NZ Herald: Tonga warm up match against New Zealand Māori in October

[Matua]

We're talking about both...the NZRL should be passing on their knowledge so Tonga can arrange these games on their own one day

Bahahahaha, I don't know whether you're on the troll or this is your true beliefs and then it's just comedy gold. But, Deluded Pom responded to my post thinking I was talking about Tonga and not NZ.

At any rate, Australia should be passing on their knowledge on how to arrange these games considering it's their game and this proposed match was going to be a warm up to their game.

 

[Coastbloke]

At the end of the day, sadly, the world governing body of our sport - the RLIF - should be providing support and guidance for upcoming Tier 1 nations like Tonga.

The fact it sits impotent over wherever it's based (Sydney? London?) and relies on the bully of the game - the NRL - to do all the work is a massive indictment on the way our amateur sport is run..

 

[The Great Dane]

Bahahahaha, I don't know whether you're on the troll or this is your true beliefs and then it's just comedy gold. But, Deluded Pom responded to my post thinking I was talking about Tonga and not NZ.

At any rate, Australia should be passing on their knowledge on how to arrange these games considering it's their game and this proposed match was going to be a warm up to their game.

Seriously why should a game between the NZ Maori and Tonga have anything to do with the NRL (an Australian body) at all!?

Unless the game was going to impact on them (which it wasn't in this case) then why should the NRL be expected to take any part in organising a game like this, it literally isn't their job or their place to be getting involved...

 

[deluded pom?]

Bahahahaha, I don't know whether you're on the troll or this is your true beliefs and then it's just comedy gold. But, Deluded Pom responded to my post thinking I was talking about Tonga and not NZ.

Matua said: ↑
. Why would you expect a nearly part time, financially strapped body, to jump in organise all these matches at extremely late notice?

I was responding to your whinge about why it's not the NZRL's job to organise this match.

 

[Matua]

Matua said: ↑
. Why would you expect a nearly part time, financially strapped body, to jump in organise all these matches at extremely late notice?

I was responding to your whinge about why it's not the NZRL's job to organise this match.

Bollocks, your post was about Tonga.

And why should they? If Tonga want to sit at the big boys’ table then they need to learn how things are organised. Just demanding a game and then sitting back while someone else does the spade work isn’t going to work.

 

[Matua]

Seriously why should a game between the NZ Maori and Tonga have anything to do with the NRL (an Australian body) at all!?

Unless the game was going to impact on them (which it wasn't in this case) then why should the NRL be expected to take any part in organising a game like this, it literally isn't their job or their place to be getting involved...

Why should a game between the Aus and Tonga have anything to do with the NZRL at all? Yet it does because the NRL wanted it so.

At any rate, I haven't said at any time that I think the NRL should have to organise this game.

 

[The Great Dane]

Why should a game between the Aus and Tonga have anything to do with the NZRL at all? Yet it does because the NRL wanted it so.

At any rate, I haven't said at any time that I think the NRL should have to organise this game.

Cause they stuck their nose in where it didn't belong in an attempt to scupper the game from even going ahead, seemingly cause they are insecure about the fact that ATM Tonga is a bigger draw in NZ than the Kiwis are...

 

[deluded pom?]

Bollocks, your post was about Tonga.

And why should they? If Tonga want to sit at the big boys’ table then they need to learn how things are organised. Just demanding a game and then sitting back while someone else does the spade work isn’t going to work.

Thanks for telling me what I meant. I don’t know how I coped previously without you.

 

[Matua]

Thanks for telling me what I meant. I don’t know how I coped previously without you.

My bill will be in the mail.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

Cause they stuck their nose in where it didn't belong in an attempt to scupper the game from even going ahead, seemingly cause they are insecure about the fact that ATM Tonga is a bigger draw in NZ than the Kiwis are...

It's our country. Our nose belonged.

 

[Matua]

It's our country. Our nose belonged.

I find this kind of thinking to be so strange (not your reply, but the whole NZ angle of this match between two other countries). Aus and Tonga can't organise a match in their own back yards and half the posters on here whinge at NZ about it.

 

[deluded pom?]

I find this kind of thinking to be so strange (not your reply, but the whole NZ angle of this match between two other countries). Aus and Tonga can't organise a match in their own back yards and half the posters on here whinge at NZ about it.

And some actually agree with you and you still whinge about it.

 

[The Great Dane]

It's our country. Our nose belonged.

I find this kind of thinking to be so strange (not your reply, but the whole NZ angle of this match between two other countries). Aus and Tonga can't organise a match in their own back yards and half the posters on here whinge at NZ about it.

