Geoff Carr warns players off Samoa

[KeepingTheFaith]

This is part of the reason why I've grown to dislike SOO. Sick of this sort of rubbish.

The problem is that playing Origin/For Australia = $$$

origin gives Australia a bargaining chip to hang over the heads of young players, and damned if they don't use it at every opportunity.

 

[hutch]

Thought/knew hutch would be all over this.

And I agree with him, just because it was allowed in the past does not mean it should be in the future.

haha yeah day off work and couldnt wait to get on here to discuss the latest international drama! cant help myself!

 

[franklin2323]

Haha. Uate...

Complete hypocrite is Geoff Carr.
No damage will be done to ANYONE whatsoever if Vidot or McGuire are allowed to play Origin next year, just as no damage would be done allowing Costigan to play for PNG this year.

Exactly. I want strong international teams the prob is. NRL clubs recruit players at school age so are eligible for multiple countries yet may not be Australian. Yet want to play as a Qlder or NSW but not Australia. Uate and Hunt are perfect examples.

These 2 might not care or want SOO selection but this may put other young players who want to play for a minnow but aren't sure if they want to ruin SOO selection.

When is the last time a player could demand top dollar as an Irish international or tonga etc. Income could come into it aswell

 

[meltiger]

^ Yeah that is a bigger concern. We've already seen Hunt as one of the high profiles turning his back on the nation he should have represented so he could play SOO


Until such a time as test match football strengthens, and if that ever happens mind you, we're going to have these issues.


If the kids are born in Australia or even played the majority of their junior football in Australia, I don't see the legitimacy in stopping it.


Of course the example used by East Coast Tiger - Benji Marshall, well of course players in his boat should never be eligible for SOO, but I can't see the harm in someone from Samoa if they moved to Campbelltown at 5yo for example representing NSW & Samoa


At the moment SOO is the biggest event in the game, it can't be treated as truely the second tier form of the game until test football strengthens. That's the reality.

 

[Hollywood Jesus]

You can't be from NSW or Qld unless you are from Australia. If you choose to play for Samoa then you choose not to play for any Australian side, country or state. Plenty of players have done it - mostly Kiwis who were born here. If they are truly Samoan they will choose Samoa. If they're not they shouldn't be playing for them anyway. These blokes need to know they have to make a choice. IRL will never get anywhere really if blokes can just pick and choose who they play for depending on their selection prospects. That's not representative football.

This.

 

[hutch]

^ Yeah that is a bigger concern. We've already seen Hunt as one of the high profiles turning his back on the nation he should have represented so he could play SOO


Until such a time as test match football strengthens, and if that ever happens mind you, we're going to have these issues.


If the kids are born in Australia or even played the majority of their junior football in Australia, I don't see the legitimacy in stopping it.


Of course the example used by East Coast Tiger - Benji Marshall, well of course players in his boat should never be eligible for SOO, but I can't see the harm in someone from Samoa if they moved to Campbelltown at 5yo for example representing NSW & Samoa


At the moment SOO is the biggest event in the game, it can't be treated as truely the second tier form of the game until test football strengthens. That's the reality.

hunt and family emigrated to australia when he was 11, he is as australian as any other immigrant. he had a choice, made it and stuck with it, there are no problems here!

 

[franklin2323]

On the flipside I want only people playing for Australia that have heart in it. Not the ones who want SOO so choose Australia over whatever country for the extra $ or the challange on the big stage.

But Hutch he choose QLD not australia. As he played Origin he was Australian it's rubbish. That's the problem I have

 

[meltiger]

Hutch, agree with Franklin. If he chose to play for Australia primarily, that's fine. He didn't, like Inglis, he chose the fame of playing for Franchise QLD


It had nothing to do whatsoever with him feeling a QLD heritage. If he had never been selected for QLd and NZ selected him, do you think he would have played? Of course he would.


In all honesty, I am more concerned with the the franchise cheapening the concept by stealing NSW's players than letting a few blokes who may qualify for other nations by heritage not play.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Doesn't matter. HE CHOSE Qld. He knew what he was choosing and he chose Qld. If he was really commited to NZ he would have chosen them, just as young Winterstein has done. The point was he had to choose one of the other and he chose Qld. The issue is not with the rule about choosing, the issue is that for some reason some players see Origin as more attractive than Tests. That's no reason to change the rule. It's a reason to try and improve Test footy. But letting half interested Queensland Origin players play for NZ is not the way to do it.

 

[Iafeta]

I hope they both play this weekend and then stick with Samoa. It may encourage others to do the same. The more players that walk away from SOO the better for the international game.

Without a doubt. 100% correct.

 

[Spitty]

One of the really good things about the recent success of NZ in International football is that we are starting to see players that are eligible for SOO choose to go with NZ, like Winterstein.

