Pacific Championships 2024

[JM2010]

I’m looking forward to Samoa coming here but would also like to see Aus, NZ, Tonga and Samoa all competing in the Pacific Championship

[Damien]

10 minutes ago, JM2010 said:

I’m looking forward to Samoa coming here but would also like to see Aus, NZ, Tonga and Samoa all competing in the Pacific Championship

It is fundamentally flawed the way they are doing it.

[Sports Prophet]

13 hours ago, The Future is League said:

My point is though we are not going to grow the game in Tonga, Samoa etc if the authorities don't encourage the game to grow at local level there by giving local players the chance at least to be part of the national squad.

I think I'm right in saying that Jamaica had some players from their domestic league in their squad at the last world cup.

The game is growing in Tonga and Samoa etc, so give it a rest.

[Sports Prophet]

2 hours ago, Damien said:

It is fundamentally flawed the way they are doing it.

How else would you run it? I would think the best way to run a Pacific Championship would leave England out in the cold wouldn’t it?

I don’t think a Samoa Tonga match is on the cards which is a definite shame. That would be a great fixture to kick off a championship with and get some momentum.

Edited August 24, 2024 by Sports Prophet

[StandOffHalf]

Samoa and Tonga should surely be playing before Toa Samoa catch the boat over to the UK? It would get both teams up and running and be a great, colourful occasion to boot.

[Jparrish]

4 hours ago, StandOffHalf said:

Samoa and Tonga should surely be playing before Toa Samoa catch the boat over to the UK? It would get both teams up and running and be a great, colourful occasion to boot.

Hope so but doubt it. Western Sydney or Auckland and it would be a massive crowd

[fenster]

10 hours ago, StandOffHalf said:

Samoa and Tonga should surely be playing before Toa Samoa catch the boat over to the UK? It would get both teams up and running and be a great, colourful occasion to boot.

100%

it’s actually the biggest fixture in New Zealand outdrawing the kiwis.

[fenster]

5 hours ago, Jparrish said:

Hope so but doubt it. Western Sydney or Auckland and it would be a massive crowd

Mt smart would easily sellout with added temporary seats as would somewhere like Hamilton.

would love to test the ground for a Tonga v Samoa game at Eden Park or a game between either island side and New Zealand as I think with sensible pricing a crowd north 35k-40k is achievable. 

[Damien]

39 minutes ago, fenster said:

100%

it’s actually the biggest fixture in New Zealand outdrawing the kiwis.

And in true RL fashion I don't think it's actually been played in New Zealand since the 2017 World Cup. The game has spectacularly failed to take advantage of the rise of Tonga that started during that World Cup and Samoa since.

We should have been having huge, blockbuster matches between Samoa, Tonga and NZ every year, it's a disgrace we haven't.

[fenster]

26 minutes ago, Damien said:

And in true RL fashion I don't think it's actually been played in New Zealand since the 2017 World Cup. The game has spectacularly failed to take advantage of the rise of Tonga that started during that World Cup and Samoa since.

We should have been having huge, blockbuster matches between Samoa, Tonga and NZ every year, it's a disgrace we haven't.

And all played in New Zealand in cities like Auckland, Hamilton, wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin etc spreading the word of the kiwis and international RL throughout New Zealand.

[Damien]

2 minutes ago, fenster said:

And all played in New Zealand in cities like Auckland, Hamilton, wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin etc spreading the word of the kiwis and international RL throughout New Zealand.

RU were that troubled they changed their eligibility rules and copied RL to allow players to swap, introduced new Super RU teams and introduced their own Pacific Cup. They were on the rack and scared of this RL juggernaut taking over.

All the while RL couldnt have done a better job of trying to kill it by doing the bare minimum, scrapping mid season matches and playing at some strange venues.

[fenster]

8 minutes ago, Damien said:

RU were that troubled they changed their eligibility rules and copied RL to allow players to swap, introduced new Super RU teams and introduced their own Pacific Cup. They were on the rack and scared of this RL juggernaut taking over.

All the while RL couldnt have done a better job of trying to kill it by doing the bare minimum, scrapping mid season matches and playing at some strange venues.

