Should tier-two countries be donated money in order to develop their rugby league?
Tier-two countries in rugby league will have major improvements and will perform better if the NRL gave them money in order to develop their facilities to become as good or even better than the top-tier countries such as Australia and New Zealand.
Growing up as a young Pacific Islander, you never really saw the Pacific Islands having games against Australia, New Zealand or England.
The only matches you saw the Pacific Island teams play were against other Pacific Island teams. The match-ups were often Tonga vs Samoa or Fiji vs Papua New Guinea.
They didn’t want to put tier-two countries – basically every Pacific Island team – against tier-one countries because they believed it was a waste of time organising an event because the tier-one countries would have flogged the tier-two teams.
Most of the tier-one countries had players whose background was a Pacific Islander one but they didn’t play for their heritage because the money was in the tier-one nations not in the tier two.
Many players representing New Zealand and Australia were often Tongan, Fijian and Samoan but they played for the better team because they got paid higher, whilst tier-two teams often got paid as little as $100 a day.
In the 2017 Rugby League World Cup this had all changed.
Jason Taumalolo represented his homeland at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. (NRLPhotos/Scott Davis)
Two of the NRL’s best players, Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita, both decided to represent their heritage, which was Tonga.
This was a controversial moment in the sport of rugby league. Two of the best players playing for pride instead of money.
This then led to other players coming to play for Tonga and they had quite the team to beat.
Andrew and Jason had already played for Tonga, but only at the rookie stages of their NRL careers. The pair were not at their peak but when they made the decision to return they sure were at the top of their game.
With these rugby league stars coming to play for Tonga, it brought back a spark into the World Cup where everyone was really excited to see Tonga go against New Zealand who were a tier-one country.
There was massive hype going into this game, and it sure did live up to it.
New Zealand opened the game with a try and Tonga tried desperately to hit back. The crowd was full of Tongan supporters dressed in red and singing Tongan hymns, which lifted the players in some stages of the game.
New Zealand took the lead going into half-time but nobody had given up on Tonga.
Tonga produced a late comeback to tie up the game, then bagged an intercept try to take the lead. After another Tongan try, it looked like Tonga was going to win and they did.
It was a historic moment. Not only did a tier-two country beat a tier-one country for the first time, but it was also the first time Tonga had beaten New Zealand.
This is a clear example that if the tier-two countries were given money to develop their facilities – and also to give their players a pay rise – you will see more exciting games and also will witness a true game of rugby league at its finest.
Another tier-two country who beat a tier-two country was Fiji, when they had a close win over the New Zealand team.
The win came with a lot of controversy.
A lot of people were saying that tier-two countries are on the rise and that they should look into investing more money in them, so they can select and retain the players they want.
Tier-two countries should be donated money in order to develop their rugby league and bring more of an X-factor to the international arena. Nations like Tonga make a huge impact on the game.
We have seen the peak of what can happen if they do take these tier-two nations seriously, and it would be amazing to see the tier-two countries use money to develop their facilities and players.
Over here
Roar Rookie
the development of international rugby league is done by the Rugby League International Federation…….www.rlif.com. the Australian rugby league commision looks after rugby league in australia. The NZRL looks after rugby league in New Zealand etc. the NRL is a competition played mostly in australia with a couple of games in NZ
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
They are not ALL heritage players. Yes the overwhelming majority are heritage. Hurrell was born in Tonga Young Tonumaipea and Tim Lafai were born in Samoa. From what I understand the Tongan team were invited to and came to Tonga at the invitation of the King. The point is whether it be by heritage or birth ,the effect on people with that heritage and the people back in the homeland ,when they are successful cannot be measured monetary wise, but by the reaction and joy of the populace. It happened when the Fijians made the semis in the RWLC, playing on the Central Coast. Large sums of money are not needed ,jumpers, boots,balls and development officers are far more essential in the grassroots development.
max power
Guest
agree on PNG but you are wrong about the local RL scene
Kick n Clap
Guest
Let’s just get on with promoting Pacific Rugby League. All them nations deserve all the League support they can get? I not really interested in anybody’s else lack of commitment. We should just crack on and reep what we sow ?