That must be the dumbest argument I've read on here in a very long time, especially when you consider the situation in Tonga!

So even though the NZRL has absolutely nothing to do with organising the game they should be able to interfere with it for no other reason than it's being held in their country... Do you seriously not see the multitude of problems with that...

There're plenty of reasons why that is such a dumb idea, to many to list, but for one thing the NZRL doesn't own NZ or the NZ market, but much more importantly can you not see how such standards could quickly turn into a disaster if say the Kiwis and England want to put a game on in Australia or the USA and the NRL or USARL were to use it as a chance to extort funds out of them or veto it, you'd completely f**k one of RL's biggest assets in spreading the game overnight...

Also when you consider the whole point of this game was for the Roos to get another run out against good opposition and to attempt to keep the Tongan hype train going it's an even more stupid idea.

To keep the hype train going it needs to be played in a place where their is a big Tongan community that can sell out a reasonably big stadium by themselves so it feels like a Tongan home game, Tonga it's self simply doesn't have the facilities to support the game, playing it in Australia would defeat the purpose of trying to make it like a Tongan home game and their isn't much local interest in the game, so you know the next best option is where probably the second biggest population of Tongans resides in the world, NZ...

 

[Matua]

That must be the dumbest argument I've read on here in a very long time, especially when you consider the situation in Tonga!

So even though the NZRL has absolutely nothing to do with organising the game they should be able to interfere with it for no other reason than it's being held in their country... Do you seriously not see the multitude of problems with that...

There're plenty of reasons why that is such a dumb idea, to many to list, but for one thing the NZRL doesn't own NZ or the NZ market, but much more importantly can you not see how such standards could quickly turn into a disaster if say the Kiwis and England want to put a game on in Australia or the USA and the NRL or USARL were to use it as a chance to extort funds out of them or veto it, you'd completely f**k one of RL's biggest assets in spreading the game overnight...

Also when you consider the whole point of this game was for the Roos to get another run out against good opposition and to attempt to keep the Tongan hype train going it's an even more stupid idea.

To keep the hype train going it needs to be played in a place where their is a big Tongan community that can sell out a reasonably big stadium by themselves so it feels like a Tongan home game, Tonga it's self simply doesn't have the facilities to support the game, playing it in Australia would defeat the purpose of trying to make it like a Tongan home game and their isn't much local interest in the game, so you know the next best option is where probably the second biggest population of Tongans resides in the world, NZ...

Bollocks, the sport is run in each country under that national league's body - this is how it is in all sports. NZ wouldn't just rock up to England to play a game with France without clearing it with the English national body first.

I personally think it's fine that they're playing the game at Mt Smart, but NZ had no duty to host the match.

 

[The Great Dane]

Bollocks, the sport is run in each country under that national league's body - this is how it is in all sports.

That doesn't mean that they own/have a monopoly on their markets, that'd be f**king stupid, you are basically suggesting that local businesses should be able to block foreign competition from entering their markets!

NZ wouldn't just rock up to England to play a game with France without clearing it with the English national body first.

Maybe, but they definitely did rock up to Denver without clearing it with the American national body... Hell the RLIF and Moore Sports were planning on dropping the whole WC into North America without consulting the national bodies-

Building towards the World Cup, which could be regarded as the ultimate vehicle to enhance a sports’ stature in multiple markets, Illfield addresses a common misconception surround the 2025 edition: “Canada & USA are not hosting RLWC2025, Moore Sports International are promoting and hosting RLWC2025, they have proposed to hold the event in North America. The RLIF have accepted that proposal at this stage. The Canada RL & USARL do not have anything to do with it. Have not been consulted, nor involved in the planning.”

https://sbcamericas.com/2018/07/09/...ted-states-match-made-in-heaven-or-mis-match/

I personally think it's fine that they're playing the game at Mt Smart, but NZ had no duty to host the match.

In everything but name they aren't, so where is the issue?

The NRL is hosting the match not the NZRL, so I really don't see the issue. If the NRL were demanding that the NZRL take part in organising the match in some significant way (especially if they were demanding financial support) because it's being held in NZ then I'd see the issue, the NRL isn't and the match doesn't effect the NZRL in any tangible way so far as I can see, so frankly it's got nothing to do with the NZRL and their opinions on it should be worth less than nothing.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

That must be the dumbest argument I've read on here in a very long time, especially when you consider the situation in Tonga!

