What's new
The Front Row Forums

Register a free account today to become a member of the world's largest Rugby League discussion forum! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Danny Kazandjian appointed new IRL General Secretary

langpark

First Grade
Messages
5,867

yakstorm

First Grade
Messages
6,042
The NRL / ARLC are far from perfect, but they do a lot more for the international game than the RFL / Super League since Richard Lewis left and are far more supportive of the IRL.
 

Perth Tiger

Bench
Messages
3,215
The NRL / ARLC are far from perfect, but they do a lot more for the international game than the RFL / Super League since Richard Lewis left and are far more supportive of the IRL.
was going to say the same, the RFL are arguable worse now, particularly if they go back to the exiles series.

ARLC are far from perfect but Tonga and PNG improvements, and to a lesser extent Fiji are largely driven by NRL/QRL/NRL players
 

yakstorm

First Grade
Messages
6,042
The NRL also runs development programs in each of those countries (plus Samoa), underwrote the various Pacific Tests & Oceania Cups they've played in, helped co-fund various tours from Police & Military teams to age group teams etc to those markets as well help with the funding of the Hunters and Silktails.

Again, they don't do it all and they could definitely do more (especially with the Kangaroos) but they aren't anti IRL...

It's a sad reality that a French representative team has played an Australian representative team more times in the past 2 seasons than they've played England...
 

Coastbloke

Bench
Messages
4,167
The ARLC scrapped Oceania Cup when it could have been played through Origin. It was OK for yawnion and cricket to have Internationals.

It never allowed for NZ to have a SOO. It won't allow for a 3 Test series between NZ and Tonga during Origin. Although I accept that a Oceania Cup Rd 1 is a good compromise.

If the NRL/ARLC gave the Trans Tasman Tests the same or at least f***ing HALF the time of day, funding, razzamataz, bought media and hype it does Origin, then we'd see well attended Tests at ANZ, not WIN..

It persistently interferes with IRL plans and discussions at board level to suit it's own agenda.

It gets a WC in 2017 and is totally half arsed about it. Unlike 2013 and what looks to be a cracker in 2021..

Yeh, the Northern Hemisphere needs a kick up the bum too for sure and France is a major pain. Wales is again a major work after the successes of pre and post-war matches. Serbia is crying out for funding as is the Balkan SL. South Africa? Jeez. Sure, PNG Hunters and the Silktails is a good thing. Fiji is going well. But they need games. The NRL needs to release those players when games are organized..

So much to do. But everyone has to be reading from the same page. The NRL/ARLC is usually reading a different book altogether
 

Taking The Two

Juniors
Messages
49
The NRL most definitely isn’t the enemy. If they are, Super League most definitely has said “hold my beer”.

England rarely play and when they do, they refuse to acknowledge anyone else in the northern hemisphere and blame Australia for being “anti-international”. Instead of playing a proper nation, of which you can make cases for France, Jamaica, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, we revert to a format that didn’t work the first time around, in the Exiles, in a World Cup year when we’re trying to sell tickets. It beggars belief.

Looking at what the NRL has helped facilitate in the progression of PNG through the Hunters and improvements in Tonga and Fiji, England aren’t standing still, they’re going backwards and within five years, England will be 4th, if not 5th, on the planet.
 
Messages
246
The NRL most definitely isn’t the enemy. If they are, Super League most definitely has said “hold my beer”.

England rarely play and when they do, they refuse to acknowledge anyone else in the northern hemisphere and blame Australia for being “anti-international”. Instead of playing a proper nation, of which you can make cases for France, Jamaica, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, we revert to a format that didn’t work the first time around, in the Exiles, in a World Cup year when we’re trying to sell tickets. It beggars belief.

Looking at what the NRL has helped facilitate in the progression of PNG through the Hunters and improvements in Tonga and Fiji, England aren’t standing still, they’re going backwards and within five years, England will be 4th, if not 5th, on the planet.
No, England won't be 5th or even 4th within 5 yrs, too many good young players around, unless they all go to RU, which is unlikely. England would hammer France, Jamaica and Wales. Ireland and Scotland should not be allowed to play as there aren't enough genuine connections with those nation-states.
 