Fred
Guest
The Pacific is not just Tonga and Samoa. PNG's population is double that of New Zealand. And your statement that there are no real rugby league competitions in Samoa and Tonga is incorrect. Tonga especially has a thriving local rl scene, which has been turbocharged since the world cup.
michael holland
Guest
Growing the greatest game in the Pacific is essential for rugby league, In the world cup I loved their traditional war dances, it's beautiful & worth the admission alone & the amount of talent especially in Fiji is huge & definitely worth tapping into, Tonga's passion was awesome so investing into that market would be good & hopefully steal territory off union. I would like to see Rugby league set up 3x 2 tier competitions NSW - QLD - NZ with NZ hosting Pacific teams such as a Suva - (Fiji) - Nuku'alofa - (Tonga) - Apia - (Samoa) with 7 - 9 teams from New Zealand so there is a direct pathway to the NRL for Pacific Islanders that live on the islands & may gain a fan base in New Zealand with pacific Islanders having a descent population that would attend games or have some interest when these teams play in town. The country is also important & shouldn't be neglected
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
This is where the NRL really has rocks in its heads, see the reason cricket is now big in North America, and its become a big TV market is because both Canada and the US now have a couple of million of immigrants each from the subcontinent. If you look at rugby sevens tournaments in the states the Pacific Islanders are a big component of that. Of course your not going to get million from the Pacific islands but its beter than nothing. The NRL actually made a lot of money off the Tonga test, because it got a big crowd and took the whole gate,.The other game the money went to NZ rugby league as the host nation and the crowd was smaller. You can put a billion investment into an expansion region and get little out of it. Thats why the AFL have done, and the reality is the majority of their supporters in NSW and Qld were people who moved from interstate and would have followed the AFL anyway. Invest in those who are interested in your sport then why move elsewhere and become richer than you get the financial return.
Peter Piper
Guest
I have to ask WHY? No disrespect to these countries or their teams but they are never going to positively contribute to our sport in cash terms and right now we are hardly dripping in funds. Their players have the opportunity to come over here and participate in the NRL as it stands. Why should we invest in these countries when we cannot even invest in this country, putting teams in Perth, Adelaide, Tasmania et al with the common argument being that they would never make money. Why would we invest in these countries at the expense of our own Sydney clubs that struggle to make ends meet now - should we tell these clubs that we are going to reduce the clubs grant by $1m so that we can invest in the Pacific nations ? Why should we invest here where there is no money as opposed to say the u.s. where there may not be as much interest but where even a small win would reap rich rewards. The thinking here might be nice but it is not practical.
Jacko
Guest
Whilst I applaud your sentiment re the islands I think you need to realise that Fifita was born in Aus and taumalolo was born in NZ. These Island players are playing for their country of heritage not their country of Birth as many are born in NZ mainly and now more and more commonly in Aus. So its only when they are not selected for their country of birth that they look at their heritage.
max power
Guest
there are some massive holes in your argument. Firstly Tonga and Samoa teams are all heritage players many of whom have never been to the islands. there are no real RL competitions in these nations. they are so small both in population and finances, giving money would be a waste
AE47
Roar Rookie
Let’s fix our place before we try expansion for the sake of “entertainment”
Steve
Guest
$100 is ok, the Pacific RU teams wouldn't get that, I think Japan RU get $25 a week. If your organisation doesn't make money that's all you can afford.
AE47
Roar Rookie
2nd attempt No , give the money to country clubs who are bleeding, NZ are a tiny RU nation yet lead the world. As for the $100 salary, ask Australians why they holiday in these regions, $100 goes a long way ( not being disrespectful but that’s fact)
Ad-O
Guest
An investment is something you make with expectations of a financial return. What your talking about is subsidisation.