stevie moore

[TOCC]

i would be very happy to see WA develop there own talent, not only for the sake of leaving qld players alone, but also to confirm the fact that rugby union is really taken a strong hold in the west in terms of junior and professional rugby.

[James]

I don't doubt that they will but in the mean time for a most part we only take players that aren't being appropriately used. How much game time could Tom Hockings have realistically expected behind Horwill, O'Donoghue, McMeniman and Humphries? How many years would James O'Connor sit behind Quade Cooper and Berrick Barnes? And if David Pocock was second in line after David Croft what about AJ Gilbert and Luafutu?

How many young players who have great talent would get fed up and go to something like League or give up entirely on professional union because they couldn't get any good quality game time? Jared Hargreaves is a good example of a talented young player lost to a system that would have seen him as a Waratahs apprentice for 3 years before breaking the main squad.

[shasta]

there should be no need to poach from other states.

Not when you've done so well from NZ.

Though i suppose in professional rugby there really isnt much room for the whole sentiment value to be kept, its either sink or swim.

At least you got that right. Much as I wish it were not true.

[shasta]

How many young players who have great talent would get fed up and go to something like League

I think the opposite will likely happen here in future. Currently WA has (AFAIK), Corey Patterson (Knights), Daniel Holdsworth & Le Te Mari (Bulldogs), Bronx Goodwin (Raiders), Bryson Goodwin (Sharks) and Matt Peterson (Titans) playing in the NRL. There's a sprinkling in the lower grades too. They are all WA juniors & that's a pretty fair representation given the low profile of RL here.

Young WA players with similar ability will maybe end up with the Force academy in future. Unless the Mungos continue to rebuild in WA. They sunk to a low of only 4 1st grade clubs post the Superleague rout but have built that back to 8 with the readmission of Rockingham & Willagee and new entities Central and Kalgoorlie.

[James]

I think the opposite will likely happen here in future.

Sounds good to me. I want a West Australian Force but I also want a competitive Force. Plus it would be good to get our own back on rugby league for all the players they've stolen.

[GIGS20]

i would be very happy to see WA develop there own talent, not only for the sake of leaving qld players alone, but also to confirm the fact that rugby union is really taken a strong hold in the west in terms of junior and professional rugby.

Massive strides have been made in the last three years, Junior registrations continue to grow, Junior elite programs and development programs are being run all the time and kids ARE being groomed for the (my boy is one of the cohort that joined in 2006 and they're constantly being told they'll be , they'll be in the )

There's a long way to go...WA is still pretty much an amateur scene at the top club level, and that has impacts on the preparedness of the players for inclusion into the Super 14. The Academy system, the influx of S14 players who take the field in premier league matches, the influx of players from interstate 'doing a Chucky' will all have an effect, but I predict WA will need to import much more talent before they become self-sufficient.

That being said, when WA finally does get self-sufficient, they will suffer a drain on their development ranks from all the other provinces who seek to sign players. That's the reality of professional rugby, I don't see it as something to lament, but something to take pride in! If the QLD nursery is producing 80% of the Wallabies in Australia, is that a bad thing? even if they never play for the Reds? I say no, they're still products of the junior coaches, the state system, the gene pool, whatever it is that works and that SHOULD be a source of state pride!

[PerthGirl]

WA is a AFL state, believe it or not. So WA is more reknown for producing good AFL players.

In terms of rugby, yes, i admit we lack the players to play Super 14. yet, we have produced some players eg John Welborn, Adam Wallace Harrison, and James Stannard(though i dont rate him too highly).
Correct me if im wrong, but the WA Argonaut Gold team has been a dominant force in the inter state championships and have been winning for the past few years, until it was shut down due to the now defunct ARC. But WA does have a growing and developing pool of players. And many of it is thanks to the force. They have increased involvement in rugby and have been great in transforming footy player kids to rugby plaing kids. I can vouch for it myself with the team i coach, with about 3/4 of it never having played rugby before but giving it a shot. So give it some time, and we'll start producing more players. hey, we've already thrown in Dane H-P and Keiran longbottom. There'll be a couple more in soon i think. I hear Barry mansfield has been awarded a level 2 academy contract, so there's another wa player coming up the ranks.

With the ARC Canned does that mean that the Gold team will be playing again?