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Joined February 2014
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As a passionate yet frustrated New South Wales supporter, the upcoming team announcements for State of Origin are occupying a significant amount of thinking…
Rugby World Cup 2015 has seen a return to running rugby, with those who have been prepared to chance their arm generally rewarded. The…
The start of a new NRL season always brings many things. Excitement, optimism from (almost) every team's set of supporters, and new rules or…
The Rugby League International Federation and the NRL have come under fire in recent days over their handling of international rugby league, as well…
Sam Burgess will be a let down in rugby - you heard it here first. The speculation surrounding a switch to the fifteen-man code…
What would yours be now Rah? Post final I’d bring in Milner Skudder for AAC, Nonu for Giteau. Dan Carter couldn’t have done much more although Sanchez was excellent all tournament too so that’s a toughie. The havoc Read and Retallick caused the Aussie lineout pushes Read but his injury meant he wasn’t his usual self around the park, so over the whole tournament I still think Pocock just pips him. If it was for a world XV would probably have Read at 8, Pocock at 7 and McCaw at 6 but not based on their play and positions in the tournament. Ben Smith also goes close but the yellow card costs him so will stick with Goromaru as a sentimental favourite.
If any Wallabies played their way in, Scott Fardy at 6 has been great all tournament as has Kepu, who had a good final in a losing team despite the penalties conceded the high tackles.
My pre-final Rugby World Cup XV
What position would be your guess Philip? Also worth noting it was a “pre-final” XV as it says in the headline.
My pre-final Rugby World Cup XV
Which three would that be? I’d say there’s a very strong case for 7 or 8, then the rest up for serious competition.
My pre-final Rugby World Cup XV
I really like this idea Rod. Player committing the offence should be out for the game, which is where only a 5 minute sin bin in my opinion isn’t enough. Also the loss of interchanges for one team and an 18th man being allowed to play could combine to make it a good solution. Problem with the 18th man is clubs would probably nominate a player before kickoff, really to cover all possibilities you need 2 or 3 players on standby (not much advantage bringing in a prop if you lose a halfback or vice versa). Still your solution is my favourite alternative proposed to far.
Where has the rugby league send off gone?
Good article and very accurate, especially the Freddy Fittler/roosters/panthers bias when commentating. Overall he offers very little anyway in my opinion. Joey on the other hand I don’t find too bad and his insights and input on how he reads the game are brilliant.
Gus Gould also has great insights but his constant crusade against the administrators and referees is boring and repetitive.
NRL media conflicts of interest are becoming a problem
Well said, short and to the point with no extra dribble or things to say “look how much I know”. If only the ARU had a similar mentality to the author.
Deans' demons come back to haunt McKenzie
Superstar the point I’m making is it is the game of league suffers more as a result of the eligibility than it gets benefit. America were slaughtered anyway when they played the Aussies, and while they had some great wins before that they aren’t a true reflection of the strength of American Rugby League.
Agree also with the island teams not being competitive without NRL players not selected for Aussies or Kiwis, but at the end of the day most of those listed still choose Australia if selected, then fall back to the island teams. Also the island teams would be very competitive against those outside the big 3, probably the strongest teams.
As mentioned above I’d rather a big 3 tournament for the world cup, then a tier 2 competition run simultaneously for the rest with some sort of quota system that encourages and rewards domestic competitions and bodies for developing their own players, or getting big names to play in the local competitions. This would mean there is less floggings because of pros playing amateurs, plus each team has more chance of taking out the tournament, as opposed to the world cup when all bar 3 are making up the numbers with no chance of a tournament victory, and the majority of the games the results go as predicted.
Time to get serious about international rugby league
I agree with some of the points above from BBT and Boris, especially the rise in standard given to the US based players by playing and training with NRL players which can only be beneficial for their domestic competition standard, as well as their national team in future.
In terms of mockery score lines, I don’t think the RLIF can justify that as a reason when the score lines were so massive anyway. I’d rather watch the big 3 play close (most of the time) games for the world cup, then maybe a tier 2 world cup with the rest of the world to try and even it out. The games would be closer, more enjoyable to watch and more beneficial for players playing a game/tournament they have a chance of winning. To go with this some sort of quota for NRL players, but exemptions for players who play in overseas domestic leagues. This might be difficult timing wise for some countries but encourages players and National Bodies recruiting players to lift the standard of league in the country they are representing for a slightly longer time, across a broader player base than with a few domestic players selected in the national team.
It’s also worth noting that not all Australian players at the world cup representing developing league nations were from the NRL, some from NSW and QLD Cup, and some NSW country players.
Time to get serious about international rugby league
Not sure as I haven’t tried to watch it in the US, but this is the link my friend was using in Portugal. on the NRL website it said it could be streamed, but when he actually tried it was blocked.
Time to get serious about international rugby league
I agree Raj. I remember Sterlo saying a few years ago players might play 250-300 first grade games and never play a grand final, so to treat them the same in regards to the judiciary is unfair.
My solution relies on the “grand finals mean more, they’re not just another game” idea. As well as the suspended sentence, the penalty is tripled, so the player misses the first 3 rounds of the new year. I’m sure if you asked Issac Luke which he’d rather, miss the grand final or rounds 1-3 next year he’d choose the latter. Also, the suspended sentence should be available for minor/grade 1 offences only.
We need a new judiciary system for the game's biggest games
Dugan has played both this year and was a centre in the Australian team and one of the better performers on the night.
Have no problem swapping Fergo and Roberts in defence.
Agree re Pearce he’s got to go. I want a team I can support not a team I don’t like before a ball is kicked.
The Blues need fresh blood to take back Origin