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  1. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Championships 2024

    If the Tongan RL side were like that I'd have a lot more interest in them, but I doubt they'd ever be anywhere near as good as the current side. But I appreciate your optimism.
  2. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Championships 2024

    jeez mate I thought we were trying to make the same point lol Ok sure, if we think sourcing players for a top international team from a country with a population of 100,000 is sustainable then let's go for it I guess
  3. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Championships 2024

    I don't follow Union closely but I would say probably very few. I am aware of a relative handful who started out via scholarships while playing for Tongan schools, sure. There certainly aren't great numbers of blokes getting scouted for pro union while playing for the Nuku'alofa Nightriders in...
  4. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Championships 2024

    Tonga's population is literally 100,000. What "development" can you possibly do there? It's all a mirage.
  5. Manu Vatuvei

    Why is there little interest in the Kiwis in this forum?

    I absolutely do not have the qualifications to speak on this, but my impression is this is right. Tongan nationalism and honestly, Tongan exceptionalism, seem to be a whole different best.
  6. Manu Vatuvei

    Why is there little interest in the Kiwis in this forum?

    haha I think that purely relates to the way in which I interact with internet forums as a 39 year old vs in my teens and early 20s. I don't think I've changed a username, avatar or signature anywhere for 15+ years.
  7. Manu Vatuvei

    Why is there little interest in the Kiwis in this forum?

    I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what changed between say 2010ish and now, and honestly the most compelling thing I can come up with is the 2017 Tongan exodus and embarrassing Kiwi World Cup failure. I just think most people are inclined to pin that on Kidwell and Blair and understate...
  8. Manu Vatuvei

    Why is there little interest in the Kiwis in this forum?

    Like - in the 1980s or 1990s when we played Australia we would usually lose, and that's what made it exciting - the outside possibility of a famous upset win. But in the 2020s, the fact that we're probably going to lose makes it a waste of time, and even when we do win it doesn't matter because...
  9. Manu Vatuvei

    Why is there little interest in the Kiwis in this forum?

    How is any of that any different to how it used to be though? Is 10 out of 45 against Australia even particularly bad when we are always going to be obvious underdogs? Particularly when we are specialists at winning tournament finals (only 10 wins, but these include winning finals against...
  10. Manu Vatuvei

    Why is there little interest in the Kiwis in this forum?

    Just read back to the start of the thread and I see I'm just running through all the same arguments I did a year ago lol
  11. Manu Vatuvei

    Why is there little interest in the Kiwis in this forum?

    See even that I can't really get behind, because for a team who obviously should be an underdog against Australia, we have done pretty well. We have a pretty outstanding record in terms of winning tournaments based in Aus/NZ particularly. Of the last 7 tournaments held in this part of the world...
  12. Manu Vatuvei

    Why is there little interest in the Kiwis in this forum?

    That's what I'm trying to work out too (not about you, about the many people who feel the same way), because as poorly run as international rugby league is, I fail to see how the quality of competition or scheduling has really changed all that significantly in the last 20 or so years, to the...
  13. Manu Vatuvei

    Why is there little interest in the Kiwis in this forum?

    I wonder if the better explanation is more to do with the shift of all elite non-Warriors players to Australia. NZ/Aus/Tonga/Samoa now basically means a pool of players who live in Australia and moved to Australia no later than their teens, just divided up into 4 teams. It makes sense that that...
  14. Manu Vatuvei

    Why is there little interest in the Kiwis in this forum?

    I know I can't "disagree" with you when you are literally just describing your own behaviours and feelings, but...I just don't really think this is "justified". Or perhaps to put it better, I reckon it's more a "you" thing than something inherent to international RL. Most international RL has...
  15. Manu Vatuvei

    Pacific Cup 2024

    There were obvious reasons for the NZ-PNG crowd to be poor given the bizarre scheduling, but I still would've thought that a few more Kiwis might've got along. Maybe we would've done better in Queensland, but there aren't as many Tongans there.
  16. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    Yes, some of the disloyal Kiwis and Australians played for Tonga before...playing for Tonga.
  17. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    Eh, Hiku has massively outplayed Timoko all tournament
  18. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    Case(y) in point
  19. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    Kiwis look total shit until whenever they decide to run a play towards McLean, at which point the spine all become prime Joey Johns
  20. Manu Vatuvei

    2024 Pacific Championships - 18 Oct to 10 Nov

    Jeez this kid goes good

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