WE don't get much time to sit and watch other sports too much, but I have respect for most of them.

At Leeds Rhinos we have links with Leeds United FC, with the idea of sharing facilities and aspects of coaching and swapping development ideas. There are things you can learn from all sports if you look deep enough. You don't have to use the same coaching methods but there are ideas in there for everybody.

Basketball, for example, is related to rugby league in some ways. There are things like one-on-one defence and hand-eye coordination, and you have to create opportunities by using agility and find space through speed and quality passes.

Things like Olympics are good, while I admire all the one-on-one sports, like boxing and martial arts.

If your preparation isn't right, you can't rely on your team-mates cleaning up for you.

You have to admire motor sports as well, such as Superbikes. They live on the edge all the time, with bikes going round corners nearly horizontal. They must be really pumped up on adrenalin and there's not much room for error.

I'm not a big football fan but don't mind watching some of the big games, though I'll probably miss tonight's Chelsea-Liverpool match because the family I stayed with when I played in Australia are coming to visit.

We won the Group Nine competition when I was there in 1995, playing for Wagga Brothers.

I really enjoyed my four months in Wagga Wagga, and I got into Aussie Rules while I was there. The pitch is massive but they're very skilful people, tall, athletic and fit, and it's quite a fast game to watch.

I've also seen an American football match live when we went with Leeds to the US in 1998.

We saw University of Texas play Oklahoma State and there were 80,000 people there, standing up the whole game.

I thought the presentation of it and the build-up was excellent, though the game itself went on a bit with all the breaks. I enjoyed it as a one-off but it's not a game I'd go to weekly.

I know a lot of players play golf in their spare time.

I haven't much interest in it myself, maybe the odd game of pitch and putt, but a lot of players find it relaxing.

Daryl Powell's a big golf fan. We call him the Great White because he sharks all the time - he pretends he doesn't play much but then cleans up.

They have a sponsors' golf day at Leeds Rhinos every year and Daryl's team won it last time, and he reckons it was all down to him.

Talking of golf, it was decided this week that women can qualify for the Open.

Fair play to them - though apparently part of the discussion regarded whether men could then play in women's tournaments.

Things like women's rugby are getting bigger as well and I'm all for it - why restrict people playing sport?

However, it's probably not a fair call to have women playing against men.

That's not to say they haven't got the same skill levels but physically I imagine it's not really a fair match.

Updated: 08:48 Wednesday, April 27, 2005