The World Cup

[Harry Stottle]

23 minutes ago, bobbruce said:

I doubt he’ll want to play players who played in the GF. So probably giving other players in the squad a game and they need a few bodies in to make up the numbers. 

Why not it will be 2 weeks since the GF, but more importantly it will be 3 weeks since the GF's had a game by the time of the first game, all those who had to pull out have already done so.

Edited October 5, 2022 by Harry Stottle

[DavidM]

I’ll stretch this out and say it’s a squad …

Men’s and women’s tournament officials: Atkins, Grant (NRL); Badger, Kasey (NRL); Bowmer, Dean (RFL); Casty, Ben (FFRXIII); Child, James (RFL); Furner, Darian (NRL); Gee, Adam (NRL); Grant, Tom (RFL); Griffiths, Marcus (RFL); Hicks, Robert (RFL); Horton, Neil (RFL); Kendall, Chris (RFL); Klein, Ashley (NRL); Moore, Aaron (RFL); Moore, Liam (RFL); Parkinson, #### (NZRL); Poumes, Geoffrey (FFRXIII); Raymond, Wyatt (NRL); Rush, Liam (RFL); Sharpe, Belinda (NRL); Smaill, Michael (RFL); Smith, Jack (RFL); Smith, Todd (NRL); Sutton, Gerard (NRL); Tamarua, Rochelle (NZRL); Thaler, Ben (RFL); Turley, Warren (RFL); Vella, James (RFL)

[SydneyRoosters]

28 minutes ago, DavidM said:

I’ll stretch this out and say it’s a squad …

Men’s and women’s tournament officials: Atkins, Grant (NRL); Badger, Kasey (NRL); Bowmer, Dean (RFL); Casty, Ben (FFRXIII); Child, James (RFL); Furner, Darian (NRL); Gee, Adam (NRL); Grant, Tom (RFL); Griffiths, Marcus (RFL); Hicks, Robert (RFL); Horton, Neil (RFL); Kendall, Chris (RFL); Klein, Ashley (NRL); Moore, Aaron (RFL); Moore, Liam (RFL); Parkinson, #### (NZRL); Poumes, Geoffrey (FFRXIII); Raymond, Wyatt (NRL); Rush, Liam (RFL); Sharpe, Belinda (NRL); Smaill, Michael (RFL); Smith, Jack (RFL); Smith, Todd (NRL); Sutton, Gerard (NRL); Tamarua, Rochelle (NZRL); Thaler, Ben (RFL); Turley, Warren (RFL); Vella, James (RFL)

I would love to see a Papua New Guinean or Fijian ref in the future.

[DavidM]

https://www.rugby-league.com/article/61028/dom-young-interview-|-england-men

[Barley Mow]

1 hour ago, DavidM said:

I’ll stretch this out and say it’s a squad …

Men’s and women’s tournament officials: Atkins, Grant (NRL); Badger, Kasey (NRL); Bowmer, Dean (RFL); Casty, Ben (FFRXIII); Child, James (RFL); Furner, Darian (NRL); Gee, Adam (NRL); Grant, Tom (RFL); Griffiths, Marcus (RFL); Hicks, Robert (RFL); Horton, Neil (RFL); Kendall, Chris (RFL); Klein, Ashley (NRL); Moore, Aaron (RFL); Moore, Liam (RFL); Parkinson, #### (NZRL); Poumes, Geoffrey (FFRXIII); Raymond, Wyatt (NRL); Rush, Liam (RFL); Sharpe, Belinda (NRL); Smaill, Michael (RFL); Smith, Jack (RFL); Smith, Todd (NRL); Sutton, Gerard (NRL); Tamarua, Rochelle (NZRL); Thaler, Ben (RFL); Turley, Warren (RFL); Vella, James (RFL)

You've done it now David - you shouldn't write #### Parkinson!

Edit: I did have to google his name, I thought it might have been #### not ####

Edited October 5, 2022 by Barley Mow

[DavidM]

10 minutes ago, Barley Mow said:

You've done it now David - you shouldn't write #### Parkinson!

Edit: I did have to google his name, I thought it might have been #### not ####

Yeh it’s #### Parkinson , he replaced Perenara on the elite panel and has got plenty of good write ups but I’m not really familiar with him tbh 

[Damien]

I'm not a fan of using squad numbers like this at all. I think there is something iconic about numbers based on positions and I don't think it really helps fans, especially those who wouldnt be that familiar with the game:

But before league fans wonder if Australia coach Mal Meninga has outsmarted himself when it comes to the halfback debate, the Herald can reveal the number allocation relates to a new rule by Cup organisers.

