Pacific Championships 2024

[shadowformz]

Play the game in NZ

Confirmed today in the daily telegraph that the Tonga v Samoa will be held in Sydney, most likely Allianz but possibly Accor

 

[Wb1234]

Confirmed today in the daily telegraph that the Tonga v Samoa will be held in Sydney, most likely Allianz but possibly Accor

Allianz would be epic !

 

[Wb1234]

NRL boss Andrew Abdo believes the Pacific Championships will grow into the “biggest sporting tournament in our region”, as international rugby league proves to be a ratings bonanza.

This masthead can reveal that all three Kangaroos matches out-rated the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup against the All Blacks this year.

While Australia’s two clashes against Tonga, including Sunday’s final, attracted a total of 2 million viewers across free-to-air and Fox Sports, overall ratings were also up 13.5 per cent on last year’s tournament.

“We’re seeing a great response from the fans through attendance and viewership. With a meaningful calendar and some consistency, this is something I think can grow into the biggest sporting tournament in our region,” NRL chief executive Abdo said.

“To get over a million people watching consistently shows it can be a big part of our calendar.

“We also had hundreds of thousands of people streaming it in Papua New Guinea.”

Abdo said the governing body was committed to playing the three-week championships after the NRL grand final after scrapping mid-season Test matches in 2022.

“It is in the right place, playing rugby league in late October early November is the sweet spot,” Abdo said.

“The beauty is, there is not too much other sport. It’s a chance for us to really own this period and win over new fans across the region.

Australia will tour England in 2025 with Samoa to replace the Kangaroos in the Championships. It is anticipated that a clash between Tonga and Samoa, who also have a large community in western Sydney, would draw a crowd of 50,000 people - the biggest Test crowd in Australia in almost 50 years.

It’s understood New Zealand will host both of their Test matches against island nations next year.

So, there you have it, two Test in NZ, Samoa vs. Tonga in Western Sydney, Accor or CommBank.

 

[RedVee]

NRL boss Andrew Abdo believes the Pacific Championships will grow into the “biggest sporting tournament in our region”, as international rugby league proves to be a ratings bonanza.

This masthead can reveal that all three Kangaroos matches out-rated the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup against the All Blacks this year.

While Australia’s two clashes against Tonga, including Sunday’s final, attracted a total of 2 million viewers across free-to-air and Fox Sports, overall ratings were also up 13.5 per cent on last year’s tournament.

“We’re seeing a great response from the fans through attendance and viewership. With a meaningful calendar and some consistency, this is something I think can grow into the biggest sporting tournament in our region,” NRL chief executive Abdo said.

“To get over a million people watching consistently shows it can be a big part of our calendar.

“We also had hundreds of thousands of people streaming it in Papua New Guinea.”

Abdo said the governing body was committed to playing the three-week championships after the NRL grand final after scrapping mid-season Test matches in 2022.

“It is in the right place, playing rugby league in late October early November is the sweet spot,” Abdo said.

“The beauty is, there is not too much other sport. It’s a chance for us to really own this period and win over new fans across the region.

Australia will tour England in 2025 with Samoa to replace the Kangaroos in the Championships. It is anticipated that a clash between Tonga and Samoa, who also have a large community in western Sydney, would draw a crowd of 50,000 people - the biggest Test crowd in Australia in almost 50 years.

It’s understood New Zealand will host both of their Test matches against island nations next year.

So, there you have it, two Test in NZ, Samoa vs. Tonga in Western Sydney, Accor or CommBank.

Maybe Tonga & Samoa can bring some atmosphere to Accor?

 

[taste2taste]

Confirmed today in the daily telegraph that the Tonga v Samoa will be held in Sydney, most likely Allianz but possibly Accor

I hate to be ‘that guy ‘

but will all the Samoan and Tongan fans who are based far out west travel buy train to the very difficult to get to Allianz in the east ?

 

[Wb1234]

I hate to be ‘that guy ‘

but will all the Samoan and Tongan fans who are based far out west travel buy train to the very difficult to get to Allianz in the east ?

It’s not that hard train to central then light rail

But yeh homebush is way easier

 

[titoelcolombiano]

I hate to be ‘that guy ‘

but will all the Samoan and Tongan fans who are based far out west travel buy train to the very difficult to get to Allianz in the east ?

