I might be the offseason but a lot has been going on in rugby league over the last few weeks, especially with the international games.
Off the field there has also been plenty to keep us interested, such as the Kirisome Auva’a case.
Too many people have already written about a lot of these things but I decided to just get my thoughts out there. Thus, I introduce to you my (pardon the pun) Set of 6.
First Tackle: Origin is still the biggest stage in rugby league
I know what you are all thinking, It’s only mid-November and the NRL season hasn’t even started. It is way, way to early to be thinking of Origin.
Don’t worry, this isn’t about Origin, well not really. Yet, following another year where the Kiwis managed to stick it to the Kangaroos on the world stage, it has never been more evident that State of Origin is the biggest stage in rugby league.
I think that there is no longer a massive difference in quality between the teams that run out for an Origin game and the teams that run out in black and white for an international. Yet if I had one game to show someone to try and make them understand what league is all about, it would be an Origin game.
There is just something about the State of Origin competition that international league hasn’t managed to get right yet.
As I watched Sione Mata’utia score a try that got called back for a 50/50 call on a forward pass, I didn’t find myself all that worried.
Australia lost to New Zealand, I want to blow up and be angry and frustrated, I want to blame the referee and ultimately I want to care. I really, really do. But I find that I just don’t have it in me.
But then, imagine if it was a Darius Boyd try being called back with 30 seconds to go in an Origin game. Imagine the calls coming from us Queenslanders, accusing all sorts of people from the NRL, to the referee of cheating.
Imagine the New South Welshmen blowing up if it was awarded.
There is something just not quite right in Test matches just yet, and it is the passion of the fans – especially the Australians.
I know a concerning amount of Australians who not only are indifferent that Australia lost but actually hoped New Zealand would win. Claiming to either hate Aaron Woods, Sam Thaiday, Greg Bird, Cameron Smith, Daly Cherry-Evans, David Klemmer, Dylan Walker or in one particularly case, all of the above.
If we want the international game to grow to the level of, or even outgrow Origin, this is an issue that really needs to be addressed.
The rivalry can’t afford to be so quickly dismissed by Australians. Also congratulations to New Zealand on winning a fantastic Four Nations tournament.
Second Tackle- Kirisome Auva’a
I don’t feel the need to write a long section on Auva’a but I do have a few thoughts on the events surrounding his suspension.
Firstly, I would like to refer you all to Sean’s Roar article ‘The truth and hearsay in the Kirisome Auva’a case.’ It is wonderfully written and researched and covers every point I could cover in much better detail than I could. So if you haven’t read it, please go and check it out.
Secondly, I would like to implore anyone who has been able to avoid the misfortune of reading Buzz Rothfield’s article to do so.
The fact that he has attempted to place blame on current NRL management for the mismanagement of the Brett Stewart case is ridiculous and the comparisons to the idiocy of Blake Ferguson and Paul Gallen are equally absurd.
Finally, just for the record, I think the punishment is fair and warranted but I do wish him all the best in turning his life around and improving himself.
Third Tackle: Hayne Plane in the US of A
Definitely my favourite story of the off-season so far. It is also possibly the most ridiculous.
I am an NFL fan and I watch way, way too much for my own good. Do I think he can make it in the NFL?
No, not really…
But I can’t wait to watch and find out!
Fourth Tackle: Future of the Kangaroos
Looking at the Australian team that lined up for us on the weekend it is obvious that the team in the next few years will become vastly different than the team we have right now.
Ageing players will step aside and young guys will have to be ready to step up to the plate. Looking to far ahead is always a bad idea with rep sides, but I decided to have my own attempt at predicting the side for the next Rugby League World Cup in 2017, and explain in a sentence why I selected them.
1. Greg Inglis (captain) – He will be 30 by then, but I have no reason to believe he won’t still be the best fullback in the NRL – barring a Hayne return.
2. Josh Mansour – Good not great in his first stint for the green and gold, definitely deserves a spot in the team.
3. Michael Jennings – Another superb year from the man they call Jenko, was consistently one of the best players on the field every game he played all year.
4. TauTau Moga – This was one of the toughest positions for me to select and I ended up deciding to taking a flyer on an under the radar player.
I really rate this guy, but it is quite possible the player who will fill this spot isn’t an established first grader yet. Other potential contenders are Dylan Walker and Tim Lafai.
5. Sione Mata’Utia – Words cannot describe how impressed I was with this guy, he is going to be a great player for a very long time. If the Bulldogs manage to steal him from the Knights, they will have a hell of a side.
