New Zealand 2 will deal a massive blow to NZ rugby

[final say]

Whats going on here? To get it back on track this thread needs Gobsmacked to create a new multi of a young league player from Greymouth waiting get his big break in the new NZ team.

On Sen they said there's rumours of 2 forwards ( flankers I think) from the Highlanders looking for a gig in the big time ( NRL)... plenty of talent on the south island that can be shifted over to League.

 

[Matua]

On Sen they said there's rumours of 2 forwards ( flankers I think) from the Highlanders looking for a gig in the big time ( NRL)... plenty of talent on the south island that can be shifted over to League.

One of them is Hugh Renton (who's originally from my province in the North Island but plays for the Highlanders), he's actually the last guy I'd expect to go league (he's pakeha, he's about to turn 28) but if he did go I assume he'd be a workhorse backrower.

Despite being a journeyman Super player he's a "bigger" name than that fat Dolphin winger you guys hype and the club rugby midfielder who's now a test prop (Leo Thompson is from the same province too).

 

[Wb1234]

On Sen they said there's rumours of 2 forwards ( flankers I think) from the Highlanders looking for a gig in the big time ( NRL)... plenty of talent on the south island that can be shifted over to League.

Isn’t it amazing how much he knows about union yet his league posts are I like the warriors

 

[Matiunz]

On Sen they said there's rumours of 2 forwards ( flankers I think) from the Highlanders looking for a gig in the big time ( NRL)... plenty of talent on the south island that can be shifted over to League.

Not many of the Highlanders are actually from Otago, they rely heavily on imports and those that stick around after uni

 

[final say]

Not many of the Highlanders are actually from Otago, they rely heavily on imports and those that stick around after uni

Same could be said for any pro team

 

[Matua]

Isn’t it amazing how much he knows about union yet his league posts are I like the warriors

What a strange post, I've never tried to hide the fact I'm a fan of both sports and don't buy into your forever war crap, and of course I like the Warriors, I'm a NZer not an Aussie, they're our team in an Aussie comp.

 

[final say]

What a strange post, I've never tried to hide the fact I'm a fan of both sports and don't buy into your forever war crap, and of course I like the Warriors, I'm a NZer not an Aussie, they're our team in an Aussie comp.

I hear this term " forever war" or " code war " ... the meaning of the word war obviously implies it's obviously overblown hyperbole but you do have to acknowledge that the 2 codes are certainly competing.. and directly! On many fronts..fans , sponsors, players, coaches you name it.
So you can say you're a fan of both and good for you if you are but often is the case that the progress of one is to the detriment of the other.. such is the case with a booming NRL , there's a failing Super Rugby.

Must be strange to be bombarded with all this news and shifts while staying ambiguous??
Surely you have a horse in the race for the harts and minds of the public?
Since you can't seem to be happy for League to be pulling away, we can all assume you're more in the Union camp?

 

[bazza]

Despite being a journeyman Super player he's a "bigger" name than that fat Dolphin winger you guys hype and the club rugby midfielder who's now a test prop (Leo Thompson is from the same province too).

That is probably a fertile ground for potential NRL players from NZ. Probably plenty of NZ born players that are more suited to RL but never got much of a chance or try union first

 

[Matua]

I hear this term " forever war" or " code war " ... the meaning of the word war obviously implies it's obviously overblown hyperbole but you do have to acknowledge that the 2 codes are certainly competing.. and directly! On many fronts..fans , sponsors, players, coaches you name it.
So you can say you're a fan of both and good for you if you are but often is the case that the progress of one is to the detriment of the other.. such is the case with a booming NRL , there's a failing Super Rugby.

Must be strange to be bombarded with all this news and shifts while staying ambitious??
Surely you have a horse in the race for the harts and minds of the public?
Since you can't seem to be happy for League to be pulling away, we can all assume you're more in the Union camp?

I want both to be successful in NZ, always have, dislike anti league people as much as I dislike anti rugby people.

But, the hype going on right now is silly. We've had times like this with the Warriors before and it usually ends up with 10 years of crap afterwards. It's also less real news and more silly tiktoks and tweets from dingbats like Devlin. League isn't pulling away, at best it's getting closer, but the facts are still that league player numbers are dwarfed by rugby in NZ, dwarfed by basketball numbers, and probably dwarfed by soccer.

Personally, I'm more concerned with NZR actively destroying the NPC than anything to do with Super.

Also, and I've said this many times, Origin ruins international league so I don't like and don't watch it.

And like a few of us posters have tried explaining to you there are structural issues within league that need to be overcome for your dream to happen. We've suggested alternatives to help improve that and you and your mate Wb have just resorted to calling us "union" fans as a slur rather than actually taking note of the context of what we're saying.

 

[Wb1234]

Another post talking up rugby league

lmao

probably thinks Stacey is still playing

 

[Matiunz]

I hear this term " forever war" or " code war " ... the meaning of the word war obviously implies it's obviously overblown hyperbole but you do have to acknowledge that the 2 codes are certainly competing.. and directly! On many fronts..fans , sponsors, players, coaches you name it.
So you can say you're a fan of both and good for you if you are but often is the case that the progress of one is to the detriment of the other.. such is the case with a booming NRL , there's a failing Super Rugby.

