I would like feedback - Domestic Quota Rule for Internationals

[hutch]

The thing is if we enforce the Domestic quota rule, how will teams like NZ and England be affected by this?

I can understand for Developing nations yes but a lot of NZ players moved to Australia when young and are selected for the Kiwis after living in Oz for 20 years.

The original domestic quote wasn't for players currently playing in the particular country, they had to have spent one year playing there. So players who have been recruited but now play in Australia would fill a quota spot. It almost forces countries to develop their own. I think it's a good thing.

 

[Matua]

Mate, you've asked for feedback and then you're just ignoring it all anyway.

The RLIF has a Criteria that MUST be met by all nations. You can look it up by googling RLIF Membership Criteria.

What is your point here?

So all the hard work that is need to actually play in International Games and the World Cup is being done a hard working men who are passionate about the game. In developing nations this is often many players, who VOLUNTEER their time, use their own money, play, coach. develop, operate website, youth development, etc. Take a look at the membership requirements and grasp just how much work that is as a VOLUNTEER while working a full time job.

Seriously, what has this got to do with test match representation? Have Residents teams if you want to reward people for volunteering their time. Test teams are the best players available for your team.

This tugging at the heart strings stuff is irrelevant.

Do you not think that in a squad of 24 for the WC, that 6 or 8 domestic players, who do all this work for free, don't deserve a shot to wear their nations Jersey.

No, if they're not the best players eligible.

Because it is THEIR hard work that actually allow that nation to be in the World Cup. Full membership is needed to be allowed to compete.

It is a LOT of work being done for FREE by good men, who love the game, and are the reason their is some global growth.

Every sport has people who put in a lot of work at the grassroots levels, and no sport rewards them by setting aside spaces in their national teams.

And I am certain that the BEST 8 players, who player in the Domestic Comps in any of the PI's are not that big a step down when they are coached and surrounded by Q-Cup or NRL players. The benefits are huge.

They are a huge step down, your certainty is wrong.

They are the ones doing all the development work, and they need some to get s shot

You clearly don't see internationals as the pinnacle of the sport otherwise you would not be advocating diluting the strength to reward players who spend time in the domestic leagues.

 

[Matua]

Are you more concerned ti developing players for the NRL and Superleague? OR are you more concerned with actually growing RL around the World to it becomes a bigger sport.

I'm concerned with having the best players playing test football, and you're not going to grow the game if you're putting out average test teams due to artificial selectorial processes that favour one eligible player over another eligible player.

So you realize that in many developing RL nations, no one can even name an NRL player, and most couldn't even name an NRL team. All they know is their domestic comp. Yet still they volunteer and donate their time and money to grow the game to meet the RLIF criteria.

What relevance has this got to favouring players over others?

The players from those nations, have earned the right to have a handful in the World Cup.

No one has the right to go to a World Cup, you go to the World Cup by being one of the best eligble players for your nation.

Do you really understand just how much work goes into meeting the RLIF Full Member requirements? It is a massive undertaking by a lot of good RL men, and a LOT of nations.

Again, what is the relevance of this?

 

[roughyedspud]

If you open your other eye too you'll be able to see why

 

[Matua]

If you open your other eye too you'll be able to see why

Well that's helpful. Quality posting.

 

[roughyedspud]

im always here to teach you kids a thing or two....no worries

 

[spinnerhowland]

Mate, you've asked for feedback and then you're just ignoring it all anyway.


What is your point here?


Seriously, what has this got to do with test match representation? Have Residents teams if you want to reward people for volunteering their time. Test teams are the best players available for your team.

This tugging at the heart strings stuff is irrelevant.


No, if they're not the best players eligible.


Every sport has people who put in a lot of work at the grassroots levels, and no sport rewards them by setting aside spaces in their national teams.


They are a huge step down, your certainty is wrong.


You clearly don't see internationals as the pinnacle of the sport otherwise you would not be advocating diluting the strength to reward players who spend time in the domestic leagues.