6. Ben Hunt – Another guy I have rated since I saw him running around for St. Brendans in high school. He impressed me at every opportunity this year.
7. Daly Cherry-Evans – Picks himself as the best of Australia’s next generation of halves.
8. Dave Klemmer – This guy can flat out play, a little bit of inexperience showed through but in a few years time he should be a polished player.
9. Jake Friend – This guy is an outright superstar of the game, it is no coincidence the Roosters struggled once he went down and then tried to play through an injury.
10. Aaron Woods – I am not really a fan, but I am resigned to the fact he seems to be in the picture.
11. Boyd Cordner – Another player I am not massive on, despite being a Roosters supporter, but he is still young and improving. Once he irons out a few flaws in his passing game he should be a pretty good player.
12. Josh Jackson – I am not fully sold on his ability to run good lines and make metres, but he is a tackling machine and doesn’t mind to set up his outside man.
13. Matt Gillett – His inconsistencies seem to have stopped his international career before it even really got started, but if he can sort them out a strong year or two for the Broncos should have him right back in the frame.
14. Josh McGuire – I am all in on this guy after his stellar performances for Samoa, and prior to a month ago I couldn’t stand him.
15. Dylan Napa – Super aggressive, runs hard and hits even harder. Once he sorts out his discipline he will be a force in the NRL.
16. Josh Papali – See Aaron Woods. I can’t see what they see in this guy, he had one good season. Nevertheless he makes my 2017 World Cup side.
17. James Segeyaro – What more could you want than this guy coming in off the bench to take a scoot out of dummy half into a tiring forward pack.
In all likelihood my team will be so wrong it is ridiculous, but that is just what I am seeing right now. The 1, 6, 7 and 9 looks like a really promising spine. And Dave Klemmer and Sione Mata’Utia are the real deal.
Fifth Tackle – Samoa and their future on the international landscape
If Samoa had scored just two more tries against New Zealand and England they would have been playing Australia for a spot in the final, even in the months since the World Cup this team has came a long way.
But now they will not play against the big nations until potentially the next World Cup. As long as their is such a big gap between the Tests, these smaller nations players will continue to elect to play for the big three countries first. It is a real shame we won’t see that side for so long.
Sixth Tackle – PSA
Just a quick note that I am planning some sort of preview of the NRL season, but not a serious one – god knows we have enough of those. It should be a lot of fun and part one should be out sometime in the next month.
I also am planning on doing something similar to the Classic Y2K and Breaking Madden series with Rugby League Live 2, but haven’t decided what yet. It should also be pretty funny, if I say so myself.
And finally Roarers, what do you think is holding back the Test matches from being held in the same regard as the State of Origin series?
Craig Watson
Guest
How Josh Papalii scored a coveted Kangaroo jersey is beyond me. Klemmer was a willing worker but is little more than a battering ram. If these are Aussie's best props..god help us. Can see the Kiwis winning for many years to come
Craig Watson
Guest
I think over the top promotion of origin is holding back the status of international rugby league. It is promoted year after year as the time when two states go to war. That is basicly what they do . Every year these three matches are like a war. This passion can sometimes spill over into the international game when there are allegations of bias when more Qld's, or vice verca, are picked in a Kangaroo squad. This has led in the past to resentment which could have a detrimental affect on the Kangaroo performance. This idea will not please many I would like to see this three match origin series reduced to a single game. The concept, which was designed to give Qld's who played south of the border the chance to play a three match annual series wearing the colors of their original state.The concept is no longer relevant and is well past its use by date. Good to get that off my chest.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
I wonder if it has been the dominance of Australia that has stifled international league. I'm more inclined to think the lack of direction and focus on it is the more likely culprit.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Don't believe anyone has suggested otherwise.
breeze
Guest
Everyone here if your not a pacific islander and don't come from Tonga , Samoa & Fiji you have no clue what your talking about the dominant code in all three islands is Rugby Union!! It always has been even in the Rugby Union 7s world tournament as well. The islands do follow league but Rugby Union still remains the no1 game!!
breeze
Guest
7s rugby & 15s rugby is still rugby union not league so no!!
cedric
Guest
yes, I think you are right roosters14, SOO is league on speed, no risks etc, no time for anything fancy. Yes the kiwi/England game or the final, they were really great games. I thought after the first 20 minutes the poms were going to slaughter us, they threw everything at the kiwis'! I do recall sometime ago a sports scientist or something on some show said the polynesians had the best twitch muscule fibre, or something like that and further said they should be the best atheletes in the world! Mind you the Oz Aboriginals are pretty flash at sport, arn't they something like 2% of the population and look how many make the Roos'!
