The Rocket

I`ve no doubt P.N.G. would be over the moon to have an NRL team but basing it out of another country would be a slap in the face, they probably would feel it really wasn`t theirs. Imagine having a team that only fly in a couple of days before game day, and probably stay in 5-star accommodation to boot. A real team of the people. Behind the big name sponsors every team has scores of small companies that get behind them. P.N.G. has a very small economy and to further compound the problem their supporters are very poor. There`s just not the $30m it takes to run an NRL team. It`s a ludicrous idea that might have legs in 50 years. If the Australian Gov`t want to use League to increase engagement with PI countries to provide a bulwark against Chinese encroachment in the Pacific by all means spend money on League, but let`s make it more realistic. Development dollars on the ground and pathways into the NSW and QLD Cup competitions would be massive for a start. Apparently there was a school boys and girls tour to Fiji a couple of weeks ago, first time in decades the whole thing a rip-roaring success, more of this sort of stuff.

The Australian Government are starting to give me the #######. The same week they are talking about reviewing the anti-syphoning laws potentially limiting what streaming companies might be able to bid on our next broadcast deal and which could cost us a motza at the next broadcast rights negotiations they are coming up with ####-eyed plans for teams in P.N.G. What bloody star player is going to move to P.N.G. for christs sake, where will all the scores of small companies that sponsor N.R.L. clubs come from. ###### clueless.

Must be his accent.

Got to say the excitement levels are really rising around my house as well. Very hard to not get caught up in the hype and excitement on here. Have signed up to Kayo for the tournament and am going to be an absolute zombie at work on Sunday morning. But if it`s as good as everything seems will be floating on cloud nine all day. One thing I`m particularly looking forward to is them carrying out the Paul Barriere Trophy into the stadium. I`m sincerely hoping French Rugby League can be what the Pacific Islands and New Zealand are to us.

Thanks for all of that. How much revenue do you expect would have been raised from all these broadcast deals. Even a rough figure would be interesting.

" Gulp ".

Lot of talk over here about a game being played in the U.S. American businessman Paul Langi Kinikini has previously made attempts to bring a game of Rugby League to America in 2020, when he offered the international rugby league board a seven-figure proposal to help move the Tonga v Samoa test match. Langi Kanikini has kept hopes alive for an international game of NRL, attempting to bring a game to Utah due to its large Polynesian population. “He (Paul Langi Kinikini) has personally pitched this, he was in Sydney recently, he met up with Peter V'landys, Andrew Abdo and the commission, they listened very intently to what he had to say. This bloke Kinikini made his money in software so he`s no dummy, word is he is so confident the game would be a success that he has promised to underwrite it, and this is a club game not an international as mentioned above. A lot of talk about how he`s close friends with Dwayne Johnson (the actor) and would use him to promote the game. That`s probably speculation but sounds great. Either way would be great if we could tie this all in with a push for the U.S. to host the 2029 WC, we get some traction there, combined with the U.K. and French tournaments and we might finally start to see it get the recognition it deserves down here.

No you`re not. Peter V`landy`s and Andrew Abdo have replaced Wayne Pearce and Peter Beattie on the IRL Board. Whether he admits it or not V`landy`s is under pressure following our main rival over heres` latest broadcast deal. By most estimates tripling the gap between the two codes after slowly narrowing it over the last ~10 years. I`d suggest that V`landy`s is now seriously looking at anyway that he can use to bridge that gulf, hence the new found interest in International Rugby League. Our best hope for this is that it may be a case of private greed leading to public good.

Apologies if this has already been reported but the Australian Women`s Rugby League team, the Jillaroos, will earn $ 30 000 AUS ( 17 000 pound ) each for the 5 week tournament. Not bad for five weeks work. Fantastic news for Australian Women`s Rugby League.

I`m a St. George supporter and no johnny-come-lately on the Gareth Widdop popularity stakes. People refer to player`s having class, Widdop oozed class and you could have played him anywhere in the backline and he would have been a star. I was a big fan.

I think a massive difference with this WC is that these Island teams are coming into it with the genuine belief that they can win, unlike previous tournaments where they probably knew they were only making up numbers and also on holiday with their mates, a fatal combination. This time they are riding the wave of this cultural identity pride phenomenon that is sweeping the world, amplified by the recognition of how good the Pacific Islanders are at Rugby League ( > 50% of NRL players; absolutely dominating in the junior ranks coming through ) - a deadly combination. These blokes have nothing to lose and everything to gain, watch as they steamroll other teams early and then tear them to shreds after that.

