean about the crowds, they dont seem to chant much throughout. What i dont like though is teams like the Bulldogs and Bunny Rabbits using ANZ stadium and averging around 18-20,000 in an 80,000+ seater stadium. The atmosphere is so dull for those games. However Origin is amzing, you'll see plenty of passion and atmosphere at those games.

I would have loved to get to Brisbane, it looks an awesome stadium. Maybe next year....

I think it would be dumb to give him an England spot just because he can get a game in the NRL. We have loads of back rowers ahead of him, both in the first 17 and the reserves. If the NRL turns him into an awesome player then fair enough, but I don't think it's that clear cut, don't forget that players like Ellis and Burgess were already getting rep honours before they went over. That's a bit different to Flanagan who no one would be talking about if he wasn't playing in the NRL.

I'm sure I read that he was MOM in the second game of the season. There was even a write up linked on here suggesting he had outshone burgess in the first few weeks of the season.

But Flanagan IS being being turned into a star in relative terms, he is beginning to excite the press in Aus whilst playing in a vastly superior competition. He managed to get into the team of the week after his first appearance.

I just hope he stays over there, which I am sure he will.

I've seen all of Wests' games and Flanagan's looked much better than I expected. He certainly has a rugby brain, and hasn't looked out of place at all. He made a lovely break to set up a long-range Tuqiri try against the Roosters early on - made the break and didn't panic at all as a lot of forwards would, and timed the pass to Tuqiri to perfection, giving him the best chance to beat the cover.

If he continues to develop this year I'd fully expect him to be in the England 17 at the end of the season. As will Ellis and Burgess.

Anyone who doubts the NRL is superior is a fool. It's a lot better, but not light years ahead as some would have it.

Spoken like a true Aussie.

I don't doubt what you say, but your tone puts you right up there with Phil Gould and other great ambassadors for the Antipodean race.

The final part of his post which is more balanced than anything I've ever heard an Aussie say. Perfectly reasonable point imo.