Rather than wear a number based on position, players have been given squad numbers for the duration of the Cup.

The easiest option would have been to allocate numbers based on the likely starting 17.

But Kangaroos assistant Michael Hagan devised a system that acknowledged players who had worn the green and gold jersey longest.

https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/nrl/odd-numbers-why-munster-will-wear-no-7-jersey-for-roos-instead-of-cleary-or-dce-20221005-p5bnei.html

[UTK]

So for some unknown reason the RLWC has decided everyone gets a squad number for the WC - and we're apparently going to name Cameron Munster in the 7.

Squad numbers definitely won't make the game more difficult to follow for the large casual audience watching a WC.

Edit: we're giving out numbers based on playing time for the Kangaroos - so DCE is going to have the number 2 and Josh Addo-Carr the number 9, kill me now.

Edited October 5, 2022 by UTK

[Spidey]

I see the Aussies are allocating squad numbers in a unique way

[Dunbar]

4 minutes ago, UTK said:

So for some unknown reason the RLWC has decided everyone gets a squad number for the WC - and we're apparently going to name Cameron Munster in the 7.

Squad numbers definitely won't make the game more difficult to follow for the large casual audience watching a WC.

Edit: we're giving out numbers based on playing time for the Kangaroos - so DCE is going to have the number 2 and Josh Addo-Carr the number 9, kill me now.

What an awful decision.

Why do we have to make it hard for people to understand the sport.

[WN83]

Fair play to the Aussies, I wasn’t sure I could dislike them and their general ignorance towards international Rugby League any more but they’ve only gone and smashed it out the park! 

[UTK]

3 minutes ago, WN83 said:

Fair play to the Aussies, I wasn’t sure I could dislike them and their general ignorance towards international Rugby League any more but they’ve only gone and smashed it out the park! 

Tbf we didn't make the decision on squad numbers to start with, but we certainly took a bad situation and have now made it an insufferable one.

[Dave T]

This certainly reads like the Kangaroos don't get squad numbers so they are trying to trash the system. 

Wasn't it Leigh who did alphabetical one season? 

[ghost crayfish]

Oh God, is this true?? Squad numbers? So, like, they actually play in them? That's absurd.

God this game is hard to follow sometimes. What a ridiculous decision. Why take something so easy, like standard numbers based on position, and make it a mess? For what purpose?

WHYYYYYYY

[ghost crayfish]

30 minutes ago, WN83 said:

Fair play to the Aussies, I wasn’t sure I could dislike them and their general ignorance towards international Rugby League any more but they’ve only gone and smashed it out the park! 

You're blaming the Aussies for this ridiculous system? Why should they be forced to name a 'likely starting 17' at this point of the tour? They haven't played in a few years and it's their stated policy to use the group games as trials to figure out who their strongest 17 for the knock outs will be. Attempting to name it that way could create division in the team, make some players feel like their cards have been marked etc. I totally understand why they've gone this way, even if it is a shame it will look so ridiculous.

[Dave T]

2 minutes ago, ghost crayfish said:

You're blaming the Aussies for this ridiculous system? Why should they be forced to name a 'likely starting 17' at this point of the tour? They haven't played in a few years and it's their stated policy to use the group games as trials to figure out who their strongest 17 for the knock outs will be. Attempting to name it that way could create division in the team, make some players feel like their cards have been marked etc. I totally understand why they've gone this way, even if it is a shame it will look so ridiculous.

I agree it's a rubbish decision for a tournament like this, but it doesn't mean we should double down on it. 

[Jim from Oz]

43 minutes ago, Damien said:

I'm not a fan of using squad numbers like this at all. I think there is something iconic about numbers based on positions and I don't think it really helps fans, especially those who wouldnt be that familiar with the game:

But before league fans wonder if Australia coach Mal Meninga has outsmarted himself when it comes to the halfback debate, the Herald can reveal the number allocation relates to a new rule by Cup organisers.

Rather than wear a number based on position, players have been given squad numbers for the duration of the Cup.

The easiest option would have been to allocate numbers based on the likely starting 17.

But Kangaroos assistant Michael Hagan devised a system that acknowledged players who had worn the green and gold jersey longest.

https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/nrl/odd-numbers-why-munster-will-wear-no-7-jersey-for-roos-instead-of-cleary-or-dce-20221005-p5bnei.html

Agreed. It is totally idiotic and SOOOOO rugby league

[Damien]

Surely this should be a decision made by the IRL, rather than cup organisers as indicated in the article? 

