marklaspalmas

I claim Spain as my adopted birthright

If anybody thinks this kind of thing (repeated with many players) is good for the sport, the players themselves and the fans, they're wrong.

Good lads. Between you and the Women's team you proudly keep the Featherstone Rovers rugby league flag flying. Well done. As for the men's team, rumours is all we've got, six months into admin and nine months since our last game.

Shocking news. I only recently read his autobiography. A man who loved rugby league through and through, and a sad loss to our sport. Rest in Peace.

Shocking news. I only recently read his autobiography. A man who loved rugby league through and through, and a sad loss to our sport. Rest in Peace.

The clip of him receiving his medal after the game, with his grandparents, was lovely.

Only by VPN which I'm not keen on. Shame. Probably the broadcasters feel it's not worth bothering with.

Is the CCF available to overseas viewers?

Great game, I really enjoyed it. It all turned completely on a controversial sending off which was unfortunate. Some super stuff though, the event was massive.

Yeah. You said that three times on the previous page, without really engaging with the point. Cheers.

Thanks for your considered replies everyone. Perhaps I've overestimated the extent to which the NRL is positioning itself as an international, if not worldwide competition. If those running that organisation are still giving this level.of hype and promotion to SOO, it's because they see it as bigger than the regular season itself. So be it. They're doing a decent job after all. My own opinion is that SOO makes the NRL look parochial, but then I'm not from Sydney or Brisbane. I'm still looking forward to the 2026 series though.

You've made the same point twice now, but you did read this, yeah? It's disruptive to the prime product, which is the league season. At the moment it's lucrative and attractive, therefore worthwhile, inside Australia, to hold SOO. In five years time, if the NRLs expansion plans come to fruition, it will won't be. SOO will be seen to be what it really is. A very parochial event.

As I said, not today, but within a few years it'll be much less relevant

True, but only because it's currently heavily promoted by the NRL. That'll wane as the NRL globalises

The growth of the NRL isn't really connected to SOO. It's to do with NRL club expansion into new territory, WA, NZ, PNG the USA and the UK at the moment, as well as the Pacific Islands. SOO has been great, but will naturally no longer be the big draw it has been in the past as the competition has become already bigger than two states and will only continue to get bigger. SOO will become less relevant. The NRL will plug it much less and then bin it.