Now, when GT signed for Crusaders and Sky changed the game from Saints v Wire to Cru v Cats there was obvious pressure to play GT. Regardless of any possible pressure from Sky, the Cru board, or the RFL, if GT was not ready Noble should have put his foot down and said no.
Bill
I think the game was always Crusaders, A more valid argument would be that Thomas was sent out unprepared to take advantage of the game being on Sky maybe?
My cousin is a Wire fan and she was convinced their game was on. Either way there was pressure from somewhere to give Gareth Thomas his debut.
They had a decent crowd at the ground to see him play, and there would have been higher viewing figures. SKY, the RFL & the board at Crusaders all had a vested interest in GT making his debut.
BUT if he wasn't ready, and he really didn't look it, it doesn't matter what interest there was Brian Noble should have said no. I know it gets rolled out a lot here to attack Noble but this is one case where he had a real duty of care and he didn't use it.
IMO if Noble was being told he HAD to play GT (or even if he thought GT could hack it) then he should have got 20 - 30 mins in the 2nd half off the bench.
"You got smacked on your debut, didn't you?" I suggested, harking back to his short-lived bow against the raw French force of Catalans Dragons. Thomas laughed, before recalling the smashing he took before being helped off the field in a heap.
"I sat down with our assistant coach Iestyn Harris after that game and it was obvious where I'd gone wrong," he said. "I got whacked and beat up pretty badly. During the game, I thought to myself 'woah these are massive hits', but watching the game back it was clear I was just running really wrong. I was angle-running like a union player and not like a league player. We fixed that over one video session.
"I'm still doing little things wrong but that's because my instincts are still those of a union player. That will change."
Fair play to him, after that rocky start, he seems to have took a real shine to RL and that sort of enthusiasm is infectious for a squad. Hope he has a good game against Cats and its an entertaining game overall, with it being on the Beeb there'll be a lot of interest.