Rugby League World Cup 2021 (Merged Threads)

[FearTheVee]

3 minutes ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

They can, but the governing bodies just don't have the will to

The Indigenous sides putting hands up is the thing that will swing it.  Oz and NZ will come back in becuase it would be the height of farce for the players they would have been sending to go anyway repsenting the indigenous/maori teams - basically they end up creating a situation where they signal that playing for these teams means more than playing for Oz/NZ and they will hate that.

I hope I'm wrong as I think the WC with the indigenous/maori in it, in these circumstances, would be better than a WC with Oz/NZ and would be an incredible celebration of RL in the face of adversity.

Edited July 28, 2021 by FearTheVee

[Griff]

Just now, FearTheVee said:

The Indigenous sides putting hands up is the thing that will swing it.  Oz and NZ will come back in becuase it would be the height of farce for the players they would have been sending to go anyway repsenting the indigenous/maori teams - basically they end up creating a situation where they signal that playing for these teams means more than playing for Oz/NZ and they will hate that.

What will swing it is the players saying they want to go and backing that up by telling their employers that they will not renew their contracts if they're not allowed to do so.

Whether that happens will show the strength of feeling amongst the players.

[Jim from Oz]

31 minutes ago, JohnM said:

By the way, his real name is Vlandis. Where all this affectation of V'landys comes from, only he knows.

Yes, he is Greek, born on the island of Kythera in 1961, he came to Australia in 1964 aged 3

For some reason he has never explained, he changed the spelling of his name from Vlandis to V’landys while at high school.

he also said he was bullied at high school because of his Greek ethnicity, the irony now he is the number one bully!

[rlno1]

1 hour ago, Dunbar said:

He is a very interesting character.  Clearly a very very astute player who will find any opportunity to drive a hard bargain.

You would have said a few years ago that having someone like this in the sport would be superb; on our side and fighting our corner.

Unfortunately, it seems like his 'side' is not the sport of Rugby League but the NRL and so his strengths are actually tearing the sport apart from the inside.  It may not be an issue for the NRL (yet) as they will see the benefits of his actions but the wider sport will suffer.  I don't suppose he will mind, the key is who will mind.

"His" side is aligning with News Corp interests as they head into sports betting. He has no idea about the game. He was given credit for getting it going again, he was the public figure which News Corp then promoted to win over the public. There was no way the heavy hitters at Fox were not involved in the background.

 

Edited July 28, 2021 by rlno1

[Matterhorn]

It will mean someone like Daly Cherry-Evans will be blowing up deluxe if that happens.

Likely his last chance of touring overseas & definitely last chance at a world cup.

[rlno1]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

Addo-Carr meets with Abdo:

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7361644/indigenous-stars-meet-abdo-on-world-cup/?cs=14274

It's thought an official call on whether it goes ahead this year could again be pushed back to next week, in a bid to properly canvas player opinion on its viability.

Addo-Carr has helped lead the charge for Indigenous and Maori sides to replace Australia and New Zealand in the end-of-season tournament, provided it goes ahead.

 

 

The Melbourne flyer met with NRL CEO Andrew Abdo this week to discuss the matter and is waiting for a response from league officials about the option.

It comes after the ARL Commission and NZRL deemed the tournament too much of safety and welfare risk during COVID-19 last week.

But Addo-Carr, Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell are among those wanting to push ahead with the Indigenous team.

"We had a meeting with Andrew Abdo a couple of days ago and discussed potentially putting the Indigenous All Stars and Maori All Stars in the World Cup," Addo-Carr said.

"I'm just waiting to hear back from Andrew and the NRL to get that approved.

Is Abdo alive?  

[Jim from Oz]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

Addo-Carr meets with Abdo:

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7361644/indigenous-stars-meet-abdo-on-world-cup/?cs=14274

It's thought an official call on whether it goes ahead this year could again be pushed back to next week, in a bid to properly canvas player opinion on its viability.

Addo-Carr has helped lead the charge for Indigenous and Maori sides to replace Australia and New Zealand in the end-of-season tournament, provided it goes ahead.

 

 

The Melbourne flyer met with NRL CEO Andrew Abdo this week to discuss the matter and is waiting for a response from league officials about the option.

It comes after the ARL Commission and NZRL deemed the tournament too much of safety and welfare risk during COVID-19 last week.

But Addo-Carr, Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell are among those wanting to push ahead with the Indigenous team.

"We had a meeting with Andrew Abdo a couple of days ago and discussed potentially putting the Indigenous All Stars and Maori All Stars in the World Cup," Addo-Carr said.

"I'm just waiting to hear back from Andrew and the NRL to get that approved.

This is interesting in that, if the indigenous and Maori teams are allowed to play, the kangaroo and New Zealand Kiwi players who are not selected miss out on the World Cup altogether!!

if this happens, if I were them I would be very very very angry at V’landys 

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

4 minutes ago, FearTheVee said:

The Indigenous sides putting hands up is the thing that will swing it.  Oz and NZ will come back in becuase it would be the height of farce for the players they would have been sending to go anyway repsenting the indigenous/maori teams - basically they end up creating a situation where they signal that playing for these teams means more than playing for Oz/NZ and they will hate that.

