New Zealand 2 will deal a massive blow to NZ rugby

[Gobsmacked]

Oh won't you look at that...

Can someone please explain to Mal that if they don't want to play for Australia.. then that's not actually Australia.

He still doesn't get it, hasn't learned a thing.

While he actively undermines PNG.. what a tosser.

 

[Wb1234]

 

[Matua]

Don't worry, the dingbat commentators kept going on about how great our depth was in the halves during the trial match.

It's not like Webby likes to play TMM anyway, he's the holy crap we've got no one left in the shed, throw TMM on the bench then option.

 

[flippikat]

Eden Park is a dump.

it serves sports for rectangular and oval grounds

It's a compromise ground.

Provides a "kinda ok" solution for footy, cricket and concerts but doesn't excel in any.

Ideally we would've seen a new CBD footy/concerts stadium progressing.. and cricket sent to a dedicated ground (North Harbour? Reconfigured Eden Park site? Greenfield build somewhere else?)

Since the Auckland Council seems to have thrown their lot behind Eden Park, maybe the compromise is upgrades to eventually make Eden Park fully enclosed (and hopefully more rectangular) to provide rain cover and mitigate sound, and find cricket a home somewhere else.

 

[marlins2.0]

Oh won't you look at that...

Can someone please explain to Mal that if they don't want to play for Australia.. then that's not actually Australia.

He still doesn't get it, hasn't learned a thing.

While he actively undermines PNG.. what a tosser.

Yep.

The only people who have undermined the Australian national rugby league jersey are the Australian rugby league administration, with their haphazard, half-ass approach to international rugby league fixtures over the past decade.

 

[Wb1234]

 

[marlins2.0]

Crusaders full of ABs too.

 

[Matiunz]

Crusaders full of ABs too.

Under Razor anyway

 

[marlins2.0]

Under Razor anyway

True dat

 

[Ashburn]

Eden Park is a dump.

it serves sports for rectangular and oval grounds

Have you been?

 

[Mother Nature's Son]

We see this every year, the Kiwis sides treat the Oz sides like a joke, come finals time they get their game faces on and thump the Australian teams.
All these results do is to delude a few union fans that Oz union is all of a sudden miraculously turning the corner albeit with a bunch of no-talent no-name deadbeats.

 

[marlins2.0]

Had the early game on in the background last night, played in Puke...Jesus

 

[Mother Nature's Son]

played in Puke.

?

 

[Gobsmacked]

We see this every year, the Kiwis sides treat the Oz sides like a joke, come finals time they get their game faces on and thump the Australian teams.
All these results do is to delude a few union fans that Oz union is all of a sudden miraculously turning the corner albeit with a bunch of no-talent no-name deadbeats.

NRL is pulling all the talent at a young age out of NZ at an increasing rate.
It's not Australia improving in Union, or Fiji for that matter.. it's a steady decline of Union standard in NZ- they're coming down to our standard.

The NRL will be adding 3 new teams over the coming years, with the Dolphins, that's an increase of 120 full time first grade players and 60 million plus to pay them, that is on top of an already consistently increasing cap and development investment increases.

Union is on a steady path to be able to afford only one truly full-time elite professional team for each nation in the Pacific - the national teams.

 

[marlins2.0]

?

Pukekohe, suburb of South Auckland. Very hard watch.

 

[Wb1234]

Kiwi teams losing to bum Aussie super rugby sides creates a real opening for the warriors not that I think they’ll take it but happy to be proven wrong

 

[Ian Douglas]

Kiwi teams losing to bum Aussie super rugby sides creates a real opening for the warriors not that I think they’ll take it but happy to be proven wrong

NZ2 would be better to take full advantage of the declining interest in super rugby.

 

[Matiunz]

Kiwi teams losing to bum Aussie super rugby sides creates a real opening for the warriors not that I think they’ll take it but happy to be proven wrong

Brumbies are one of the favourites for the title and almost got beaten by arguably one of the weaker NZ teams.
NZ 2 would have had a good opportunity to pounce on a slow starting Crusaders but they look to have resumed business as usual

 

[Matua]

NZ2 would be better to take full advantage of the declining interest in super rugby.

I know this thread likes to tell us otherwise, but the last two years has actually seen increased interest Super Rugby with viewership up, including the biggest audience for a final since 2016 last year.

I do agree that NZ2 should be taking full advantage of the current hype in league at the moment though. I've said multiple times they should be striking while the iron's hot and not risking leaving it in case the hype train ends.

Brumbies are one of the favourites for the title and almost got beaten by arguably one of the weaker NZ teams.
NZ 2 would have had a good opportunity to pounce on a slow starting Crusaders but they look to have resumed business as usual

That was an impressive win for the Crusaders, annoyingly against the Chiefs - who need to get DMac on the field asap.

But despite what the usual suspects on here imply, most NZ rugby fans want competitive Oz teams, it's better for the comp as a whole if they are.

 

[Wb1234]