Pulga

See if you can catch some Digicel Cup. The standard is amazing. I'd probably watch it over the NRL if it was easy to access and the broadcast was a good standard.

Mead has retired from the game.

You're wrong. It's fairly simple. Hell, there's whole cultures and nationalities that don't have their own land. Bigots like Paul Kent and yourself don't seem to understand culture at all. The grandparent rule is there for a reason. There's also a reason why the IRL hasn't asked you for your input.

You gotta win the whole shebang first sorry.

Yeah, I don't want to derail this thread but the heritage rules are the same in both codes except to switch nations it you have to muck around more in RU.

You fundamentally don't understand how the union squads are comprised. https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/which-team-at-the-rugby-world-cup-has-the-most-foreignborn-players-145345219.html Do we have to listen to old white men commentate on how people should feel in a cultural context? EVERY.DAMN.TIME You do not get it. You don't understand the cultural significance behind these players choosing the nation they, very rightly, have. Why does this very specific demographic have to chirp up every time this subject is brought up? I'm gonna call this out every time it happens too.

Ok, so apart from the dozen roosters fans, we, as Australians don't really take it seriously.

We're not quite at AFL's level.... yet.

I'm not really sure. Would the $1.5m be split between just the 17 players? Would it go to staff too? Would it be used to offset the cost of the event? I'm not sure it would make a difference.

Do you mean Auckland 9s? I think the main problem is the perceived low quality of Super League. It's a novelty not to be taken seriously.

To Aussies the WCC is not much more than a gimmick. It seems the English take it much more seriously.

So a completely different set of people to the ones running the RLWC?

Which corrupt people?

Milford is at the Knights (now technically the Dolphins?), Papali'i is at Raiders and HTF is at the Cowboys. Samoa is definitely stronger than Tonga at this stage.

I can't believe the price kit suppliers charge teams at the grassroots. Not sure it's the same in England but it's a rort here. I'm working on helping my local club to supply all their supporter range at a fraction of the cost.

I'm interested to know what everyone thinks would happen if Samoa beat England. Would the press destroy England? Would the fans riot in the streets? Would anyone care?

That really only caters to the top 20 or so nations. It would absolutely destroy the smaller nations. The current eligibility rules are basically as good as they can be for everyone now.

I'm trying to think of any English players who would make the Australian team. England could be in massive trouble against Samoa.

The Bulldogs relocation was a joke. I don't actually believe relocation would succeed at all with any club.

I'd take Leigh at this stage.

Are any Super League clubs publicly traded? Brisbane Broncos are over here.

Move the Bulldogs there and drop the "-Bankstown" part of their name. Then add Perth Pirates and we're all good to go

Not much to add to this besides how successful the Qld Cup Dolphins are. They're in the GF next week. Would be surprising not to have a few of those boys step up to the NRL club. Obviously the Dolphins weren't the ideal "expansion" but Qld and Brisbane are underserviced. The state is Rugby League mad. It's as much of a sure thing as you can get. NZ2 has to be the 18th club. Enormous player pool, instant rivalry, brand new stadium, hinders union and the NZ TV deal is comparable to Super League and Oz Union's total TV deal which would entirely pay for central funding.

Definitely not too big to fail. The game is all but dead here. It's literally propped up by loans and poaching pacific island players.

I guess I am interested but probably the least interested incould be. This combination of Grand Finalists is probably the least interesting. It's also why I was happy the Storm and Roosters were knocked out of the NRL finals last week. The same teams winning gets stale. Unfortunately for SL there has been such a small amount of winners.