You know nothing about International RL outside the small south pacific. And at this rate the game will never grow beyond that.

Stick with your "Heritage Player World Cup" and there will be no growth, and Rugby League will remain this tiny little game that is played in 2 places in the World. Your Granny shouldn't count!

 

[Matua]

You know nothing about International RL outside the small south pacific. And at this rate the game will never grow beyond that.

Stick with your "Heritage Player World Cup" and there will be no growth, and Rugby League will remain this tiny little game that is played in 2 places in the World. Your Granny shouldn't count!

WTF??? You didn't address any of the points I made in my post and then ranted on about stuff I didn't even discuss.

I didn't mention the granny rule once so I'm not sure why you brought it up with an exclamation mark.

A strong international game is only going to benefit the game in developing countries.

I actually don't know where you're coming from. but you clearly didn't want feedback when you started this thread because you've gone into rant mode when you don't agree with it.

 

[spinnerhowland]

Mate, you've asked for feedback and then you're just ignoring it all anyway.


What is your point here?


Seriously, what has this got to do with test match representation? Have Residents teams if you want to reward people for volunteering their time. Test teams are the best players available for your team.

This tugging at the heart strings stuff is irrelevant.


No, if they're not the best players eligible.


Every sport has people who put in a lot of work at the grassroots levels, and no sport rewards them by setting aside spaces in their national teams.


They are a huge step down, your certainty is wrong.


You clearly don't see internationals as the pinnacle of the sport otherwise you would not be advocating diluting the strength to reward players who spend time in the domestic leagues.

Point is that the RLIF expects volunteers to grow THEIR sport, yet offers them no protection. Do you realize that is the domestic volunteers let the game fall out of criteria that nation can be pulled from the World Cup? So without the domestic guys, no one from that nations gets to play in the WC and thus the game dies in that country.

Shunning those to do the hard work domestically will set the game back, and stops it growth.

So "Tugging heart strings" is exactly what you are saying by using "heritage players love their OLD country" - same thing

Giving a handful of domestics the opportunity to take back to their domestic comp is one of the best things that can help the game

So you want to make RL like all the other sports?

I would have a guess and think the BEST 6 players in any PI comp could at least hold their own in a national team under the right coaching.

There are your answers

 

[spinnerhowland]

WTF??? You didn't address any of the points I made in my post and then ranted on about stuff I didn't even discuss.

I didn't mention the granny rule once so I'm not sure why you brought it up with an exclamation mark.

A strong international game is only going to benefit the game in developing countries.

I actually don't know where you're coming from. but you clearly didn't want feedback when you started this thread because you've gone into rant mode when you don't agree with it.

Here are some questions for you:

Do you follow the NFL?

Do you have a favorite team?

Do you think that Jarryd Hayne brought more attention to (i) The NFL to NRL fans, and (ii) That more Americans are now aware of Rugby League because of his efforts to try and make the NFL?

Why did the Australian media make such a big deal out of him trying to make the NFL?

 

[spinnerhowland]

Once you get away from the Pacific Islands, and maybe the smaller UK nations, the domestic fans and general RL community in those nations have no idea what the Superleague or NRL is, nor do they know a single players. Other than those already participating in the sport already, no one cares.

So what the fans and sponsors see, are the domestic guys as the best RL they have, and thus support this.

Enforcing domestic players into the WC Teams does exactly what Jarryd Hayne has done for the NFL in Australia. He is "one of their own" who is getting a shot at something bigger.

And NFL is a LOT bigger in Australia, and getting way more attention because JH is trying to make the NFL. Yet in the USA, very little, if anything at all, has been mentioned about the NRL. In fact he has given RUGBY a bigger boost. All the articles just say he is an Australian RUGBY player, and the domestic fans are all using that to boost the Union drive.