I hope I'm wrong as I think the WC with the indigenous/maori in it, in these circumstances, would be better than a WC with Oz/NZ and would be an incredible celebration of RL in the face of adversity.

 

2 minutes ago, Griff said:

What will swing it is the players saying they want to go and backing that up by telling their employers that they will not renew their contracts if they're not allowed to do so.

Whether that happens will show the strength of feeling amongst the players.

I hope either of you are correct.

I think the ARL and NZRL have totally misread the situation and just expected everyone just to roll over with this as a done deal. The fact that nobody has, has probably come as a major shock to them and hopefully will result in the IRL being strengthened as a governing body.

I do hope both Australia and New Zealand reconsider and attend, whatever the thing that changes their mind may be. As others have said, to achieve this we probably have to give them a way of saving face. Whether its actual or real, there probably has to be some demonstration of compromise so both parties can claim they got what they were after.

If the Aussies dig their heals in, then we absolutely should go ahead this year if we can keep everyone else on board.

[Jim from Oz]

23 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I asked this question a while back - who is it that made this decision - was it the much-celebrated independent commission that runs the game in Oz? It's a genuine question, as I struggle with the governance structure there.

When the ARLC was set up about eight years ago it was supposed to run the game and the clubs were supposed to take a back seat, it was supposed to be independent!

Ever since the clubs have fought to regain control - and with Peter V’landys they finally have someone who will do their bidding. So this disaster is all the fault basically of the NRL clubs with the backing of V’landys and club figures like Gould

basically now, the NRL clubs control the ARLC via V’landys, Who in turn now has the clubs as his power base.

[Scubby]

This could well be part of the NRL's thinking. Cutting any costs they can to try and stymie the 2021 A$45m shortfall they have having to relocate everyone to Queensland. Although all costs are covered by the RLWC, Australian players get extra match payments A$5-10k per match and would have a win bonus too. They are shunting expansion and now want to shunt the WC to concentrate on the NRL. Sad and so short-sighted it is pathetic.  

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2021-james-roberts-fined-banned-covid-hotel-breach-wests-tigers/news-story/616c4f75431b539349500ef6bc2c51bf

 

[The Rocket]

2 minutes ago, rlno1 said:

Is Abdo alive?  

As Freeman famously said at the gates of his Yowie Bay mansion/fortress when asked by reporters if he knew anything about the death of Christopher Dale Flannery (aka Mr Rent-O-Kill), after an inquiry had found that Flannery was either murdered on his way to Freeman`s house by corrupt police or had been murdered at Freeman`s house, " Oh he`s dead is he, you mean they`ve found a body ?".

Nah mate, Abdo`s o.k. don`t forget Abdo`s a South African he`ll be as ruthless as V`landy`s, remember he`s the one V`landy`s took to meet Murdoch not Todd " there`s room for both of us (afl that is)" Greenberg.

[thebrewxi]

7 minutes ago, rlno1 said:

"His" side is aligning with News Corp interests as they head into sports betting. He has no idea about the game. He was given credit for getting it going again, he was the public figure which News Corp then promoted to win over the public. There was no way the heavy hitters at Fox were not involved in the background.

 

I subscribe to Watch NRL, and after being away all weekend I've binged ove rthe last 48hrs, including on NRL360, NRL Tonight, etc. The one sided coverage of the pull out on Fox, when the world cup actually gets a mention, is incredible. All the usual suspects (bar Wayne B), coming out saying it is the right decision, postpone until 2022 (they genuinely have no f&^%ing idea about the actual World Cup happening at the same time, nor how much the RFL and League in the UK is banking on the League WC for it's future)

It's been like watching North Korea News Corporation.

[Dave T]

10 minutes ago, Jim from Oz said:

When the ARLC was set up about eight years ago it was supposed to run the game and the clubs were supposed to take a back seat, it was supposed to be independent!

Ever since the clubs have fought to regain control - and with Peter V’landys they finally have someone who will do their bidding. So this disaster is all the fault basically of the NRL clubs with the backing of V’landys and club figures like Gould

basically now, the NRL clubs control the ARLC via V’landys, Who in turn now has the clubs as his power base.

Thanks - so all the talk of an independent commission being great because they will make the right decisions for the game and not just represent the clubs' needs and wants was BS?

Well, you could knock me down with a feather.

[FearTheVee]

2 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Thanks - so all the talk of an independent commission being great because they will make the right decisions for the game and not just represent the clubs' needs and wants was BS?

Well, you could knock me down with a feather.

If anything I suspect it has empowered the NRL clubs to make even more self-centred decisions as they are then funnelled through the "independent" ARLC with an "independent" lens.

