The World Cup

[The_Gun]

NZ look stronger than they have for a long while, but who kicks goals for them? I assume Rapana, but he’s hardly elite in that department.

That’s the one area of weakness I could see costing them in a tight game versus the likes of Australia.

[SydneyRoosters]

8 minutes ago, The_Gun said:

NZ look stronger than they have for a long while, but who kicks goals for them? I assume Rapana, but he’s hardly elite in that department.

That’s the one area of weakness I could see costing them in a tight game versus the likes of Australia.

He’s not elite but he’ll do the job he usually kick at around average which is 75%. I’m sure he will get a lot of training in before the World Cup though, So it really shouldn’t be a big issue

[Mojo]

Nanai the latest player that might be playing for samoa now

[Mojo]

Tyson Frizell has approached the the Tongan team. Geez where's tonga gonna fit all the second rows at?

[arcticchris]

England-Samoa is set to be an absolute stormer of an opening game. We can’t afford to start the tournament slowly otherwise we will get beaten.

[MattSantos]

Just watching 360 now.

Kent spends all of June telling everyone that origin is the pinnacle of RL and then wonders why players are opting for Samoa, Tonga etc.

 

[Mojo]

4 minutes ago, MattSantos said:

Just watching 360 now.

Kent spends all of June telling everyone that origin is the pinnacle of RL and then wonders why players are opting for Samoa, Tonga etc.

 

He's like that lil kid in the playground that wants all the toys and doesn't want to share it

[Damien]

30 minutes ago, DavidM said:

It’s a debate that needs to be had though because however good the end result in terms of the competitiveness of the WC , the whole area of eligibility needs sorting and clarifying as it can’t be right to have everyone guessing until basically the last minute about who’s playing where . And how Origin fits in to it all . If I was Big Mal for instance I wouldn’t be happy either . 

While I take your point generally Suali'i has never been capped so I'm not sure how different that scenario is to other sports.

The not being able to switch in a calendar year is a step in the right direction and I think slowly increasing this, starting at 2 years, after the World Cup will help. Teams need games though and a fair international calendar for all so that players can have a fair choice.

[Mojo]

Aussies haven't played international for 3 years and than get angry at players for not respecting the kangaroos jersey when they haven't been as well. Paul kent probably can't remember the last time the kangaroos last played

[GeordieSaint]

I quite like how people are writing off England before the tournament has started. We’ve got some good players. If Wane can get them working together as a team, I think we can surprise some of these doubters…

[DavidM]

1 hour ago, Dunbar said:

That spine is very questionable.  In my view Luai benefits massively from playing alongside Cleary who provides structure and superbly consistent kicking game. 

I agree Luai looks excellent in combination with Cleary as they’re games gel and Cleary does most of the heavy lifting . Individually I think Luai is a good player and no more . 

[DavidM]

7 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

I quite like how people are writing off England before the tournament has started. We’ve got some good players. If Wane can get them working together as a team, I think we can surprise some of these doubters…

Maybe wrong but to me whoever gets picked if Samoa beat us on home soil it’ll be a big upset 

[SydneyRoosters]

24 minutes ago, Mojo said:

Tyson Frizell has approached the the Tongan team. Geez where's tonga gonna fit all the second rows at?

That would be heartbreaking news for wales, Hopefully it’s not true or he doesn’t get selected.

[jim_57]

23 minutes ago, Mojo said:

Tyson Frizell has approached the the Tongan team. Geez where's tonga gonna fit all the second rows at?

I didn’t think this was allowed but just checked and yes a player can switch tier 2 nations once every 4 years but never between tier 1s. Not a fan of that rule at all really, certain players could play for 3 or more nations over their career going by that, Frizell might be the first.

[Mojo]

2 minutes ago, SydneyRoosters said:

That would be heartbreaking news for wales, Hopefully it’s not true or he doesn’t get selected.

He would've been a good addition for wales. It'll be hard for Frizell to make that Tongan squad tbh. He would've walked into any team except for aussie and maybe the kiwis

[Mojo]

1 minute ago, jim_57 said:

I didn’t think this was allowed but just checked and yes a player can switch tier 2 nations once every 4 years but never between tier 1s. Not a fan of that rule at all really, certain players could play for 3 or more nations over their career going by that, Frizell might be the first.

There have been a few players that have done it. Taufua for tonga and than samoa and Asiata who first did it playing for samoa and than tonga

[DavidM]

2 minutes ago, jim_57 said:

I didn’t think this was allowed but just checked and yes a player can switch tier 2 nations once every 4 years but never between tier 1s. Not a fan of that rule at all really, certain players could play for 3 or more nations over their career going by that, Frizell might be the first.

It’s pretty ridiculous really if that’s the case . I don’t mind who you choose to play for but you should really know where your allegiance is and declare it and everyone knows , including coaches in the run up to tournaments 

[Jughead]

Whose rules are we using for the World Cup?

[Dunbar]

31 minutes ago, Mojo said:

Aussies haven't played international for 3 years and than get angry at players for not respecting the kangaroos jersey when they haven't been as well. Paul kent probably can't remember the last time the kangaroos last played

Exactly right.  If the top players in the country eligible to play for Australia were the given games and profile of other sports then they may commit a bit more.

[DavidM]

To paraphrase Kevin Keegan I would love it if we had a really good or even won the WC to shove it up these superior condescending guys on shows like 360 . We’ll lose to Samoa end of discussion 

[SydneyRoosters]

17 minutes ago, DavidM said:

It’s pretty ridiculous really if that’s the case . I don’t mind who you choose to play for but you should really know where your allegiance is and declare it and everyone knows , including coaches in the run up to tournaments 

For me there a two main problems in international rugby league, one is a lack of games and the other is how lousy the eligibility rules are. If I was in charge this is what a would do:

Make so you can only play for one nation in at least a 5 year period possibly longer, having certainty for all nations over who is in the player pool would be great. It would also be great if the nrl made all contracted players declare the nationality but I doubt they’ll do that.

Create a mandatory amount of home grown players for all nations. I would say at least a quarter of you’re squad should be born and raised in that country. Yes it may be weaken a lot nations (the pacific nations especially) but it would very beneficial for the sport in the long term and it would be very rewarding for nations like France and png.

I always get annoyed when I see the amount of work that goes into developing the game and youth systems in nations like PNG, France, Fiji and Wales. Just for them to get battered  50 - nel by a team of aussies and kiwis, it must be really disheartening for the people spending big money developing the sport in those countries.

[Dunbar]

37 minutes ago, Mojo said:

He would've been a good addition for wales. It'll be hard for Frizell to make that Tongan squad tbh. He would've walked into any team except for aussie and maybe the kiwis

There are some excellent edge forwards available across the World Cup.  Fiji have Tariq Sims and Viliame Kikau and I'm not sure that Frizell would walk into a side with those two available.

[DavidM]

5 minutes ago, SydneyRoosters said:

Make so you can only play for one nation in at least a 5 year period possibly longer, having certainty for all nations over who is in the player pool would be great. It would also be great if the nrl made all contracted players declare the nationality but I doubt they’ll do that.

Totally agree and similar to what I was thinking . Certainly from the start of a World Cup cycle . And yes then give players regular games to play in through that cycle to the World Cup

[Sammo]

This may have already been covered, but I’m not scrolling back to find it…

Who are the most likely pairing for the Emirates semi final? I live basically next door to the stadium, just trying to gauge what tier of ticket I can justify

[graveyard johnny]

with  Suaalii opting for Samoa I would expect Val Holmes to take up a wing spot instead of centre maybe leaving a path in to the squad for Zak Lomax