PNG offered ultimatum

[screeny]

Someone on another site, TRL I think, posted that the ARL has written to PNGRFL asking them whether they want to keep their place in the World Cup or not.

Does anyone have any more information on this?

 

[Sam_the_man]

What the hells it got to do with the ARL?

 

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

they are running this RLWC? (didnt the RLIF delegate some power and responsibility?)

 

[roughyedspud]

the RLIF hve "appointed" the ARL as lord and master.......whats new??

seriously, if the ARL have told PNG to take it or leave then i for one hope PNG tell them to stuff it......

 

[griff]

the RLIF hve "appointed" the ARL as lord and master.......whats new??

seriously, if the ARL have told PNG to take it or leave then i for one hope PNG tell them to stuff it......

Of course the ARL are going to run the world cup in Australia. Like the ARU ran the world cup when the RUWC was in Australia.

PNG would be giving up their share of WC profits and the opportunity to play three test matches against the world's best (more than they have had in the last 10 years). Can't see them doing that.

 

[thommo4pm]

Would love to see PNG take it and then beat 1 or 2 of the teams in the group.
That would be sensational.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Mascord had a small story in the Tele today about it. It said the ARL told the PNGRFL to pull out now if they want to and they'll be replaced straight away. There was a meeting between the delegates from the ARL, the PNGRFL and the World Cup organising body and they failed to come to an agreement. Apparently the ARL also pointed out how much support it had given the PNGRFL in recent years.

 

[deluded pom?]

From a PNG point of view I'd drag my heels as much as possible with regards to pulling out, giving the ARL as little time as possible to organise a replacement. If PNG do pull out that could then open another can of worms. How do they decide which region gets the new spot? How do they decide who goes into the Super group? Would the replacement team be a straight swap for PNG and go in with the big three? If that was the case then the big three would be playing one of the minnows thus defeating the idea of a Super group. How would the tv company covering the WC reactl if they've paid to televise Aus/NZ/England v PNG and get Aus/NZ/England v USA instead?

 

[bartman]

Apparently the ARL also pointed out how much support it had given the PNGRFL in recent years.

I hope they've given more support than I'm aware of - sending a B team over every other year for a charity match is it as far as I can tell?

 

[screeny]

I'm with the ARL on this one: yes, they acted badly in not coming to an agreement with PNG before making the format announcement, but PNG have been given a free pass into the tournament when they might not even have got there should they have been required to qualify.

Now they're in they should play their role of sacrificial lambs, get as much sponsorship as possible from being on live FTA television three times and be quiet.

 

[girvie]

Perhaps PNG and France should have a play-off to see who makes it into the "Super Group".

 

[AlbertRosenfeld]

PNG should have been given a run in the other pools, against France, Wales Tonga and Fiji, the four best second tier teams.

The fourth place in the Super Pool should have gone to the last qualifying team. That would have been fair. But the ARL doesn't play fair. And the ARL is probably the least talented management team running a professional sport anywhere in the developed world.

 

[ali]

I'm with the ARL on this one: yes, they acted badly in not coming to an agreement with PNG before making the format announcement, but PNG have been given a free pass into the tournament when they might not even have got there should they have been required to qualify.

Now they're in they should play their role of sacrificial lambs, get as much sponsorship as possible from being on live FTA television three times and be quiet.

I agree. Whilst it's not ideal that they will cop 3 likely beatings, they can use this opportunity for many things. Increased sponsorship, promote PNG as a country to Australian, and most importantly, get the likes of Neville Costigan to commit to playing for them. There may be one or 2 others around who also fully commit to the PNG cause, with the opportunity of playing against the worlds 3 best teams.

 

[nadera78]

The ARL are just showing their true colours once again. First off they neglect to let PNG in on their plans for them as sacrificial lambs, now they order them to like it or lump it. Bullies, is the plain and simple truth of it. Anyone daring to point out the flaw in their plans gets bullied into submission.

They should be offering all sorts of inducements, things that PNG actually need (and should be getting anyway), like help with funding, planning and logistics, bringing a couple of the best local kids down to training camps on an annual basis, sending centralised scouts up to watch the schoolboys championships, etc.

What have they ever actually done for the game in PNG? Pay for one administrator and send a 'B' team to play them once a year! Great, thanks for the help!