Must be strange to be bombarded with all this news and shifts while staying ambiguous??
Surely you have a horse in the race for the harts and minds of the public?
Since you can't seem to be happy for League to be pulling away, we can all assume you're more in the Union camp?

I don’t think it has to be one or the other and multiple sports can co-exist without only thriving on the destruction of another.
Liken it to limiting yourself to only watching one TV show a week or only listening to one album.
Sure you can have a favourite but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy others just as much for different reasons.
Yes there’s a degree of cross over in competition for players and sponsor $ but League/Union/AFL/Soccer/Basketball all seem to find sponsors relatively easy. In terms of players your tight 5 in Union would have no real interest in playing league as their skill set doesn’t translate and likewise most AFL players are unlikely to be built for either sport and that’s fine each have their own skill sets and appeal. Can only really think of a dozen or so players in the last 30 years that have actually switched codes, only about a 3rd actually made a decent fist of it- is that really massive competition for players?

 

[final say]

I want both to be successful in NZ, always have, dislike anti league people as much as I dislike anti rugby people.

But, the hype going on right now is silly. We've had times like this with the Warriors before and it usually ends up with 10 years of crap afterwards. It's also less real news and more silly tiktoks and tweets from dingbats like Devlin. League isn't pulling away, at best it's getting closer, but the facts are still that league player numbers are dwarfed by rugby in NZ, dwarfed by basketball numbers, and probably dwarfed by soccer.

Personally, I'm more concerned with NZR actively destroying the NPC than anything to do with Super.

Also, and I've said this many times, Origin ruins international league so I don't like and don't watch it.

And like a few of us posters have tried explaining to you there are structural issues within league that need to be overcome for your dream to happen. We've suggested alternatives to help improve that and you and your mate Wb have just resorted to calling us "union" fans as a slur rather than actually taking note of the context of what we're saying.

That's exactly how I imagined you would interpret the current situation.
Exactly how it played out in Australia, one day there's no news.. business as usual, then you're flying in Eddie Jones, paying overs for never was players and realising your broke..

Run the math... there's lots of empty seats lately in Super Rugby and while as the story goes " everything's fine" it's looking like you'll be selling 1 game less next year.. Brumbies losing money, Waratahs.. Moana Pacific has to be haemorrhaging money hand over fist! The Force are costing money. Super Rugby is literally 2 to 3 years off being folded up completely!

And if you think the Warriors atm has been seen before, then you showed your hand. You're not a League fan at all! There's nothing about there current rise to prominence in NZ that has happened in the past and even if it was.. NZ is looking like a certainty to get another team within the next 10 years, so there will be DOUBLE the current professional Rugby league presence in NZ.. while over that same period Rugby Union's professional presence will be possibly non existent!

It's happening mate, time to move out of the denial phase.

 

[Wb1234]

That's exactly how I imagined you would interpret the current situation.
Exactly how it played out in Australia, one day there's no news.. business as usual, then you're flying in Eddie Jones, paying overs for never was players and realising your broke..

Run the math... there's lots of empty seats lately in Super Rugby and while as the story goes " everything's fine" it's looking like you'll be selling 1 game less next year.. Brumbies losing money, Waratahs.. Moana Pacific has to be haemorrhaging money hand over fist! The Force are costing money. Super Rugby is literally 2 to 3 years off being folded up completely!

And if you think the Warriors atm has been seen before, then you showed your hand. You're not a League fan at all! There's nothing about there current rise to prominence in NZ that has happened in the past and even if it was.. NZ is looking like a certainty to get another team within the next 10 years, so there will be DOUBLE the current professional Rugby league presence in NZ.. while over that same period Rugby Union's professional presence will be possibly non existent!

It's happening mate, time to move out of the denial phase.

He isn’t the demographic of new league fans in nz.

he’s the older rusted on union type

 

[final say]

He isn’t the demographic of new league fans in nz.

he’s the older rusted on union type

100% . Still hanging on to the glory days, there's plenty of them. They find it hard to comprehend.
Union always had money because they didn't pay players lol ... when they went professional they were flush with cash of course but the reality is when League came about over a century ago..they changed the rules specifically to get people through the gates! Rugby league's very existence is for fans, to create the best product to sell to fans and pay it's players.

A few decades of paying the players for Union has them cap in hand for loans..
That sport will always be around for people who like boring shit but it will be at a park with a few close family and friends watching and wondering " wtf are they doing " " o they call that a line out.." fascinating.. bahahaha

 

[Matua]

Jesus three more posts of Australians (who I bet have never seen a match in NZ) ignoring the actual content of posts and lecturing NZers on how things are in NZ. Comedy gold.

Well at least we've got it kinda back to NZ for a while.

And yes I wish young Stacey was still playing now instead of coaching the Kiwis, NZRL learnt nothing from the Kidwell era.

He isn’t the demographic of new league fans in nz.

he’s the older rusted on union type

Do you think "new" fans will hang around if (when?) the Warriors of old return? They didn't after 2011, they didn't after 2003 and they didn't during the late 90s.

