World Club Challenge confirmed @ SFS

[Salvatori Grubber]

Yup - all the best Dan.

[DanWRL]

Cheers fellas, looking forward to it.

[Yak]

Thanks for the suggestion mate but I'm not all that keen on shoving 12" dildos up my arse, what ever floats your boat though.

Haha great reply mate. I reckon Eddy Pettybourne is a big buy for you guys as well. He's played extremely well in every game for USA in the World Cup. Think he made over 100m against the Aussies which is no mean feat in a side that was dominated so much.

And I reckon Bowen will be a brilliant signing. A pretty sound replacement, albeit probably short-term, for Tomkins. WWC will be a great game and will no doubt be a tight contest for at least most of the game. Being so hot over here at that time I think your boys will probably run out of puff a bit quicker. And also I highly doubt we'll have our best side out there. Cordner and Jennings are both out as they'll be recovering for late off season surgery. SBW will probably have time off and I can't see him being played until our very last trial. And if Sheck plays in the Nines tournament he'll have played a lot of footy in the lead up to the new season so he may be rested also. I'd be surprised if Robbo sees this as some sort of must-win game as he generally sees the bigger picture and would be focussing on getting back-to-back NRL premierships. So I think it'll be a great game but we might just have the upper hand with the home crowd, home climate and Robbo having seen first hand probably all of the Wigan player's skills after a couple of years with Catalans.

[DanWRL]

There's still a trophy up for grabs at the end of the day and I reckon your boys are going to be pretty keen to have it in the cabinet. No doubt the heat is going to play a part, even more so with Wigan coming over during the middle of English winter. I actually lived in Melbourne and Perth for a while a few years back so I know how warm it gets over there.

We have recruited well so far just short of another winger to replace Richards now. Rumours are strong about signing Zak Hardaker from Leeds which would be an ideal replacement. I'm keen on bringing in new players but I have to admit that it has been quite refreshing watching all the homegrown players come through the ranks in recent years. Our grand final side this year had 11 players in it that were Wigan born and trained, certainly explains why the team spirit is so strong at the moment. Tomkins is going to be a huge loss for us though, I just hope Charnley isn't the next leave.

How about the Roosters anyway? Any more new faces for next season as of yet?

[Guest]

Greatest thing about it all is that we don't have to travel over there for it.
Melbourne always lamented going over there, because it took a toll on a team that was already heavily burdened with considerable representative players, etc. Going over to the UK at that time of year is probably a reason that great sides like the Storm and Manly have never gone back-to-back with premierships.

[theGman]

How about the Roosters anyway? Any more new faces for next season as of yet?

Hi Dan, welcome to the pen mate

A few weeks ago it was announced that we've signed a rookie Bradford fullback by the name of Curtis Naughton.
What can you tell us about him?

[roostersrule2]

Hi Dan, welcome to the pen mate

A few weeks ago it was announced that we've signed a rookie Bradford fullback by the name of Curtis Naughton.
What can you tell us about him?

Speaking of him if he doesn't work out for us he could be a handy pickup when Bowen retires for Wigan.

[DanWRL]

Not a whole heap to be honest other than he's a young lad who has came through the ranks at Bradford. I think be only played 1 or 2 Super League games. They must have seen some potential in him though to sign him. I'd say Wigans future full back is going to be either Ryan Hampshire or Lewis Tierney (Jason Robinson's son), I expect to see a lot more of both of them playing next season.

[Rooster_6]

Curious to hear your thoughts on Remi Casty Dan.

Those who I've spoken to who are keen watchers of the ESL seem to rate him pretty highly.

Hasn't set the world alight in the World Cup but seems to have a good workrate and strong defender.

[DanWRL]

Curious to hear your thoughts on Remi Casty Dan.

Those who I've spoken to who are keen watchers of the ESL seem to rate him pretty highly.

Hasn't set the world alight in the World Cup but seems to have a good workrate and strong defender.

It's defiantly a shrewd bit of business from the Roosters signing the Frenchman, I didn't see that one coming.

He took a while to get going from what I remember but in recent years it would be a fair call to say he has been one of the most consistent props in Super League, even making the "dream team" in 2012. He's fairly quick on his feet for a big bloke and can make the yards too. He'll do well I'd say.

[DanWRL]

Greatest thing about it all is that we don't have to travel over there for it.
Melbourne always lamented going over there, because it took a toll on a team that was already heavily burdened with considerable representative players, etc. Going over to the UK at that time of year is probably a reason that great sides like the Storm and Manly have never gone back-to-back with premierships.

I get what your saying there mate but I'm not completely sure that I agree with it. With the game being best part of 8 months away from the grand final and with the proper usage of squad rotation I find it hard to believe that players can't remain fresh enough at the end of the season to form a title challenge.

[Rooster_6]

I get what your saying there mate but I'm not completely sure that I agree with it. With the game being best part of 8 months away from the grand final and with the proper usage of squad rotation I find it hard to believe that players can't remain fresh enough at the end of the season to form a title challenge.

Squad rotation isn't anywhere near as prevalent in the NRL as it is Super League. We've only ever seen clubs rest players in the last game of the season if their spot is secured in the finals and that has been with mixed results, it definitely deterred any team from doing it this year. The maximum number of games a player will play in the NRL is 28, where as I believe that number is more like high 30's - low 40's in England.

Like you say the heavy schedule wont be an issue for English clubs with proper squad rotation but in the NRL where you're expected to name your strongest 17 every week it's definitely a talking point.

[Guest]

Im gunner do by best to get to the game.

When I was 8 or 9 my dad, pop, brother & myself attended a Wednesday game at the old Sports ground against the pommie team St Helens. I was still into playing footy with other kids on the grass hill running up towards the old SCG number 2 so I have no idea what the game was like. But I think this World Club Championship game will be a ripper.

[DanWRL]

Squad rotation isn't anywhere near as prevalent in the NRL as it is Super League. We've only ever seen clubs rest players in the last game of the season if their spot is secured in the finals and that has been with mixed results, it definitely deterred any team from doing it this year. The maximum number of games a player will play in the NRL is 28, where as I believe that number is more like high 30's - low 40's in England.

Like you say the heavy schedule wont be an issue for English clubs with proper squad rotation but in the NRL where you're expected to name your strongest 17 every week it's definitely a talking point.

You make a good point there. Some games last season it was almost as if we had 2 completely different sides, but with the gap between the top 5 teams and the rest of the league we could afford to risk playing a weaker side and letting the young lads gain experience. You simply couldn't get away with doing that in the NRL as most teams are capable of beating one another and the chances are you'd get a whipping. There are a lot more games but that's because of the Challenge Cup competition that runs alongside the domestic competition. If you were to get knocked out of the Cup early on then I'd imagine the amount of games you would play would be similar to the NRL.

[DanWRL]

Im gunner do by best to get to the game.

When I was 8 or 9 my dad, pop, brother & myself attended a Wednesday game at the old Sports ground against the pommie team St Helens. I was still into playing footy with other kids on the grass hill running up towards the old SCG number 2 so I have no idea what the game was like. But I think this World Club Championship game will be a ripper.

Hopefully a big crowd too.