How League can help his brother, Union

not really, they all had to prove their form..Izzy didn't start of welli n union, neither did sam and SBW..ironically, both Sam and SBW are VERY VERY LUCKY to make the national side to the RWC..neither deserve to be there and REAL rugby fans know it.. Izzy was forever a centre in league but union made him a capable fullback, infact he is probably one of the best 3 fullbacks in the world right now..had he stayed in league, forever a centre whose biggest achievement would be winning the RLWC 3 times and State of Origins for the 10th time ...with rugby union he can achieve more, he already crossed one hurdle (super rugby title), but is still behind SBW who has won one super rugby and one RWC..this is why Hayne left, there was NOTHING left for him to achieve in League..nothing.. Its not a cheapshot, its sad when those that are biased are always saying league is better when stats say otherwise..ppl who keep reiterating it regardless surely can't be that bright?

Good post but would love to see a the likes of Leeds, Wigan etc play against Leicester, Northampton and in the euro comps as must be boring following your SL team to the same northern grounds.

Who then Peter owns the NRL? Anyway why on earth would the NRL: want to buy the ARU.Money is better spent on development of players. NRL is on FTA with Pay Tv scrambling to secure a deal. A couple of the NRLclubs are privately owned. A couple under the control of the NRL to be sold. One part privately owned. Community clubs like,Sharks,Penrith,Canberra,Dogs,Roosters,Eels. Why would the NRL want to dismantle rugby in Australia.That sort of thing only happens in France ,trouble is rugby league was on the receiving end.Now there's a thought, perhaps the FRU can make restitutions for monies and assets seized decades ago .Now that would bring the codes closer together.

Ricky Stuart was hardly a convert ,junior rugby league years in Canberra,before wait for it attending a private ru only playing school. Fairfax,Ellas all had junior rl backgrounds before switching . Rugby has many countries,it is not world wide.Soccer is worldwide.Players go where the money is and that includes fast players.There are plenty of fast players in rugby league,and they get better opportunities to collect tries. And as far as backline speed is concerned in rl,I would put up James Roberts(Titans),Roger T. Sheck,Valentine Holmes,Johnson,Mamo against Hayne and many ru backs.

There are plenty of players going in both directions actually, but mostly at an age when they are still relatively under the radar. "All the converts" at the top level that you refer to have been bought / brought over as pretty much ready-to-roll stars, ie the change was hardly much of a challenge for them. Clearly not in the realm of Hayne going to NFL. Burgess, Izzy and SBW pretty much waltzed into their respective national rugby teams. New ones come along every year in league to replace them. Oh, and rugby in Australia is close to being a financial wreck. Yeah, the ARL has soooooo much to learn... I meant the knowledge sharing at the coaching level. There is nothing union has taught league in terms of attack or defence skills, or strength and fitness conditioning. The Wallabies were at the forefront of a revolution in rugby defence not too long ago - on the back of league guys like John Muggleton. Who has a better passing game, former league prop Burgess or 100 cap rugby back AAC? No contest. No need to be rude about the intelligence of league players, that's a cheap shot. I think you'll find the difference between your average union and league player is almost entirely due to educational and socio-economic background factors.

lol, and all the converts have been "from league to union" as well..when you get tired of flipping burgers and find a better job, thats progress..depends on your definition of knowledge..there aren't that many (if any) intelligent league players in Australia..

McDonalds is the world's biggest seller of hamburgers, tiddly winks is played in over 101 countries ... so what :) In Australia, all the knowledge-sharing has been mostly one way - from league to union.

2011RWC had 3.7billion tv viewers... making it the 3rd largest behind the Olympics and FIFA WC...so how many does State of Origin or RLWC get? and not only is 7's and Olympic sport now, its played by over 90 countries now..how many countries play 10's rugby league? seriously Rugby League, how can your much older and wiser and successful brother, rugby union help you out?

Rugby is already "a powerful sport with top class athletes, amazing action, die hard fans, millions of participants and truly global reach". It's also in the Olympics. League would get more out of a merger everywhere in the world, except in the small niche markets of two Australian states &, possibly, two English counties where, for historical reasons that are now irrelevant, the professional version splintered off more than 100 years ago. Therein lies the problem - The NRL would, you expect, want some sort of hybrid game to emerge from a merger, but the rugby world is probably 99% disinterested in that. The other 1% being people from NSW, QLD, Lancashire and Yorkshire who like both games. I can't see the NRL agreeing to a merger which would see their version of the game disappear. The bigger question might be whether the NRL, with its static geographic base, will remain sufficiently financially robust in the longer term to retain the star players when the wads of Euros are being toseed at them.

