Don’t expect too much too soon from young NRL stars

 
Steve Kaless Roar Guru

By , 8 Apr 2009 Steve Kaless is a Roar Guru

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Israel Folau of Melbourne Storm scores a try during the round 2 NRL match against Cronulla Sharks. AAP Images.

Israel Folau of Melbourne Storm scores a try during the round 2 NRL match against Cronulla Sharks

NRL fans need to be remember the virtue of patience before they anoint the next superstars of the game. The exposure of the Toyota Cup has given every club a glimpse of their future and plenty of young players are making the jump into first grade.

But the gulf in class between the Under 20s and first grade needs to be noted before we expect any young stars to produce the same type of performance in the top grade.

Ben Barba, Dave Taylor, Wade Graham, Lachlan Coote and Marc Herbert are all great prospects, and plenty of fans were right to be excited to see them selected in the top grade. But when their form slumps, they are overly criticised as not living up to the hype.

But any blemish isn’t a sign that they are actually rubbish, more that they are young. Not every player can have the immediate and sustained impact of Israel Folau.

Take the Dragons’ Jamie Soward.

After setting records in Jersey Flegg, Soward battled to find his feet in his first few seasons with the Roosters.

They then decided they’d seen enough and sent him to the Dragons. Fans at Kogarah wondered what the hell they’d bought in his early days in the red V.

But midway through last season, Soward seemed to have finally adapted to the pace of first grade and this season has been in great touch.

Terry Campese is another who took time to bloom into a dominant first grader.

It is an important lesson for everyone to remember.

Fans need to learn not to be overly critical.

The NRL needs to learn that you have to give players a level to play and develop in between Under 20s and first grade, especially for forwards.

And punters need to learn that the withdrawal of a seasoned campaigner like Trent Barrett of the Sharks is of far greater loss than a young star like the Bulldogs Jamal Idris.

There was a big movement of cash on the Sharks when Idris was dropped by the Bulldogs, yet barely a whimper when Barrett was ruled out.

Clubs need to learn not to discard players, but it often isn’t that simple.

The salary cap means they can barely afford to keep players who are only showing potential, especially when managers are demanding big money for their players, despite them only having a handful of games under their belt.

But teaching the player to be patient and understand they still have plenty to learn is probably the hardest.

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