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Rugby league supporters should expect to see a whole lot more English talent joining Sam Burgess, James Graham and Gareth Widdop in the NRL in the next few years.
The trickle that has occurred in recent seasons is about to turn into a flood. The success of the Burgess quartet at Redfern, along with the barnstorming front row play of James Graham at Belmore, has paved the way for more Poms to move south.
But it’s not just the performances of those individuals, along with past players like Adrian Morely and Gareth Ellis, that has got NRL clubs salivating.
The gap between the NRL and the English Super League is widening. The NRL is cashed up with its $1 billion broadcast deal and is ready to expand. The salary cap is increasing and the Aussie dollar remains remarkably high.
Meanwhile, in the UK, Super League struggles. The English economy is in the toilet, the competition is without a naming rights sponsor and there is clear gap between the top half and the bottom half.
Several clubs have struck financial difficulties in recent times and talk of another restructure of the 14-team comp has begun. A wave of uncertainty surrounds Super League, even though the World Cup will be staged there later this year.
With Australian clubs cashed up and looking for the best talent in the world, English players are chomping at the bit to make the move down under.
They can earn a lot more in Australia now, even the middle-rung players, can enjoy a great lifestyle and test themselves against the best players in the world. Bradford or Bondi, Castelford or Cronulla is hardly a brain-teaser.
Several NRL player agents are strengthening their links in the UK to tap into the best English talent.
One agent told me: “The salary cap here will eventually get to around seven million dollars. We now have players here on million dollar contracts. The NRL have also stated they want the world’s best players, playing in our competition and are prepared to look at ways to entice them to our game.”
“The structure of the salary cap is about to be reviewed to see how we provide more opportunities to attract the best players.”
Already Wigan and England forwards Lee Mossop and Gareth Hock are joining Parramatta next season, with Warrington’s prop Mike Cooper signed by St George Illawarra.
There’s strong speculation that Hull’s prolific try-scorer, England international Tom Briscoe, will also enter the NRL, along with superstar Sam Tomkins.
Rumours abound that Tomkins, dubbed by some to be England’s version of Billy Slater, is headed to the New Zealand Warriors.
Others reportedly in the NRL’s sights are Leeds’ Kallum Watkins, Castleford’s Rangi Chase and Wigan’s Liam Farrell.
There’s also quite a few more in Super League who have the skill and toughness to potentially do a job in Australia such as James Roby, Eorl Crabtree, Josh Hodgson, Sean O’Loughlin, Josh Hodgson, Chris Hill, Stefan Ratchford, Josh Charnley, Michael McIIorum, Zak Hardaker and Leroy Cudjoe.
Already there’s a number of other Poms in the NRL system and associated competitions – Scott Moore at North Queensland, James Hanson at Manly, Matthew Russell at Gold Coast and England internationals such as Bronco Jack Reed, Tiger Chris Heighington and future Dragon Gareth Widdop.
There could be an entire English representative XVII in the NRL by 2015.
Exactly what affect the loss of these players will have the Super League remains to seen. Smartly, English clubs have been focusing on their academies and junior development to produce the next crop of stars.
While a drain of players to Australia could hurt Super League, it should help the performance of the England national team. And surely it is better for UK talent to head to the Antipodes and stay in rugby league, rather than to English rugby union and leave the sport entirely as Owen Farrell, Chris Ashton and Joel Tomkins have done.
For decades English players in Australian rugby league have made an impact, although sporadically. The greatest in the past have included Malcolm Reilly, Garry Schofield, Jonathan Davies, Denis Betts, Ellery Hanley, Martin Offiah, Kevin Ward and others.
Now the English influence is set to become more permanent. The NRL has the best Kiwis and Pacific Islanders playing in it, why not the Poms too?
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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