Go_The_Doggies
10-12-06, 09:10 AM
10 December 2006
By ADRIAN PROSZENKO and STEVE KILGALLON
A new transtasman tug-of-war is brewing following revelations that four of the stars on the current Australian Schoolboys tour of Europe are eligible to play for New Zealand.
And in a move that has outraged Kangaroos greats, gun Schoolboys half Liam Foran has declared his aspiration to replace Stacey Jones as New Zealand's long-term halfback.
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Foran, 17, is being groomed as a representative player of the future during the Schoolboys' European tour and is also in contention for the Melbourne standoff spot vacated by London-bound Scott Hill.
But despite that, he has pledged his allegiance to the Kiwis. "My ultimate goal is to play with New Zealand at the highest level," Foran said. "I moved to Australia when I was 10 but my family and my heart is with New Zealand. (Stacey Jones) is my idol and I would love to take over from him."
New Zealand officials have already identified Foran as a major talent, with Kiwi assistant coach Tony Iro watching Foran play for North Sydney in Premier League and coach Brian McClennan saying he would be be considered for test duty should he become a regular first grader in 2007.
"We've heard about the young Foran boy and I hope he grabs every opportunity and grabs a leaf out of Blairy's (Storm prop Adam Blair's) book," said McClennan. "Let's hope he has a big year."
However, the prospect of Foran using the Schoolboys tour as a stepping stone to representative honours for New Zealand has upset Australian greats, including Mark Geyer.
"If they say they want to play for the Kiwis, they shouldn't be in our team," Geyer said. "If you're going to play for the Kiwis when you're older, don't play for Australia.
"We shouldn't be nurturing their kids and giving them a leg up so that they can boot our **** in five years' time. If you decide at an early age that you want to play for the Kiwis, why are you playing for the Schoolboys?"
Of the 20 players in the Schoolboys squad which toured New Zealand in 2003, nine were eligible for both countries and two, Ben Roberts and Benji Marshall, then played for the Kiwis. Nathan Cayless and Tony Puletua are other Kiwis who played for the Schoolboys.
THE CONTROVERSIAL mid-season test between the Kiwis and Great Britain has been scrapped after the NZRL could not secure NRL support to send a full- strength team.
A weakened New Zealand was thumped 46-14 last June after NRL clubs blocked releases and NZRL acting chairman Andrew Chalmers said they faced the same scenario again. "More practically, we have a very long tour to the UK at the end of the year anyway," he said.
It's one decision reached by a marathon board meeting on Friday, which closed without coming to a conclusion on the Nathan Fien affair.
There seems to have been other controversies involved at the meeting, with director and former vice-chairman Peter Douglas yesterday rejecting suggestions he had been suspended, saying there had been a "misunderstanding".
The Fien decision will come next week, but the directors did announce a complete review of all domestic competitions and endorsed Auckland Lions' plans to enter a side in the NRL reserve grade competition.
The Lions will now formally be awarded a place in the New South Wales Premier League later this week subject to some final details of business plan and budget, their chairman Tony Sadgrove said. The NSWRL gave outline approval just hours after the NZRL nodded the idea through.
Chalmers said the NZRL endorsed the plans but would not fund them, leaving the Lions and the Auckland Rugby League to find the expected $800,000 budget.
The Lions have made their first move by anointing Kiwi coach McClennan as their director of football to oversee all their teams next year. They will advertise for a Premier League coach, with Graeme Norton the likely frontrunner.
By ADRIAN PROSZENKO and STEVE KILGALLON
A new transtasman tug-of-war is brewing following revelations that four of the stars on the current Australian Schoolboys tour of Europe are eligible to play for New Zealand.
And in a move that has outraged Kangaroos greats, gun Schoolboys half Liam Foran has declared his aspiration to replace Stacey Jones as New Zealand's long-term halfback.
Find out with
a free health test
Foran, 17, is being groomed as a representative player of the future during the Schoolboys' European tour and is also in contention for the Melbourne standoff spot vacated by London-bound Scott Hill.
But despite that, he has pledged his allegiance to the Kiwis. "My ultimate goal is to play with New Zealand at the highest level," Foran said. "I moved to Australia when I was 10 but my family and my heart is with New Zealand. (Stacey Jones) is my idol and I would love to take over from him."
New Zealand officials have already identified Foran as a major talent, with Kiwi assistant coach Tony Iro watching Foran play for North Sydney in Premier League and coach Brian McClennan saying he would be be considered for test duty should he become a regular first grader in 2007.
"We've heard about the young Foran boy and I hope he grabs every opportunity and grabs a leaf out of Blairy's (Storm prop Adam Blair's) book," said McClennan. "Let's hope he has a big year."
However, the prospect of Foran using the Schoolboys tour as a stepping stone to representative honours for New Zealand has upset Australian greats, including Mark Geyer.
"If they say they want to play for the Kiwis, they shouldn't be in our team," Geyer said. "If you're going to play for the Kiwis when you're older, don't play for Australia.
"We shouldn't be nurturing their kids and giving them a leg up so that they can boot our **** in five years' time. If you decide at an early age that you want to play for the Kiwis, why are you playing for the Schoolboys?"
Of the 20 players in the Schoolboys squad which toured New Zealand in 2003, nine were eligible for both countries and two, Ben Roberts and Benji Marshall, then played for the Kiwis. Nathan Cayless and Tony Puletua are other Kiwis who played for the Schoolboys.
THE CONTROVERSIAL mid-season test between the Kiwis and Great Britain has been scrapped after the NZRL could not secure NRL support to send a full- strength team.
A weakened New Zealand was thumped 46-14 last June after NRL clubs blocked releases and NZRL acting chairman Andrew Chalmers said they faced the same scenario again. "More practically, we have a very long tour to the UK at the end of the year anyway," he said.
It's one decision reached by a marathon board meeting on Friday, which closed without coming to a conclusion on the Nathan Fien affair.
There seems to have been other controversies involved at the meeting, with director and former vice-chairman Peter Douglas yesterday rejecting suggestions he had been suspended, saying there had been a "misunderstanding".
The Fien decision will come next week, but the directors did announce a complete review of all domestic competitions and endorsed Auckland Lions' plans to enter a side in the NRL reserve grade competition.
The Lions will now formally be awarded a place in the New South Wales Premier League later this week subject to some final details of business plan and budget, their chairman Tony Sadgrove said. The NSWRL gave outline approval just hours after the NZRL nodded the idea through.
Chalmers said the NZRL endorsed the plans but would not fund them, leaving the Lions and the Auckland Rugby League to find the expected $800,000 budget.
The Lions have made their first move by anointing Kiwi coach McClennan as their director of football to oversee all their teams next year. They will advertise for a Premier League coach, with Graeme Norton the likely frontrunner.