Yet the domestic fans, supporters, players and sponsors, will make a lot more domestic noise about a few local players in the World Cup team, when compared to heritage players they have never seen or heard of. They will be passionate about pushing Rugby League when they see "one of their own" making it to the World Cup.

You only need to look at the press in the USA RL Community surrounding the guys who are in Australia playing now. People are going out of their way to share news on Ryan Burroughs, Terrence Williams, Rod Ceasar, Sterling Wynn and Curtis Goddard. These are the faces and names they know and care about, so they share the news. Yet you could go through the entire 2013 USA World Cup Team list and not find a single current article that mentions those players.

So, putting domestic players from developing nations into the WC teams, does help the domestic development, because it allows the domestic RL community a reason to embrace, promote and share the event. Otherwise they just have no connection to it.

If Rugby League really wants to be relevant in more than the tiny handful of countries it currently is, it needs to embrace the idea that domestic players need to be included in WC teams for developing nations.

Outside of the current RL strongholds, the RL World Cup will barely make a newspaper unless the domestic RL communities are given a reason to go out an drive the news themselves. And some guy who have never lived or played in that nation, but has a Grandparent from there, will not excite them at all.

Rugby League must break away from the Heritage Player World Cup mentality.

 

[kiwileaguefan]

How many 'real' nations have we got that actually play Rugby League in their country and their International team is mainly home grown players? Well I guess that made the last World Cup or the next World Cup?

Aussie,
NZ,
PNG,
Fiji,
England,
France...

 

[spinnerhowland]

How many 'real' nations have we got that actually play Rugby League in their country and their International team is mainly home grown players? Well I guess that made the last World Cup or the next World Cup?

Aussie,
NZ,
PNG,
Fiji,
England,
France...

80% of the 322 players from all teams in the 2013 RLWC where from either Aus, UK or NZ. Of the 14 teams, only 20% where domestic products.

If that doesn't change, RL won't grow beyond its current global (if you can call it that) footprint.

 

[johnny plath]

just some random thoughts based on what’s been posted, because I don't really have a strong opinion one way or the other on heritage v domestic argument but do want to see international footy strong and growing.
First up i think in some ways the use of Jarrod Hayne as some sort of example is counter to your argument....IMO he generated interest in Australia because he made it into an NFL top squad on his own merits.... not because the NFL has a sympathetic quota system that says it needs to have a designated number of international imports in the team.

I'm not sure if it’s a totally fair comparison because I'm assuming that soccer in Aus is bigger than RL in the US, but I think its common that most of the qualifying for a world cup is done through domestic and lesser players, and then when it gets to the pointy end most of the stars turn up to play. I don't follow it that closely but that is sure the impression that I get. I don’t think this situation lessens interest in the World cup for australians, and there is a level of regard for Aussie players that have made it in the highest leagues of that game. However, a domestic based Aussie team at a soccer world cup would quickly lose interest once the thrashings become common.

I guess you would know because you are at the coal face, but I find it hard to believe that developing domestic players and administrators have enough passion and love for a game to be so committed to grow it , yet don't recognise players of a game they love in the two highest level competitions on the planet. I find that difficult to grasp, it would be like young soccer loving kids not knowing the stars of EPL, or cricket lover’s not knowing who’s in IPL, or any top level sport for that matter.

I guess my take is that there is not a one size fits all solution for growing the game internationally, and what is needed in US and Europe is not necessarily the best solution for the Pacific. At this stage of development hard and fast rules may end up being a hindrance in some cases. If you want to showcase the game at its best on the world stage in its biggest event, the BEST players have to participate, not be sitting on the side lines because they are eligible for more than one nation but made the wrong choice, or are shut out because of a mandated quota system, or whatever other reasons eventuates. Eligibility is a big issue in Aus because it’s a big multicultural country where people have ties to more than just one culture and nation. That’s 21st century reality, much to the annoyance to many British posters on here who have trouble grasping that. The international landscape is changing and we need to recognise and embrace that rather than locking into this one nation for life bullshit – especially at this stage of development.
In ten, twenty, thirty or however many years it takes to be strong then stiffen up the rules, but let’s not shoot ourselves because we don't do it like other international sports so don’t see us as credible internationally... f**k them they have a huge head start as it is, without considering the social reasons and admin reasons that have hindered RL in the past. We need to do whatever it takes to make up ground, and if that takes some flexibility and creativity that’s what we should do.

