Pulga

Much like every sport it's a sliding scale. But for some reason RL has the biggest fit about it. We deserve what we get at the end of the day.

And you'll say Australia need to play England more while England haven't won in 30 years. The fact is we know exactly how this plays out. We've seen it in Japan, Georgia and Uruguay in RU. But we're too stupid and reactionary.

These are PRECISELY the things we need in a WC. We want the feelgood moment. It doesn't have to be an either/or situation. We had those moments AND we had games like Aus v NZ that are pure quality. The fact that people think that it's a poor reflection on the game are delusional. Nobody thinks about RL to start with.

And the people who believe reducing the teams to prevent blowouts would have Samoa ejected after the opening game. Or is there a healthy dose of cognitive dissonance involved in this type of thinking?

Do you need reminding about who made the final? The same team that lost the opening game 60 - 6.

"Pretend teams" don't really exist. It is an idiotic statement. Nobody gets anything out of rugby league outside of the NRL, SL, Kangaroos, England and NZ. Anyone outside of those organisations are doing it for the love.

I doubt it. They never play. Look up Blatchys Blues, the NSW SOO fan club. It started out as a bunch of mates that all dressed the same for a mates birthday at a SOO and he ended up selling it to the NSWRL for around $500,000.

I don't have Stan. They have the union rights in Aus so I've had no reason to get it. Being a massive Wayne Bennett fan though I really want to see it. I've heard good things.

I wish I shared that optimism. I can see the NRL continue to surge ahead but I think SL will be left behind which will mean Australia will find playing England less and less appealing. The same is true about France. They just can't seem to put it together and England don't want to play them. Maybe we'll see the Pacific nations surge ahead and with it more internationals but I fear it doesn't make enough financial sense. Outside of those nations I can't see anything on the horizon but continued neglect and apathy. What do they have to look forward to?

Find a player that went from an English football club to an Australian football club and post about it.

Hard choice for Dom Young. 29,548 in Newcastle or 5,263 at Huddersfield.

We really don't need to change anything. We need a World Cup that consistently grows. The only time that will happen is when we have good leadership. Right now we don't. How can the IRL lose host nations TWICE? It's an unbelievable lack of due diligence. And now we're back to cost cutting. I don't believe the IRL believe their own lies in saying that they're reducing number to make it "more elite".

He is such a talent. Still a little to do in defence but he's young (ha!).

I'll have to check this out. I caught up with Lee in person a few weeks back after being online acquaintances for quite a few years. He's a great bloke.

How many League 1 players did Toronto unearth from their combines?

The short answer is no. The level of incompetence in the international game is staggering even by rugby league standards. And as someone who has volunteered thousands and thousands of hours for developing nations it's hard to even care anymore.

The NRL has extended it's lead over the AFL in TV ratings to 18m viewers over the H&W season. Last year it was around 12m.

That's a very English RL viewpoint where your local club could (only) hypothetically climb the ladder to SL. Some NRL clubs don't have a focus on juniors and make it work. That's professional sport. The Storm have demonstrated that they are an elite club in everything that is important.

It's not like any of that isn't being done. I think Victoria is having one of their biggest ever years at the grassroots. But it's going to take generations to produce players.

You're right but having no locally developed players doesn't matter at all.

Tbf it's one tweet.

Nobody's arguing that. The AFL is better run than the NRL. No doubt. The thing is that Poms whinging about player development are barking up the wrong tree when the Storm are bigger than any two SL clubs combined. If England could focus on what's important they could see progress in their game.

And the divisions below the AFL. And rugby union in Victoria and whatever other sports. I'm trying to find it but there was a infographic comparing pro sports in California to the whole of Australia. While California only has about 10m more people, Australia has 10x more professional sports teams. What the Storm are up against is insane and what they have accomplished even more so. There is absolutely no excuse for anyone.