Grains of sand or solid as a rock?
Sunday, 7 December 2008
The Bible says (well it is nearly Christmas!) build a house on sand and it will fall away with a great crash. Better to build it on rock.
Solid foundations are what the leading Superleague clubs have in common. Supporters have bemoaned England’s lack of half-back options, with the four leading half-backs (one retired from the international game) coming from the two dominant clubs, with little alternative elsewhere. But that is no coincidence. The record shows that to win a Superleague crown, there must be a stable half-back pairing for the team to build around.
In fact, the only side to win a Grand Final with non-British halves is Bradford with the Paul brothers, both of whom provided long service to that club for a team to develop around them. Wigan got to a Grand Final with Matthew Johns, but doh!- he left them that year- so it was back to square one the next. Yet clubs have consistently sought a magic solution from down under when looking to fill a number six or seven shirt, and none have seen that translate into a Superleague win.
British halves will inevitably remain at their clubs longer than big name imports. They provide a solid foundation to build a team around over the course of several seasons. An import might bring impetus to a club, he might produce some exceptional individual performances, but most won’t stay long enough to gel a great side together. Above all though, the record shows that he won’t bring the silverware.
However many great performances we’ve seen from the likes of Trent Barrett and Ben Walker, or Warrington thought just one man in Andrew Johns could bring them honours, they have been like grains of sand swept into Superleague on the wind and swept away again just as quickly. So to keep this multi-cultural, let’s end with this old Chinese proverb- “do not employ handsome servants”!
Solid foundations are what the leading Superleague clubs have in common. Supporters have bemoaned England’s lack of half-back options, with the four leading half-backs (one retired from the international game) coming from the two dominant clubs, with little alternative elsewhere. But that is no coincidence. The record shows that to win a Superleague crown, there must be a stable half-back pairing for the team to build around.
In fact, the only side to win a Grand Final with non-British halves is Bradford with the Paul brothers, both of whom provided long service to that club for a team to develop around them. Wigan got to a Grand Final with Matthew Johns, but doh!- he left them that year- so it was back to square one the next. Yet clubs have consistently sought a magic solution from down under when looking to fill a number six or seven shirt, and none have seen that translate into a Superleague win.
British halves will inevitably remain at their clubs longer than big name imports. They provide a solid foundation to build a team around over the course of several seasons. An import might bring impetus to a club, he might produce some exceptional individual performances, but most won’t stay long enough to gel a great side together. Above all though, the record shows that he won’t bring the silverware.
However many great performances we’ve seen from the likes of Trent Barrett and Ben Walker, or Warrington thought just one man in Andrew Johns could bring them honours, they have been like grains of sand swept into Superleague on the wind and swept away again just as quickly. So to keep this multi-cultural, let’s end with this old Chinese proverb- “do not employ handsome servants”!
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