 

[mikeob]

Spinner at this stage of rugby leagues international development I think we need as much flexibility as possible to help the nations that are not the top three. Samoa competed really well at the last 4 Nations and I'm not sure they would have been that competitive if they selected the 6 best players from their domestic competition. Also better performances over a period of time by a national team will increase interest back home and therefore bring new players to the game.

I understand what you are saying but I think that in 2016/2017 that the smaller nations should have as much selection flexibility to select their most competitive team. I believe what you are saying is the right idea but not now. Maybe in 5 or 10 years time for some nations, while others will need longer.

There are two timely articles out today about this situation
http://www.nrl.com/pacific-reps-call-for-eligibility-fix/tabid/10874/newsid/95609/default.aspx
The growing influence of Pacific Island players in the NRL means the need to a compromise around eligibility is becoming more urgent, according to former Kiwi and Samoa star Nigel Vagana and Tonga coach Kristian Woolf.

As Woolf bluntly points out, it is impossible for a Tongan man to play in the NRL without being or becoming dual eligible, meaning the lure of representing the Kangaroos or Kiwis will always be there.

However the sport globally needs a better solution than the one that currently rubs eligible players out of representing second tier nations at World Cups when not selected by their nominated tier one nation.

A case in point is Eels back-rower Manu Ma'u, called up by Steven Kearney for his New Zealand debut this weekend. While Woolf was delighted for the Auckland born Eel to get a shot in black and white, if the Kiwis overlook the hard-running back-rower at next year's World Cup, Ma'u will be forced to watch the tournament from his couch given he will be ineligible to switch back to Tonga.

Woolf said it is a no-brainer that if players eligible for the likes of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji are not selected by Australia and New Zealand they should have the opportunity to represent those countries for the benefit of the game as a whole.

"It's almost like players are punished if they do make an election chance and I think that needs to change," Woolf told NRL.com.

"It's not a simple issue; guys like Manu Ma'u who's probably the topical one at the moment – he's obviously from a Tongan family and very proud of his Tongan heritage and he's showed that in every game he's played for us but he's also raised in New Zealand and has a strong affiliation to New Zealand.

"It's not a simple issue, I know he's very proud to represent both nations and my issue is, if he gets that opportunity to play for New Zealand and I know he's very honoured to do so, if he's not picked for New Zealand I think he should be just as eligible for Tonga and not punished for that decision."

Woolf added in names like Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Tui Lolohea, Daniel Tupou and Will Hopoate as players that could readily feature for Tonga at the World Cup if not picked for Australia or New Zealand if the eligibility rules were fixed.

"To play in the NRL as a Tongan man you have to be dual eligible. We run the risk of those sorts of guys sitting and watching a World Cup. Some of those guys might be picked for some of those nations but some of them may not," Woolf said.

"If we're serious about wanting a competitive World Cup and wanting teams like Tonga and Samoa and PNG and Fiji to be competitive you need those types of players playing."

Vagana told NRL.com it was always a tricky decision for players to make those sorts of decisions and risk not being able to feature at all as a result of chasing their Test dream with one of the dominant rugby league nations.

"One thing the game needs to fix up is the eligibility criteria and the rules around who you represent. They haven't really been updated to factor in the complications that some Pacific players and other players go through," Vagana said.

"We're a multicultural society and there's a lot of players that have opportunities: Anthony Minichiello played for Italy a couple of years ago and they were looking at him for Origin the following year and not many people realise he was ineligible.

