Will Miller’s Super Rugby debut shows club footy can be valuable production line of talent, says Simon Cron

THE impressive Super Rugby debut of Norths captain Will Miller for the Rebels shows the value of club rugby as a development tool - but only if they’re looking.

Northern Suburbs coach Simon Cron and captain Will Miller. Picture: Troy Snook

THE impressive Super Rugby debut of Norths captain Will Miller for the Rebels shows club rugby can be a valuable production line of talent for Aussie franchises — but only if they’re looking.

That’s the view of rising coach Simon Cron, who steered Norths to its first Shute Shield title in 41 seasons last year and is now the Australian under-20s coach as well.

Miller started at No.7 for the Rebels against the Sharks in Durban at the weekend and played a big role in securing a share of the points for the Melburnians in a 9-all draw.

Captain Will Miller is hoisted high after Norths broke their 41-year duck. Picture: Troy Snook

Stepping up comfortably in a 72-minute effort, the 24-year-old made three steals, forced another ruck penalty and held up Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira to deny the hosts a try. Miller’s debut was described as one of the only bright spots in an otherwise dire weekend for Australian rugby.

It didn’t surprise Cron, who has rated Miller as a Super Rugby-standard player for several years and so too fellow Norths backrower Hugh Sinclair, who also made his debut off the bench in the same game.

Amid calls from Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson for Australian rugby to improve its development pathways — and the promise of extra ARU funds in the area next year — Cron said club rugby can play a big role in producing more Super-standard players.

Cron believes there are talented club players potentially getting missed because they weren’t on the radar as youngsters.

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“My big thing is spread the net as wide as you can for as long as you can. It’s a good saying,” Cron said.

“If we have a narrow, thin net all the time, and we only focus on what other people have identified as talent, we are doing ourselves an injustice. From my point of view, we should spread the net wide, especially when it comes to forwards. Guys who are 22-25, they start to peak and start to become competitive with people who were good at a younger age.

“Keep the net as wide as possible for as long as possible, and we’ll have more success with our talent ID and finding more of the Will Millers and Hugh Sinclairs of this world. There are definitely more of those guys.”

For the past few years, Miller has juggled 5am starts on his family’s dairy farm in Berry and the commute to Norths training in Sydney.

Developing players to a “level where they can slip seamlessly into Super Rugby” is the job of club coaches, says Cron, and establishing better connections between club and Super level is also important.

Will Miller made an impressive Super debut for the Rebels.

“Everyone is time poor these days. We have to look at ways in which more footage or coverage of the club players is there so Super coaches get a chance to see them,” Cron said.

“The reality of it is Gibbo is a busy man, he is preparing for games every week.

“And it’s not a uniform thing. Some club guys might get killed at Super level, and other guys like Will Miller can walk straight in. So as a coach we should know who those guys are, and be able to identify that to help out the Super boys.”

Cron’s first game with the Australian under 20s is on Friday on the Gold Coast, where they play Samoa in the Oceania Championship. The World under 20s championship is in Georgia at the end of next month, a tournament in which Australia has underperformed for years.

Cron says development of Australia’s next-gen talent also needs big change, primarily through schedule changes allow for more camps and a Super 20s competition built around the Aussie team’s plans.

“I have made it pretty clear that I think scheduling is an issue at under 20s level,” Cron said.

“I am walking into a camp now and I will get three training runs before our first game. I am not a fan of that and I know the guys at the ARU are working on fixing that too. To be a coach, you actually have to coach, so that involves spending time with them.

“We have to work out what’s required to not only be a high performance program, but be the best team in the world. That’s the goal. It’s all fixable, we just have to sit down and fix them.”

Originally published as Will Miller’s Super Rugby debut shows club footy can be valuable production line of talent, says Simon Cron