For their biggest game of the year as a one-off? No doubt

 

[Matua]

I think you are underestimating how many Oz supporters were actually there. I think the difference was I don`t think there was a single Tongan supporter who wasn`t wearing red and white and many, many were carrying flags and placards.
Of the Aussie supporters I`d say only a fraction had the green or gold on or even either colour on. I can tell you one thing with hand on heart at one point early something happened, maybe Hammer`s try, not sure but there was a very loud roar of approval from the crowd, so loud that I turned to my anglo son (who was wearing red to support Tonga) and said wow, there really are some Aussies here. So don`t necessarily be fooled by what you saw on telly, there were a lot of Aussies there, maybe just not so obvious.

It was late, it was NZ v. PNG, people work the next day, that clear out only proved one thing, it should have been in NZ or PNG at an appropriately sized ground.

Oh yeah, I'm only going by what we could see on the screen, if you reckon there was more Aussies than it looks on TV I'm not going to argue with you.

I don't really think the "it was late, work the next day" is much mitigation, the game kicked off at 6:20pm.

That really is an overly jaundiced view.
This is how it will grow, what people saw on tv, they will want to be a part of it in the future, it`s in it`s second year and looks like becoming a much anticipated part of the League calendar.

I`ll tell you something amusing, where we were sitting was directly and on the same height opposite the NRL corporate box, you could quite clearly see Abdo and V`landys standing on the "balcony" at the front of the box watching the totality of both games that we were there for. He didn`t miss a minute, in fact often it was only him and Abdo, either watching the game or deep in discussion, dare say they were thinking now how do we improve this next year.

Not jaundiced, just realistic. The Tongan support is off the charts, but I'm not sure that is transferring across to other teams. Although I'm hopeful that next year's actual Pacific Champs (NZ, Sam, Ton) will have full squads. But I'm a NZer, we're supposedly in a rugby league high at the moment yet even on this very forum the NZ section has barely discussed the Kiwis (and even before we realised they were coachless). I think the fact that things appear to be rigged against NZ is starting to tell. (Regardless of whether people believe it or not the origin rules favour the PI teams over NZ).

On the subject of heritage running out as discussed in the thread. It will happen increasingly soon. There will be a lot players now who qualify on grandparents whose kids wont be eligible. But, I guess a fix to that would be to allow the sons of rep players to represent their team too.

 

[Matua]

How much would you expect NZ v PNG to pull in Sydney? Not much

As far as Tonga and Samoa goes, it is what it is. The crowds are way bigger in Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney then they'll ever be in Tonga or Samoa.

The fans were already in there, I'd expect more to hang around for a game than that.

Would you like the game to turn that sort of atmosphere down yesterday and a bunch of kids that live and play in Tonga get lapped by 200 by the Kangaroos in front of 5k in Tonga? Would that make it feel right for you?

That's some straw man B/S. I have no issue with the Tongan fans turning out.

 

[Bulldog2020]

Not sure if Allianz would be a good fit for this game. The concern would be if the Stadium members aren't interested, the crowd would be similar to Parramatta at capacity. Accor may be the better option.

 

[Wb1234]

It’s understood New Zealand will host both of their Test matches against island nations next year.

The success of the Pacific Championships has also once again raised the possibility of a Pasifika NRL team as part of the game’s plans to expand to a 20-team competition.

Perth and PNG are set to be introduced in 2027 and 2028, respectively, as the 18th and 19th teams, while New Zealand and a fifth team in Queensland are options for further expansion.

But some of the NRL’s biggest Pacific Islander stars like Jarome Luai and Junior Paulo have backed the introduction of a Pasifika outfit.

Abdo said the game’s expansion strategy favoured franchises that had a home base rather than one that represented a geographical region.

“It’s a decision that would have to be carefully considered by the Commission,” Abdo said.

“There is real strength in a franchise being clear about its identity and its home, real strength in having a home stadium and centre of excellence as a opposed to a travelling connection of different regions.”

But the NRL will consider taking more games to island nations like Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

“We want to reach as many people as possible,” Abdo said.

