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1 hour ago, StandOffHalf said:

I thought Brad Walter might come over, especially since he was media consultant for the RLWC2017.

NRL is in down-time mode - ahead of 2023. Sad to see.

Sorry in advance to the forum's Aussies, but, God, I'd love to see them bowled over in the quarters or the semis.

As an Aussie, I'd love to see the Kangaroos absolutely slaughtered. They need the wake-up call.

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Whatever the Australian team is you can guarantee it will be consistently good. I have seen all these arguments before and even a perceived weaker Australia team is annoyingly good. You will never get a huge drop off in quality like other teams can face.

The potential is certainly there though for 3 or 4 teams to beat them if those teams can play to their peak. I don't think that's ever been the case before.

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28 minutes ago, Pulga said:

As an Aussie, I'd love to see the Kangaroos absolutely slaughtered. They need the wake-up call.

Ha! I think many Aussies on here have felt that way in the past 

It would clearly be a great thing for the game and even them....I am sure the Aussie public would love some international tear ups to look forward to 

The "absolutely slaughtered" bit made me chuckle 😂 

How do you think the Aussie public would see it/want it to go down. Would they welcome a loss/ new team winning it 

 

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2 hours ago, Mojo said:

The NRL not sending any reporters to the world cup makes me want Australia to lose to the Kiwis even more 🤦‍♂️

Am I missing something but isn't the Kiwi team 100% NRL player's, or is it that the NRL reporters are only there to comment on the Australian representatives and never mind all the other nations that NRL player's will represent.

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1 minute ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Ha! I think many Aussies on here have felt that way in the past 

It would clearly be a great thing for the game and even them....I am sure the Aussie public would love some international tear ups to look forward to 

The "absolutely slaughtered" bit made me chuckle 😂 

How do you think the Aussie public would see it/want it to go down. Would they welcome a loss/ new team winning it 

 

A quarter final exit would get some scrutiny I think. It's hard to say because how weak the intl game is.

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3 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

Am I missing something but isn't the Kiwi team 100% NRL player's, or is it that the NRL reporters are only there to comment on the Australian representatives and never mind all the other nations that NRL player's will represent.

I get what he is saying though....and in fairness it will be the Kiwis who do it if anyone does 

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Just now, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

You say weak? I think that is relative....not sure it's been this strong for many a year (comparatively) 

Agree. But traditionally it hasn't ever gotten much media traction. Hope that changes. A quarter final exit would probably get chins wagging.

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1 hour ago, RayCee said:

The 1954 WC Kangaroos didn’t make the final with just four sides competing. That probably was the worst side. The 1995 WC team was ordinary but did enough to lift the trophy. As for this one, it’s been adversely affected by defections but still has quality.. I don’t think opponents will be underestimating them. It all goes to make it by far the most unpredictable RL WC ever. 

I think it will be so predictable in that the winner of the Aus v Kiwi semi will lift the trophy, I have said this before and got shot down but I think that semi should have been seeded to be the final, it is a World event and the best should be on the stage in the final, my opinion of course.

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I think in the lead up to this one there should be a focus on highlighting how unpredictable the last few tournaments have been, relatively speaking. Sure the Aussies are hot favourites and the best RL nation in the world, but we should be highlighting:

1. 2008 saw the Kiwis take the cup from the Aussies in their own backyard.

2. 2013 saw England mugged in the last second versus the Kiwis at Wembley

3. 2017 saw:

    a ) The Kiwis knocked out at the QF stage by Fiji

    b ) Tonga come inches short of beating England in the semis

    c ) England being an ankle tap away from wiping out a 6 nil lead in the final

The tournaments are really coming into their own, they aren't as predictable as people often make out, and I expect there will be some real shocks and stories created this time - please, please don't let that be on day one at St James' Park!!!!! 😭

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5 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

I think it will be so predictable in that the winner of the Aus v Kiwi semi will lift the trophy, I have said this before and got shot down but I think that semi should have been seeded to be the final, it is a World event and the best should be on the stage in the final, my opinion of course.

Let's face it: the draw has been rigged for England.

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7 minutes ago, Pulga said:

Agree. But traditionally it hasn't ever gotten much media traction. Hope that changes. A quarter final exit would probably get chins wagging.

A loss to most likely Lebanon would certainly be a turn up for the books!

This seeding system is good for England in 1 way, in that we won't have to play NZ or Australia before the final, but poor otherwise, as our route includes both Samoa, Tonga and most likely PNG. At least we'll be battle hardened if we get to the final!

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Just now, Pulga said:

Let's face it: the draw has been rigged for England.

We play Samoa 1st up

We will likely play PNG in a QF

Then Samoa or Tonga in a semi

Hopefully, NZ or Aus in a final.

It's the hardest route.

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Running the Rob Burrow marathon to raise money for the My Name'5 Doddie foundation:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-dyas

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1 hour ago, SydneyRoosters said:

I have a very cool project about the birth places of all the World Cup players. I’m all most finished just waiting for the last few squads to be announced. When I’m finished I’ll create a new topic and post it.

That will be very intersting and also very informative Thank you, probably a bit late as you say you are almost finished but if the player is representative of another nation other than his birth nation, have you indicated how he qualifies, parent, grandparent, resident?

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11 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

I think it will be so predictable in that the winner of the Aus v Kiwi semi will lift the trophy, I have said this before and got shot down but I think that semi should have been seeded to be the final, it is a World event and the best should be on the stage in the final, my opinion of course.

I think the seeding is fine.

New Zealand in 2017 lost to Tonga in the group stages, and then exited the tournament versus Fiji. This was in a home World Cup for them. 

In 2018 England beat them 3 v 1 across four tests, although NZ then got revenge versus GB in 2019, two nil.

I think there is definitely a justifiable position on seeding that sees Eng and Tonga on one side and Aus and NZ on the other. 

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