Australia vs Tonga in Hawaii

[londonrlfan]

4 hours ago, DlEHARD said:

One thing is for sure we should focus our efforts on Hawaii IMO.

I agree. If we want to try and break America, we need to use the areas neglected of top class sports. I know NYC, LA, Boston etc are the dream, but they're stacked with sports teams. Hawaii has no big four team, Louisville is another, as is Austin. Just some places where we should be trying to promote RL imo. 

[bobbruce]

11 minutes ago, The Great Dane said:

Except the mid-season window isn't officially recognised by the NRL, or if it is they haven't announced it or made any noise about it at all and the clubs and RLPA say they weren't consulted and have concerns, and frankly if the RLPA and clubs weren't consulted then it wasn't officially agreed to by the NRL, and if it was agreed to by the NRL at all it was only in principle and not in practice.

It's ok to say "ive no idea". 

[londonrlfan]

9 hours ago, Copa said:

I Agree. If the plan is to capitalise on their recent form it should be played in NZ or Australia which have huge expat populations.

But that's not really building on RL in Tonga though, it's keeping it as an expat sport. If we really want to go into Tonga, the NRL clubs should be sending scouts over there, like they did in Fiji..

[deluded pom?]

35 minutes ago, londonrlfan said:

But that's not really building on RL in Tonga though, it's keeping it as an expat sport. If we really want to go into Tonga, the NRL clubs should be sending scouts over there, like they did in Fiji..

Did the NRL clubs send scouts to Fiji or were Fittler and Johns on holiday?

[Kayakman]

10 hours ago, Copa said:

I was in Hawaii for a few hours nearly 30 years ago. The only thing I clearly remember from my brief stop there is adults using chewing gum! 

Whats wrong with adults using chewing gum?...come on Copa, its HAWAII man, why didn't you visit Danno while you were there.

[Jace]

What happens in Hawaii hardly carries over to mainland USA. If the goal of this game is expansion into the US then it's obviously a waste of time

[Copa]

54 minutes ago, deluded pom? said:

Did the NRL clubs send scouts to Fiji or were Fittler and Johns on holiday?

The Raiders have an academy in Fiji these days.... not sure what the others are doing.

[westside]

1 hour ago, Jace said:

What happens in Hawaii hardly carries over to mainland USA. If the goal of this game is expansion into the US then it's obviously a waste of time

Maybe NRL clubs are interested in Hawaii for academies.

[Big Picture]

18 hours ago, westside said:

Hope this happens. Was disappointed the Denver test fell apart so quickly.

 

Meninga thinking that a match between Australia and Tonga in Hawaii is the way to "expose our game to the people over there" shows how clueless he is about what's needed to gain that exposure.  The proposed Denver match between New Zealand and England would be far better for that purpose.

Denver is both the home of a successful NFL team and only a short drive from the campus of an NCAA Division 1A school whose gridiron team plays in one the 5 NCAA Division 1A power conferences and an alumnus of that team (Akarika Dawn) has successfully transitioned to RL.  It's just 2 hours behind the east coast, meaning that a 1 PM start would be 3 PM in New York and 8 PM in the UK, good times for TV across the US and Canada and in western Europe too.  New Zealand represents the same country as the one "rugby" team of any description which the general sports fan in these parts has even heard of (the All Blacks) so NZ vs. England has market appeal in a way which Australia vs. Tonga simply does not — outside of Hawaii it might be difficult to find many Usonians who've even heard of Tonga.

This proposed Hawaii match has none of those advantages.  It's 3 time zones further west, so far out of the US mainstream that no one in North America ever thinks much about the place, and only a morning kickoff would ever work for TV here or in Europe.  It would involve the wrong teams playing in the wrong place to achieve the desired result.

For promotional matches here to make the desired impact in this crowded sports market they have to be very well planned with everything accounted for and covered off.  Teams which won't be draws to the general sports fan here playing in such a out-of-the-way place won't cut it.

