I just can’t believe that league is worse off In nz pre warriors. How do you measure what the warriors have achieved v what the old clubs achieved ?
How many world cups or finals did the kiwis win ?
Every local comp that got an nrl / arl / nswrl side has diminished by becoming a feeder league to the top level
I guess measure of success can be subjective.
One reason the Warriors came in was to give local players an option and to stem the flow of NZ players away from NZ comps- the opposite happened.
There was an opportunity with a local provincial comp to grow engagement- this is no longer with us.
The local playing numbers shrunk
Players went to Aus at a younger age which weakened the local comps.
From that perspective the local game went backwards post Warriors.
Pre Warriors France and PNG were closer in Standard, GB was also much more competitive.
The shift of the global game moved much more towards Australia and while Australia thrived the local game in other countries withered and struggled.
Yes recently the PIs have improved in standard internationally but like the kiwis this has been on the back of the Australian teams and not that of domestic leagues. The gap in ESL has also grown over this time and whilst it’s great to see the NRL thriving if the game wants to grow globally we need other countries to raise their game.
Guess the net gain has been increased kiwis success but that’s largely down to Australia and very little to do with the game in NZ
