Roosters bring AFL star out of retirement

[Beaussie]

Wow, even long retired, nearly 40 year old AFL players can be recruited to play in the NRL.

Roosters bring AFL star out of retirement for Nines
Dan Walsh
NRL.com Reporter
Fri 17 Jan 2020

Sydney Swans premiership-hero and Roosters staffer Nick Davis will come out of retirement at the age of 39 to make a historic cross-code appearance at the NRL Nines in Perth.

Davis will line up for the back-to-back premiers on February 14-15 as the first AFL player to take the pitch in the pre-season tournament, which the Roosters also won during its last edition in 2017.

The likes of Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt have made high-profile switches from league to AFL but Davis is the biggest name to go the other way.

He will long live in Swans folklore for his role in their run to the 2005 title, booting the last four goals of a tense preliminary final win over Geelong in what is regarded as one of the club's seminal individual performances.

Davis is on the Roosters payroll as their kicking coach, but will pull on the boots while the majority of Trent Robinson's top squad will be gearing up for their World Club Challenge defence in England the following weekend.

The former Swan grew up playing rugby league and regarded Cronulla's Andrew Ettingshausen as his childhood hero before being drafted by Collingwood where his father Craig forged a successful career.

While Davis's addition has been made to capitalise on Perth's strong-AFL market, both he and Robinson are confident he will be well equipped for the code switch, where Davis will wear the No.2 jumper and play primarily as a winger.

"I can catch and pass, but I can kick more than anything and that's what I'll be relying on," Davis said on Friday.

"I've always loved rugby league, growing up in Sydney it's part of your DNA.

"There was a time there when I would have liked to play rugby league, but the family tradition in AFL was the thing that changed me in the end."

Robinson plans to use the Nines as a chance to blood younger members of the Roosters set-up alongside "two or three senior players" while focusing his top side on their February 22 clash with St Helens in the UK.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/01/17/roo ... for-nines/

[AFLcrap1]

Wow, even long retired, nearly 40 year old AFL players can be recruited to play in the NRL.

Roosters bring AFL star out of retirement for Nines
Dan Walsh
NRL.com Reporter
Fri 17 Jan 2020

Sydney Swans premiership-hero and Roosters staffer Nick Davis will come out of retirement at the age of 39 to make a historic cross-code appearance at the NRL Nines in Perth.

Davis will line up for the back-to-back premiers on February 14-15 as the first AFL player to take the pitch in the pre-season tournament, which the Roosters also won during its last edition in 2017.

The likes of Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt have made high-profile switches from league to AFL but Davis is the biggest name to go the other way.

He will long live in Swans folklore for his role in their run to the 2005 title, booting the last four goals of a tense preliminary final win over Geelong in what is regarded as one of the club's seminal individual performances.

Davis is on the Roosters payroll as their kicking coach, but will pull on the boots while the majority of Trent Robinson's top squad will be gearing up for their World Club Challenge defence in England the following weekend.

The former Swan grew up playing rugby league and regarded Cronulla's Andrew Ettingshausen as his childhood hero before being drafted by Collingwood where his father Craig forged a successful career.

While Davis's addition has been made to capitalise on Perth's strong-AFL market, both he and Robinson are confident he will be well equipped for the code switch, where Davis will wear the No.2 jumper and play primarily as a winger.

"I can catch and pass, but I can kick more than anything and that's what I'll be relying on," Davis said on Friday.

"I've always loved rugby league, growing up in Sydney it's part of your DNA.

"There was a time there when I would have liked to play rugby league, but the family tradition in AFL was the thing that changed me in the end."

Robinson plans to use the Nines as a chance to blood younger members of the Roosters set-up alongside "two or three senior players" while focusing his top side on their February 22 clash with St Helens in the UK.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2020/01/17/roo ... for-nines/

Oh dear .
.
When an AFL player gets to play in the NRl comp get back to me .
A Mickey Mouse 9s comp is not the same .
Lol keep grasping at those straws .

[NRL&NFLweLaughATafl]

The guy is basically a guinea pig for the off season so no star players get injured.

[Fred]

Just a gimmick ... he’s still fit and can kick a ball. And at his age the the best he could get is an nrl wage lol.

[AFLcrap1]

The guy is basically a guinea pig for the off season so no star players get injured.

Lol true .
We will prob never know if a fumbler could make it into the nRL ..
They just don't have the talent ...coordination ...body or ability ..
Yet RL players have made it to the top in the AFL ...played at the highest level .
With little or no background in fumbling a Sharon .
Hilarious stuff .

[AFLcrap1]

Has anyone let this bloke know that dropping & fumbling a ball is not considered a skill in RL

[Fred]

If the nrl had the money to pay a elite AFL player we may see it .... but yes that is unlikely .

[Fred]

Has anyone let this bloke know that dropping & fumbling a ball is not considered a skill in RL

Isn’t he the kicking coach ?

[Terry]

This has got to be Beatups weakest ever beat up lolololololol!!!!!!!!! Hopeless, pointless and useless!!!!!

I hope you lift your game going forward Beatup. You haven't got your fellow traveller and worlds crankiest man, Wackie, to back you up any more. It could be a long long year pal. Maybe Freddy can be your 'go to' man lolololololololo!!!!!!!!

[Bbear]

Interesting article Beaussie.
And I think Nick Davis will continue to play NRL until he reaches fifty .

[AFLcrap1]

Interesting article Beaussie.
And I think Nick Davis will continue to play NRL until he reaches fifty .

He's Gota catch a ball without fumbling in a Mickey Mouse comp
Lol he's Gota get over that huge obstacle first .

[Terry]

Interesting article Beaussie.
And I think Nick Davis will continue to play NRL until he reaches fifty .

Good to see ya havin' a crack bear. Lame as it is. I'll fact check this claim in the very very near future and see how ya go pal lololololololol!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck and keep morale high!!!!!

[leeroy*NRL*]

If the nrl had the money to pay a elite AFL player we may see it .... but yes that is unlikely .

I think you may find
the NRL has 9.8 mill at his disposal for top 25 squad players

what is the AFL for top squad players..

(there are many million dollar players in the NRL)

also remember on top of this NRL players get payments for REP games

[AFLcrap1]

If the nrl had the money to pay a elite AFL player we may see it .... but yes that is unlikely .

I think you may find
the NRL has 9.8 mill at his disposal for top 25 squad players

what is the AFL for top squad players..

(there are many million dollar players in the NRL)

also remember on top of this NRL players get payments for REP games

Lol
RL can afford to pay a fumbler . They just aren't interested
Simple fact is they don't want or need one for shameless promotion .
That's the AFL way
Let athletes with little or no experience walk into the highest level of the game .
That doesn't happen in RL .
We don't want or need players from another code where dropping a ball is not penalised & not kicking straight is rewarded with an unco point .

Leeroy this argument was had a few years ago .
Wher the usual bullshit claim was made that they couldn't afford the AFL stars as they were paid so much more
I posted where a RL player was the highest paid in both codes .
Lol ..argument ended there
How strange that the fumble bullshit train still rolls on & on .

[Fred]

The nrl don’t pay as high a wage as AFL. You think the nrl are going to pay over for an elite AFL player ... line well overs. So a player on a million dollar contract would need to be paid substantially over that to entice them to move. Would they nrl pay the a”marketing” component of that figure. I doubt it... especially after the fiasco it was already when the AFL did it. AFL has way way more money then the nrl.... nrl struggle to get a bank loan.