"We shouldn't stop players from growing the game and celebrating their heritage. Now that we've got more Pacific players – guys like Kevin Naiqama and Kane Evans for Fiji, Junior Paulo, Tim Lafai, BJ Leilua [for Samoa], it goes forever.

"Feleti Mateo missed out on the World Cup with Tonga a couple of years ago because he chose to try and make a play for Origin which is fine but because they didn't require him it ruled him ineligible. We need to look at how we can grow the game but also gives these players with multiple eligibility an opportunity to help the game grow.

"It's not going to go away so unless the game and the international federation come to some sort of agreement around the rules and the criteria and helping grow the international game we're just going to get left behind. We don't have the numbers to keep players on the sideline. The sport has got to work out how to make it work for everybody, not just the big boys."

http://rugbyleaguesamoa.com/home/230-rugby-league-in-the-pacific-is-on-the-brink
Toa Samoa coach warns that international rugby league in the Pacific is on the brink

There's growing disquiet in the ranks of the Pacific teams ahead of the rugby league double-header in Sydney this weekend, where Papua New Guinea will play Fiji, before Samoa take on Tonga.

A number of star players like Fiji's Semi Radradra will be absent because they've been snapped up to play for Australia or New Zealand, while in the case of Samoa's Tony Milford, his club coach Wayne Bennett has barred him from playing, while releasing some ten other Brisbane Broncos to turn out for the Kiwis and the Kangaroos.

It's a situation that has angered the coaches of the Pacific teams, particularly at a time when the NRL continues to promote its Pacific development strategy.

Toa Samoa's coach Matt Parish says the whole future of international rugby league in the Pacific is at stake, unless eligibility rules are changed and teams are given more chances to play.

Richard Ewart

Listen to audio file here.

Source: ABC, Pacific Beat | Duration: 4min 20sec

Two questions Spinner. How do you think the USA would have performed in the 2013 RLWC if they had have been obligated to select 6 players from the domestic competition?

With 6 players from the domestic competition in the USA team do you think that would have influenced more locals to play given that there was little or no coverage of the tournament in your part of the world?

 

[hutch]

A case in point is Eels back-rower Manu Ma'u, called up by Steven Kearney for his New Zealand debut this weekend. While Woolf was delighted for the Auckland born Eel to get a shot in black and white, if the Kiwis overlook the hard-running back-rower at next year's World Cup, Ma'u will be forced to watch the tournament from his couch given he will be ineligible to switch back to Tonga.

Woolf said it is a no-brainer that if players eligible for the likes of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji are not selected by Australia and New Zealand they should have the opportunity to represent those countries for the benefit of the game as a whole.

"It's almost like players are punished if they do make an election chance and I think that needs to change," Woolf told NRL.com.

"It's not a simple issue; guys like Manu Ma'u who's probably the topical one at the moment – he's obviously from a Tongan family and very proud of his Tongan heritage and he's showed that in every game he's played for us but he's also raised in New Zealand and has a strong affiliation to New Zealand.

"It's not a simple issue, I know he's very proud to represent both nations and my issue is, if he gets that opportunity to play for New Zealand and I know he's very honoured to do so, if he's not picked for New Zealand I think he should be just as eligible for Tonga and not punished for that decision."

Woolf added in names like Sio Siua Tauk

This is where the coaches and ex players just don't get it. They want the players to be able to have their cake and eat it too. What other successful sport has rules this relaxed? How can island nations ever develop if they literally have to wait for Australia and New Zealand to select their squads and then pick up all the rejects. How can countries such as Tonga and Samoa run training squads or develop team culture if all their players would rather be playing for Aus and NZ. If the had their way a player could literally play for Australia one week, get dropped and play for Tonga at the end of the year, do exactly the same next year, the year after etc..... Just ridiculous, we need stricter rules, not looser. It is a quick fix, so typical of rugby league who just can't look at the bigger picture.