You must be a young'un. Ray Price? Wally Lewis played Oz schoolboys rugby, but coudn't crack the first XV backline when they toured the UK - Melrose, O'Conner, Ella M., Ella Ga., Hawker, , Ella Gl.. All the conversions were in one direction back then, and we oldies find all the bleating when a leaguie takes the money on offer in France highly amusing.

Good to see so much effort in your comment Matt. On your point regarding northerners in English rugby, there are also southerners playing in SL. Just yesterday young Kieran Dixon had an absolute shocker at Wembley. The left Centre for the England team is Dan Sarginson, Western Australia born, raised in London. St Helens' most influential forward is Louie McCarthy Scarsbrook, a strong carrying Cockney. There is room for growth worldwide for both sports.

Peeko an Australian perspective son. Not so in NZ, Wales, SA, France, Georgia etc. and many other countries for a start where the game covers all spectrum of those societies. In the US it is clearly spreading from the Universities out the High Schools very fast. The all blacks v US game recently at Soldier Field attracted a full Stadium 70,000 plus. I think there were a tad more then Private Scool types. TV audience was in the millions. One suspects you're a Leaguie with little knowledge of Union on a Global basis, which I have noticed often when talking to my League mates in Aussie.

@ Lano - depends what you mean by successful. I call it being at least an equal Star in both codes. Then from your list only Rogers, Cross, Sailor, Tiquiri qualify imo. Scott Gourley - wrong - he was a Wallaby who went to League and never played for Kangaroos. Ended up mostly as a bench player. Garrick Morgan the same. Tahu was a Wallaby dud bench player for 2 years. Barnes was/is a Rugby player who spent a few years in league - now playing in japan. Same with Walker. Folau came from AFL. Carne was a dud player for Queensland Reds only. One not on list is Craig Gower who did the opposite - League player for Penrith who went to rugby in Italy and became a bigger star there as the Italian Test 5/8 - he's the big exception to a long line of League duds.

Simply not true Rod - suggest you actually check player stats in both codes. You should be comparing Super Rugby & European club sides against NRL backs. Big size difference - many of the NRL backs are Super Rugby halfback size and you can't play them as a halfback cause they can't pass well. And many NRL backs are even too small to play halfback in rugby. And there are no NRL players with the right body type for positions 1 to 5 in rugby. NRL forwards & halfbacks don't have the skills for rugby at all - different set of skills required. NRL 5/8s don't have the skills for a Rugby 5/8 either (remember Benji Marshall). Don't list Brad Thorne - he was always a Rugby player who became an NRL star then went home to rugby in NZ. What's he doing now - coaching Queensland Reds. That leaves you with centres, wingers, fullbacks. A few of the biggest & best NRL players have made it in rugby in those positions. Some of the centres them are NRL forwards (Sonny Bill & Burgess) - but neither are first pick players in Test. But then with most of the the NRL stars there's been the appalling behaviour issues.

