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New Zealand 2 will deal a massive blow to NZ rugby

Wb1234

Immortal
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33,005
Reading between the lines I don’t think he means off-field issues within the club as much as players having off-field problems in their lives outside footy. Could be wrong on that though.
The article said players had off field issues and he’s not saying what they are

could explain afb poor season and release and impact on the team
 

Matua

First Grade
Messages
5,059
The article said players had off field issues and he’s not saying what they are

could explain afb poor season and release and impact on the team
Why do you keep saying this despite all evidence against it? It's hard to take your seriously as a league guru when you write this. He was one of the four nominated players of the year for the Warriors and won the players player of the year award.

He was easily one of the better Warriors in terms of on field performance.
 

Gobsmacked

Bench
Messages
3,059
Why do you keep saying this despite all evidence against it? It's hard to take your seriously as a league guru when you write this. He was one of the four nominated players of the year for the Warriors and won the players player of the year award.

He was easily one of the better Warriors in terms of on field performance.
Players player was a token gesture for a bloke who's leaving.
 

titoelcolombiano

First Grade
Messages
6,568
I think the future of Super Rugby is "going long" - Making the season a March-to-September/October proposition much like NRL/AFL, bringing Japan back in & have an open player market within Super Rugby.

Simply scrapping Super Rugby & going back to the NPC won't work - it just won't earn the same TV money, and be a bigger cost to Sky to produce coverage of games all around NZ (especially if the length of the NPC is increased to compensate for dropping SR).

Distance is a problem if they're thinking of Japan, USA/Canada or Argentina, but getting the current 11 teams up to 12 could be done by adding a 6th NZ team or breaking Moana Pasifika into Samoa & Tonga teams.

If they really wanna get into the American market, Hawaii could possibly be a first step. A bit less distance to travel than the American mainland anyway.
Or just get swallowed by the NRL no matter what they do
 

titoelcolombiano

First Grade
Messages
6,568
Is the Samoa and tongan int sides improvements (of mostly Aussies and kiwis) making any difference to the interest in the games in the actual islands? Any player numbers from those places?
Did you catch the scenes in Tonga in 2017 and 2019 and in Samoa in 2022? Yeah, it's having a massive impact.

Pathways and players will build off the back of it. Hell, the current Samoa team at full strength could push for one of the next two world cup titles. They are filled with elite talent and big game experience
 

Matiunz

Juniors
Messages
758
The article said players had off field issues and he’s not saying what they are

could explain afb poor season and release and impact on the team
Don’t think AFB was the problem as he still put in- his wife on the other hand may have ruffled a few feathers though based on some of her posts.
There was a bit of a rumour doing the rounds early in the season that sounded quite bad but it went quite pretty quick so who knows.
Think it’s as simple as Jones said, SJ injured in preseason and never recovered. Multiple other injuries meant the team were in constant revolving doors mode and combinations never formed.
 

Matiunz

Juniors
Messages
758
Why do you keep saying this despite all evidence against it? It's hard to take your seriously as a league guru when you write this. He was one of the four nominated players of the year for the Warriors and won the players player of the year award.

He was easily one of the better Warriors in terms of on field performance.
I thought he seemed a little distant from the team at times during the year- there’s the infamous photos of the team hugging and celebrating a try while he stands off to the side, however I think that’s just a personality thing the last game he’s in heaps of photos etc with the other departing players.
He certainly put in the effort unlike other departing players of the past *cough James Maloney cough*
 

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
33,005
“That was part of it, but there’s lots of different things. I can’t go into too many details but there were players having problems away from the game and probably not in the right headspace.”
 

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
33,005
Don’t think AFB was the problem as he still put in- his wife on the other hand may have ruffled a few feathers though based on some of her posts.
There was a bit of a rumour doing the rounds early in the season that sounded quite bad but it went quite pretty quick so who knows.
Think it’s as simple as Jones said, SJ injured in preseason and never recovered. Multiple other injuries meant the team were in constant revolving doors mode and combinations never formed.
The game he was stood down for they won

he came back and they started losing again.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
69,349
Did you catch the scenes in Tonga in 2017 and 2019 and in Samoa in 2022? Yeah, it's having a massive impact.

Pathways and players will build off the back of it. Hell, the current Samoa team at full strength could push for one of the next two world cup titles. They are filled with elite talent and big game experience
When’s the last time Tonga or Samoa actually played at home? How many of either team have ever played rugby league in either place at any age?
 

SpaceMonkey

Immortal
Messages
40,201
“That was part of it, but there’s lots of different things. I can’t go into too many details but there were players having problems away from the game and probably not in the right headspace.”
Sounds to me like players with personal dramas outside the club (which could include AFBs missus, lol)
 

Matiunz

Juniors
Messages
758
The game he was stood down for they won

he came back and they started losing again.
We won a couple of games with some pretty average players, it’s much easier to get up for one or 2 games than to keep that up for the whole season.
AFB and Barnett were head and shoulders above the rest of our pack performance wise this season- it’s daylight to the next player
 

Wb1234

Immortal
Messages
33,005
We won a couple of games with some pretty average players, it’s much easier to get up for one or 2 games than to keep that up for the whole season.
AFB and Barnett were head and shoulders above the rest of our pack performance wise this season- it’s daylight to the next player
There’s a reason he changes clubs so often

Jfh will be a far better replacement

AFB was poor this year
 

Matua

First Grade
Messages
5,059
Players player was a token gesture for a bloke who's leaving.
Except the organisation as a whole also recognised he was one of their better players by nominating him for player of the year.

I'm not sure you and your boy Wb have actually watched the Warriors this year as you're so stupidly wrong on AFB.
 

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