[Jim from Oz]

7 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Thanks - so all the talk of an independent commission being great because they will make the right decisions for the game and not just represent the clubs' needs and wants was BS?

Well, you could knock me down with a feather.

Basically, that is it. The much-heralded independent commission is anything but independent, instead it is yet another self-inflicted disaster for RL

Edited July 28, 2021 by Jim from Oz

[Nate90]

I predict that the Kangaroos will change their minds, play the tournament and wipe the floor with everyone. The tournament will be more interesting without them 

[unapologetic pedant]

1 hour ago, Dunbar said:

He is a very interesting character.  Clearly a very very astute player who will find any opportunity to drive a hard bargain.

You would have said a few years ago that having someone like this in the sport would be superb; on our side and fighting our corner.

Unfortunately, it seems like his 'side' is not the sport of Rugby League but the NRL and so his strengths are actually tearing the sport apart from the inside.  It may not be an issue for the NRL (yet) as they will see the benefits of his actions but the wider sport will suffer.  I don't suppose he will mind, the key is who will mind.

PVL strikes me as just the type of parochial NSWRL administrator or Sydney club official who opposed the Origin concept in the early 80s. Content in their own backyard to watch the money rolling in from the poker machines, no desire or ability to think beyond their immediate circumstances.

If they`d had their way, players like Wally Lewis would have signed for Sydney clubs, played for NSW against QLD, and the State fixture would have continued as a damp squib non-event. 

[Man of Kent]

39 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Thanks - so all the talk of an independent commission being great because they will make the right decisions for the game and not just represent the clubs' needs and wants was BS?

Well, you could knock me down with a feather.

ARLC = RFL.

RFL with teeth. 

Edited July 28, 2021 by Man of Kent

[Damien]

12 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

ARLC = RFL.

RFL with teeth. 

Have they really got teeth? No to the World Cup because they are scared of NRL clubs and repeated no to expansion because they are scared of the clubs. RL in Australia has a lot of in built advantages coming from its very formation and as much as I may criticise the RFL myself I dont see the NRL/ARLC as some sort of beacon either.

[Phil]

2 hours ago, Griff said:

If they changed their minds now, I'd be sorely tempted to say "Sorry, you're too late - we thought you werent coming so we've given your places to Tajikistan and the Faeroe Islands."

I know what you mean but I suppose we have to be better than that 

[Man of Kent]

15 minutes ago, Damien said:

Have they really got teeth? No to the World Cup because they are scared of NRL clubs and repeated no to expansion because they are scared of the clubs. RL in Australia has a lot of in built advantages coming from its very formation and as much as I may criticise the RFL myself I dont see the NRL/ARLC as some sort of beacon either.

I think the very fact they pulled out of the RLWC shows the ARLC has teeth.

Let's say the RLWC was being held in Aussie and England/Wales/Ireland/France etc said they didn't want to have their balcony doors taped up or adhere to whatever other authoritarian rules they've dreamt up (like not allowing families - see the current Ashes debate).

Would the RFL dare pull out? That was a rhetorical question, by the way.

[Damien]

1 minute ago, Man of Kent said:

I think the very fact they pulled out of the RLWC shows the ARLC has teeth.

Let's say the RLWC was being held in Aussie and England/Wales/Ireland/France etc said they didn't want to have their balcony doors taped up or adhere to whatever other authoritarian rules they've dreamt up (like not allowing families - see the current Ashes debate).

Would the RFL dare pull out? That was a rhetorical question, by the way.

I think the very fact they pulled out shows the ARLC has no teeth whatsoever. Its far easier to pull out of the World Cup, and lets face it they have no appetite for the international game anyway, than show leadership for the game and wider Australian RL by going against the NRL clubs wishes. They have no backbone at all and people like V'Landys are just protecting their positions to the detriment of the game.

[Man of Kent]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

I think the very fact they pulled out shows the ARLC has no teeth whatsoever. Its far easier to pull out of the World Cup, and lets face it they have no appetite for the international game anyway, than show leadership for the game and wider Australian RL by going against the NRL clubs wishes. They have no backbone at all and people like V'Landys are just protecting their positions to the detriment of the game.

I don't agree they have no backbone, they are just wrong-headed.

V'landys seems to be an all-powerful dictator. If anything they/he has too much backbone.

[Damien]

It is amazing the amount of daily news that is coming out about the World Cup that is barely getting a mention in the main Australian and NZ media outlets. The NRL have so much power through their media partners. In countries were literally everything RL related gets reported potentially huge stories are just being completely ignored and covered up and there is no investigative journalism at all.

[Jim from Oz]

8 minutes ago, Damien said:

I think the very fact they pulled out shows the ARLC has no teeth whatsoever. Its far easier to pull out of the World Cup, and lets face it they have no appetite for the international game anyway, than show leadership for the game and wider Australian RL by going against the NRL clubs wishes. They have no backbone at all and people like V'Landys are just protecting their positions to the detriment of the game.

Precisely