what a joke the quota is i blame wigan and kr they always fiddle the rules so the others have no choice but to follow

they should make it simple you can have 10 non euro born players but only 5 can be born in oz
no arguements then

But therein lies the problem. Example if Briscoe was born in Australia, but moved here when he was 5 he would then under those rules be classed as 1 of the 10 non EU born players yet say Meley was born in the UK but moved to Aus when he was 5 he would then be classed as non quota. Also why 10? I think 3-5 overseas players maximum is more than enough.

Same here. I don't agree with it one bit. I long for the days (if they ever come) when we have a side full of top quality British talent supplemented by 2-3 world class imports.

There is no reason what so ever that we couldnt do that as long as the 2-3 overseas players where of the best quality not the average journeymen we always get.

The problem is the whole quota system is out of date and impossible to police, legally due to employment laws etc, in these modern times people in all walks of life ply their trade anywhere on the planet, so why not RL? I say scrap the whole system, if some clubs want to have a Harlem globe trotters world eleven ala Arsenal, Man City so be it, i am sure most clubs would continue having a mix of British and foreign players, its life now im afraid, the RFL need to get in 21st century, the RFL should concentrate on policing and upholding the salary cap, that is a far more important issue within the game to keep playing fields level .

If we're going to adopt that policy, the international game would have to be scrapped.

Tbh I was taking the Mick.

So be it, international RL is a joke anyway.
Its inevitable, the quota system will have to be scrapped eventually, there is no other way.

Amen

Yup, instead of trying to improve it let's just scrap it. Infact let's get rid of Quins and Catalan.. let's get some more M62 corridor teams in there and boom... we're completely fitting our stereotype.

Of course the other side of the coin is that our young British players can learn their trades from experienced Aussie most of which have played rep rugby and generally have a very good attitude and are very professional towards the game.

Obst back to Wakefield maybe, alongside this? You don't really need him and they suddenly need a team next year.

Really? One of our best forwards in recent history and a worldcup winning hooker?

I only took the urine out of Rovers for trying to pull a fast one and failing, plus we aren't deregistering players mid-season.

If the rules allow us then why not? I'd like to see more youngsters coing through but what can we do if they don't for whatever reason?

Hey, im just stating what i thnk will happen, there is no way they will be able to continue with a quota system in years to come, it is archaic and out of date, the world is a very small place these days.

Dont know what 'getting rid of Quins and Catalan' has to do with it tbh?

If they scrapped the quota, there'd very very few young British players playing at the top level. It's far easier (and cheaper) for SL clubs to bring in a second rate Aussie than it is to develop their own talent.

Fitzgibbon and O'Meley are much better than McMenemy and Berrigan is a much higher standard of hooker than Tony. Not sure when Tony won the world cup either?

Because it's proven that this strategy doesn't work?

Apologies for jumping the gun a little. I agree that, from a legal pov, the quota system may become unenforceable. To suggest that it doesn't matter whether we have an International game is very short-sighted IMO. We need a strong International game to grow as a sport.

Where do people get this notion from?? Is australia a 3rd world country where they are living off a bowl of rice??
like i said in my original post, it is far more imprtant to police the salary cap and crack down on cheats than to worry about the quota system. like i said, some teams will probably fill their teams with foreigners but i believe most would have a good mix,

I know McMenemy was classed as an import but he was pretty much an English bred/trained player and massively underated. Yeah Fitz and O'Meley are good for us but they were never going to be anyone to build a team around for the long run due to their age.

Berrigan isn't really a hooker so I think that says more about us than him and it was a Tri-nations that Tony won, sorry.

all these posts protesting that "you might as well bend the quota rules if everyone else is doing it" just sound like really weak justifications for something that so many of you, thought was so very wrong, when rovers were accused of it.
hull and rovers fans in double standards shocker (again!)

You did it with bells on to be fair...

don't feed the pathetic trolls, it only encourages them

The quota should never become unenforceable. Due to the super league being a franchise teams have to agree to the rules set out by the governing body. If the governing body state in the rules you can have a maximum of 5 quota players and quota players include "blah blah" if you do not adhere to these rules you will be removed from the competition.

There was a meeting in Perpignan in 2007 of all SL chairmen, and an agreement made to set out reducing numbers of overseas players and increasing homegrown ones. At that meeting all agreed to closing loopholes. Since then some teams adopted the arrangements in both spirit and to the letter, others did the opposite and sought dispensation and to find loopholes to exploit.

IMO FC went down the first route initially, indeed had pre-empted the expected reductions in overseas players and in late 2007 fielded a 17 with only one overseas player and 11 homegrown to beat Bradford. We embraced the spirit and the letter of the new rules. I think at that point we were quite smug in thinking we were a bit ahead of the game. However, in the context of other teams doing the opposite and in many cases increasing their overseas roster, and our own youth development's failure to deliver any current first team regulars since the change in rules (Houghton apart), it seems a case of "If you can't beat them, join them."

To hold clubs to 5 overseas players each requires a gentlemen's agreement, as there are too many legal loopholes available, despite the agreement made in 2007. In the absence of gentlemen, we may as well sink to the levels of others, apparently. Very disappointing. But not as disappointing as the lack of players being brought through our own academy and being given opportunities to break into the first team.

No worries. Not sure how you view Tony as a hooker but view Berrigan as *not really* a hooker... The year before signing for us, Berrigan played interchange hooker for the maroons.

The question was of standard. As much as I liked Tony, Domic and McMenemy, IMO Fitziggbon, O'Meley and Berrigan are of a much higher standard than Tony, Domic or McMenemy..

No, silly. It's cheaper because you don't have to bother developing players. Someone else does all that for you and you just pop out and sign whoever fits the bill.

Look at how (some, many) clubs try to circumvent the quota rules now. If all restrictions were taken away they'd do away with all but the flimsiest facade of a youth structure.