NRL should poach Jonathan Brown: Mal Meninga

[one-eyed]

Not sure what Mal has been smoking 


FOR a decade, rugby league has been getting picked on by the financial might of rugby union and AFL. It's time for the empire to strike back.

When rugby league's new television deals are in place, and the game is strengthened by an overdue injection of wealth because of it, I think the time is right for the code to stand and fight for the top pedestal in Australian sport.

For the last decade, rugby league has been the quiet kid in the playground, getting picked on by the financial might of rugby union and then AFL.

Both rival codes tried to ride on the back of the NRL popularity by poaching league players to pump up publicity for their own games.

The league clubs were powerless to stop their stars leaving, with the salary cap effectively tying one hand behind their backs in the scrap against the centralised contracts of the ARU and AFL.

We seem to have been the poor cousins on the Australian sporting landscape for too long.

But our massive television ratings and the financial windfall those ratings will generate should be the catalyst for a new aggressive era of self-belief in the code.

We have been losing too many good players to rival codes, and it is time league fought back...

Read more:
http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/queensland-coach-mal-meninga-says-nrl-should-target-stars-from-other-codes-starting-with-lions-star-jonathan-brown/story-e6frep5x-1226069242839

[TigerLand]

Embarrassing.

Throw all the money you want Mal, Jono Brown will leave the Lions.

Why would anyone leave a code where you can play in 7 states in the country and in front of an average of 40k a week for a park competition where the rate an all stars game higher than their own league premiership.

NRL will never be half as big as the AFL.

Plus NRL culture is diabolical

[mightytiges]

Why would you target a 30 year old with a battered body anyway. Brown's strength is his pack marking which you don't have in NRL except for the rare instances of a fast tall winger (not Brown's body-type) trying to catch high-ball kick in the try-zone. If we played along with this fantasy then if NRL wanted to target a player then surely they would go after a Franklin who is big, tall and athletic. I can't see a AFL player swapping just to be the early-tackle drive it up and bash and crash frontrower.

The NRL doesn't have the money to poach high profile AFL players anyway. If AFL players wanted to leave to make money at a late age they'd copy Ben Graham and Sav Rocca and he over to the States to become a punt kicker on big $$$ in front of 70k crowds most weeks. Yep I'm sure JB would love to play in front of 5000 as Souths and Penrith had last week lol.  I think the NRL might be disappointed with the tv rights offer given their deluded journos up north are expecting a deal as big as the AFL's  .

[Mr Magic]

Surely he can't be serious.

I think it's a smokescreen.
The NRL is genuinely concerned that more young NRL prospects will try and cross over to AFL given Hunt is making a decent fist of it.

[gerkin greg]

they should poach north melbourne

[tiger101]

Abit off topic but did anyone see offsiders this morning.
They showed a clip off a NRL footy show not the thursday night one some other one of Hunt kicking his first goal and 2 of the panel threatened to walk off if a clip of AFL is ever played again.  lol

[WilliamPowell]

they should poach north melbourne

They are trying to spend money not save it 

[Oiafi]

they should poach north melbourne

Gold. 

[Penelope]

Maybe he meant Campbell Brown. An unskilled dumb thug would fit right into a league team.

[Tigeritis™©®]

they should poach north melbourne

I laughed out loud as I read this.