Queensland coach Mal Meninga says the quality of the football seen in the NRL finals has once again highlighted the gulf in class between the Australian and English rugby league competitions.

Meninga, currently in Europe for an extended holiday after a taxing year leading the Maroons to a historic sixth consecutive series win, said he had been taking in the football from both hemispheres and was concerned the gap between the two may be widening, rather than narrowing.

“I was luck enough to get to the Challenge Cup final over here between Leeds and Wigan, and while it was a very entertaining game and a great spectacle, the quality and intensity of the football made me realise how far behind the club competition in England is falling compared to the standard in the NRL,” Mal said.

“You look at the quality and intensity of the performances from the top teams in the NRL, and the English teams just don’t get close.

“I am sure the English will put together a very competitive squad for the Four Nations tournament at the end of the year, but I really am concerned that the standard in the English competition seems so far off the pace compared to Australia.”
Mal said players needed greater exposure to the intensity of the NRL to lift the standard of the English game.

“I think we have seen in the past few years that English players can not only make it in the NRL, but also become very good players for their clubs,” he said.

“Obviously Adrian Morley was one of the very early ones of the modern era to come across, and he had a tremendous stint with the Roosters.

“Similarly, Sam Burgess and Gareth Ellis have been going great for the Rabbitohs and Tigers, and having guys like them used to the week-in, week-out toughness of the NRL will really add starch to the English national team.

“But certainly, from the English competition’s perspective, more players need to get exposure to NRL football to see what is required to play at that high level that our competition requires every week.

“I know James Graham is joining the Bulldogs next season from St Helens, and I think he will adapt to the NRL just as well as Burgess and Ellis have done.

“But more players, particularly younger guys, need to come over to get some experience in the NRL and go back with what they have learned so they can raise the bar for the entire competition.”