Troy Grant speaks!

[Man of Kent]

Troy Grant of the IRL is interviewed in this week’s 5 Live podcast.

A 12 year calendar is being drawn up. The first couple of years will be announced fairly soon. It’s a bit vague but it seems the Kangaroos and/or the Kiwis will be touring Britain and France next year or 2024, possibly as part of a tournament involving a fourth/fifth nation like PNG.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0chmbyj

He makes some fair points about the lack of games in the Northern Hemisphere. For all our whinging about the Aussies/NRL/ARLC, he argues they have done more than the RFL for the international game of late. I think that’s fair comment. 

[Damien]

Yeah a new calendar! 

Edited June 28, 2022 by Damien

[Damien]

Surely we can do better, and god forbid something different, than yet another NZ tour next year.

[Jughead]

The eight quarter finalists in 2017 qualified for the 2021 tournament. I’d wager England and Samoa would be the qualifiers from Group A, thus meaning France miss out, though as hosts, I wonder if they will make it nine automatic qualifiers or whether they’ll make the “worst” second place side qualify?

 

[Scubby]

19 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Troy Grant of the IRL is interviewed in this week’s 5 Live podcast.

A 12 year calendar is being drawn up.

Along with an updated watercolour of Castleford's new stadium, this is the one thing I look forward to most!

[Man of Kent]

12 minutes ago, Scubby said:

Along with an updated watercolour of Castleford's new stadium, this is the one thing I look forward to most!

I’d rank it as less likely than a new Cas stadium but more likely than, say, a Warrington Grand Final victory bus tour.

Edited June 28, 2022 by Man of Kent

[Whippet13]

12 years? Are we sure Troy didn't mean to say 12 months?

2025 is in France and I doubt the Australians will agree to come up here in consecutive years so a tour to Australia/NZ will possibly be on the cards for 2023 or 2024, hopefully a 4 nations.

[Dave T]

7 minutes ago, Whippet13 said:

12 years? Are we sure Troy didn't mean to say 12 months?

2025 is in France and I doubt the Australians will agree to come up here in consecutive years so a tour to Australia/NZ will possibly be on the cards for 2023 or 2024, hopefully a 4 nations.

Australia had planned to come in consecutive years in 2020 and 2021.

48 minutes ago, Man of Kent said:

Troy Grant of the IRL is interviewed in this week’s 5 Live podcast.

A 12 year calendar is being drawn up. The first couple of years will be announced fairly soon. It’s a bit vague but it seems the Kangaroos and/or the Kiwis will be touring Britain and France next year or 2024, possibly as part of a tournament involving a fourth/fifth nation like PNG.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0chmbyj

He makes some fair points about the lack of games in the Northern Hemisphere. For all our whinging about the Aussies/NRL/ARLC, he argues they have done more than the RFL for the international game of late. I think that’s fair comment. 

The lack of games point isn't really a good one. 

The Aussies cancelled 60-odd games scheduled for the Northern Hemisphere in 2021. 

[Scubby]

41 minutes ago, Damien said:

Surely we can do better, and god forbid something different, than yet another NZ tour next year.

A NZ/FRA/ENG/TON 4 Nations in 2023 would be a great tournament

[The storm]

Troy Grant is light years ahead of Nigel Wood or anyone at the RFL

He will be a world class administrator of our international game

[Man of Kent]

2 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Australia had planned to come in consecutive years in 2020 and 2021.

The lack of games point isn't really a good one. 

The Aussies cancelled 60-odd games scheduled for the Northern Hemisphere in 2021. 

To be fair, there was a pandemic. 

We haven’t done enough up here.  Maybe that’s because we don’t have much of a pot to urinate in, and also ‘cos we have an obsession with crowds, as if they are sole validation for whether a match has any merit.

[Dave T]

Just now, Man of Kent said:

To be fair, there was a pandemic. 

We haven’t done enough up here.  Maybe that’s because we don’t have much of a pot to urinate in, and also ‘cos we have an obsession with crowds, as if they are sole validation for whether a match has any merit.

I've provided stats before that shows that the likes of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France have played far more games than the Pacific Island teams. 

2019 was a poor year for the likes of Wales, 2020 was wiped out as was 2021. We have 60-plus games scheduled this year. 

So really, there isn't anything in the point that the SH is doing better on this front. 

None of us are playing enough tests imo. 

[Man of Kent]

4 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I've provided stats before that shows that the likes of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France have played far more games than the Pacific Island teams. 

2019 was a poor year for the likes of Wales, 2020 was wiped out as was 2021. We have 60-plus games scheduled this year. 

So really, there isn't anything in the point that the SH is doing better on this front. 

None of us are playing enough tests imo. 

They charged the equivalent of £5.70 for adult tickets for the two test double header - neither involving Australia - at Campbelltown on Saturday.

I imagine they were subsidised by the NRL. Does the RFL subsidise games by other nations in that way?

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, Man of Kent said:

They charged the equivalent of £5.70 for adult tickets for the two test double header - neither involving Australia - at Campbelltown on Saturday.

I imagine they were subsidised by the NRL. Does the RFL subsidise games by other nations in that way?

I'm not sure I'd hold that up as a sign they are nailing it. 

[Barley Mow]

Has there been some initial work/encouragement from IMG here or is it a coincidence that their involvement is for 12 years and so is the purported international calendar?

[Dave T]

20 minutes ago, Barley Mow said:

Has there been some initial work/encouragement from IMG here or is it a coincidence that their involvement is for 12 years and so is the purported international calendar?

Yes, it was an interesting term wasn't it? 

Be interestibg to know whether it is just coincidence, or based on WC cycles or similar, or linked to IMG's involvement. 