Sounds about right sadly.

[fenster]

14 hours ago, JM2010 said:

I’m looking forward to Samoa coming here but would also like to see Aus, NZ, Tonga and Samoa all competing in the Pacific Championship

Ideal scenario would be a 6 nations tournament involving Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and PNG split into 2 groups of 3.

Each nation plays 2 group games with the nation finishing top of both groups progressing to the final.

suncorp stadium(Brisbane) or Mt smart(Auckland) could host the final.

[fenster]

Are we also getting a PM13 match between PNG and Australia this year?

[Dave T]

29 minutes ago, fenster said:

Are we also getting a PM13 match between PNG and Australia this year?

They'll let us know on the Thursday that week. 

[fenster]

3 minutes ago, Dave T said:

They'll let us know on the Thursday that week. 

Haha!!

all joking aside what with a potential PNG NRL team being the #19 side we should also get a woman’s test and a u20’s or schoolboys game also.

[The Future is League]

13 hours ago, Sports Prophet said:

The game is growing in Tonga and Samoa etc, so give it a rest.

Says a man who a fan of the Anglo-irish game first and was outed as a troll on League-unlimted with his pro fumbleball posts.

[Sports Prophet]

12 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Says a man who a fan of the Anglo-irish game first and was outed as a troll on League-unlimted with his pro fumbleball posts.

Love you  

[Dave T]

So when is the rest of this tournament going to be announced? 

[BristolDevonCharlie]

On 25/08/2024 at 16:08, Dave T said:

So when is the rest of this tournament going to be announced? 

Looking at the schedule, and the way the NRL generally announce things, my bet is on Tuesday (3rd) or Wednesday (4th) next week.

That way it is before the Finals (as Brad Walter said), and it also doesn't clash with any NRL game days. Also, for some reason they don't usually announce things on Mondays. 

I hope I am wrong and it is sooner. 

[Damien]

3 minutes ago, BristolDevonCharlie said:

Looking at the schedule, and the way the NRL generally announce things, my bet is on Tuesday (3rd) or Wednesday (4th) next week.

That way it is before the Finals (as Brad Walter said), and it also doesn't clash with any NRL game days. Also, for some reason they don't usually announce things on Mondays. 

I hope I am wrong and it is sooner. 

The really bizarre thing is for the NRL to run 2 different articles on this, from an Australia and NZ perspective, but not just do a bog standard release article too along with those. They have effectively announced it, but just forgot or don't care about giving us a proper release.

[17 stone giant]

Is the Pacific Championship likely to be covered by Sky, or where can it be watched? Thanks.

[sam4731]

3 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said:

Is the Pacific Championship likely to be covered by Sky, or where can it be watched? Thanks.

Given that the Championships will be an NRL tournament and not an international tournament, it will almost definitely be shown on Sky as they have the UK rights to the NRL.

[BristolDevonCharlie]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

The really bizarre thing is for the NRL to run 2 different articles on this, from an Australia and NZ perspective, but not just do a bog standard release article too along with those. They have effectively announced it, but just forgot or don't care about giving us a proper release.

That is a bit bizarre. It is as if Brad Walter was prepping for an announcement with those articles and they pushed it back.

Also, with the NZRL announcing their fixtures last week, you wonder if they just got fed up of waiting for the NRL, and potentially losing ticket sales. Luckily tickets are on sale for the games in NZ now.

 

[Damien]

At last:

The National Rugby League (NRL) has today announced the draw for the 2024 Pacific Championships to be played in four countries across four consecutive weekends in October and November. 

In a major development, the 2024 edition will see the introduction of promotion and relegation with the winner of the Men’s and Women’s Pacific Bowls to play off against the third-placed Pacific Cup nations for a place in their respective 2025 Pacific Cup pools. 

Fiji will host Pacific Championship matches for the first time as the event expands further into the Pacific in 2024, with Port Moresby’s Santos Stadium to once again host matches alongside Brisbane, Christchurch, Auckland and Sydney.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/08/30/2024-pacific-championships-draw-announced

Edited August 29, 2024 by Damien