 

[spinnerhowland]

just some random thoughts based on what’s been posted, because I don't really have a strong opinion one way or the other on heritage v domestic argument but do want to see international footy strong and growing.
First up i think in some ways the use of Jarrod Hayne as some sort of example is counter to your argument....IMO he generated interest in Australia because he made it into an NFL top squad on his own merits.... not because the NFL has a sympathetic quota system that says it needs to have a designated number of international imports in the team.

I'm not sure if it’s a totally fair comparison because I'm assuming that soccer in Aus is bigger than RL in the US, but I think its common that most of the qualifying for a world cup is done through domestic and lesser players, and then when it gets to the pointy end most of the stars turn up to play. I don't follow it that closely but that is sure the impression that I get. I don’t think this situation lessens interest in the World cup for australians, and there is a level of regard for Aussie players that have made it in the highest leagues of that game. However, a domestic based Aussie team at a soccer world cup would quickly lose interest once the thrashings become common.

I guess you would know because you are at the coal face, but I find it hard to believe that developing domestic players and administrators have enough passion and love for a game to be so committed to grow it , yet don't recognise players of a game they love in the two highest level competitions on the planet. I find that difficult to grasp, it would be like young soccer loving kids not knowing the stars of EPL, or cricket lover’s not knowing who’s in IPL, or any top level sport for that matter.

I guess my take is that there is not a one size fits all solution for growing the game internationally, and what is needed in US and Europe is not necessarily the best solution for the Pacific. At this stage of development hard and fast rules may end up being a hindrance in some cases. If you want to showcase the game at its best on the world stage in its biggest event, the BEST players have to participate, not be sitting on the side lines because they are eligible for more than one nation but made the wrong choice, or are shut out because of a mandated quota system, or whatever other reasons eventuates. Eligibility is a big issue in Aus because it’s a big multicultural country where people have ties to more than just one culture and nation. That’s 21st century reality, much to the annoyance to many British posters on here who have trouble grasping that. The international landscape is changing and we need to recognise and embrace that rather than locking into this one nation for life bullshit – especially at this stage of development.
In ten, twenty, thirty or however many years it takes to be strong then stiffen up the rules, but let’s not shoot ourselves because we don't do it like other international sports so don’t see us as credible internationally... f**k them they have a huge head start as it is, without considering the social reasons and admin reasons that have hindered RL in the past. We need to do whatever it takes to make up ground, and if that takes some flexibility and creativity that’s what we should do.

Sure, those already involved in RL in developing nations know a handful of overseas players, but that in no way helps the domestic development. those guys are not making the sport larger in its reach unless they can encourage new fans to the sport.

The average local fan and sponsor are not attracted to names or faces they don't know and have never heard of.

We are not trying to SELL Rugby League to those who are already "BUYING" it. We are trying to increase the number of average "sports fans" in nations where the game is unknown, to have a reason to start showing an interest in the game as a legitimate top level sport. And the having some local player at the World Cup gives credibility to the sport at a serious level.

The domestic Rugby League Community (Fans/Supporters/Sponsors/Players) need a handful of names they recognize and know, so really follow and show interest in their World Cup team.

Having a group of guys who are already playing Rugby League sit around and watch WC games because they love the sport doesn't help. What is needed are some local connections with names in the WC team, where watch parties can be organized and attract the average fan because they actually know some of the players.

And this is the Jarryd Hayne effect. The local community will do way more on social media, encourage others to have an interest, arrange viewing parties, encourage local media to publish results, etc. if there are some local guys they actually know playing in the games.

Yes there needs to be a balance, but a team full of heritage player who the locals have never heard of, or seen, will not create any interest.

Although not on the scale that JH is on from the NRL to the NFL, the best local players, have already become smaller household names within the local RL community thru their clubs efforts and the WC Qualifiers, and will attract them to watch as they compete in the WC, in a sport that is still very small.

It the only people who are showing an interest in RL in developing nations, then all we have is a few hundred players and administrators, and that is not growth.