So even though the NZRL has absolutely nothing to do with organising the game they should be able to interfere with it for no other reason than it's being held in their country... Do you seriously not see the multitude of problems with that...

There're plenty of reasons why that is such a dumb idea, to many to list, but for one thing the NZRL doesn't own NZ or the NZ market, but much more importantly can you not see how such standards could quickly turn into a disaster if say the Kiwis and England want to put a game on in Australia or the USA and the NRL or USARL were to use it as a chance to extort funds out of them or veto it, you'd completely f**k one of RL's biggest assets in spreading the game overnight...

Also when you consider the whole point of this game was for the Roos to get another run out against good opposition and to attempt to keep the Tongan hype train going it's an even more stupid idea.

To keep the hype train going it needs to be played in a place where their is a big Tongan community that can sell out a reasonably big stadium by themselves so it feels like a Tongan home game, Tonga it's self simply doesn't have the facilities to support the game, playing it in Australia would defeat the purpose of trying to make it like a Tongan home game and their isn't much local interest in the game, so you know the next best option is where probably the second biggest population of Tongans resides in the world, NZ...

The dumbest argument or the simplest valid reason?

Why should we do anything at all for Tonga?

This Tonga situation will not last. They can't even produce 1 first grade standard half. This little period will go down as a flash in the pan. Circumstances worked in their favour massively last year, they will not be so lucky in the future. They won't become a tier 1 nation.

This game doesn't belong on our soil.

 

[deluded pom?]

Serious question. When the Italian soccer team played Argentina in Manchester earlier this year did they have to get permission from the English FA before the match could go ahead?

 

[The Great Dane]

The dumbest argument or the simplest valid reason?

Nope, it's definitely the most asininely stupid and ill thought out argument/idea I've seen on here in a long, long time!

Why should we do anything at all for Tonga?

You (i.e. the NZRL) aren't doing anything for them, so what are you talking about!

This Tonga situation will not last. They can't even produce 1 first grade standard half. This little period will go down as a flash in the pan. Circumstances worked in their favour massively last year, they will not be so lucky in the future. They won't become a tier 1 nation.

This game doesn't belong on our soil.

Firstly, the owners of Mt Smart, all applicable tourism businesses in Auckland, most certainly the local government and NZ government, the retail sector in Auckland, etc, etc, will all disagree with you on that point considering that they'll all see an increase in business/exposure thanks to this game...

Secondly, the fact that you (the NZRL) administer the sport in NZ doesn't mean that you own the sport or that you have an exclusive monopoly on the sport in NZ, and in the grand scheme of things nor would you want that to be the case as it'd end in tears for the sport in NZ...

Thirdly, you need to think this line of thinking through to it's logical conclusion, the conclusion where the sport effectively can't hold matches in neutral nations cause the local administrations will use the opportunity to extort the participating nations of cash thus destroying one of the sports best assets in drawing some attention in nations and/or communities that the sport is trying to grow into...

Also where was this 'concern' when the NZRL wanted to participate in matches in Aus and the US against England... I'm pretty sure that you would have been furious if the NRL and/or USARL were to demand some sort of compensation or were even to veto the match, but I'm sure that in your mind it'd be different if somebody else was to do it...

 

[The Great Dane]

This Tonga situation will not last. They can't even produce 1 first grade standard half. This little period will go down as a flash in the pan. Circumstances worked in their favour massively last year, they will not be so lucky in the future. They won't become a tier 1 nation.

Frankly I agree with you on the point that eventually Tonga's success will peter out, but you sound like you are desperately willing them to fail cause the alternative would be less appealing...

Also just cause Tonga will almost certainly peter out eventually doesn't mean that we shouldn't use their current success to our benefit, who knows their current success may inspire kids and players that traditionally would have played for the Kiwis and to a lesser extent the Roos to stick solid with Tonga and maybe in the future they will be able to consistently field strong teams over multiple generations, also we can definitely use their current success to grow the sport within Tonga and within Tongan communities which is a great thing as well.
It's also no reason to turn down the opportunity to make a quick buck off their current popularity either, which can only be good for the Tongan RL, we should be trying to make as much money off of their current success as possible if only so we can flush the Tongan RL with as much cash as possible and definitely more than they've ever seen. Hell if we can use their current success to convince a valuable major sponsor to jump on board then that'd be a amazing thing in of it's self.

 

[jim_57]

Odds would suggest Tonga will come back to the pack with other 2nd tier nations eventually.

That just makes it all the more important NZ strikes while the iron is hot by playing them pretty regularly, could be a huge rivalry while it lasts.