ghost crayfish

Not a bad shout, but it would mean no more Origin. He might be tempted now that Reece Walsh has emerged so impressively, but I doubt he'd make that call this year.

Fair enough, though I never said the 4N weren't credible - I actually said I support them. I enjoyed them, thought they were successful, and agree that letting them die was ridiculous. What I did say is that they didn't feed the rivalry between the major nations as much as I'd like. I want to see England and Australia have the chance to settle things over a series, at least occasionally, rather than only ever playing each other once or at best twice - in a tournament setting. Perhaps this is the cricket fan in me, or maybe it comes from following State of Origin. Regardless, I want to see them. Your rugby union example discounts that their calendar does have a variety of events that help to feed the storylines, like GB Lions tours, series against SH nations home and away, etc. This is actually the variety of formats that I am essentially saying we need to replicate - and have said in other comments I hope England make mid-season space for an annual tournament with other NH nations - again, replicating the rugby union example you pointed to above.

Agree. It's madness that the NRL went away from the international weekend. They should at least have one weekend every year for games like this. Samoa v Tonga would probably fill Allianz Stadium, if not Accor. Going back to that controversial word 'narrative', I believe a full test weekend, including Australia, after Origin is a must. This isn't just for the other nations, it's for Australia and to enhance State of Origin too - the 'selection battle' element of the origin story line has disappeared, but it adds so much to it. The lure of post-series test jerseys made individual battles like Langer v Stuart or Walters v Elias a key part of the origin narrative. It's gone now, so the Sydney media just speculate on NSW team selections instead...

I suspect this is pointless, but I'll make one more attempt. If you're a follower of other sports, you're surely familiar with these kinds of conversations: "we should blood X player in this series, to give them experience before we tour X next year." ... or "we've won our last series against *lesser opposition* so hopefully if X players kick on from this, we should be in with a good chance next year against X"... Ashes series were always a big talking point in Australia, even in conversation that was otherwise about the club competition - kangaroo tour years had an added glow of anticipation about them that other years just didn't have, and speculation about who might make the tour was constant. Nowadays, it comes up a bit in World Cup years, but otherwise not at all. If you dot the schedule with 'special events', out of the norm, it adds hype. You don't get those story lines if you play basically the same tournament every year. You also don't build up rivalry against nations by playing what is essentially an endless series of annual one-off tests (even if the sit as part of a tournament) against them. I believe that happens better over a 3-match series. So, by mixing those in among regular 4N tournaments and world cups, which I also support, we introduce a variety of formats and opponents, promote rivalry and introduce a build up to big series.

Given I explained what I meant by narrative, with an example and specific comparison to another sport, I doubt there's much point trying to explain myself further now... we obviously don't quite agree, and that's fine.

Obviously there's still a bit of detail that needs to come, but the proposed calendar seems better to me than a decade of 4 Nations every year. Mixing it up with Ashes series and other tours creates much more variety and opportunity for narrative to develop. Eg. 'We've got an Ashes series next year, is xxxx ready for it?' is such a common discussion item in cricket, and could be in rugby league too. But I completely agree about the importance of mid-year games and home matches every year.

In the short term (at least) I think it's good and important for England to play SH opposition every year - they can't go into an Ashes tour on the back of only playing France, Wales and Scotland the year before. That said, England clearly do need to build up the NH international scene, and have to prioritise that as well. To that end, I'm interested to see if the Super League season will be shortened, as IMG recommended, with possible space for more mid-year test football. Ireland can definitely put together a team that can compete - if the likes of Currie play for them - as can France, particularly if Toulouse are in Super League and another 10 frenchmen are getting regular top tier action.

Given how many English and Australians are currently in that team, I'd say the impact would be minor... It would be good to actually see their Super League-quality French backs get a game!

Fair enough. I think it's a good thing for the Southern Hemisphere at least. With the Ashes and Kiwi tours locked into the schedule, Australia and NZ have a pretty strong and varied international calendar that should promote continued growth in the Pacific. So all positive there. It obviously isolates England a little bit from the big nations, but this might finally force them to lead a more coherent approach to NH test football, which would be a positive. Toulouse are a must in Super League now to help bring France along.

Does it say anywhere the supposed 4N for 2024 is not a Northern Hemisphere 4N, with England hosting a tournament including Australia and NZ (or Samoa)? I haven't seen it confirmed either way the wheres or whos of that 4N.

That team above looks pretty close, but Kotoni Staggs, Eliesa Katoa and Tevita Pangai Jr. are others that I'd have there, and Will Hopoate has always been an important player for Tonga and should be in the mix. Otherwise, just on the basis that it's like-for-like and he is actually Tongan born, I'd probably go with Hurrell over Talakai. This highlights there is decent depth to Tonga and they will be a strong challenge for England.

