Sean Longs Speaks - he had nothing left

[DaveO]

GeoffN posted:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 154402.stm

St Helens scrum-half Sean Long has ruled out ever touring with Great Britain again and might even turn his back on international rugby.

Has international rugby as a body i.e. the RFL in this country ever turned its back on a player by stating they will not be condsidered again? If they have never done so now is the time to start. They should "sack" Long from the Great Britain and England set up.

Dave

[DaveO]

cpwigan posted:
Berrigan is an example as to how things should be done. His brother wanted him to be best man at his wedding this weekend. He asked Stuart if he could be released. He was refused permission. he was selected and he plays as a reserve.

It comes to something when the Aussies widely regarded (correctly or not) as not giving a stuff about international RL are setting the example and occupying the moral high ground.

What a contrast to Long's behaviour.

Ken Gee missed a Challenge Cup Final. We beat Hudds in a Championship Final (1950) with our reserves. Country came before club.

My Dad was at that final and talks of it today with obvious pride in all the clubs players, those who went on tour and those who played that day.

I am not sure but at that time I am pretty sure going on tour still involved something like a six week voyage on a ship to get to Australia let alone the commitment of being out there for sever months.

I think Long is a prime example of a "take take" attitude that prevails in certain sections of society today and he is such a contrast to those players who were not even full time players earning anything like his kind of money.

Dave

[cpwigan]

Your right about the travelling Dave and for example in 1946 they had to travel on an aircraft carrier and they got fit by playing deck hockey versus a group of priests etc. Imagin the likes of Long doing that and god knows even talking with ordinary people.

Wayne Benett makes every young Bronco either get an education/trade even now. He argues that professional players having to suddenly grow up at 30+ is not very good, nor is it when they spend their lives simply around other players and are mollicoddled by agents, advisor waiting on them hand and foot. He actually argues that if they do nothing but play rugby they do not appreciate it. Make them get amongst ordinary people, do things away from rugby and then when they play they will relish it.

[robjoenz]

DaveO posted:
I think Long is a prime example of a "take take" attitude that prevails in certain sections of society today and he is such a contrast to those players who were not even full time players earning anything like his kind of money.

Anyway, back to 2006

Do you not think this will ruin Long's chances at playing in the NRL? If he was 'take take' would it not have been in his best interests to stay in Australia?

[cpwigan]

No, he's better dining out on one good game than being exposed again and again in successive games. long courted the Australian clubs rather than the clubs seeking him. Only Stuart took the bait and in the end he stayed with Kimmorley, a half back he does not really rate.

[kinell]

DaveO posted:

Wigan_forever19 85 posted:
Well what can you say, i suppose you cant grumble but thats his international career dead i think plus i cant see any NRL teams being that interested after he shown he cant hack the big stage

You are joking? There are twenty odd other players still out there who have all played the season here and he isn't the only one with issues outside of RL.

He has run away and left his team mates in the lurch despite the coaches best efforts to get him to stay.

Noble said he would have played were he still out there so despite that he still walked out on his responsibilities.

Do you think players like Peacock and Fielden would ever cop out like this?

Long is a weak willed selfish person who is happy to take what the game gives him but won't give anything back when asked to.

If there had been complications with his wife's pregnancy fair enough. I have been cautious all along in not slating him for indiscretions no one could prove.

Now we know there are no problems with his wife, no disciplinary or gambling problems but instead he has left for self centred reasons.

He is 30 years old not some immature 16 year old kid on his first night away from home.

He is absolutely pathetic and I for one am glad he is not associated with this club.

Dave

Well without doubt,the most highly decorated Wiganer,in the modern game,is not fit to grace this site? Perhaps HE MAY BE A BIT FICKLE? I bet you next season you wish you had half his talent in your team ,as your starting with minus 8 pionts, with love

[cpwigan]

Shaun Edwards is the most decorated Wiganer

[Cruncher]

cpwigan posted:
Shaun Edwards is the most decorated Wiganer

Yes, by a country mile. In comparison, Sean Long hasn't even started.

[robjoenz]

Matthew posted:
Only one more mediocre performance? Surely he could have done that? He did it last week against the Kiwis. In fact, apart from that one game against the Aussies, long has never had anything BUT mediocre performances against top class opponents.

I'd have thought that was the simple option too. Which makes me feel that Long's reasoning for coming home is true. Why stop out there if it is having adverse affects on his health? That'd be stupid.

My problem with long is that he makes out he is the best thing since sliced bread and is clearly only interested in himself. Watch him play when there is a man of the match trophy at stake and he is patting players on the back and making a lot of noise - which is probably why he won the Lance Todd trophy this year; because in my opinion it should have gone to half a dozen players before him.

I think your problem with Long is that he is a Saint Helens player. I don't see how he's made out that he's the best thing since sliced bread, how has he done that? You can't begrudge him those man of the match awards either because he had two great games.

Do you believe he would have come home if we were ahead of the Kiwis on points difference and therefore likely to make it to the final? Of course not

...we can only ever speculate.

If his past was whiter than white then maybe the fans would have understood. Had he had a genuine reason for coming home - maybe the fans would have understood. However he couldn't blame his wifes pregnancy because it would have come out that there was nothing wrong - so he went for the "mental exhaustion" rubbish.

So basically, you are saying that because he done some stupid things in the past (which I agree with you on), that we should prejudge him on everything he does in the future. That's not very fair.

What is to say that it wasn't a combination of causes like Long has said? Some people find it difficult to travel, some get home sick, some miss their family, some people's families (including pregnant wives) want their husbands support (regardless of whether there are any complications), some people get stress, some people get fatigued. Why is it so difficult to believe that a rugby player can suffer from one of these?

[Cruncher]

robjoenz posted:

Matthew posted:
Only one more mediocre performance? Surely he could have done that? He did it last week against the Kiwis. In fact, apart from that one game against the Aussies, long has never had anything BUT mediocre performances against top class opponents.

I'd have thought that was the simple option too. Which makes me feel that Long's reasoning for coming home is true. Why stop out there if it is having adverse affects on his health? That'd be stupid.

My problem with long is that he makes out he is the best thing since sliced bread and is clearly only interested in himself. Watch him play when there is a man of the match trophy at stake and he is patting players on the back and making a lot of noise - which is probably why he won the Lance Todd trophy this year; because in my opinion it should have gone to half a dozen players before him.

I think your problem with Long is that he is a Saint Helens player. I don't see how he's made out that he's the best thing since sliced bread, how has he done that? You can't begrudge him those man of the match awards either because he had two great games.

Do you believe he would have come home if we were ahead of the Kiwis on points difference and therefore likely to make it to the final? Of course not

...we can only ever speculate.

If his past was whiter than white then maybe the fans would have understood. Had he had a genuine reason for coming home - maybe the fans would have understood. However he couldn't blame his wifes pregnancy because it would have come out that there was nothing wrong - so he went for the "mental exhaustion" rubbish.

So basically, you are saying that because he done some stupid things in the past (which I agree with you on), that we should prejudge him on everything he does in the future. That's not very fair.

What is to say that it wasn't a combination of causes like Long has said? Some people find it difficult to travel, some get home sick, some miss their family, some people's families (including pregnant wives) want their husbands support (regardless of whether there are any complications), some people get stress, some people get fatigued. Why is it so difficult to believe that a rugby player can suffer from one of these?

Because the Aussie press have quoted a number of witnesses, whose testimonies seem to imply that it was nothing to do with any of this.

Okay, that's only their word against Sean Long's, but it does cast a shadow of doubt on his side of the story.