Jason Taumalolo opts to play for Tonga

[adamkungl]

In all honesty, the NZRL does not push hard enough on the NRL. They need to take lessons from the Queensland RL. Demand funding, demand respect, demand autonomy to run a decent rep schedule, and kick and scream to get it. NZ supplies close to 1/3rd of the NRLs players, and what do they get out of it? f**k all.

Complaining about SOO is a dead end.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

In all honesty, the NZRL does not push hard enough on the NRL. They need to take lessons from the Queensland RL. Demand funding, demand respect, demand autonomy to run a decent rep schedule, and kick and scream to get it. NZ supplies close to 1/3rd of the NRLs players, and what do they get out of it? f**k all.

Complaining about SOO is a dead end.

F*ck all indeed. How many of that 1/3 of the NRL actually make themselves eligible for NZ?

It's easy for English fans to disregard our complaints as unlike us SOO doesn't affect them at all, and never will. Yet they still find room to poach players purely on residency grounds (Chase, Fa'asavalu etc).

 

[Iafeta]

Yeah well.... see I don't know if it's up to the NRL. TBH the NZRL I don't think does an amazing job in developing talent. They really rely often on kids going through Australian school systems or dare God don't get massacred by the Warriors.

To me it's like MLB. I don't believe, could be wrong, that the MLB funds the national organisations of Cuba or the Dominican Republic. Or NHL, I doubt they fund the Finnish, Soviet Ruskis or Canadians national organisations.

I think genuinely there's a call to arms for some kind of NZ domestic rep program but other than I think they need to find a funding model that works to develop their own pathways better.

 

[Matua]

No..

Why not? You're the first to whinge at perceived poaching of PI talent (often when they're of NZ origin anyway) yet you don't have an issue with a system that can possibly take a young NZer from NZ purely for league reasons and then induce them to switch allegiance due to a state competition?

 

[hutch]

Why not? You're the first to whinge at perceived poaching of PI talent (often when they're of NZ origin anyway) yet you don't have an issue with a system that can possibly take a young NZer from NZ purely for league reasons and then induce them to switch allegiance due to a state competition?

Take a NZer below the age of 13? That will never happen. Kiwi rugby league players who grow up in nz have no chance of playing origin.

 

[deluded pom?]

F*ck all indeed. How many of that 1/3 of the NRL actually make themselves eligible for NZ?

It's easy for English fans to disregard our complaints as unlike us SOO doesn't affect them at all, and never will. Yet they still find room to poach players purely on residency grounds (Chase, Fa'asavalu etc).

And there was me thinking Fa'asavalu was Samoan.

 

[roughyedspud]

Haha

He also needs to learn the meaning of poached! Rangi came here,married a English girl,kids born here,a opportunity arose for him to play for England and he took it likewise fa'asavalu..neither of whom had played international RL for NZ & Samoa prior to being legally selected for England...

Yet there's literally dozens of Tongans,Samoans & cook islanders who have played international RL for those nations and then the NZRL have selected them for the kiwis! That's poaching ya bellend!

 

[kiwileaguefan]

Haha

He also needs to learn the meaning of poached! Rangi came here,married a English girl,kids born here,a opportunity arose for him to play for England and he took it likewise fa'asavalu..neither of whom had played international RL for NZ & Samoa prior to being legally selected for England...

Yet there's literally dozens of Tongans,Samoans & cook islanders who have played international RL for those nations and then the NZRL have selected them for the kiwis! That's poaching ya bellend!

What do you call Garth Carvell (Wales), Michael Mcllorum (Ireland), and Danny Brough (Scotland) selections for England then?

 

[Bobby DIGital]

And there was me thinking Fa'asavalu was Samoan.

One thing he's definitely not is English. His selection was heavily lamented by Stevo n co.

Haha

He also needs to learn the meaning of poached! Rangi came here,married a English girl,kids born here,a opportunity arose for him to play for England and he took it likewise fa'asavalu..neither of whom had played international RL for NZ & Samoa prior to being legally selected for England...

Yet there's literally dozens of Tongans,Samoans & cook islanders who have played international RL for those nations and then the NZRL have selected them for the kiwis! That's poaching ya bellend!

Rangi went there with a Maori tatt on his arm, and joined Castleford after he couldn't quite cut it in the NRL. England got desperate and drafted him into their squad, and he was made a fool out of during the last WC. If marrying a pommy lass, and having kids born in the UK is part of the eligibility criteria, that's news to me.

Kiwis select dozens of Tongans, Samoans & Cook Islanders....who were born in NZ just like Ran-gee, ya mong. If you want to push the 1 country only agenda, then those players should never have been allowed to play for the islands. They should only be allowed to provide depth for us, the country that made them all what they are today.

Maybe you should have started early and selected Dean Bell, The Paul bros, The Iro bros, Gary Mercer, Clayton Friend, Frano Botica, maybe even John Gallagher & Inga Tuigamala etc. in the 80's-90's. You may have won something by now.

 

[deluded pom?]

So because Fa'asavalu isn't English then he must be a Kiwi is strange logic.

