Mannering retires

[RHYTHM AND STEALTH]

flying buisness class will be ok

 

[SpaceMonkey]

If its pissing down with rain and in a bog we might go ok

About time we played in Greymouth....

 

[Philip_Smith007]

flying buisness class will be ok

Lots of time to sleep on flight to Denver vs normal 3 hour trip to Aussie.

 

[JJ]

On Mannering - great club footballer, very good test player - greatest Warrior ever, but not close to a place in my best Kiwi team from players I've seen... nonetheless, he remains one of my favourites - he's Geoff Toovey tough

 

[SpaceMonkey]

It’s a bit of a shame he seems to have no interest in being a coach or trainer, he’s the type of ex player who’d make a good one, a guy who became great on dedication and hard work more than natural talent.

 

[sup42]

I think I was more interested in International League before the Kiwis tasted real success (Tri-Nations, World Cup etc)...when it was a David v Goliath battle and the wins were occasional. Now that we've shown we be the best, it frustrates me when we perform so far away from there.

I get that.
I follow league in part because it fits in with my underdog mentality. I sometimes wonder how I will maintain the narrative should the Warriors win the competition one day.

The two years where we were close to the best team in the competition (2002-2003) it was easy to stay engaged because of the Style of rugby league we played.

People talk about the Warriors being the most entertaining to watch when they are ' in a mood' Boy the Warriors could chase down a team in those days....I digress....but they were unique...they were different.

When the Kiwis were bullying Australia for that brief bizarre era, it did feel strange, and the fall from there was spectacular.

We're all different on here, I don't think I'd go across the road to see a Kiwis test, but I'll travel across Sydney to see the Warriors reserve grade side.

This disinterest in international footy happened about 1993 for me. The year before I went to the Kiwis v GB at the Showgrounds Oval (PN) and loved it. The year before that was one of my favourite games of RL, when the unfancied Kiwis rolled the 'Roos in Melbourne.

The famous Graham Lowe-led upset of the 'Roos at Lang Park, one Saturday night way back in 1983, is still my favourite ever game of league. The Kiwis were household names overnight.

I enjoyed Kangaroo v GB tests as well.

But it's all in the past. I wish it wasn't.

So potentially your passion for the Kiwis can be traced back to 1993...which aligns with the period when a New Zealand team in the Winfield cup became a buzz (not suggesting the two are related in your case) but there is a stream of thought that the Warriors / thereby default - the Australian Club competition changed the landscape of Rugby League in NZ in ways previously unimagined. The assumption was that the Warriors would boost interest in the code on all levels.

Which raises the Question how did the NZRL miss the boat ?

 

[ZEROMISSTACKLES]

The assumption was that the Warriors would boost interest in the code on all levels. Which raises the Question how did the NZRL miss the boat?

Good question because in light of what I'm seeing right now when I look at the current state of the NZRL, kiwis and the Warriors, things look like this...

NZRL.......Kiwis................WARRIORS

Kiwis should be the bigger picture but oh well, whats 'crackin'?

I'm assuming you would've already thought of so many reasons as to why NZRL hasn't grown much. I think it's a number of things like; the Warriors and Kiwis losing doesn't help, rugby union winning doesn't help, the rise of video games, poor management, David Kidwell etc. Those are my superficial reasons but the answer to your question maybe more complex than that. I don't know but Im assuming its something the NZRFL are or have already researched.