USA "what"

[deluded pom?]

I am confident the RLIF is powerless as they control jack shit. NRL clubs are not going to release a player mid season for any minnow nation. They force tests to be played when it doesn't affect their comp.

I didn't disagree with you I was just pointing out what the official party line is.

 

[gyallop]

I didn't disagree with you I was just pointing out what the official party line is.

They are that dysfunctional that after what 2 years they can't find a CEO or form any policy off note.

 

[spinnerhowland]

I don't they took Hayne , they didn't even know he breathed...he chased them and has taken a massive pay cut to have a crack. NFL is zero threat to RL in Australia.

I don't agree /disagree with you. You can "sell" anything if everyone knows what you are doing and why and buys into it. Tonga Samoa and Fiji all got behind their heritage loaded RLWC teams and got gov't support to take some domestic players to be a non playing part of the tour to gain some experience.

I think the RLIF has put the qualifiers in the middle of 2016 so as the heritage players won't be available and the domestic players will have to win through so in 17 do you take them to the RLWC or drop some for heritage players?

My point exactly....The NFL is so powerful that they don't have to chase players in other nations. Some of the best in the world at their own game are willing to give up plenty just for a chance to play in the NFL. Way more Aussies are aware of the NFL than Americans are of the NRL. Nothing against any one or any thing, the NFL is just that big and powerful around the world of sports. And your right, the NFL is not a threat to the NRL (YET) but they dominate the USA sporting landscape. So the second you don't relate your national RL team with the DOMESTIC fan, they will just go back to what they know and love, the NFL (or College Football). The best NRL teams could visit the USA and 99.9% of people have no idea who they are, or even what sport they play. So when you fill a developing national team with unknown heritage players, everyone loses interest. Domestic players get ticked off, fans have nothing to relate to, and the overall domestic community really just has no connection.
And you cannot compare the nations you mention to the USA. All the nations you reference are very familiar with the Sport, the NRL and other related RL culture. The USA has none of that. So your idea of the "One size fits all" when you compare the development of the USA to the nations who are closer to Australia and the sport of RL, just won't work here.
The idea of developing a sport in a nation and then not taking at least a few domestic players in the national team is counter-productive in any case. Any one with an ounce of business building sense can tell you that. If the national team of the USA only have heritage players, it will be nothing more than a blip in OZ and the UK every four years, and it will not help actually develop the game in the USA. In fact it will do what it did last time, and actually have players leave the game and go back to Union, or just leave Rugby all together. And above EVERYTHING when developing a sport in a new nation, losing players is the last thing you want.

And as for the WC Quals, are you sure they are going to be in the middle of 2016? Although only grapevine, I have heard a different time frame.

And although not related to this conversation, here is something to think about - What happens if Jarryd Hayne makes a playing team in the NFL? Do you think more RL players will look at the NFL? Or do you think the NFL might take a look at a few more NRL players? Here is a question; If the top 10 NRL players had a voicemail from an NFL agent wanting to talk about considering the NFL, do you think any of them would NOT call them back?

 

[deluded pom?]

Just an aside Spinner. Have you contacted any of the players who left RL, due to the AMNRL's WC selection policy, about returning to the game at all?

 

[gyallop]

I think they would all take the call but honestly only a rare athlete could succeed NRL to NFL or NFL to NRL at that level. Is it true that Jesse Williams $1m a year deal at Seattle was actually $230,000 as he didn't play a game, if so that doesn't make the NFL such an attraction as all we hear is the big end number.

did any players actually quit the game, as the AMNRL didn't play last year who knows yet?

with the RLWC qualifiers if you guys as members don't know that is a joke as someone has to host and pay so if its this off season assuming your pool is Canada and Jamaica one nation needs to start fund raising soon.

 

[spinnerhowland]

Here is a good read for you to understand the NFL minimum - http://www.spotrac.com/blog/nfl-minimum-salaries-veteran-discounts/
And again, it is off topic, but the fact is that the NFL is so powerful that agents could call the top 100 players in the NRL and get their attention, where as NRL agents would struggle to get anywhere with NFL players. I am not taking shots, it is just the way it is based on population, sporting dollars, etc. The MINIMUM salary to play in the NFL is more than twice the NRL Average, so it makes sense it works that way. This only go to show that the domestic fans of RL in the USA not only need to find a reason to support their national team, but they MUST be able to relate to it through domestic players. They need to be able to know some of the faces on the team, or they just find it irrelevant. That is just the way it is.
And as for the 3 other nations you mentioned, what are the other sports they compete with domestically? Very little when it comes to sporting dollars. Again, the USA is full of BILLION DOLLAR sports, so if the fans don't find a way to relate to the players in the teams, it will never be more that it is today. Their MUST be a balance of Domestic players in any national team that represents the USA.

