Sports Prophet

See my earlier comments. I believe that would better suit the realm of a B&I Lions tour (Aus, NZ, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and PNG). I believe an Ashes Tour should be an Australian tour against Australian sides.

I did consider other internationals, but then I thought that sits outside the definition of an Ashes Tour. I think the theme needs to remain Australian. Tours against various nations can perhaps be fore the GB brand, which I still feel can regain some relevence. In fact, it should still be very much the objective of NH RL to have a team like GB&I including players of an elite standard from Ireland, Scotland and Wales as well as England. If not now, certainly a future objective.

Yeah, I thought some warm up matches would be valuable for the team to get prepared. Certainly against those opponents. WA may be a stretch, but you could look to expand it to be a rep team with a mix of ex-residents (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NRL_Western_Australia shows there are a few names who could drop in). The date I suggested for this match may even mean that England set off same weekend as say SL GF is on and as such England would be missing some of their best players for that opening tour match. NSW Residents would be the best of the NSW Cup. A team which probably would have beaten at least half of the teams which competed in the 2022 RLWC. They would be easy good enough to give the English team a good challenge, without challenging for the win. The way I see it also, a few warm up matches for England to not only prepare themselves, but also get some good strong wins on the board and warm up the public about an England team looking ready to take it to the Kangaroos after a few impressive warm up victories. If anything, I feel like a simple three match series isn’t telling enough of a story and will struggle to capture the imagination to get a bursting crowd for game 1.

The reality is, there would need to be a suitable turnout for the warm up matches to make a tour of this length, with the required squad size financially viable. Could mid week fixtures fit in? Could England play the full NSW or Qld side on the tour as well?

In 18 months the first Ashes series since 2003 is due in Australia. Just 18 months time. This is a series which really wants confirmed in the calendar urgently. These tours are not cheap for touring supporters and a set calendar I would suggest is vital in getting the highest number of travelling fans. I would love to see SL finish two or three weeks earlier than normal to accomodate a tour to remember including non Test matches in the schedule. WA v England: Sunday 5th Oct (tie in with an NRL GF event on the big screens afterwards) Perth NSW Residents v England: Sat 11th Oct Newcastle Indigenous v England: Sat 18th Oct Canberra 1st Test Australia v England: Sat/Sun 25/26 Oct Melbourne 2nd Test Australia v England: Sat/Sun 1/2 Nov Sydney 3rd Test Australia v England: Sat/Sun 8/9 Nov Brisbane Who else has some creative tours schedules they would love to see?

Yeah, but you are looking through the eyes of a massive racist and it severely clouds your judgment.

Sure, but it’s not like he can’t command a very healthy salary in the NRL as well. If I recall correctly, he didn’t want to play for another NRL club (or maybe I’m thinking of Benji’s move to Union). How about this for a theory then… Joey: hey boss, it’s contract time. Politis: you’re a million dollar player Joey, but even my sneaky skills of skipping the salary cap can’t pay you that yet. How about this. Teddy has two years left to run. Why don’t you go and spend two years in Japan, earning over a million without having to bust yourself. Then, when Teddy either retires or I move him on, we bring you back in two years and sign you for great money for the remainder of your career.

I took some time now to YouTube some Japanese club rugby and the crowds are actually very respectable. Some subsequent research then leads me to believe that crowd averages in the top division are over 11k. That out does SL doesn’t it? I think what this move does highlight is the growth of another professional club rugby competition which has long rid itself of “emerging” status. The competition appears undoubtedly a significant player in the market which can entice some of the world’s best rugby talent to sign up. Japanese rugby is the beneficiary of a greater global RU strategy to expand the game in new, financially successful markets. A strategy RL historically either shies away from or does everything possible to hinder.

Another steps in, but there are so many centres in the NRL which Manu is far superior to, so there is no mistaking that at the end of the year, the NRL will be in an immediate net loss without him. Maybe he is getting more. I can only speak to the contract reported in the media. He will play in a sixteen game season or eighteen if his team makes the GF. What is the lure here? I agree, it must be cash. But his market value in the NRL must be pretty close to $1m now anyway. So the reported contract is somewhat inexplicable. There is no chance of him being picked for the All Blacks. The Olympics will be close to four years away by the time he joins. I hope he misses the challenge of the NRL sooner than he is expecting.

So it’s official, Joey Manu has decided a $1m contract to play RU in Japan is a preferable option to continuing in the NRL. It is a great loss for the game.

The Canberra Raiders drew a terrible 11,738 yesterday, being outdone by the 12,448 who attended nearby to watch GWS Giants the day before. An impressive 17,141 at Campbelltown will further the argument from Shane Richardson to permanently move the Tigers away from Leichardt. 14,433 at Parramatta is an atrocious figure for a club the size of the Eels. Their fans missed out on a cracker to see the blue and golds pick up the points in a tight one against the Cows. Warriors continue to be the pride of NZ, with a fantastic 23,076 turning out for an entertaining draw against Manly. 46,224 is a huge crowd by NRL standards but somehow I feel a little surprised that the Brisbane derby didn’t draw 50k. In the earlier Friday evening KO, the Storm had 16,065 at the game watching them sneak home against an improving Bulldogs. Well under their average of recent years. The dreaded Fri 6pm KO could have some explanation, but for a city like Melbourne, with a great location like AAMI, I don’t expect that to be as big an excuse as in Sydney. Across the city that same evening, the mighty Bombers were at 94% capacity with over 50k there to watch them win at Docklands. Newcastle did well to pull 21,940 against the tri-colour opponents on a Thursday night. A pretty good figure for a mid week fixture. That just leaves the still TBA Bunnies v Sharks crowd at Homebush. Having watched the game, I don’t expect there to be any impressive number given when the attendance finally is announced. Despite three very poor attendances there, the Brisbane derby ensured the weekly average stayed above 21,500 which is still more than the record breaking season average of 2023 IIRC.

These “disruptor” decisions are probably the most open for referees to interpret on the fly at the moment. Jesse Ramien who is a notorious disruptor was penalised for “jumping early”, yet he jumped later than the South Sydney player. I actually thought that attempt was one of his more legitimate attempts to actually catch the ball.

Just because a woman is a professional athlete, it shouldn’t mean we don’t act gentlemanly. As for Schuster… well he’s just a fat, lazy illegitimate child.

The best idea for Odsal and for its longevity as a sports precinct is for Yorkshire to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and then ideally have the stadium convert into a high spec 30-35k rectangular stadium with an eye to make it a Rugby League centre of excellence for the RFL and potential host both Bradford Bulls and Bradford City.

Fortunately RL has a very small media footprint.