[westside]

I thought Denver was a good choice for logistical reasons you outline and was planning to attend. However it fell apart in somewhat embarrassing fashion, like a week after it was announced. Hawaii ticks other boxes. No pro sports and the greatest concentration of both Pacific Islanders (Tongans, Samoans) and Polynesians (when you add Native Hawaiians) of any state. The Polynesian culture is strong there and only grows with more arrivals from Tonga etc.

I was watching Washington State vs Michigan State football last night and the best player for Washington State was an undersized lineman from Hawaii who was blasting guys 50 pounds heavier off the ball. With the awesome name of Hercules. It will be a production line for RL or RU players whenever someone sets up an academy there. Some talented kids actually don't want to move from the Islands and get home sick, so a local pro sport of any kind would get their attention.

These are fans of a local high school football power there, Kahuku. They could all easily become RL fans with the right promotion. You aren't going to see stuff like this on the mainland.

 

[Big Picture]

6 minutes ago, westside said:

I thought Denver was a good choice for logistical reasons you outline and was planning to attend. However it fell apart in somewhat embarrassing fashion, like a week after it was announced. Hawaii ticks other boxes. No pro sports and the greatest concentration of both Pacific Islanders (Tongans, Samoans) and Polynesians (when you add Native Hawaiians) of any state. The Polynesian culture is strong there and only grows with more arrivals from Tonga etc.

I was watching Washington State vs Michigan State football last night and the best player for Washington State was an undersized lineman from Hawaii who was blasting guys 50 pounds heavier off the ball. With the awesome name of Hercules. It will be a production line for RL or RU players whenever someone sets up an academy there. Some talented kids actually don't want to move from the Islands and get home sick, so a local pro sport of any kind would get their attention.

These are fans of a local high school football power there, Kahuku. They could all easily become RL fans with the right promotion. You aren't going to see stuff like this on the mainland.

 

In fact that match was the "Holiday Bowl" played in San Diego, i.e. on the US mainland.  It's the mainland fans who need to be reached in order to have a successful World Cup in 2025, and for that the promotion must all be geared to the mainland.  Mainland events can reach Hawaii, but the reverse doesn't usually happen;

[Kayakman]

12 minutes ago, westside said:

I thought Denver was a good choice for logistical reasons you outline and was planning to attend. However it fell apart in somewhat embarrassing fashion, like a week after it was announced. Hawaii ticks other boxes.

These are fans of a local high school football power there, Kahuku. They could all easily become RL fans with the right promotion. You aren't going to see stuff like this on the mainland.

 

Great clip and with the Polynesian angle rugby could go big there...I honestly think that we will have to go with whatever venue/games are offered...we can get to it and make it work anywhere...we are not in the drivers seat right now.

And Hawaii is a state (although a small one) but it could be the beach head of much larger things and has potential (if marketed and televised properly), we in NA have to take whatever bone is thrown to us and make it into a steak.  If this is Toronto, Boston, NY, Denver or Hawaii so be it...we will put that North American spirit, know how and 'Can Do' attitude to work and be successful...then they will have to listen!

Great clip, with basic building material like these folks how can we fail?

[Big Picture]

34 minutes ago, Kayakman said:

Great clip and with the Polynesian angle rugby could go big there...I honestly think that we will have to go with whatever venue/games are offered...we can get to it and make it work anywhere...we are not in the drivers seat right now.

And Hawaii is a state (although a small one) but it could be the beach head of much larger things and has potential (if marketed and televised properly), we in NA have to take whatever bone is thrown to us and make it into a steak.  If this is Toronto, Boston, NY, Denver or Hawaii so be it...we will put that North American spirit, know how and 'Can Do' attitude to work and be successful...then they will have to listen!

Great clip, with basic building material like these folks how can we fail?

That was San Diego though, not Honululu.

[westside]

What was San Diego? The YouTube clip is from the Hawaii high school football playoffs at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.

[The Great Dane]

8 hours ago, bobbruce said:

It's ok to say "ive no idea". 

This whole international window thing seems to be an accepted fact in England, but nobody in Australia has heard anything about it.

