Re: 7 Wigan youngsters selected like lambs to the slaughter
Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 4:20 pm
The gap IMO is bigger at Junior level than Senior. Bourbon is right. These Australians are not strictly Toyota Cup but the standard of young players in Aus is such that the best are often progressing to Toyota at 16 / 17 and some by 17 / 18 playing first grade.
Why do they progress so quickly? Well IMO the standard is far more intense in Aus. Physically, the Aussies are now actually getting bigger and bigger to the extent the schoolboys / youngsters have to shed weight not gain it when they become first graders. The standard is just so good with youngsters playing in a very competitive Australian Schools Cup, Attending National Carnivals, Playing State v State. The Aussies have just played a 2 match series v NZ. They drew that but what fantastic preparation.
It's not a mental block re English v Aus. Aus / NZ are just better. Junior RL in Britain is basically 2 or 3 v 2 or 3 because games are dominated by 2 or 3 decent players on each team with the rest making the numbers up but being sub standard. So the standard is not intense. It is not making players better fast enough. Our youngsters go to play Academy and again the amount of intense games are few and far between. You gain squat from putting 60 points on a sub standard opposition.
So from Juniors to first grade. Aus / NZ youngsters are used to playing under intense / demanding pressure. Our youngsters and SL players play in less intense RL and struggle to cope when confronted with this new intensity and usually lose the game in the first 30 minutes before the opposition relax and lower their standard. Think of Wigan 2010 acvross a season / in the GF. Game after game teams were swept away in the first 20 minutes because they could not cope with the intensity Wigan were throwing at them. Didn't saints make lots of mistakes just like England did.
Cutting the mustard in high pressure scenarios is totally different than easy street.
Why do they progress so quickly? Well IMO the standard is far more intense in Aus. Physically, the Aussies are now actually getting bigger and bigger to the extent the schoolboys / youngsters have to shed weight not gain it when they become first graders. The standard is just so good with youngsters playing in a very competitive Australian Schools Cup, Attending National Carnivals, Playing State v State. The Aussies have just played a 2 match series v NZ. They drew that but what fantastic preparation.
It's not a mental block re English v Aus. Aus / NZ are just better. Junior RL in Britain is basically 2 or 3 v 2 or 3 because games are dominated by 2 or 3 decent players on each team with the rest making the numbers up but being sub standard. So the standard is not intense. It is not making players better fast enough. Our youngsters go to play Academy and again the amount of intense games are few and far between. You gain squat from putting 60 points on a sub standard opposition.
So from Juniors to first grade. Aus / NZ youngsters are used to playing under intense / demanding pressure. Our youngsters and SL players play in less intense RL and struggle to cope when confronted with this new intensity and usually lose the game in the first 30 minutes before the opposition relax and lower their standard. Think of Wigan 2010 acvross a season / in the GF. Game after game teams were swept away in the first 20 minutes because they could not cope with the intensity Wigan were throwing at them. Didn't saints make lots of mistakes just like England did.
Cutting the mustard in high pressure scenarios is totally different than easy street.