If anyone is not picking anyone but Oz they need their hearts testing.

I`d go so far as saying though that both results are a positive for the up-coming WC. England having a big win gives them cred in the eyes of the public and New Zealand`s big win against a high profile team gives them an aura of being a very powerful team, what you want for one of the main participants in an international tournament.

I like the way they`ve done the football.

Grounds for a defamation suit ?

Wow, so instead of inching northwest at about 10cm`s per year with the rest of the Indo-Pacific plate, what direction do you expect Papua New Guinea to head in.

And apparently unsurprisingly numbers surged, and why wouldn`t they. Out of my three only one played, I can guarantee all three would have played had this been in place 20 years ago. BTW only one of them follows the League closely these days, and he`s the one who actually played.

Outlaw all that in the tackle, because if that`s how you win competitions, then wake me up when it`s over. Because eventually they will outlaw it, because that stuff isn`t going to attract and keep new fans. Even the idiot Johns had a bit of a dig on the FTA coverage tonight about Penrith`s defensive tactics, and that`s saying something.

Dunbar I said that exact same thing to my son not 5 minutes ago when he rang me after the game. Ivan Cleary has realised what Melbourne did on the ground with the wrestle and was eventually outlawed, you can now do legally if you keep the player off the ground. Pure ###### tactical genius.

I watched about 20 minutes total of the whole game, Penrith`s relentless lift and drag back is against the spirit of the game for me, suffocates opposition teams attack and makes games unbearable to watch. I thought the whole point of the tackle was to get the opposing player to the ground, not the opposite. Showcase games like this deserve better.

Prevaricated.

I can`t disagree with a lot of your first paragraph. We have a bad habit of doing that over here and sometimes I think it only makes the situation worse. Players start thinking their talent deserves better than our relatively small NRL. Your second paragraph, I don`t do the stats thing like you but yeah he certainly didn`t stand-out any more than a number of other wingers and when you look back on any number of outstanding 18 year olds that have burst onto the scene over the last 40 years, he`s well down the list. But don`t get me wrong, he could be a very solid, and often dangerous full-back for a team that goes deep into the Cup, he`ll learn fast.

I know I`d be saying "who is this kid ? christ he must be good." Bit like all the raps we were hearing about an 18 year old Garry Schofield before he toured back in the day. Some players are just precocious enough and have a level of confidence perhaps we can`t relate to, and the ability to probably rise to the challenge in a way that is hard to comprehend. C`mon, absolutely nothing. Full back from year dot to 18`s, rep games, everything, literally hundreds of games, thousands and thousands of hours. I would suggest it counts for a great deal. And especially for one with such a commanding presence and confidence like young Sua`ali`i.

The evidence keeps piling up. Parramatta Eels chief executive Jim Sarantinos said the club did a review earlier this year to identify how to grow the game of rugby league. With both their women’s and men’s teams in the NRL grand final, Sarantinos said they will look to capitalise on this opportunity but are already exploring how to engage more junior players — and to do that will look to establish more “non contact’’ versions of the game. “One of the key drivers in this review is to look at the impact of the changing participation model, especially the positive influence non-contact versions of the game can have in growing the game,” Sarantinos said. “Touch and tag are growing significantly both in our catchment and across the country. Research is showing that these versions of the game have some of the highest participation rates of any sport in key areas across western Sydney. This represents a significant opportunity for the Eels and our Junior League Clubs in the coming years.” Penrith’s Mairleitner points out they too are teaching the non-contact version of rugby league Recently when Blacktown Council put two grounds out to tender at the new Schofields development, a junior rugby league club won the bid over Australian rules football and soccer – and they will teach a modified game there. “We only put a club there last week; the Schofields Crusaders which will neighbour three other historical clubs which helps protect the foundation of what our district is all about,” Mairletner said. “We put a junior club, a six to 12 (age group) club in there …. that’s our way of trying to get into that new community, and rather than teach the international game of football, let’s teach the modified tag way.” It`s just a no-brainer really.

Don`t worry, he`s been on here 5 minutes and told me to get off the forum !! @ sydneyfeatherduster.