New Zealand 2 will deal a massive blow to NZ rugby

[Manurewa_Marlins]

Has the ARLC actually spent any money in Tonga and Samoa?

Giving Jerome Luai some cash to play in blue isn't the same thing as developing the game.

Nail on the head.

Do these teams actually represent the Tongan and Samoan national rugby league bodies, or are they NRL/SL selections?

I would assume a percentage of the tv money gets filtered out in grants etc?

 

[Gobsmacked]

Great game between the Kiwis and Samoa!
Casey McLean was a stand out for the Kiwis and was eligible for NSW !!
Thankfully the young man made a brave choice and hopefully more do the same!
I love Origin but it shouldn't be the Pinnacle of our game and probably isn't anymore going by that great game yesterday.
Next weekend we have the Ashes and a Tonga Samoa clash! Top shelf Rugby league!

I've of 2 different thoughts, Either:

A: All Origin eligible players that choose to play Origin are only eligible for Australia.

Or

B: All Origin eligible players that play Origin are eligible to play for whichever country they choose.

Regardless, international payments for players needs to be on par with Origin to create a even playing field for players to make their choices.

These payments will act as a payment boost for ALL of our elite players and that will fortify our Star players from being poached for rival Leagues while also encouraging our players to make themselves available for the international calendar.

 

[Trifili13]

Great game between the Kiwis and Samoa!
Casey McLean was a stand out for the Kiwis and was eligible for NSW !!
Thankfully the young man made a brave choice and hopefully more do the same!
I love Origin but it shouldn't be the Pinnacle of our game and probably isn't anymore going by that great game yesterday.
Next weekend we have the Ashes and a Tonga Samoa clash! Top shelf Rugby league!

I've of 2 different thoughts, Either:

A: All Origin eligible players that choose to play Origin are only eligible for Australia.

Or

B: All Origin eligible players that play Origin are eligible to play for whichever country they choose.

Regardless, international payments for players needs to be on par with Origin to create a even playing field for players to make their choices.

These payments will act as a payment boost for ALL of our elite players and that will fortify our Star players from being poached for rival Leagues while also encouraging our players to make themselves available for the international calendar.

Agree with your 2 options. Either we make Origin a real selection game for Australia (and play more internationals so there is an incentive to make Origin a selection trial) or it becomes a bit of an All Stars game. They seem to be caught in between with some players that choose to play for another country allowed to play while others aren't.

The pinnacle should be playing for your country, not your state.

 

[Gobsmacked]

Agree with your 2 options. Either we make Origin a real selection game for Australia (and play more internationals so there is an incentive to make Origin a selection trial) or it becomes a bit of an All Stars game. They seem to be caught in between with some players that choose to play for another country allowed to play while others aren't.

The pinnacle should be playing for your country, not your state.

I think if you ask the players, they all say that representing their country is the Pinnacle of their career. Jarome Lui was far more passionate in that game than he is in SOO for example.
SOO is only hanging on in this regard mostly because of these eligibility rules and I think people have a fear that the gloss will come off Origin when the reality is it already has.
There used to be a big gap between watching SOO and club football but we have so much talent in the comp now that this is no longer the case, it's only marginally higher quality to the top sides.
And as for internationals, you can no longer say that they're below Origin standards on roster, performance or passion and if it wasn't for the majority of RL support coming from QLD and NSW, it would rate just as high.

 

[Wb1234]

I can understand kiwis not caring if origin gets devalued since their focus is on the kiwis

I’ll never understand Aussies who are ashamed that origins are the pinnacle of rugby league and not tests and wanting to see it devalued

Inter state football goes back to the 1890s in Australia

Kiwis own fans didn’t turn up yesterday

If it wasn’t for Samoan fans the stadium would’ve been empty

Maybe the kiwis should try and become relevant to their local populace isn’t of worrying about their players being in origin

And they won too despite all the adversity against them

 

[Gobsmacked]

I can understand kiwis not caring if origin gets devalued since their focus is on the kiwis

I’ll never understand Aussies who are ashamed that origins are the pinnacle of rugby league and not tests and wanting to see it devalued

Inter state football goes back to the 1890s in Australia

Kiwis own fans didn’t turn up yesterday

If it wasn’t for Samoan fans the stadium would’ve been empty

Maybe the kiwis should try and become relevant to their local populace isn’t of worrying about their players being in origin

And they won too despite all the adversity against them

I wonder how much of the big Samoan presence is responsible for turning away Kiwi supporters.

 

[Wb1234]

I wonder how much of the big Samoan presence is responsible for turning away Kiwi supporters.