I likely watched my first Winfield Cup match before you were born you little teenager.

 

[Matua]

And if you think the Warriors atm has been seen before, then you showed your hand. You're not a League fan at all! There's nothing about there current rise to prominence in NZ that has happened in the past and even if it was..

You're clueless, the same hype was there in 2011, early 2000s and 1995. Unlike you I was going to matches regularly, also unlike you I don't need to pretend I'm from NZ.

 

[Matua]

That is probably a fertile ground for potential NRL players from NZ. Probably plenty of NZ born players that are more suited to RL but never got much of a chance or try union first

Yeah, the NZ posters on here have mentioned that frequently on this thread, hence why the game in NZ needs to get its house in order.

The best time for young nzers switching to league was the old toyota cup as they could get paid for 2 years when under 18 which was better money than in the rugby academies.

 

[final say]

You're clueless, the same hype was there in 2011, early 2000s and 1995. Unlike you I was going to matches regularly, also unlike you I don't need to pretend I'm from NZ.

More arrogant condescending dribble with no substance. .. uhh Union fans.

 

[final say]

Yeah, the NZ posters on here have mentioned that frequently on this thread, hence why the game in NZ needs to get its house in order.

The best time for young nzers switching to league was the old toyota cup as they could get paid for 2 years when under 18 which was better money than in the rugby academies.

You're at least 10 years behind current events.

 

[Matiunz]

That's exactly how I imagined you would interpret the current situation.
Exactly how it played out in Australia, one day there's no news.. business as usual, then you're flying in Eddie Jones, paying overs for never was players and realising your broke..

Run the math... there's lots of empty seats lately in Super Rugby and while as the story goes " everything's fine" it's looking like you'll be selling 1 game less next year.. Brumbies losing money, Waratahs.. Moana Pacific has to be haemorrhaging money hand over fist! The Force are costing money. Super Rugby is literally 2 to 3 years off being folded up completely!

And if you think the Warriors atm has been seen before, then you showed your hand. You're not a League fan at all! There's nothing about there current rise to prominence in NZ that has happened in the past and even if it was.. NZ is looking like a certainty to get another team within the next 10 years, so there will be DOUBLE the current professional Rugby league presence in NZ.. while over that same period Rugby Union's professional presence will be possibly non existent!

It's happening mate, time to move out of the denial phase.

Some of the trepidation about getting too excited about the current crop is from experience of the Warriors over the years and many long term fans while enjoying the ride are taking a “wait and see” approach as despite what you may think we HAVE seen it all before a few times and it’s a recency bias to think this is the first time.
Era 1 1995- The hype around the Warriors debut was fever pitch from the fan poll to name the team, each new player announcement Warriors merch was everywhere and the hottest item. Then the build up to the first match -EVERY fan remembers exactly where they were that Friday night in March. The team were expected to be the next Broncos but sadly after a slow start a dodgy interchange cost us a playoffs spot and a badly needed boost. 1996 came and interest fizzled.
Era 2 2001 The ‘Auckland Warriors’ went bust and the license became the current NZ Warriors, a new no name coach turns up and scrambles to get a roster together, team surprises everyone and make the playoffs. This then lifts again in 2002 where the Warriors become the most exciting team in the league with a mix of intimidating forwards bullying everyone and the Harlem globetrotter style ‘Warriorball’ backs Storm to the minor premiership and look certain to win the comp, the ‘big warrior forwards’ and ‘Warriorball stereotypes exist to this day. Finals come and thousands of expats line up to show their passports for tickets they fall short but follow it up in 2003 looking again a good chance after destroying the dogs in a semi only to fade against eventual premiers Penrith. The team is NZ team and everyone is on the bandwagon. 2004 the egos of the hype get the better of players and the coach looses the dressing room and the wheels well and truely fall off.
Era 3 2011, basically playing sudden death 10 weeks from the finals the public is along for the ride when exciting prospect Shaun Johnson emerges, Manu is in Career best form, Mateo doing freak things. Freak wins against the Tigers and Storm and suddenly we are in an unlikely gf. I remember the flags flying from cars even in Wellington. 3 grades in the gf, incoming Kiwi coach coming off some mini dominance over Aus and the future looked bright- 6 weeks into 2012 and it was all over.
Era 4 2018, a bunch of kiwi players coming home, a fast start seeing us top of the table and many thinking Kearney had translated his Kangaroo conquering ways to the Warriors- a early finals exit, pissing SJ off and eventually covid then spiralled the team into its lowest point to the point where even die hard fans were finally saying enough is enough and abandoning the team.
Which then brings us to our current era where there were zero expectations on Webby but he more than exceeded expectations. Sure the current ride is amazing but fans also know AFB is gone next year, SJ is a year to year prospect possibly in his last season, Tohu is literally held together by tape and on his last legs, RTS is on his last contract- those are some pretty big shoes to fill, pessimistic perhaps but valid concerns.
The Warriors bandwagon trope is tried and true and it’ll be curious to see how many new fans stick around if results slump.