Wardad
Guest
International Rugby League may well be said to have been diminished compared to 50 -60 years ago when France and Wales had some strong teams , indeed up untill 2005 I think it was France who was the last team to win a series against Australia . And the Australian dominance is what has stifled RL as an international game , hardly their fault of course but there it is.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
I remember a match at Penrith stadium a year or two ago, Tonga v Samoa.I can honestly say the ball barely fell to the ground or over the sideline.It was played at breakneck speed,sweeping backline moves,forwards offloading at will(hi Will),backs receiving the ball at speed at times ,and tackles that you could almost feel on the TV.The atmosphere created by an appreciative crowd,was all encompassing. That is the type of football you utilise to promote the game.The game was meant to flow,not slow. I visited Fiji a few years ago and stayed at Mana Island.There is a small airstrip ,on which is scattered plenty of small rocks.I watched one afternoon young Fijian kids playing touch football,barefoot at fullspeed,and rarely saw a dropped ball.These guys from the Pacific Island are so naturally gifted athletes and tough as granite. If the code expands further I would like to see more of them playing in the NRL,they just add that extra X factor.Flair and dare.
roosters14
Guest
You must be joking. Origin is more often than not boring with no flair or risk taking which is not what league is all about. If i am introducing someone to rugby league i show them the NZ v england game from a few weeks ago or from the world cup certainly not origin. It is a big deal in australia but to the rest of the league world internationals is the pinnacle. Indeed the viewing figures for the highlights of the four nations final in england show where the interest lies globally and australias best interest long term would be to forget origin and foster the international game with investment and other resources.
The Barry
Roar Guru
"Sydney centric" is becoming the most overused and inappropriately used phrase in the game. Completely out of context.
Renegade
Roar Guru
Barry, Haha yep! Mind you, within 24 hours of the Kiwis winning.... I've had a similar reaction to that of 2006.
Renegade
Guest
"England are the 3rd best team in the world, but when is their next International game? Sadly it is 12 months down the track." England play a mid-year test as well. On a separate note though.... is 12 months between tests really that bad? I'd be happy with each country playing 4 or 5 games a year even if they were 12 months apart.
mushi
Guest
I was saying you couldn't attack one for using provincialism with out inadvertently attacking the other which is selected and supported along national lines. (which was what the post I was responding to was doing and is clarified if you put in my entire statement that you disagreed with) I know it isn't your work but we've got another SA gem where I am to hang my head in shame that I prefer origin or club football?
cedric
Guest
woodart I think you have read extra things into my piece; I would watch SOO if it was on earlier. I did not say I thought Aussies' who love SOO are doing the game damage. What I said was, it's insular to think SOO is it, because I don't, so not everyone lives for SOO, there are some of us who enjoy tests more. Wow, and if your so concerned about marketing/sponsorship, growing the game, your not in my league, I'm just a guy who loves the game, not the debt and credit ledgers. I love the same old same old. I used to go to Carlaw Park and sit with about 100 people in the rain and watch great footy, I don't need a stadium full of people or worry about the games future, I'm just an ex player and a fan for life!
Boomshanka
Guest
I realise its a sporting site, but can you provide citations as to your warped view of the two isms please? (Here's a few for starters) Patriotism is proud of a country’s virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country’s virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, “the greatest,” but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is. — Sydney J. Harris The difference between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility, but the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to War — Sydney J. Harris Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Both words are normally used in so vague a way that any definition is liable to be challenged, but one must draw a distinction between them, since two different and even opposing ideas are involved. By ‘patriotism’ I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life, which one believes to be the best in the world but has no wish to force on other people. Patriotism is of its nature defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. The abiding purpose of every nationalist is to secure more power and more prestige, not for himself but for the nation or other unit in which he has chosen to sink his own individuality. - George Orwell
Swamprat
Guest
Probably unlikely SOO is likely to change for a bit so it's entirely certain that International rugby league will go nowhere.
hooker
Guest
If the kiwis win for next ten years I'm sure origin will fade into nothing but a warm up
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
If Phil Rothfield makes a statement about rugby league,it is therefore holy writ. The closest they(many rl journos) get to sniffing linament,is in their own bathroom.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Good point renegade, although I recall a lot of NSW fans (including me) saying that before the 2006 series I don't recall too many saying it AFTER Lockyer scored the try on the bell to win the series. The reaction was still pretty filthy.