More disappointing

[adamkungl]

Meninga has conceded that there is little to no chance of the Kangaroos playing in 2020, and the NRL is seemingly making the same decision for other nations too.
Origin, of course, will plough on ahead.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/r...league-test-to-be-played-in-2020-ng-s-2026925

 

[blue bags]

stupid corona19

 

[Pommy]

If Australia was to play Tonga who doesn’t live in Australia from their side? I can understand the warriors players wilL be desperate to go home as soon as the season is done.

 

[adamkungl]

If Australia was to play Tonga who doesn’t live in Australia from their side? I can understand the warriors players wilL be desperate to go home as soon as the season is done.

Considering NZ's Covid position, they (likely) would be able to host games too.

I can buy the fatigue excuse, to be honest. If it applied to Origin.
But Origin brings in the big bucks! They can manage another few weeks of sacrifice for the greater good!
Well why aren't the NZRL and Tonga RL afforded the same opportunity? No doubt they'd like the opportunity to put some money in the bank too.

 

[Pommy]

Considering NZ's Covid position, they (likely) would be able to host games too.

I can buy the fatigue excuse, to be honest. If it applied to Origin.
But Origin brings in the big bucks! They can manage another few weeks of sacrifice for the greater good!
Well why aren't the NZRL and Tonga RL afforded the same opportunity? No doubt they'd like the opportunity to put some money in the bank too.

Would players not have to isolate two weeks in to NZ and then 2 weeks in to Aus? I can’t see players wanting to give up 5 weeks in an already short post season.

 

[Arucard]

Would players not have to isolate two weeks in to NZ and then 2 weeks in to Aus? I can’t see players wanting to give up 5 weeks in an already short post season.

This will be the issue. It’s gonna cost 5 weeks to play a single game. That isn’t going to happen.

 

[The Great Dane]

Most of what little money is made from internationals is made from ticket sales, so it was pretty inevitable that they would be the first thing to get the arse considering the current state of the world.

 

[The Great Dane]

Well why aren't the NZRL and Tonga RL afforded the same opportunity? No doubt they'd like the opportunity to put some money in the bank too.

Putting covid aside for a second, there's nothing stopping the NZRL and TRL from organising their own games and events.

The only people who can afford them those opportunities are themselves.

 

[blue bags]

Putting covid aside for a second, there's nothing stopping the NZRL and TRL from organising their own games and events.

The only people who can afford them those opportunities are themselves.

its up to the players, im sure they could find enough players , for 2 teams, that are willing to take 5 weeks out

 

[Pommy]

its up to the players, im sure they could find enough players , for 2 teams, that are willing to take 5 weeks out

It’s clear there’s been issues with players living in their bubbles, Pappali references it when he left to take his wife and kids back to Canberra. There’s every chance players will be back in a bubble again next season, give them the time off and don’t put pressure on them thinking they have to give up normal time with their families for the jersey or to keep their spot.

 

[adamkungl]

In another nail in the International coffin, PVL (no doubt at Gould's suggestion) wants to move Origin to October and push for more involvement from Pacific and Kiwi players.
In the same interview he spruiks the importance and love of the international game, but the reality is playing Origin in October will all but end test football in Australia.
The Kangaroos won't play until mid-November, out of alignment with other nations who are free in mid-October, and clubs will have zero appetite to have their players getting bashed into December.

While i agree that Origin eligiblity should have no relation to International football, the statement signals an intention to have Origin stand alone, ie. NZ and Pacific tests will not be played alongside SOO.
So they either get moved to the late November graveyard, or mid-season, completely defeating the purpose of moving Origin in the first place.

For 2021 it is impossible to fit Origin before the World Cup starts. Logically you would think that ends the idea, but PVL has shown a ruthless willingness to trample anything that gets in the way of his 'vision'. So watch this space...


On the other hand... I have some confidence that Origin in post-season this year will be a bust.
Ratings-wise, we're coming into summer, people have better things to do, they switch attentions from footy to cricket, beaches and holidays. If 9 sees a significant ratings drop, the idea will never be spoken of again.
On-field I expect a bit of a dud as well. Half the players will be fatigued from a gruelling season mentally and physically, and the other half won't have played in 5 weeks. Clubs will pull players for surgery and rest at a rate Origin has never seen, usually reserved for Internationals and City-Country. QLD could be putting together a spare parts team by seasons end, with already thin depth tested by the poor form of all 3 local clubs and the late season withdrawals.

