Hi all,
Yes I was at the Philly 9s. It was a great day out, nice and warm and seemed to run well from where I was. So all the teams were there, but the Utah and OC had some players missing as their flight were cancelled due to weather. I spoke with several of them through the day, so they explained what happened. Some teams had extra players that gladly stepped in to help the new comers out.
Over all there were 10 full teams from everyone, it was great to see, the real surprise packets were Rhode Island and Oneida, the new Boston team, they fielded and played some outstanding RL and made the semis much to everyones surprise.
The NZ guys were outstanding in their skills, they really showed what flowing open Rugby league can be like in the 9s. but a great bunch of fellows, very friendly and funny. And their Haka was awesome.
As for what happened on twitter... I was being paid by RL Review to be there, the report on the day with results will be in the next issue... and then later on my website... but redstripe decided to have a pot shot at me for some reason.
We all know that in the past the teams that had problems and never fielded players are actually in the AMNRL at the moment so I think its a case of being throwing rocks at a glass floor. I am also wanting to go and cover the opening round of the AMNRL this weekend, but of course details are non existent and any enquiries, phone, text, twitter and email barely get any reply.
I am in Toronto at the moment, seeing a friend and also to interview some of the CRL guys, but I am in a limbo now because there are no details. Do I drive back to Philly for the triple header... do I attempt to go to Boston for the USARL double header opener? Or do I just cut my losses and do the 14 hour drive back to Illinois and take a couple days off before going back to work.
Redstripe on twitter for some reason decided to have a shot at me, none of the AMNRL guys were there so I don't know how they can make comments on it. The claims of "I want to see team rosters" also applies for the AMNRL, can I see team rosters for the weekend please? These have not been forthcoming yet... and well truth be told I don't really expect want them. As its a non issue. Its not the NRL and I know teams can struggle. But the games better happen because if I turn up and there is nothing then that is what will be going in my article to Terry back in Oz.
Just so everyone knows. I am keeping neutral in all this, I will report on AMNRL and USARL activities equally, I will also do my best to keep as informed as I can on things and the hows and whys. One group is open about their plans the other is not at the moment. Its a tough and frustrating situation not just for me and other media but also for international organisations and any fans out there of the game in the USA.
There is a lot out there, claims and counter claims, its difficult to sift through it all. But at some point things will have to come out one way or the other.