I agree that 10 teams is a bit too small, but there is a balance between giving developing nations a go and protecting the integrity and quality of the competition. To me, 16 teams was too many to present the RLWC as a world class sporting event. Last year's tournament was mostly predictable floggings and it is no way to promote the game as a credible elite sport, having a tournament where half of the teams are amateurish and/or only have heritage players. I would be surprised if feedback from broadcasters, particularly in the southern hemisphere where the next one will be hosted, hasn't influenced the decision to cut back on numbers. I know back in 2008 when the RLWC was brought back, Channel 9 in Australia lobbied hard to have a 4 Nations instead of a World Cup, for fear of lack of competitiveness - that is why the 'Super Group' format was developed. To me, Australia, England, NZ, France and PNG are the 5 genuine rugby league playing nations, and then we have some other countries where there is a respectable presence/support/history of it, such as Wales, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. Those 9 nations should be guaranteed a spot. After that, the question is, how many other teams do we want? Another 7 is a big stretch. I don't mind a couple of true minnows, but surely 3 out of the rest is enough - whether we go the way of decent heritage sides like Ireland, Scotland and Lebanon, or look to encourage countries where the game is growing, like Jamaica or Canada, becomes the question, because I don't think we can do both and have a successful and profitable tournament.

Having a game like this played in isolation won't be any good, definitely agree with that. But position it in the calendar as a genuine selection trial and it might help to create rivalry and a sense of context. So for me, it's not about either a roses game or a test, it's about having both. I think England should kick off its season with an England v International All Stars game - it not only gives England a hit out, it introduces new overseas players and could be a higher profile a vehicle to promote the new Super League season. Then later in the year, a roses game, then a few weeks later, a test against France, or if they refuse to take it seriously, Ireland. The roses game becomes a selection trial, which in itself creates talking points that fuel rivalry - who is under pressure after a poor All Stars game? Who is gunning for their spot? etc. If the SL season is reduced as IMG has suggested, there is room for more events like this.

Added to that, I think George Williams is in the top level of halfbacks and Tommy Makinson, while getting older, also remains in the top rung of wingers. If guys like Will Pryce and Harry Newman can really kick on and fulfil their potential, England will field a pretty hot backline for the next little while - just hoping they get a chance to play Australia with it!

Agree with the DavidM above, right at the top. I think he's a better and more consistent centre than Joey Manu - quicker and more elusive. As a Broncos fan, I'm gutted he's going to the Dolphins next year. He is good now, but still improving too. To the original question, I think for this year they should have both Wardle and Newman in the squad and select on end of season form at the time - simple as that. They're both good players. I think Newman has more promise, but Wardle more experience and polish. Dom Young is one for the future in the centres and could easily be a top liner there, but needs to move there at club level first obviously. Another possible future option is Will Pryce? He might get a bit bigger in time, and it's hard to see him playing 1 or 6 for Newcastle next year.

This is completely spot on.

Is the original post a p*ss take? Sharp mind? Kent is an aggressive, arrogant and wilfully ignorant bully who peddles rubbish fuelled by personal agenda. Unfortunately, it's saying very little of his fellow panellists to say he was the smart one, but sadly you may be right - Phil Rothfield and James Hooper are embarrassing. Still, losing Kent from the show can only be a good thing.

If it isn't Australia, I'm gonna throw a massive social media hissy fit at the NRL.

Great news this series is going ahead - hopefully an Ashes series (or 4N involving Aus and NZ) can be announced for 2024 soon. That sense of narrative is really important for sport. A big selling point for this series should be that it's part of preparations for an Ashes series (or other comparable major series against Australia) and a World Cup to follow.

NRL 360 is an embarrassment. Stopped watching about a year ago and it was an excellent decision.

Would've loved to see Ryan Hall sprint 60 metres and run around Joseph Suaalii to score that try in the opener.

I think that's the ideal solution. As great as that 4N lineup would be, we can't hog the big 4 SH sides and leave England begging Fiji to come over. Of course, we shouldn't be having these conversations going into April. We should have it locked in years in advance. International sport isn't just about isolated sporting contests, it's about the narrative. England should be playing Tonga this year, in preparation for an Ashes series next year that has tickets on sale. That creates so many extra talking points - seeing which younger players look ready to play Australia next year etc.

Spot on. The club is in a bad spot and going backwards. Young is a bit dicey under the high ball occasionally and sometimes gets lost in defence - no surprise for someone new to playing on the wing and playing in a poorly coached, poor performing team. His raw ability is obvious, as his trajectory of improvement over the last 2 years. This is a blip and nothing to worry about. He will fly at the Roosters, whether he plays centre or wing.

Agree with the above, but the key is doing both. FTA for visibility, paywall for money. If Channel 4 coverage can be increased to 1 game a week, that would give SL more visibility than ever, particularly if Channel 4 lifted their support of the game with a weekly panel/highlights show. If that happened, it would give SL the opportunity to look purely for the cash with the rest of its games - the increased visibility of Sky over someone like Amazon would be less of a factor, and they can look purely for the most money, using whatever model.

Huddersfield are an obvious contender, as are St Helens, Wigan and Catalans. I'd also throw Salford in as a roughie, with some good luck on the injury front. Warrington and Leeds are other top 4 threats, but I don't see them as having much chance of finishing top. Castleford are possibly in that boat too. All in all, makes for an interesting season!