“Our region is important to us, we want the game to grow in New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and PNG. So we have a top to bottom strategy from getting kids to play to taking elite games there. But we can’t be taking one-off games into the region, we want to connect with those communities.”

Pacific Islander communities in Australia are also vital to the game’s growth into the future. Over 45 per cent of NRL players are now of Pacific Islander or Maori decent.

Abdo believes that diversity, which was on full-display in the stands of CommBank Stadium on Sunday, sets rugby league apart from other sports in the country.

“The celebration of the different cultures in the NRL and NRLW, it happens in such a moving way,” Abdo said.

“The singing and the celebrations, the uniqueness of the cultural performances … it was a sea of red and white, it felt like a Tongan home game. Everyone, regardless of the country they were supporting, was enjoying the football.”

Second part of the article

 

[Wb1234]

 

[titoelcolombiano]

A Pacifika NRL club is a worse idea than PNG

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Oh yeah, I'm only going by what we could see on the screen, if you reckon there was more Aussies than it looks on TV I'm not going to argue with you.

I don't really think the "it was late, work the next day" is much mitigation, the game kicked off at 6:20pm.


Not jaundiced, just realistic. The Tongan support is off the charts, but I'm not sure that is transferring across to other teams. Although I'm hopeful that next year's actual Pacific Champs (NZ, Sam, Ton) will have full squads. But I'm a NZer, we're supposedly in a rugby league high at the moment yet even on this very forum the NZ section has barely discussed the Kiwis (and even before we realised they were coachless). I think the fact that things appear to be rigged against NZ is starting to tell. (Regardless of whether people believe it or not the origin rules favour the PI teams over NZ).

On the subject of heritage running out as discussed in the thread. It will happen increasingly soon. There will be a lot players now who qualify on grandparents whose kids wont be eligible. But, I guess a fix to that would be to allow the sons of rep players to represent their team too.

Honestly, as good as Tonga and Samoa are, the NRL know they NZ is the best chance of competing with Australia consistently, long term. I'd predict a change to the Origin rules soon to allow Origin eligible NZ players to be able to choose SOO and NZ / England. If for no other reason than to continue marketing it as the best v the best.

 

[Wb1234]

TikTok - Make Your Day

Auckland has double the Islander pop of Sydney

 

[Clarkent]

Honestly, as good as Tonga and Samoa are, the NRL know they NZ is the best chance of competing with Australia consistently, long term. I'd predict a change to the Origin rules soon to allow Origin eligible NZ players to be able to choose SOO and NZ / England. If for no other reason than to continue marketing it as the best v the best.

Tonga and Samoa has much of a chance to compete against the kangaroos as the Kiwis does. And no I don't think origin rules will change anytime soon unfortunately

 

[Matua]

Tonga and Samoa has much of a chance to compete against the kangaroos as the Kiwis does. And no I don't think origin rules will change anytime soon unfortunately

They have more chance with your buddies the Aussies putting their finger on the scales in your favour.

Without it we'd have Jerome the Maori Luai competing with Dylan Brown for our five eighth position.

 

[Black Panther]

The only reason Samoa and Tonga are now stronger is because all the Australian and NZ players have defected. Clearly picking and choosing who to play for.They should be barred from playing Origin and not using it as a cash cow. Shouldn’t matter if they are tier 1 or 2.

 

[Clarkent]

The only reason Samoa and Tonga are now stronger is because all the Australian and NZ players have defected. Clearly picking and choosing who to play for.They should be barred from playing Origin and not using it as a cash cow. Shouldn’t matter if they are tier 1 or 2.

Too bad they don't have the balls to barred them, in 10 years time nsw and qld will be filled with Tongan and Samoan heritage players

 

[Mother Nature's Son]

Honestly, as good as Tonga and Samoa are, the NRL know they NZ is the best chance of competing with Australia consistently, long term. I'd predict a change to the Origin rules soon to allow Origin eligible NZ players to be able to choose SOO and NZ / England. If for no other reason than to continue marketing it as the best v the best.

Always said that, I`ve often wondered if we didn`t have so many players going to the PI`s, New Zealand would already be much stronger and matching us every test.
That begs the question is a competitive three Test series v. NZ as big and now bigger than the Bledisloe worth more to us than having three sides that are only competitive sporadically.