Unlike a lot of international die-hards, I fully support Origin, despite the overwhelming attention it absorbs.
But this year, I have to hope it falls a bit flat for the sake of test football's future.

 

[Matterhorn]

so how would they squeeze in a kangaroo tour of England at the end of the year if origin is played after the Grand Final in future

 

[blue bags]

 

[Pommy]

so how would they squeeze in a kangaroo tour of England at the end of the year if origin is played after the Grand Final in future

They just won’t do it anymore.

 

[The Great Dane]

so how would they squeeze in a kangaroo tour of England at the end of the year if origin is played after the Grand Final in future

They wouldn't...

 

[The Great Dane]

The NRL is always going to prioritise SOO over internationals so long as it continues to make them huge profits while internationals are at best a break-even proposition 99% of the time.

If you want the NRL to take internationals more seriously then you need to find a way to make them a more commercially appealing prospect. Who knows how you do that, but whingeing that they won't support just spamming out a bunch of events that make them no money definitely isn't the way to do that.

 

[adamkungl]

The NRL is always going to prioritise SOO over internationals so long as it continues to make them huge profits while internationals are at best a break-even proposition 99% of the time.

If you want the NRL to take internationals more seriously then you need to find a way to make them a more commercially appealing prospect. Who knows how you do that, but whingeing that they won't support just spamming out a bunch of events that make them no money definitely isn't the way to do that.

Invest in them?
Of course it's not going to be profitable straight off the bat.
Other Rugby didn't go out and plonk a World Cup in Japan in 1989. It's a long game.
The NRL can afford to invest in long term projects, it simply chooses not to. Living paycheck to paycheck is deeply ingrained in the sport's culture.

For what it's worth, the only reason Kangaroos tests aren't profitable is because the geniuses at the NRL throw them into TV deals for free, while negotiating themselves into wildly expensive player payment deals with the RLPA at the same time.
So that might be a starting point.

 

[LeagueXIII]

The NRL is always going to prioritise SOO over internationals so long as it continues to make them huge profits while internationals are at best a break-even proposition 99% of the time.

If you want the NRL to take internationals more seriously then you need to find a way to make them a more commercially appealing prospect. Who knows how you do that, but whingeing that they won't support just spamming out a bunch of events that make them no money definitely isn't the way to do that.

This attitude is the problem with RL, it's very arrogant.

I can tell you if the NRL was up against the premier league it would get smashed.

We need the whole of the game strong not just Australia who are in a great position .

 

[The Great Dane]

Invest in them?
Of course it's not going to be profitable straight off the bat.
Other Rugby didn't go out and plonk a World Cup in Japan in 1989. It's a long game.
The NRL can afford to invest in long term projects, it simply chooses not to. Living paycheck to paycheck is deeply ingrained in the sport's culture.

If RL was in a good place in Australia then I might a agree with you, but at this point RL is f**ked in more than half the country. So how about the NRL look after it's own backyard first before it tries to save the world.

I also don't necessarily agree that making more and more other nations dependant on the NRL by "investing" in them is actually a good idea or will actually lead to more interest in internationals in Australia.

For what it's worth, the only reason Kangaroos tests aren't profitable is because the geniuses at the NRL throw them into TV deals for free, while negotiating themselves into wildly expensive player payment deals with the RLPA at the same time.
So that might be a starting point.

They'd argue that they bundle the tests into the NRL deal "for free" because there's not enough interest in them to make it worthwhile to sell them separately, and that by doing it this way they make sure that all of them get broadcast when they might not be if they tried to sell them separately.

Which point of view is most accurate; probably a bit of both in my opinion.
You are probably right that they don't try hard enough to promote and sell internationals, they are probably right that if they didn't bundle them in with the NRL and SOO that there'd be little to no interest from broadcasters in a lot of them and that they wouldn't get broadcast as a result.

 

[The Great Dane]

This attitude is the problem with RL, it's very arrogant.

I can tell you if the NRL was up against the premier league it would get smashed.

We need the whole of the game strong not just Australia who are in a great position .

If stating the reality of the situation that we find ourselves in is arrogant, then I guess that reality is arrogant in this case...

Your flaw is A. believing that Australian RL is strong simply because it is stronger than RL in other nations, when in the grand scheme of things it's not all that strong, and B. that the NRL can actually really do anything of value to change the other nations situation, when 90% of the time they really can't, only those other nations can.