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Leeds Rhinos CEO Gary Hetherington has blasted the Warriors and other NRL clubs over the lack of quality players Australia and New Zealand are producing.

The Warriors have signed two of the brightest young stars in the English game, Jordan Baldwinson and Mason Tonks, from his club and Hetherington believes this shows that they’re better at developing players in England than clubs in the Southern Hemisphere.

“It is a really interesting development and a big call for NRL clubs to recruit youngsters like Jordan and Mason at such a critical time in their personal and playing development but it could become a trend,” Hetherington told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“This year’s Academy under-19 competition has been the best ever in terms of quality and we at the Rhinos are blessed with having so many youngsters with the potential to become full-time professionals.

“This contrasts sharply with what’s happening in the NRL. Having just returned from a trip to Sydney, where I took in some of their under-20s games, I was staggered at the poor quality on show.

“It would appear that the cash-rich NRL are putting all their wealth into the top end of the game rather than into development and clubs are now looking to the talent pools in England for their future stars.

“In many ways this announcement represents a real triumph for the British game in that we are now producing outstanding prospects and at the same time it’s a poor reflection on the quality of the New Zealand Warriors system in that they cannot find players of the same quality throughout the entire rugby-playing country of New Zealand.”

Baldwinson, who captained the England under-18 side this year, and Tonks have signed one-year deals with the Warriors, with the club holding second-season options.

The Warriors regard their decision to pick two players from England as thinking outside the square with player recruitment – and certainly the success of the Burgess brothers at the Rabbitohs suggests picking young players from England can be rewarding.

However, there have been mixed reactions from some in New Zealand, who believe the club’s priority should be to develop their own players, rather than import those from England.

Hetherington believes more young English players could be tempted to move to Down Under, but they may then find the streets aren’t paved with gold in Sydney and Auckland.

“Youngsters are seduced by an exciting lifestyle in the Southern Hemisphere, but I think the reality could become very different. I don’t think it will have a long-term effect on our game, and certainly not at the Rhinos, where one player’s departure will lead to another’s opportunity.”

Hetherington said Baldwinson was offered a contract. He said talks began with Tonks, but his preference was always to go to the Warriors.

He said no agreement had been reached for either player to give Leeds first refusal if and when they returned to Super League.

– © Fairfax NZ News

New Zealand rugby league nursery scorned