Last edited:

Pommy

Coach
Messages
14,657
The NRL most definitely isn’t the enemy. If they are, Super League most definitely has said “hold my beer”.

England rarely play and when they do, they refuse to acknowledge anyone else in the northern hemisphere and blame Australia for being “anti-international”. Instead of playing a proper nation, of which you can make cases for France, Jamaica, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, we revert to a format that didn’t work the first time around, in the Exiles, in a World Cup year when we’re trying to sell tickets. It beggars belief.

Looking at what the NRL has helped facilitate in the progression of PNG through the Hunters and improvements in Tonga and Fiji, England aren’t standing still, they’re going backwards and within five years, England will be 4th, if not 5th, on the planet.

How high were you when you decided England would be 5th within five years?
 

Taking The Two

Juniors
Messages
49
No, England won't be 5th or even 4th within 5 yrs, too many good young players around, unless they all go to RU, which is unlikely. England would hammer France, Jamaica and Wales. Ireland and Scotland should not be allowed to play as there aren't enough genuine connections with those nation-states.

With the improvement in Tonga, Fiji and PNG and have seen the farcical GB debacle last year, I think we could struggle against those nations.

England are going to hammer Greece and France in the World Cup. It’s fine then. England need to play proper internationals and actually put a plan in place to help growth elsewhere.

Wales, Scotland and Ireland should take a sabbatical from International Rugby League to redistribute the little finances they have into development coaches and junior development rather than paying for English lads to have a jolly on their account.
 

Taking The Two

Juniors
Messages
49
How high were you when you decided England would be 5th within five years?

Having watched GB last year, having seen how poor the administration is in the U.K., having seen the disregard England has for International RL and the improvement in Southern Hemisphere nations, 4th is a genuine fear with this Tonga side and the current Fijian crop that will only improve with the inclusion of the Silktails.
 

Pommy

Coach
Messages
14,657
Having watched GB last year, having seen how poor the administration is in the U.K., having seen the disregard England has for International RL and the improvement in Southern Hemisphere nations, 4th is a genuine fear with this Tonga side and the current Fijian crop that will only improve with the inclusion of the Silktails.

Sorry I just don’t see it. Tonga have had a good run how sustainable that will be is yet to be seen.
Having a single pro team in the NSW cup isn’t going to produce a crop of players with enough depth to compete with tiers of pro and semi pro players in England.
You say the admin station is bad in England but have you not been looking at what’s going on in Tonga?
The GB tour wasn’t great nobody is saying it was but England 5th in the next 5 years? If you look at it rationally it’s very unlikely England will be 5th in the next 50.
 

Taking The Two

Juniors
Messages
49
Sorry I just don’t see it. Tonga have had a good run how sustainable that will be is yet to be seen.
Having a single pro team in the NSW cup isn’t going to produce a crop of players with enough depth to compete with tiers of pro and semi pro players in England.
You say the admin station is bad in England but have you not been looking at what’s going on in Tonga?
The GB tour wasn’t great nobody is saying it was but England 5th in the next 5 years? If you look at it rationally it’s very unlikely England will be 5th in the next 50.

Short term, looking at the players available to Tonga, their recent results, and the improvement in Fiji and the players available to them, I genuinely think they could beat England next year at the World Cup.
 

Coastbloke

Bench
Messages
4,167
Having a single pro team in the NSW cup isn’t going to produce a crop of players with enough depth to compete with tiers of pro and semi pro players in England.
You say the admin station is bad in England but have you not been looking at what’s going on in Tonga?.

That's the thing with Fiji Silktails. It's not even NSW Cup, It's Ron Massey Cup. It's the 3rd tier.

A small step up from Park Footy..
 

Pommy

Coach
Messages
14,657
That's the thing with Fiji Silktails. It's not even NSW Cup, It's Ron Massey Cup. It's the 3rd tier.

A small step up from Park Footy..

really? I thought they were on par with the PNG side. Is there a plan for them to move up?
 

Coastbloke

Bench
Messages
4,167
really? I thought they were on par with the PNG side. Is there a plan for them to move up?

The original plan was NSW Cup, but they waited like 4-5 years before being admitted to RMC last year. I think the plan is to move them to NSW Cup at some stage.
 

Latest posts

Top