[WN83]

21 minutes ago, ghost crayfish said:

You're blaming the Aussies for this ridiculous system? Why should they be forced to name a 'likely starting 17' at this point of the tour? They haven't played in a few years and it's their stated policy to use the group games as trials to figure out who their strongest 17 for the knock outs will be. Attempting to name it that way could create division in the team, make some players feel like their cards have been marked etc. I totally understand why they've gone this way, even if it is a shame it will look so ridiculous.

I have great memories of Martin Offiah running down the wing in the 9 shirt, Henderson Gill doing his boogie in the number 13, Fielden being floored in his 1 jersey. I hated it when Big Mal dove over at Old Trafford in his number 8 shirt though and Shaun Johnson broke my heart in 2013 in his number 4 shirt. 
 

Yes, maybe we could’ve avoided squad numbers as a tournament but other sports manage it without in squad civil war breaking out. I’m sure most, if not all other sides in this comp will manage it as well but not the Aussies. Showing international Rugby League a lack of respect doesn’t surprise me, I suppose we should just be thankful the NRL has allowed guys like the hooker Addo-Carr and the stand off Campbell-Gillard to turn up in the first place. 
 

Shambolic decision IMO. 

[StandOffHalf]

7 hours ago, ghost crayfish said:

You're blaming the Aussies for this ridiculous system? Why should they be forced to name a 'likely starting 17' at this point of the tour? They haven't played in a few years and it's their stated policy to use the group games as trials to figure out who their strongest 17 for the knock outs will be. Attempting to name it that way could create division in the team, make some players feel like their cards have been marked etc. I totally understand why they've gone this way, even if it is a shame it will look so ridiculous.

I hated what the Aussies did and said last year, but I totally agree that they are quite right to rebel against this stupid, untraditional and confusing squad number system. Why should they foster squad hierarchy/unrest by favouring 17 players from the outset?

I hope it is binned and we go back to a matchday 1-17. Good on the Kangaroos for throwing a spanner into the works.

An utterly misguided, unnecessary, soccer-informed change.

[Just Browny]

5 minutes ago, StandOffHalf said:

Why should they foster squad hierarchy/unrest by favouring 17 players from the outset?

They'd better pick all 24 players for the first game so nobody gets upset.

I don't have any problem with squad numbers being used. It is somewhat easier for me to pick out and follow certain players I am interested in if they have a predetermined number, rather than rely on hearing and remembering what is read out over the PA system on the day. What the Aussies have done here is a bit weird.

[StandOffHalf]

14 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

They'd better pick all 24 players for the first game so nobody gets upset.

I don't have any problem with squad numbers being used. It is somewhat easier for me to pick out and follow certain players I am interested in if they have a predetermined number, rather than rely on hearing and remembering what is read out over the PA system on the day. What the Aussies have done here is a bit weird.

I find it much easier to go 1-13.

But the Aussies' decision isn't so much about fans following. It's about players being locked into a jumper that infers a pecking order.

Plus, some positions in league are referred to by their numbers. Hooker and #9 are synonymous, fullback and #1 the same. #6 and #7 stand-off and scrum-half/half-back are also pretty much interchangeable.

Bringing in squad numbers throws away this tradition and has the potential to foster ill-feeling among players on the outside of the 17.

I think it is an incredibly stupid and uncalled for break with the familiar and the expected.

Strill not too late to quietly bin it and continue with a matchday 1-17.

Edited October 6, 2022 by StandOffHalf

[UTK]

I don't even think it's rebelling, I genuinely reckon Michael Hagan/Mal Meninga think this is a good idea and no one was brave enough to tell them they're morons. 

I really can't put into words how much I hate this. Worst bit is some of them somewhat align properly and then I'll just see DCE and Jake Trbojevic running out as wingers and I'll become violently ill. 

Edited October 6, 2022 by UTK

[Just Browny]

11 minutes ago, StandOffHalf said:

 

But the Aussies' decision isn't so much about fans following. It's about players being locked into a jumper that infers a pecking order.

 

They've literally put them in order of seniority!

[StandOffHalf]

7 minutes ago, UTK said:

I don't even think it's rebelling, I genuinely reckon Michael Hagan/Mal Meninga think this is a good idea and no one was brave enough to tell them they're morons. 

I really can't put into words how much I hate this. Worst bit is some of them somewhat align properly and then I'll just see DCE and Jake Trbojevic running out as wingers and I'll become violently ill. 

Nah, I don't think these two legends would be that crass.

To me, it looks a very obvious riposte to a stupid decision by RLWC organisers. Organising it by captain and then by tenure in green and gold maintains a glimmer of tradition.

I agree that the numbers next to names look utterly awful. I blame the RLWC organisers/IRL for the whole debacle. I admire the Aussies for not wanting to go with the new system.

Another saddening example of terrible management by those entrusted with guarding the international game.