Format favours nz heavily

Tonga having no warm up game with another nz home home next week

Final should’ve been in nz so stupid it’s in Australia and at a stadium as small as commbank

Nzrl need to drop ticket prices now they waited too long on the weekend

The market is limited accept it and get 40k

 

[Gobsmacked]

I can understand kiwis not caring if origin gets devalued since their focus is on the kiwis

I’ll never understand Aussies who are ashamed that origins are the pinnacle of rugby league and not tests and wanting to see it devalued

Inter state football goes back to the 1890s in Australia

Kiwis own fans didn’t turn up yesterday

If it wasn’t for Samoan fans the stadium would’ve been empty

Maybe the kiwis should try and become relevant to their local populace isn’t of worrying about their players being in origin

And they won too despite all the adversity against them

It's not being ashamed of Origin being the Pinnacle.

There isn't a want for Origin to be devalued, it's the opposite in fact, I hope Origin becomes even bigger and it can!
It's about Internationals getting the audience they deserve , this is now top shelf Rugby league and people representing their country.

Casey McLean just put the Kiwi jumper ahead of NSW, if those Samoan boys were put in the same predicament: Samoa or NSW ? Which would they choose?
I'd say very rapidly there's a shift happening because of the quality of these Internationals that would see Tongans, Samoans and Kiwis choose their nation over state and if forced to choose, we will see a massive drop in the talent available for SOO, at that point, it's no longer the Pinnacle and that is a fact.

SOO is the Pinnacle now only as a matter of opinion and it's only a matter of time before it isn't as a matter of fact.
So start getting used to it.

 

[Wb1234]

It's not being ashamed of Origin being the Pinnacle.

There isn't a want for Origin to be devalued, it's the opposite in fact, I hope Origin becomes even bigger and it can!
It's about Internationals getting the audience they deserve , this is now top shelf Rugby league and people representing their country.

Casey McLean just put the Kiwi jumper ahead of NSW, if those Samoan boys were put in the same predicament: Samoa or NSW ? Which would they choose?
I'd say very rapidly there's a shift happening because of the quality of these Internationals that would see Tongans, Samoans and Kiwis choose their nation over state and if forced to choose, we will see a massive drop in the talent available for SOO, at that point, it's no longer the Pinnacle and that is a fact.

SOO is the Pinnacle now only as a matter of opinion and it's only a matter of time before it isn't as a matter of fact.
So start getting used to it.

So one of nzs best players on the weekend is someone who brushed origin cause he’s passionate about the kiwis jersey ?

That’s my point

Test football will develop at its own pace

What’s happening with Samoa and Tonga is very exciting though as will png down the track once their team gets established

As will nz2 be a huge boost for the kiwi test team

Origin is going to nz
Might go to Wembley or Vegas one day

Don’t wish for it to decline it’s an excellent way to grow the game in non heartland markets

 

[Gobsmacked]

So one of nzs best players on the weekend is someone who brushed origin cause he’s passionate about the kiwis jersey ?

That’s my point

Test football will develop at its own pace

What’s happening with Samoa and Tonga is very exciting though as will png down the track once their team gets established

As will nz2 be a huge boost for the kiwi test team

Origin is going to nz
Might go to Wembley or Vegas one day

Don’t wish for it to decline it’s an excellent way to grow the game in non heartland markets

Rugby League is taking over the Pacific.

Tonga
Samoa
Fiji
Australia
New Zealand
PNG

These 6 nations are going to be stacked within a decade and will all have the potential to beat each other.
The Internationals is Rugby leagues biggest growth opportunity.

 

[Wb1234]

Rugby League is taking over the Pacific.

Tonga
Samoa
Fiji
Australia
New Zealand
PNG

These 6 nations are going to be stacked within a decade and will all have the potential to beat each other.
The Internationals is Rugby leagues biggest growth opportunity.

That’s why I don’t want the arl wasting time on England yet

Focus on our neck of the woods for 20 years

And I don’t think two nz nrl clubs is enough either

 

[Gobsmacked]

That’s why I don’t want the arl wasting time on England yet

Focus on our neck of the woods for 20 years

And I don’t think two nz nrl clubs is enough either

Dispite the poor governance in the UK, it's accidentally moving forward lol.
2 French teams for a prolonged period will be amazing!

 

[Matua]

I wonder how much of the big Samoan presence is responsible for turning away Kiwi supporters.

Why would Samoan people keep fans away? The Warriors would have much smaller crowds if that was the case.

I think it just shows the limits of league in NZ. Lots of damage was done to the Kiwis brand in 2017 due to Kidwell, the focus on Tonga and Samoa has split off part of the Kiwis fanbase, and for some weird reason a lot of league fans in NZ seem to be Warriors fans club over country type people, and hey, despite Wb pretending it doesn't matter the eligibility rules in favour of PIs at the expense of NZers keeps some fans away.

 

[Matua]

Ugh, it wasn't my definition, it was the claim of another poster. And who cares where they were developed? Most professional opportunities are in Australia, they are NZ players and you have always produced better halves than any nation other than Australia.

Ugh, I didn't say it was your definition.

Well it matters where they are produced in the context of this thread alone. I personally don't care where they get developed once they're serving the Kiwis, but I'd like the Warriors to actually develop some, instead we have Aussie halves on our books.