 

[roughyedspud]

One thing he's definitely not is English. His selection was heavily lamented by Stevo n co.



Rangi went there with a Maori tatt on his arm, and joined Castleford after he couldn't quite cut it in the NRL. England got desperate and drafted him into their squad, and he was made a fool out of during the last WC. If marrying a pommy lass, and having kids born in the UK is part of the eligibility criteria, that's news to me.

Kiwis select dozens of Tongans, Samoans & Cook Islanders....who were born in NZ just like Ran-gee, ya mong. If you want to push the 1 country only agenda, then those players should never have been allowed to play for the islands. They should only be allowed to provide depth for us, the country that made them all what they are today.

Maybe you should have started early and selected Dean Bell, The Paul bros, The Iro bros, Gary Mercer, Clayton Friend, Frano Botica, maybe even John Gallagher & Inga Tuigamala etc. in the 80's-90's. You may have won something by now.

Dozens of Tongans,Samoans & cook islander that already rep those countries before NZ snatch them tithead!
The Tongan coach knows what I mean

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=11933691

.
Tonga coach Kristian Woolf has slammed critics of Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita for choosing to play for the minnow nation at the Rugby League World Cup.

The pair's move to shun New Zealand and Australia has earned mixed responses from both sides of the Tasman, as they joined the likes of New Zealanders Manu Ma'u, Sio Siua Taukieaho and David Fusitu'a at Tonga.

Former Kiwi captain Benji Marshall claimed Taumalolo's decision was "disrespectful", while Cooper Cronk said Fifita's move to change allegiances after being named for Australia was "poor".

But in a column on Players Voice, Woolf said that was the kind of situation he had grown accustomed to after Tonga had long had to deal with players leaving their squad to join top-tier nations.

Ps..I dunno if you follow Gareth hock on Instagram? He's got a fantastic new moari tat..he a kiwi now too? Lol

 

[roughyedspud]

What do you call Garth Carvell (Wales), Michael Mcllorum (Ireland), and Danny Brough (Scotland) selections for England then?

Carvell played for wales early in his career,opted to switch to England after GB was disbanded...he actually was selected for Wales in 2014 but had to pull out then he retired iirc?

Mcllorum played for Ireland in the 08 world cup and under a rule inserted in to the laws by Australia,so they could get hayne and Jennings back after the world cup,mcllorum used that rule to switch back to England..that being said it took him 3-4 years to pull on a england jersey...and now he's back playing for Ireland..

And Danny brough has never played a test for england,plàyed for Scotland for 13 years and should break the Scottish caps record at the world cup!...rather silly pick him out lol

Or I could just Write,like you lot do...THEY ARE FXXKING ENGLISH BORN AND BRED ANYWAY!

 

[kiwileaguefan]

And Danny brough has never played a test for england,plàyed for Scotland for 13 years and should break the Scottish caps record at the world cup!...rather silly pick him out lol

He played for England in 2012 against the Mickey mouse exiles team

 

[kiwileaguefan]

End of the day they were players that played for a different nation before pulling an England shirt on....

 

[roughyedspud]

He played for England in 2012 against the Mickey mouse exiles team

And Gareth widdop played for nsw residents...both games hold as much water as a thimble

 

[roughyedspud]

End of the day they were players that played for a different nation before pulling an England shirt on....

Because of rules australia and NZ insisted on!

 

[Matua]

Take a NZer below the age of 13? That will never happen. Kiwi rugby league players who grow up in nz have no chance of playing origin.

Not now, you know that is only a recent rule change.

Dozens of Tongans,Samoans & cook islander that already rep those countries before NZ snatch them tithead!

Yeah, and most of them do that because they're not yet good enough for the Kiwis and the rules allow them to that. Jordan Rapana only played for the Cooks because the Kiwis kept overlooking him, and quite frankly we were lucky not to lose him to Australia.

Do you honestly think what's happened with Tonga is going to be a trend? It's kicked off because the Kiwis have management issues.

Also, equating some english bloke getting a tattoo with tribal designs and Rangi Chase's Ta Moko is idiotic at best and culturally insensitive at worst.

 

[adamkungl]

Stop f**kin sooking ya sooks

 

[Bobby DIGital]

Dozens of Tongans,Samoans & cook islander that already rep those countries before NZ snatch them tithead!
The Tongan coach knows what I mean

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=11933691



Ps..I dunno if you follow Gareth hock on Instagram? He's got a fantastic new moari tat..he a kiwi now too? Lol

Dozens of Tongans, Samoans & Cook Islanders who never should've been allowed to play for Tonga, Samoa or The C.I's then if that's the way you wanna play it. They should be our depth players and nothing more. Rangi Chase should've put his head down, worked hard and waited for an opportunity to eventually play for his country. He could've possibly played for the Kiwis in 2015-2016 when we went over to the UK with bums like Lolohea, or players out of position in the halves. Instead, Rangi took the cowardly option.

Let's not go around in circles again. Men born in NZ, should represent NZ...YA TWAT!

And no I don't use f*ckin instagram.

 

[Clarkent]

Reading a pommy and kiwi fan arguing over who poached less player is hilarious