Apart from a couple of articles from Steve Mascord that are from after the fact, literally nobody in this country was talking about, they've been no pieces or quotes from the NRL about it, nothing from the NRL clubs protesting it as you'd would expect (until after the fact at least, in the Mascord articles), no talk on the talk shows about how it'll effect the NRL season and SOO, not even an offical announcement from the NRL, nothing.

From down here it really does look like the RFL have opened up the same weekend as the NRL's rep weekend and then they and the RLIF have decided to call it the an international window without approval or consultation from the NRL, in other words it really looks like they just did it and expected the NRL to go along with it and that's not how it works.

[deluded pom?]

I’m having a severe bout of deja vu.

[eal]

Just play the game in Auckland, very simple really. Auckland is essentially the capital of Tonga and is easy to get to for the players.

[roughyedspud]

18 hours ago, The Great Dane said:

Except the mid-season window isn't officially recognised by the NRL, or if it is they haven't announced it or made any noise about it at all and the clubs and RLPA say they weren't consulted and have concerns, and frankly if the RLPA and clubs weren't consulted then it wasn't officially agreed to by the NRL, and if it was agreed to by the NRL at all it was only in principle and not in practice.

It was announced last may Dane

http://www.rlwc2017.com/news/england-and-nz-set-play-annual-mid-season-test

Quote

The Rugby League International Federation this month announced that the representative weekend that has been staged by the NRL in recent seasons, with no club matches, would be extended across the game

Games arranged so far for June 21-22  2018 are

Tonga v Samoa 

PNG v Lebanon

Fiji v NZ or NZ v England depending on who stops being silly

With more games to be arranged..

[HKR AWAY DAYS]

On 29/12/2017 at 7:26 AM, The Great Dane said:

Wouldn't hold my breath if I was you.

This talk of a game in Hawaii comes up every couple of years and nothing ever comes of it.

I've promised my mate that I'll meet him in Hawaii next year so this would be perfect timing!

[The Great Dane]

5 hours ago, roughyedspud said:

It was announced last may Dane

http://www.rlwc2017.com/news/england-and-nz-set-play-annual-mid-season-test

Games arranged so far for June 21-22  2018 are

Tonga v Samoa 

PNG v Lebanon

Fiji v NZ or NZ v England depending on who stops being silly

With more games to be arranged..

That still isn't talk from Australia it's an announcement made by the RLIF, it doesn't suggest any input from the NRL.

And all those games would have gone ahead anyway whether or not the international window was invented as part of the NRLs Rep Weekend.

[bobbruce]

3 minutes ago, The Great Dane said:

That still isn't talk from Australia it's an announcement made by the RLIF, it doesn't suggest any input from the NRL.

And all those games would have gone ahead anyway whether or not the international window was invented as part of the NRLs Rep Weekend.

So we should be happy with NRL internationals. The only involvement the NRL or SL should have is to sign of the international windows. 

[roughyedspud]

43 minutes ago, The Great Dane said:

That still isn't talk from Australia it's an announcement made by the RLIF, it doesn't suggest any input from the NRL.

And all those games would have gone ahead anyway whether or not the international window was invented as part of the NRLs Rep Weekend.

It was agreed with the NRL & SL! that's why SL worked a free weekend into their schedule to coincide with the NRL moving origin to a weekend and the pacific  series the same weekend!

None of that would have happened without RLIF,NRL & SL Co-operation!

Stop being a troll lol

[The Great Dane]

2 hours ago, scotchy1 said:

I mean, apart from the David Smith being Deputy Chairman of the RLIF, Andrew Hill being the Secretary of the RLIF and John Grant being a board member of the RLIF, it doesnt suggest any input from the Aussies. 

Firstly David Smith isn't with the NRL anymore, secondly Andrew Hill and John Grant don't have the power to unilaterally make decisions for the NRL, nor would they dare do so cause Politis, Dib, Pappas, and co would have their heads.

1 hour ago, roughyedspud said:

It was agreed with the NRL & SL! that's why SL worked a free weekend into their schedule to coincide with the NRL moving origin to a weekend and the pacific  series the same weekend!

None of that would have happened without RLIF,NRL & SL Co-operation!