 

[dimitri]

The ARL are just showing their true colours once again. First off they neglect to let PNG in on their plans for them as sacrificial lambs, now they order them to like it or lump it. Bullies, is the plain and simple truth of it. Anyone daring to point out the flaw in their plans gets bullied into submission.

They should be offering all sorts of inducements, things that PNG actually need (and should be getting anyway), like help with funding, planning and logistics, bringing a couple of the best local kids down to training camps on an annual basis, sending centralised scouts up to watch the schoolboys championships, etc.

What have they ever actually done for the game in PNG? Pay for one administrator and send a 'B' team to play them once a year! Great, thanks for the help!

I think it is fair to say that the above is very accurate

 

[Misanthrope]

This whole 'super group' thing is just proving farcical, and if it leads to one of the more competitive nations having to boycott the tournament, I'll be pissed off. Why not just go with something traditional and decide the groups in the normal fashion? One top tier, one second tier, and two developing nations. You'll get some thrashings, but it's better than alienating a nation that lives and breathes rugby league.

 

[Sam_the_man]

I agree 100%.

 

[yosh64]

The ARL are just showing their true colours once again. First off they neglect to let PNG in on their plans for them as sacrificial lambs, now they order them to like it or lump it. Bullies, is the plain and simple truth of it. Anyone daring to point out the flaw in their plans gets bullied into submission.

Nah, it does seem like that but its fair enough. They couldnt liaze with every nation in the WC about scheduling and pools as it would just be too many differing views on it with everyone caring about their nation, rather than the world cup itself.

It does seem like bullying but we need strong leadership in the WC, and if a team threatens to pull out, its best to know now rather than a few months out from the WC. Cause if they do it late, the WC organisers will be struggling to fix that problem in time (can you imagine the media calling the cup a farce a month or two out from kickoff!).

They should be offering all sorts of inducements, things that PNG actually need (and should be getting anyway), like help with funding, planning and logistics, bringing a couple of the best local kids down to training camps on an annual basis, sending centralised scouts up to watch the schoolboys championships, etc.

This was a great statement. Since someone needs to be in the supergroup (im just accepting that its here to stay), you may aswell do as much as you can to make them competitive. It would stop farcical matches, ie, the Queensland Reds match the other week (90 something to 3 i think). And help/make PNG happy as it develops their coaches, players, team administration, etc.

Great post Nadera

 

[bender]

PNG should have been given a run in the other pools, against France, Wales Tonga and Fiji, the four best second tier teams.

The fourth place in the Super Pool should have gone to the last qualifying team. That would have been fair. But the ARL doesn't play fair. And the ARL is probably the least talented management team running a professional sport anywhere in the developed world.

It does make perfect sense. The repecharge winner will presumably be USA, Wales, Samoa, Scotland, Ireland or Lebanon. Each of these countries, at the very least would have been as competitive as PNG. And, with their traditional rivalries with England, NZ, Australia, they would have made the the Supergroup seem bigger. PNG (now that it is clear they didnt want the position) would have to be the worst choice from a marketing and from a common sense perspective.

 

[AlbertRosenfeld]

I was originally against the whole construction of the World Cup pools, with the big three in one pool. I now have changed my mind, and can see the logic of it.

However putting one of your most important second tier nations (in this case PNG) in the Super Group as a sacrificial lamb, was a very insensitive and dumb idea. Moreover I would recommend those who have the video of the 2000 World Cup to take a look at France vs PNG. It was a great contest, with scintillating rugby league from both sides. (Adrian Lam and Stanley Gene in the halves won the game for PNG).

These days France is much stronger, and should win comfortably. But the flair of the France vs PNG contest in 2008 would have been a great crowd puller, as PNG vs Fiji or PNG vs Tonga would also have been.

The refusal of the ARL to reconsider its decision, and give 4th place in the Super Pool to the final (repecharge) qualifier, seems a rather self defeating example of their congenital stupidity. After all the whole allocation of places in the pools was not through a random draw from a hat. It was totally contrived. And so it could be changed just as easily. But little men cannot make big decisions, nor easily accept that they have made a mistake. So I would suggest that people on here who feel strongly about this send emails to both Carr and Love, and maybe a petition of protest with copies to Mascord and other journalists.