Pacific Cup 2024

[Wheeled Warrior]

Opted for surgery Ignore above posts

 

[Matua]

League needs new blood, the inclusion of the Pacific Islands not including NZ has really proved that point and been the biggest quantum leap for the game in a hundred years.

Can't say I agree with you here ehoa. There's been no quantum leap, the Aussies have just set up a system for them. All it's done is weaken NZ by the Aussies having rules that favours splitting NZ apart as much as possible.

In all honesty, playing and beating the Kangaroos/Poms is the real prize in International league and the new system makes that a little more difficult.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

Can't say I agree with you here ehoa. There's been no quantum leap, the Aussies have just set up a system for them. All it's done is weaken NZ by the Aussies having rules that favours splitting NZ apart as much as possible.

In all honesty, playing and beating the Kangaroos/Poms is the real prize in International league and the new system makes that a little more difficult.

Do you mean the change allowing Tier 2 aligned players to also play Origin?

If so, it seems the only scenario where the Kiwis have been (additionally) disadvantaged is when a player is:

- eligible for the Kiwis; and
- eligible for a Tier 2 nation; and
- eligible for Origin; but
- commits to Tier 2 instead of the Kiwis, for the sole purpose of playing Origin.

The last part is hard to know for sure unless a player outright admits it.

But unless I’ve missed something, that still feels like a pretty small subset of players? maybe Isaiya Katoa?

Plus if the benchmark is beating the Roos and Poms, both Tonga and Samoa have done that over the last few years since having a bigger pool of players who've committed.

So if the change has made things harder for the Kiwis, its at least helped the broader game.