SMITHY: Australia must stop hogging players for rep football to thrive

I'm not so sure about RTS, with all the fancy footwork and the rest. I know Manu can drop a catch, but footwork is good in open space. When you're 15 metres out and the winger has 2 to beat, I'd put my money on Manu. You want to bomb for your winger, I'd put my money on Manu. I think I might also have Mansour in front of RTS. In a tight game when there's not much room, I go for the one step and bust guys, like the 2 I have mentioned. I think there are others I would also play before him too, Any of the back 3 for Parramatta, I think Sio is very under rated. RTS reminds me of Shaun Johnson, speed,big step, hard it get near, they are good in broken play but look average against good defense. If either of these 2 were in SOO, they would get clobbered.

Very true the Aussie team contains players eligible fior NZ that have been poached by Aust most notable Thurston. I think the Aust mentality to win at all costs is destroying International RL and it needs to stop. There are already others that have been badgered into declaring allegence to Qld by Mal Meninga. If you want to stop this then you need to stop it first at SOO level. Example in case is Jarred Hayne- Fijian father who played for NZ, Jarred plays for Fiji then plays SOO for NSW and on to the Kangaroo's, reality is the NSW don't really need him they just want him and the Kangaroo's also don't need him but if they have him no one else can. Hypocracy, Aust play your own players and leave every one elses alone. Maybe NZ with Thurston, Tarmou, Parpili, Milford and a few other would be to much to handle. My hats off to Hoffman and Beale for chosing blood over money.

Coconut, I, and I would think most agree with you. But if Samoa etc turn up to any test against Oz etc with just home grown talent, they are gunna get flogged. No body wants to see this, what we all (most) want is to see is the island teams be on a level with the others. Now wouldn't that be something. Image having an end of year or bi annual 5 nations and no one is sure who's gunna win it! Your local home talent has to realise they gotta be as good as the guys in the NRL and the only way to do that at present is to be in it. It's a sad fact, I know it, cause we can't fit all the Warriors under 20 stars in the Warriors, we kiwis' know we are going to lose most to other clubs. Just cause I can't speak gaelic or a north american dialect does that make me any less an indigenous from those places, I would feel sad for the person from that area who would not accept me in any shape or form! I live in Auckland, I think the biggest Islander city, The islanders who live here, maybe aren't as up with their culture, but I can tell you they are proud of where they came from, they went insane for their rugby teams in the world cup here. They cannot be begrudged for living here or anywhere, as I believe I can't be. You can live and work in Oz being a kiwi and so many have, paid their taxes and been good citizens. Why can't they play SOO and play for NZ, we are ANZACs, we are bothers. They gotta make some clear cut rules, Rugby union has turned their back on the islands, don't let us make the same mistake. I wanna see a 5 or 6 nation very competitive end of year comp, that would be something special!!!!

Well said dude!! Yet the Brian Smith's of this world seem to think it a great idea for teams from the Islands to be filled up with Oz born and raised players!!

You've not answered my question Brian. Should players with dual eligibility, the majority of whom actually appear to have been born in Oz, should they not be selected for Oz rep teams as a policy, and should they be made to choose any nation, other than Oz? Because that appears to be exactly what you are implying by this statement "So why does Australia have players eligible for New Zealand in its ranks all the way down to junior level? "

I'm from the islands, and I'll tell you what I think. And there are many people like me here who share this opinion. We actually DONT LIKE overseas players taking spots over our local players. Many Polynesians, in fact most of them in NZ, were either born there, or moved there with their mum and dad years ago. A lot dont even speak the language of their island origin, nor do they identify all that closely with island life and culture. At the same time, league and union competitions in the islands are pretty strong between villages or sister islands... so there is a need for ongoing grassroots funding and support in these places. Kevin Iro is one here who has done alot to identifying local talent through our domestic competitions and helping them to get contracts in Australia and NZ. In this case, they go with our collective blessing, and best hopes for them to make a life as a professional footballer. Even better for us if they make themselves available for national selection at some point down the track. Local players however need to work towards something, at that normally is the opportunity to represent their country (like it is anywhere else, unsurprisngly). When unknown overseas players, who have very little connection back home end up getting picked for 7s, or for National League or Union squads, it deprives homegrown players of the same opportunity. A better formula is to have one or two overseas players as mentors, but develop the sport in the islands by given them the opportunity to represent their countries.

The problem with the internationalism response is that only half of union has made it all around the world at the moment. The game is played in all sorts of places, under all sorts of conditions but professionalism has lagged drastically behind it. The USA is growing, but not in the areas it really needs to. They have more participants than Australia, New Zealand or any of the Island nations above them but they still languish in 17th. The professional structure is laughable, especially for a nation that the IRB are supposed to be trying to preach to. Rugby League has more interstate semi-pro leagues up and running than union. They have a lot of talent running about but very little means for them to be scouted out and put into professional environments so they can be competitive. The All Blacks and maybe the springboks will continue to be the best nations for as long as Super Rugby survives as they have teams and players in the highest standard Rugby competition in the world. Argentina and whoever else might also get a leg up but NZ and SA will continue to sit in a position of dominance. Holding the majority of the player base in the league loyal to them. Union probably has much, much more potential than league to be a global powerhouse sport but it still desperately lacks serious professional leagues to house their thousands of international players stranded playing park rugby.