Stop being a troll lol

Prove it!

All it would take to prove that the NRL was consulted and agreed would be one article or one quote from the NRL from before it actually happened talking about the potential of it happening and or saying that they were in talks about it with the RLIF, as far as I can find no such articles or quotes exist, that's not to say that they don't exist only that if they do I can't find them and I've looked.

Again there has been basically no talk about it in Australia until after the fact, none of the things you'd expect to happen with news like this has happened, no speculation about it and the effects it'll have on the NRL and/or SOO, no protest from the NRL clubs and Sydney media hacks saying that it's the end of the world for the sport and the clubs.

Take the moving of the ANZAC test to the off season, the Auckland Nines, or CVC being cancelled, these ideas were suggested, talked about, and speculated about for years and years before they were actually changed, and basically everybody that it effected got a say in the matter and those opinions were broadcast everywhere, and when it finally did happen there were big announcements from the NRL in the media and on their websites, etc, none of that happened this time, and that'd be a pretty extraordinary occurrence.  

 All of the media and talk about it seems to be coming from England and RLIF people, not Australians or people at the NRL, but the really damning thing in my eyes is that the RLPA says that they knew nothing about it and that they have concerns (the clubs say the same BTW), it'd be incredibly irregular for the RLPA to not know about things like this that effect it's members before it has happened, and for them to not have been given a chance to voice their concerns, it'd create a publicity sh!t show for the NRL if they were to do something like that and it came out, the articles about their lack of concern for player well fair alone would be disastrous PR for the NRL, it simply doesn't follow the normal pattern of how things like this happen down here.

[The Great Dane]

23 hours ago, scotchy1 said:

And who was NRL CEO David Smith replaced with? Oh thats right, Acting CEO John Grant. 

So besides the Ex-CEO of the NRL, the Acting CEO of the NRL, the Chairman of the ARLC, and the NRL General Manager of League Integration and Game Development/CEO of the RLWC The NRL had no say at all.

 

Todd Greenberg took over as CEO of the NRL in March 2016, more then a year before Roughyedspuds article was published.

They also do not have the power to unilaterally make decisions for the NRL without consulting the necessary parties (not even the CEO does), the NRL clubs, RLPA, NSWRL, and QRL, all would have had to be consulted about a decision like this, and according to at least two of them they were not...

And if it turned out that the NRL (or certain people at the NRL) had agreed to something like this (such as in a binding agreement, and not just in principle) then that would be the end of their careers at the NRL, they'd be slaughtered by the clubs and RLPA.

[Kayakman]

On 12/30/2017 at 9:28 AM, scotchy1 said:

And who was NRL CEO David Smith replaced with? Oh thats right, Acting CEO John Grant. 

So besides the Ex-CEO of the NRL, the Acting CEO of the NRL, the Chairman of the ARLC, and the NRL General Manager of League Integration and Game Development/CEO of the RLWC The NRL had no say at all.

 

 

1 hour ago, The Great Dane said:

Todd Greenberg took over as CEO of the NRL in March 2016, more then a year before Roughyedspuds article was published.

They also do not have the power to unilaterally make decisions for the NRL without consulting the necessary parties (not even the CEO does), the NRL clubs, RLPA, NSWRL, and QRL, all would have had to be consulted about a decision like this, and according to at least two of them they were not...

And if it turned out that the NRL (or certain people at the NRL) had agreed to something like this (such as in a binding agreement, and not just in principle) then that would be the end of their careers at the NRL, they'd be slaughtered by the clubs and RLPA.

 

We should all support any game of this nature in NA (and that includes Hawaii)...there is no reason that Honolulu could not be a host city for a round of prelims for the world cup...I actually think it is a great idea and would act as a beachhead (pardon the pun) to NA.  Hawaii as a rugby league hotbed has great potential with its links to the Pacific

Remember, when both Canada and the USA built their transcontinental railroad links they started from both ends!... so they could meet in the middle...Toronto and  Honolulu works in this regard as the beginning of eventually joining in and finishing the Rugby League takeover in , of all places,  DENVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

We can have it all!