I actually think the 'Rugby Family' has benefited greatly by having two competing branches. It has allowed both codes to learn from each other and adapt. Union has tried to increase the number of tries/running rugby. This has been good for the viewing spectacle and has increased the ball in play time. It has also seen the game become professional, after a long amateur period, and that has lead to better athletes and a better viewing spectacle with amazing athletes at the peak of their abilities. Union has also seen the commercial value in top level domestic competitions, which capture the attention of fans over a long time period throughout the year. There are lots of people who play Rugby, but also lot's who don't play and prefer to just watch from the safety of the sideline. League has learned that, while fans are important for making money, the safety of all players in the game is important too. Sport is not just about the guys at the top making a living, it's also about the kids and people who play it for fun and a bit of healthy exercise. So things like banning the shoulder charge have seen a step towards safety over spectacle. League has also learned, somewhat belatedly, that a domestic league is a great way to entice locals fans, but and international aspect offers support from the whole nation. It is also the best platform to grow the participation numbers in new countries, where affiliation with far off clubs doesn't make sense. The push for League 9's and for International matches is a recognition of the need for international access to the game. Moving forwards, it appears that World Rugby gaining the inclusion of Sevens in the Olympics has been a game changer. It has lead to a massive surge of participation and support for the Rugby family without a significant funding investment. It is now a game for new countries, for female athletes and for athletes with the highest levels of aspiration. Equally the Rugby Union World Cup has grown to be a massive financial and hype generating vehicle. The fruits of England 2015 will be borne out over time, but it appears the Rugby Football Union (England Rugby Union) are prepared to capatalise in a way that the Australia Rugby Union didn't in 2003. If the hype of the tournament can lure the biggest name in England Rugby league at the peak of his power, generate massive financial wealth for England Rugby and World Rugby and capture the attention of the next generation of athletic kids then it could be a watershed moment for the fortunes of Rugby in England. Will this see a surge in players, fans and funding away from Rugby League (and Football)? Rugby League continues to innovate, with Nine's Tournaments, All Star events and new competition structures (European Super League). In Australia is also continues to dominate the headlines and the TV money. It'll be a heck of a long time before the Australian Rugby League feels the need to consider any kind of merger, but elsewhere the game survives grimly. It remains to be seen what happens to the NRL windfall. Some prefer expansion, some would like to see investment in the Pacific and many others would like to see it spent on the current players. What it is doing is attracting the best talent from around the Rugby League world and that is both good (for the NRL and the players) and bad (for the Super League). In New Zealand, rugby league continues to struggle for attention and particularly money. Cancellation of NZ vs AUS schoolboy tours shouldn't happen on the back of Billion Dollar TV deals. In the UK the game has receded geographically. Expansion into Wales and London has collapsed and club attendances for most areas continue to drop year on year. The bedrock sides (St Helens, Leeds and Wigan) run excellent enterprises but look increasingly out of place as true professionals in an amateur organisation. But, the game continues to draw great TV audiences and with that TV contract money. The game is also attracting wealthy club owners who know how to operate like a business and expansion in France remains tantalisingly close. However, what does the emergence of northern lads like Sam Burgess, Callum Clarke, Kyle Eastmond, Luther Burrell, George Ford and Owen Farrell for the current England Rugby Union side do to the long term popularity of both codes in the North? This transfer of talent continues to the coaching levels, where Rugby League legends like Shaun Edwards, Andy Farrell and Kevin Sinfield have switched codes at the end of their career to continue making a living. Does the loss of these leaders and their goodwill impact the long term prosperity of each Rugby code? Certainly the fortunes of both codes has risen and fallen over time, but in both cases the games remain popular to play and watch. Both are now fully professional sports attracting top athletes and huge money. More than ever they are increasingly competing in the same markets for the same players and the same fans. So will this see the same market forces play out as in other business sectors? How will the emergence of the USA in Rugby impact the balance? Will the Olympics produce new Rugby nations and new rugby stars? Will Rugby League Nines grow to match Rugby Union Sevens? Will club Rugby League recede in Europe as club Rugby Union continue to become wealthier? Will Rugby League expand into the Pacific of the back of NRL money? And will the games grow closer together, as Union chases entertainment and League chases participation and international exposure? Certainly as a combined game it would be a powerful sport with top class athletes, amazing action, die hard fans, millions of participants and truly global reach. Both games have evolved and grown over the last century, so I expect more of the same.

It makes a huge difference if they grew up playing both codes compared to a player who only played one.

That was over 100m which has practically no relevance in either code compared to 10m-40m times. Maintaining speed and stability while changing direction is far more important to backs in either code, blokes who are fast running straight don't always have that.

It will only go 'broke' if it's ambitions exceed it's means. Keep it small and manageable, exclusive and special. Leave the masses to their simple games.

indeed, he was the carlos spencer of NZ but lets just say, what would happened if Carlos Spencer was playing at 10 for Romania and not NZ? .. Thats why Rogers was good but he was not a great IMO...

Never said he was not a good player or even great player for NZ. I am disputing that he is the best of the league converts. The best league converts are the ones who have been considered the best in the world in their position, at least IMO. As opposed to team success. No doubt Thorn is the most resilient rugby player ever and not just converts, playing for such a long time at a high level (including his time as a league pro player).