[Jughead]

35 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I've provided stats before that shows that the likes of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France have played far more games than the Pacific Island teams. 

2019 was a poor year for the likes of Wales, 2020 was wiped out as was 2021. We have 60-plus games scheduled this year. 

So really, there isn't anything in the point that the SH is doing better on this front. 

None of us are playing enough tests imo. 

Is it fair to say that when Scotland, France etc had to qualify for the World Cup compared to the Southern Hemisphere nations who didn’t? If they didn’t have to, would they have played more? Probably not. Did those who didn’t have to qualify play enough? No. I think it’s an issue wherever we are in the planet. 

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, Jughead said:

Is it fair to say that when Scotland, France etc had to qualify for the World Cup compared to the Southern Hemisphere nations who didn’t? If they didn’t have to, would they have played more? Probably not. Did those who didn’t have to qualify play enough? No. I think it’s an issue wherever we are in the planet. 

The qualification nonsense is just that, its nonsense. It's almost as though we look for reasons to not have to arrange games, so we hand out automatic qualifications. 

But the majority of the games werent WC qualifiers, they were the Euro Cup that has been a relatively consistent tournament, but then it gets abandoned on a whim if we decide that we'll arrange some qualifiers or something. 

We had got into a nice little groove - Euro Cup as a qualifier for UK 4N, a 4N, and a World Cup. Similar in the SH, qualifiers for the Australian 4N's, 4Ns and a World Cup. 

That was a half decent structure, with regular Autumn internationals and major tournaments being played. We then abandoned the 4N for a move to 8N and the Aussies backed out and scuppered it. 

Tbh, a lot of this shift links almost directly back to the Denver Test when the Kiwis and RFL tried to stand up to the Aussies. 

But irrespective of the politics, we need to crack on and get structure back, but maybe Grant should be looking at why there was $3m sitting in an Aussie RLIF account - what was that money to be used for? And if nations can't afford to play RL, then what actually are the IRL doing. 

None of this should be left to the RFL or the NRL, this should have good governance through the IRL, with those organisations represented (as they are) and levies and WC profits should be funding it. 

[Scubby]

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo on Fox: "Why would you want a single international round of fixtures in the middle of the season when you can have a series of matches and momentum at the end of the year."

Fox Reporter: "Why can't you have both?"

Abdo then went on to say that they made a commercial decision to move Origin to Wednesdays. Quiet part out loud.

Edited June 28, 2022 by Scubby

[Dave T]

55 minutes ago, Scubby said:

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo on Fox: "Why would you want a single international round of fixtures in the middle of the season when you can have a series of matches and momentum at the end of the year."

Fox Reporter: "Why can't you have both?"

Abdo then went on to say that they made a commercial decision to move Origin to Wednesdays. Quiet part out loud.

I have to assume that Abdo is an intelligent person, why would he come out with that at the start? 

Nobody is asking for or advocating the mid-season games instead of end of season tournaments. 

I hate stuff like that, it's treating people as if they are stupid, just come out and say its a commercial decision and a packed season means there are some concessions. Some may not like it, but at least they be more truthful. 

[frank]

6 hours ago, Whippet13 said:

12 years? Are we sure Troy didn't mean to say 12 months?

2025 is in France and I doubt the Australians will agree to come up here in consecutive years so a tour to Australia/NZ will possibly be on the cards for 2023 or 2024, hopefully a 4 nations.

The way the Aussie public view tours would be a financial disaster, Look at the two games last Sat, not many Aussies in that crowd.

[Jim from Oz]

7 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

Troy Grant of the IRL is interviewed in this week’s 5 Live podcast.

A 12 year calendar is being drawn up. The first couple of years will be announced fairly soon. It’s a bit vague but it seems the Kangaroos and/or the Kiwis will be touring Britain and France next year or 2024, possibly as part of a tournament involving a fourth/fifth nation like PNG.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0chmbyj

He makes some fair points about the lack of games in the Northern Hemisphere. For all our whinging about the Aussies/NRL/ARLC, he argues they have done more than the RFL for the international game of late. I think that’s fair comment. 

"A 12 year calendar is being drawn up. "


Yes but it has been in the process of being drawn up for the past 12 years … when is it EVER going to be released ???

[Jughead]

6 hours ago, frank said:

The way the Aussie public view tours would be a financial disaster, Look at the two games last Sat, not many Aussies in that crowd.

Passport control at games might have put them off, I reckon. 

[RP London]

8 hours ago, Scubby said:

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo on Fox: "Why would you want a single international round of fixtures in the middle of the season when you can have a series of matches and momentum at the end of the year."

Fox Reporter: "Why can't you have both?"

Abdo then went on to say that they made a commercial decision to move Origin to Wednesdays. Quiet part out loud.

momentum at the end of the year towards what? if its mid season you can hook new fans into then watching club games and be fans going forward (if you plan around it right, which is where we always fall down). If fans tune in for the international games at the end of the season what do they then have, a 4 month wait till the season starts again... great!

 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

12 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

To be fair, there was a pandemic. 

We haven’t done enough up here.  Maybe that’s because we don’t have much of a pot to urinate in, and also ‘cos we have an obsession with crowds, as if they are sole validation for whether a match has any merit.

Fans certainly have an obsession with attendances and the image that creates when watching a game but do the administrators? Not sure they do considering some of the places they've held tests in the past, Leigh on a Wednesday evening being one that comes to mind; they seemed content enough with 5,000 at that game and many many more similar examples come to mind. If they were so obsessed with attendances then surely they'd look at holding one off tests at bigger, more accessible grounds. Of course that then asks the question, why don't they just do that anyway? Simple answer I think is cost which is understandable for an organisation that has to have a whip round to buy a jar of coffee for the canteen at New Red Hall.