This idea is getting a ridiculous amount of support on Facebook groups.. which is stunning. I can't so many are turning a blind eye to the logistical & financial issues that having a top tier team in a 3rd World country would face.
It's one of the biggest problems with social media ATM.
On any given subject you have tons of people without a clue what they are talking about commenting on it. That large group of people then have an impact on the decision because anybody in a decision making position sees those opinions and thinks there's a strong consensus in the community on the issue, when really it's just a bunch of ignorant morons talking out their arse. Because we don't have any statesmen anymore, only slimy politicians and corrupt leaders who are only interested in staying in power, they'll often listen to the mob over people with an informed opinion because that's what will keep them in power/popular.
What makes it worse is that often those tons of ill-informed people are actually just a loud minority claiming to represent the average man, whom have been given a massively outsized say by social media.
It's all the worse flaws of direct democracy without actually being in a direct democracy. Strange times indeed.
The same thing happened with the Redcliffe bid BTW. The support for them to get the license was overwhelming positive on social media, but 95% of the support for them didn't understand what the Dolphin's bid was actually offering, never engaged with criticism against their bid, and didn't intend to ever actually support them even if they did win the license.
It's why you see so much outrage when they announced they wouldn't be called 'Redcliffe', didn't intend to play all their games at this or that stadium, etc, etc, because the people whom supported the bid didn't have a clue what they were actually supporting. But this is a tangent.
Sure, Super Rugby are getting into the Pacific Islands with Fiji Drua & Moana Pacifica, BUT MP play their home games in Auckland (Mt Smart), so are effectively a 2nd Auckland team and the Drua, well.. they painted themselves into a corner by having so many substandard Australian teams & adding MP that they needed another team to make an even numbered competition - and I fear that the Drua will struggle for a long time before you see results from them.
It's worse than that. World Rugby has committed to underwrite the Drua and Moana Pacifica.
I forget the exact details, but because WR see the value in their existence they committed to make sure that they wouldn't fold for financial reasons until X year, and have offered them other support.
I doubt anybody would have a problem with a PNG side joining the NRL if there was some RL body who was willing and capable of offering the NRL and a PNG side a similar deal, but no such body exists, so trying to compare them to a PNG NRL side is a total furphy.