The attraction of playing for NZ for many of these players, now equals to attraction of playing origin. The way things are set up now a large proportion of SOO players don't play for Oz in the 4N anyway, due to injury, fatigue and different coaching strategies. So unless your one of the big, definate selection then it's not that different financially either.

It'll be a while before the same applies for some of the smaller nations, but we are headed in the right direction.

 

[franklin2323]

If they change the rules so SOO is just Aust born players. It will stop alot of probs

 

[adamkungl]

Nah. If you want to play Origin you should have to commit yourself as an Australian. Otherwise Origin becomes even more of a farce than it is now with the likes of Inglis playing for the wrong state. If people are allowed to play Origin and Tests for a country other than Australia we;ll end up with players like Pritchard, Puletua, Cayless, Perrett and even Marshall playing for Qld or NSW because they qualify and then playing for New Zealand. It ceases to be Origin and just ends up a joke.

If you actually put some thought into alternatives instead of paranoid ranting about Origin dying, there are some fairly simple rule changes that would avoid this problem.

imo: You should be eligible for a State Rep side if you have lived in that state for minimum 6 years of your junior life, ie. 6 years under 18. If eligible for both, you can choose.

International eligibility is kept entirely separate, and we don't have ring ins from all over the place.

Benji Marshall would not be eligible. Karmicheal Hunt would be (although some argument could be made that the threshold could be more than 6 years). Sam Perrett would not be. Cayless not sure, I don't know when he moved to Australia, although given he played for Wentworthville and attended school in Parramatta it's likely he would be.

 

[Raider01]

Geoff Carr is a dinosaur administrator who needs to find a rocking chair and fishing rod already!
No wonder QLD have dominated origin for the last 5 years, unbelievable this clown still has any impute in any matters rugby league.
Morons like this are the reason why the independent commission is so important to the future of our game.
This old tosser has agendas and conflicts of interest....
Poo bag still has his panties in a twist because the Raiders will continue links to South’s Logan next year and won’t enter a team in the NSW cup.
I bet he still cries at night because QLD picked Folou after he defected to AFL...
f**k him and f**k the NSWRL....
It was all good for Hayne to represent Fiji or whoever it was a few years ago and then play origin and now for Aus.
But because its Vidot suddenly this Carr scum bag decided things need to change, yeeeeeah right, ok than.

 

[deluded pom?]

The rules are the rules, they are in place so that international eligibilty isn't a massive joke.

.

Phew! That's a relief then.

 

[franklin2323]

If you actually put some thought into alternatives instead of paranoid ranting about Origin dying, there are some fairly simple rule changes that would avoid this problem.

imo: You should be eligible for a State Rep side if you have lived in that state for minimum 6 years of your junior life, ie. 6 years under 18. If eligible for both, you can choose.

International eligibility is kept entirely separate, and we don't have ring ins from all over the place.

Benji Marshall would not be eligible. Karmicheal Hunt would be (although some argument could be made that the threshold could be more than 6 years). Sam Perrett would not be. Cayless not sure, I don't know when he moved to Australia, although given he played for Wentworthville and attended school in Parramatta it's likely he would be.

Change SOO to birth state!! It will solve alot of eligibility problems also.

As for Cayless he will still get a choice some still will but it will take some of the pressure as to where to play for the likes of Thorn, Hunt both of whom claimed to be a NZer but want to play SOO

 

[Lambretta]

The problem with the eligibility rules as they stand is that they create situations where one team is strengthend at the expense of another.

Chose this, cant choose that.

What the people are proposing that want a change to the eligibilty rules is a situation where the strongest possible teams can be fielded in as many arenas as possible.

Where you were born, what age you arrived here at etc is all just bullsh*t designed to create artificially strong teams in certain situations.

Origin should be about where you grew up.

International eligibilty should be about your roots.

Why one should be reliant on the other is a complete mystery. It's only the case now because power broking factions have decided that is what suits them the best - not the game.

If these rules were in place to protect the game I could understand it, but they're not. They are in place to protect one thing and one thing alone - the Kangaroo's win loss record. Is that really worth killing the rest of the game for? If it is, then please explain why Australia winning every game is more important than growing Rugby League.

If you can do that I'll be happy to listen.

 

[Spitty]

Phew! That's a relief then.

Genius. You made the same point someone else already did, top marks for originality.:roll:

 

[S.S.T.I.D]

Neville Costigan - PNG world cup representative in 2008. Queensland SOO representative in 2009.

What is the difference in the Vidot and McGuire situations? And has Carr not just contradicted himself?

The answer clearly lies in getting countries like PNG, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji more meaningful international rugby league. To do this the only answer is to get Origin back on stand alone weekends, as far as I am concerned.

 

[Springs]

Origin should be about where you grew up.

International eligibilty should be about your roots.

Amazing thing is, that is what they are about. Origin and International eligibility rules are completely different.
The only thing that ties them together is this stupid 'you have to be eligible for Australia' crap!