As for Jessie Williams, he was an OK college player who played a tough position for a Rookie, in one of the best teams in the NFL. And I am not convinced he has what it takes to make it based on the players he is up against in Seattle, but I am sure he is making pretty good money compared to a first year NRL player.

 

[spinnerhowland]

Just an aside Spinner. Have you contacted any of the players who left RL, due to the AMNRL's WC selection policy, about returning to the game at all?

Some talks have been had with both domestic and heritage players from the last round of Qualifiers and the WC team. But an open forum is not the place to details any of those talks.

 

[alien]

i think the national team should be atleast half full of domestic players

so when will the decision be made on what the national team will be called?

 

[gyallop]

I don't know about the comment on the 3 Island nations Spinner, Rugby Union is far and away the dominant sport in very limited economies and are so much better funded than RL.

Jesse Williams was released by Seattle and was a RL player as a boy in Logan so maybe he is worth a shout out to?

 

[killbill]

I don't know about the comment on the 3 Island nations Spinner, Rugby Union is far and away the dominant sport in very limited economies and are so much better funded than RL.

Jesse Williams was released by Seattle and was a RL player as a boy in Logan so maybe he is worth a shout out to?

Unfortunately Williams had a bad run with injuries - will be interesting where he lands.

 

[alien]

still haven't decided on the team name???

 

[killbill]

Here is a good read for you to understand the NFL minimum - http://www.spotrac.com/blog/nfl-minimum-salaries-veteran-discounts/
And again, it is off topic, but the fact is that the NFL is so powerful that agents could call the top 100 players in the NRL and get their attention, where as NRL agents would struggle to get anywhere with NFL players. I am not taking shots, it is just the way it is based on population, sporting dollars, etc. The MINIMUM salary to play in the NFL is more than twice the NRL Average, so it makes sense it works that way. This only go to show that the domestic fans of RL in the USA not only need to find a reason to support their national team, but they MUST be able to relate to it through domestic players. They need to be able to know some of the faces on the team, or they just find it irrelevant. That is just the way it is.
And as for the 3 other nations you mentioned, what are the other sports they compete with domestically? Very little when it comes to sporting dollars. Again, the USA is full of BILLION DOLLAR sports, so if the fans don't find a way to relate to the players in the teams, it will never be more that it is today. Their MUST be a balance of Domestic players in any national team that represents the USA.

As for Jessie Williams, he was an OK college player who played a tough position for a Rookie, in one of the best teams in the NFL. And I am not convinced he has what it takes to make it based on the players he is up against in Seattle, but I am sure he is making pretty good money compared to a first year NRL player.

Good post - sadly Williams will just be remembered as a Bama player - which is fantastic though and those neck tattoos! but not an NFL player

 

[Ryan Chidgey]

And the winner is??????

 

[gyallop]

any news on the national team or how the teams are shaping up for the comp. this year?

 

[taipan]

How about the name USA Mustangs????

 

[Fatwing15]

I really hope they keep it as the Tomahawks. No matter How diluted the selection process became, there are still a ton of guys that are so incredibly proud to be called a Tomahawk and represent our country. There are now younger guys that want to be able to say that they were selected to the same honor of representing our country as a Tomahawk. There is a great picture of a 4 or 5 Tomahawk Sharks taken at the USARL grand Final a couple years ago, there are now 19-20 year old Sharks that see that picture are now motivated to bust their ass and eventually say that they are also a Tomahawk.

LONG STORY SHORT.... KEEP THEM AS THE TOMAHAWKS!

 

[gyallop]

are they all asleep at the wheel in the USA? What has happened to the new era of action accountability and transparency??

 

[Dakink]

Gyallop you are boring

 

[East Coast Tiger]

I think theyve just realised none of the other options are any good. The explanation for replacing Tomahawks wasnt particularly clear or convincing in the first place and then the alternatives given were underwelming to say the least, not least because so many people who have played the game there seem to prefer Tomahawks as well. And you cant blame them.

 

[Sinman]

Pretty sure they were headed for Pioneers.. Tomahawks was copyrighted by the AMNRL and so they can't use it apparently.. It's all pretty quiet in America but their comp starts soon.. hopefully we will hear of a bunch of internationals after all that