The way to grow the game are things like watch parties. An example would be for a team who has one of their players in the WC team playing in a WC game. That team, along with all their fans arrange a viewing party at their local bar, that will also have a lot of average sport fans. It gives everyone an interest in finding a way to put the game up on some TV's, lets the current fans tell others that one of the players representing their nations is a local guy, and that makes everyone more interested.

It gives the local media a reason to at least do a small article, or radio/tv spot, due to the local connection. None of that is happening if the team is made up of all Aussies with Heritage grandparents. The local just don't connect with it.

 

[deluded pom?]

This is where the coaches and ex players just don't get it. They want the players to be able to have their cake and eat it too. What other successful sport has rules this relaxed? How can island nations ever develop if they literally have to wait for Australia and New Zealand to select their squads and then pick up all the rejects. How can countries such as Tonga and Samoa run training squads or develop team culture if all their players would rather be playing for Aus and NZ. If the had their way a player could literally play for Australia one week, get dropped and play for Tonga at the end of the year, do exactly the same next year, the year after etc..... Just ridiculous, we need stricter rules, not looser. It is a quick fix, so typical of rugby league who just can't look at the bigger picture.

Watched the Matty Johns and Sterlo programmes last week and I was very disappointed that from eight panellists only Gorden Tallis and James Hooper questioned the Radradra selection. Sterling couldn't even see what the problem was!

 

[Matua]

Point is that the RLIF expects volunteers to grow THEIR sport, yet offers them no protection. Do you realize that is the domestic volunteers let the game fall out of criteria that nation can be pulled from the World Cup? So without the domestic guys, no one from that nations gets to play in the WC and thus the game dies in that country.

Shunning those to do the hard work domestically will set the game back, and stops it growth.

So "Tugging heart strings" is exactly what you are saying by using "heritage players love their OLD country" - same thing

Giving a handful of domestics the opportunity to take back to their domestic comp is one of the best things that can help the game

So you want to make RL like all the other sports?

I would have a guess and think the BEST 6 players in any PI comp could at least hold their own in a national team under the right coaching.

There are your answers

You're consistently conflating two different things. Volunteers helping league exist in developing countries and test teams. Offering up freebee places in test teams shouldn't be how league rewards it's volunteers. It should reward the best players, no *, just the best players.

Your guess is wrong, completely wrong, the best PI players are overseas and any real good ones still in the Island's will be schoolboys.

Here are some questions for you:

Do you follow the NFL?

Do you have a favorite team?

Do you think that Jarryd Hayne brought more attention to (i) The NFL to NRL fans, and (ii) That more Americans are now aware of Rugby League because of his efforts to try and make the NFL?

Why did the Australian media make such a big deal out of him trying to make the NFL?

This has no relevance to this discussion.

I was going to quote your post following this one but it's too large. You basically want to throw out the baby with the bathwater to get some little bit of development in some countries for league. Lets face it, league is never going to go global, 6 home based US players aren't going to change that, and weakening the PI teams is going to do nothing for the global game.

 

[Matua]

This is where the coaches and ex players just don't get it. They want the players to be able to have their cake and eat it too. What other successful sport has rules this relaxed? How can island nations ever develop if they literally have to wait for Australia and New Zealand to select their squads and then pick up all the rejects. How can countries such as Tonga and Samoa run training squads or develop team culture if all their players would rather be playing for Aus and NZ. If the had their way a player could literally play for Australia one week, get dropped and play for Tonga at the end of the year, do exactly the same next year, the year after etc..... Just ridiculous, we need stricter rules, not looser. It is a quick fix, so typical of rugby league who just can't look at the bigger picture.

You do this quite often, make out that these players are PI players and not Oz/NZ players.

The reason players wait (aside from the odd guy like Radradra) is because they are NZers/Aussies.

If you want stricter rules then fair enough, but it should be with the understanding you'll merely weaken the PI teams.