I'd also contest we have produced better halves than England. Look at that list of outside backs and forwards we've had to play in the halves. We have a few really good ones in the NRL era, but only a few, which doesn't allow for depth at all.

 

[Wb1234]

Why would Samoan people keep fans away? The Warriors would have much smaller crowds if that was the case.

I think it just shows the limits of league in NZ. Lots of damage was done to the Kiwis brand in 2017 due to Kidwell, the focus on Tonga and Samoa has split off part of the Kiwis fanbase, and for some weird reason a lot of league fans in NZ seem to be Warriors fans club over country type people, and hey, despite Wb pretending it doesn't matter the eligibility rules in favour of PIs at the expense of NZers keeps some fans away.

The depth of nz league today is it can lose basically another team to Samoa and Tonga and still be a strong force

Eden park will probably be a similar ratio of Tongans they are even more passionate than the Samoans imo

Think a lot of the Samoan fans yesterday were warriors regulars / attendees anyway

For the kiwis you’ve got just Māori and white who would follow them whereas pi guys now have strong teams of their own

Imagine if Hughes wasn’t injured

 

[Matua]

The depth of nz league today is it can lose basically another team to Samoa and Tonga and still be a strong force

Eden park will probably be a similar ratio of Tongans they are even more passionate than the Samoans imo

Think a lot of the Samoan fans yesterday were warriors regulars / attendees anyway

What the hell, you're living in la la land. We are playing a retired 6 at 7, if he goes down our next best option is a 6 rated so lowly by his club that he's behind a half season wonder, the Samoan bench hooker, and a reserve grade superstar who looked average in 1st grade. We don't have anywhere near the depth you claim.

For the kiwis you’ve got just Māori and white who would follow them whereas pi guys now have strong teams of their own

So, just the majority of the population of NZ.

Imagine if Hughes wasn’t injured

Hughes is injured, well not proper injured, not club injured, just test match injured, and he's not available so there's no point imagining.

 

[Gobsmacked]

Why would Samoan people keep fans away? The Warriors would have much smaller crowds if that was the case.

I think it just shows the limits of league in NZ. Lots of damage was done to the Kiwis brand in 2017 due to Kidwell, the focus on Tonga and Samoa has split off part of the Kiwis fanbase, and for some weird reason a lot of league fans in NZ seem to be Warriors fans club over country type people, and hey, despite Wb pretending it doesn't matter the eligibility rules in favour of PIs at the expense of NZers keeps some fans away.

Being surrounded by Samoans jumping up and down waving flags cheering in your face might be too much for the average Kiwi who want to go and the upside is seeing a small nation rightly defeated by a much larger one.

As an Aussie, to go and watch Australia would be great! Doing so in a crowd of over enthusiastic Samoans.. not so great.

 

[Matua]

Being surrounded by Samoans jumping up and down waving flags cheering in your face might be too much for the average Kiwi who want to go and the upside is seeing a small nation rightly defeated by a much larger one.

As an Aussie, to go and watch Australia would be great! Doing so in a crowd of over enthusiastic Samoans.. not so great.

Um, that just sounds weird, and half the fun of going to live matches is engaging with the opposition supporters.

There were little blond kids waving Kiwi flags in the crowd so I don't think that's an issue.

Maybe NZ fans just aren't that keen on watching a match where the Kiwis play against a team of NZers and Australians.

 

[Wb1234]

What the hell, you're living in la la land. We are playing a retired 6 at 7, if he goes down our next best option is a 6 rated so lowly by his club that he's behind a half season wonder, the Samoan bench hooker, and a reserve grade superstar who looked average in 1st grade. We don't have anywhere near the depth you claim.


So, just the majority of the population of NZ.


Hughes is injured, well not proper injured, not club injured, just test match injured, and he's not available so there's no point imagining.

So you beat a stacked Samoan side with a washed up half back

lol

And sure if teams are down to their third choice hb they would struggle welcome to the nrl

Really hope England beat the Roos and if it happens you won’t see people complaining it was cause haas etc didn’t pick the Roos


I hope the kangaroos get gutted more In the future and just the white guys and aboriginals are their only players whilst all the islanders stay solid away from them

 

[Gobsmacked]

Um, that just sounds weird, and half the fun of going to live matches is engaging with the opposition supporters.

There were little blond kids waving Kiwi flags in the crowd so I don't think that's an issue.

Maybe NZ fans just aren't that keen on watching a match where the Kiwis play against a team of NZers and Australians.

I guess there's more than one reason then just " there's no support for the Kiwis" there's just plenty of reasons not to go.
I do take your point about the damage the Kidwell era did , Madge did his best to restore some but I'm not sure Jones is the man to keep the momentum going.. picking on 2 halves in your squad with one getting on seems bizarre IMO but the got the win and old man Foran got through uninjured.

I think the Kiwis need to be undefeated in this comp and Jarome hues needs to be fit for the WC to keep the Kiwi support building.

I've noticed how fickle Kiwis are supporting their country , they turn pretty quickly on loosers.
After a century of dominance, they'll even turn on the All blacks.