Who's the best of the rest ??

[Irish-bulldog]

Watching that mid year test that png played against the cooks, png looked very good, I understand against a weak team, but the hunters have really improved these guys, they will play for 80 these days. Png lack forward strength which worries me, they have always been steamrolled. Yes they tackle and run hard, but normally lacking size.

Which European team could shock people ? Or are all those teams that far behind the islands ?. I can't see America shocking anyone this time around.

 

[adamkungl]

Scotland and France best shot due to their groups.
Wales Ireland USA Italy gonna find it very tough to win through to quarters I think

 

[Irish-bulldog]

Italy have some good players playing in this cup

 

[Clarkent]

Don't really give France a chance they lack star players... Italy will be the team that'll be hard to beat especially if tedesco gets picked

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Italy need to beat Fiji but that's not out of the question considering how many ring ins they will have. France will probably fall in a heap and not win a game. Scotland only need to win one game but scraping through on one win is hardly impressive and they'd have to play Australia in Darwin. I wouldn't back them to beat Samoa and Tonga. Samoa would have been a chance of Milford was playing.

 

[Billythekid]

France will disappoint as always. They seem like the country who should be next in line to join the big 3 but they never seem to get any closer.

Hoping to see PNG do well, I think they're the team most likely to approach the big 3 over the next 5-10 years. The QLD Cup team had helped a lot, hopefully they can play more regular internationals.

Outside of that it mostly comes down to who has the best ring ins. Fiji look good an Italy potentially have a strong line-up. Tonga and somoa have quite a few good NRL players as usual. It's really hard to say though.

 

[Coastbloke]

France will easily be defeated by England and Australia, but they might have a chance against Lebanon. There's some bona fide stars in the French team, but the loss of Escare is a definite blow. Lebanon's highest profile star has been dumped by 2 NRL clubs. Mansour will play for Australia.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Given PNG's rugby league history they really should be up there reaching Tier 1. The Kiwis have been No 1 despite their weak domestic comp and there's so much talent there NRL clubs should be teeming with PNG players. Pretty sure PNG has beaten NZ and England in the past too..

 

[adamkungl]

If France are switched on and keep up the intensity they should be able to keep themselves in the game at least.

 

[Irish-bulldog]

If France are switched on and keep up the intensity they should be able to keep themselves in the game at least.

France I don't see doing much to be honest. They don't have any real genuine stars. None could play in the NRL let's be honest .

 

[Clarkent]

If France are switched on and keep up the intensity they should be able to keep themselves in the game at least.

A switched on French team still wouldn't win a game against the other teams with star players

 

[Irish-bulldog]

A switched on French team still wouldn't win a game against the other teams with star players

France just haven't developed , why is that ?, they have professional teams, junior programmes lacking ? Is union stealing talent ?.

 

[adamkungl]

Let's see what happens then..not too long to wait now.

 

[Chip Kick]

It's a real shame
PNG considers league a national sport, however we can't crack the NRL with a team and there's even less players in the NRL and Super league combined compared to other island nations.....
even if my beloved Kumuls do well this tournament, I doubt we'll have an impact for opportunities to be presented to our players from clubs in the premiered competition as other islands nations players will undoubtedly get

I'm not oblivious to what the underlying reasons are and frankly I couldn't be bothered...
call me prejudice or whatever but recent history speaks for itself...

I'm content to have the Kumuls do their best and hopefully get a higher ranking on the international stage

 

[adamkungl]

It's a real shame
PNG considers league a national sport, however we can't crack the NRL with a team and there's even less players in the NRL and Super league combined compared to other island nations.....
even if my beloved Kumuls do well this tournament, I doubt we'll have an impact for opportunities to be presented to our players from clubs in the premiered competition as other islands nations players will undoubtedly get

I'm not oblivious to what the underlying reasons are and frankly I couldn't be bothered...
call me prejudice or whatever but recent history speaks for itself...

I'm content to have the Kumuls do their best and hopefully get a higher ranking on the international stage

I believe the short version is: PNG is not a country where it is easy to get a working Visa into Australia, so it creates a barrier for opportunities for players.
Compared to Samoa and Tonga, who can easily get NZ citizenship, and the from there get automatic entry into Australia.
(this is simplified and may be wrong in some details but I believe that's the gist of it)

The good news is the QLD Cup side's number 1 mission statement is to get players into NRL clubs.
I think we'll see serious results in the short to medium term future for PNG.

 

[Chip Kick]

I believe the short version is: PNG is not a country where it is easy to get a working Visa into Australia, so it creates a barrier for opportunities for players.
Compared to Samoa and Tonga, who can easily get NZ citizenship, and the from there get automatic entry into Australia.
(this is simplified and may be wrong in some details but I believe that's the gist of it)

The good news is the QLD Cup side's number 1 mission statement is to get players into NRL clubs.
I think we'll see serious results in the short to medium term future for PNG.

For the games sake, I hope so Adam, I really do
Looking forward to what happens after the tournament

 

[hutch]

It should also be noted that there has never been a rugby league player come from Samoa and tonga to play in the nrl and only a small amount from Fiji. It's certainly areas which needs to be developed further.

 

[Irish-bulldog]

America didn't have many stars last World Cup either and they played pretty well, maybe the standard is better then we think ? Expect America to have a decent run again ?.

 

[Chip Kick]

It should also be noted that there has never been a rugby league player come from Samoa and tonga to play in the nrl and only a small amount from Fiji. It's certainly areas which needs to be developed further.

I concur, not a lot selected from domestic league from the island nations mentioned
I'm rooting for the inclusion of Fiji in the NSWRL

who knows, maybe one day someone like Andrew Forrest might take in an interest in backing a indo-pacific league comp...

needless to say, back to the topic at hand, I'm hoping one of us islands nations make it into the major semi-final this time