Brian you agree on Foran.. Why can't he play for NSW ? I know you need to choose but why do you have to choose he is a local junior by every other definition in fact he played for NSW in U18

Your data base has not influenced my thinking at this point - Tupou has made his way to borderline SOO selection with no push from the "stars" - hard earned. RTS is flashy and pretty with all that footwork but is dodgey under kicks, can't pass with accuracy under pressure, doesn't yet know about positional play in either wing or fullback positions. He is a tremendous young talent who needs another couple of seasons to learn RL. Tupou has issues too but has made his way without out media mania.

I wouldn't for Moa and RTS but after more thought would find a spot for JB

You are naive if you don't think that players eligible for both countries are not subjected to pressure to choose one over the other. My point is Australia RL does no one any favors by doing that. Lopsided representative RL is not for me. If you like it then .......

Sorry Tom can't agree - Pearce and another half a dozen) over Johnson; Tupou (and 3 or 4 others) over RTS; agree on Bromwich but not on Eastwood. Foran would definitely be 6 though if fit.

Muzz I seem to be the only guy who thinks Tupou is over rated. Dont get me wrong, I think he is talented and probably be better suited to playing full forward for the Swans. He has problems with the ball on the ground (other coaches will catch on soon) and he turns very slowly. Importantly, he is a very poor finisher and oftem misses tries when someone like Morris would have got the ball down. he steps out more than he needs to and when he is in the clear, he is totally lost and not good at linking up with supports. He seems to catch the ball from a standing start which gives the fullback time to get him. I understand he is young and will improve, but to say he is better than Roger is folly. Roger is rated at 550k on my Data Base and Tupou $200. Let history decide.

OK. Pre 1980, New South Wales v Queensland rugby league matches.

probably because they know its easier to make the kiwi side. would bryson goodwin be any chance of making the kangaroos?

you make a lot of sense Glenn

that's true. RL has very loose rules for eligibilty. the PI are not being raided big time

people forget that guys like cayless,beale,hoffman and pritchard were born and raised in australia

Yeah but you're limiting it to the Australian market. Union actually does have a very big leg to stand on compared to League worldwide. The Rugby World cup is one of the biggest sporting events in the world in terms of match attendance & TV audience. So mate, I hope you don't discriminate & you watch the 2015 RWC in England because it's going to be something special & 7's inclusion into the Olympics will only take Union to new heights as well. And you know the all powerful & influential nation the USA? Well Union is its fastest growing sport & player numbers across the globe have doubled since the 2007 RWC. How has League expanded in recent years? Look I agree, Rugby is a bit too defensive & structured at the moment & can be a bit dull at times when the game are not played with real passion & intensity, but passion & intensity alone can make a great Rugby game even if there's a lack of tries. League supporters (& I also enjoy watching League) always seem too focus on poking holes in the amount tries scored in Union, to suggest that's all the game is about is an insult. Attack will continue to evolve according to the defense as it always does & you'll start to see a positive change in the game. There are already signs SA & England & a few of the more conservative playing nations are moving in that direction to try & catch the AB's & it will have a flow on effect. England changed Rugby when they dominated with a very basic structured style in 02/03 & the AB's dominance is starting to shift it back in the other direction. When a game of Union flows (tries or not) I believe there's no better contact sport in the world. I'd also recommend watching the U20's RWC which starts next month in NZ. Those boys play with no fear & play Union how it should be played.

Something I can't understand is, why does Australia get the ANZAC test pretty much every year? Especially when you don't even really care about it. NZ has had it twice since it started & it was a 13-14 year gap between those tests. It's not like it's some long arduous journey across the Tasman sea. In the last 15 years we've probably had on average one Kiwi test in NZ a year & it's usually 2 or 3 year gaps between tests with the odd catch up due to a few 4 nations fixtures which are usually against England & PNG. It makes no sense to me because these tests would not only generate a lot more interest in NZ due to the fact that Kiwi tests are so rare here but we also don't have any pinnacle representative football like the S.O.O so these ANZAC tests would be the pinnacle for NZ crowds. And to add to that, the Kiwi's would generally be a lot more competitive with a home crowd behind them as well. Our only ANZAC victory ever came in one of those 2 home tests. It's not like I'm asking for the test to be played in NZ every year, just alternative years as it should be. I mean are you so prideful as a nation that you don't want to see your very dominant team challenged once in a while in foreign conditions against the nation you fought along side. Australia already has massive advantages in league, I mean your League funding dwarfs our & the entire League player base in NZ is 22K. To put that in perspective, your player base divided by your 15 NRL clubs works out to be an average of 32K per club. Let alone getting to play the one off test at home every year, all the big 4 nations & WC finals tend to be played in Australia when they're in this part of the world as well.