The A-League is an average league in global soccer, but your way of about the NBL. The NBL is basically the 2nd best basketball league in the world. You have the NBA at the top then 10-leagues who are more or less the same and that includes the NBL. It’s NBA and the rest..

I’ll address some points TWAS, as you raised some good points and I’ll counter..

1) So only care about the world cup(every 4 years) lions(every 12 years) Bledisloe(two games a yr)? Well yes as as a matter of “FACT YES”, correct..
The casual fan only tunes in for these games, and the marquee players only care about these games to(eg maybe a fancy spring tour at Twickenham or Paris might sell to for there interest levels).. The casual wallaby fan only basically cares about these wallaby tests(world cup/lions/bledisloes), i don’t see pubs packed for tests vs the Boks or Argentina unlike those three other wallaby events, eg Argentina, italy, Boks, scotland, one of fiji tests etc, fail the pub test with the casual fan(no interest)..

2)You bang on about training camps, oh big deal if players miss the January camp.. The january camp has been roundly criticized this year as a waste of time, and injuries were sustained eg Dave Pocock our best player.. It was a major disruption on super rugby pre-season camps.. No certainty it will return in a world cup year.. And anyway as I said, the genuinely important camp is the one in July-2019, and all wallabies will be available eg european giteau law wallabies like TPN. Just like in 2015, Gits/Drew Mitchell were realized by Toulon as it was the off-season in Europe, and they attended the whole world cup pre-camp and played in the warm matches, so no nitty gritty stuff did they miss, there was no unnecessary january camp..

3) You bang on about wallabies being a team in there own right, well argentina/boks, now are picking overseas players again for world cup, and they won’t be attending any January camps, so what.. But there best overseas players will all be available for the July world cup camp which is the serious camp anyway and the one that counts, and there best possible side will be sent to the world cup eg overseas players like Figallo/Isa who don’t play super rugby .. And Argentina and the Boks will cope fine, with B teams over the next four years often anyway.. Our locals are good enough to be competitive vs Italy, and fiji. Honestly the casual fan couldn’t care less if we lose to the Boks and argentina more outside of world cups.. Fiji, cope fine without there best side unless it’s at a world cup etc.. And maybe RA should change the business model anyway, to making a full time NRC being the major profit machine not the Wallabies… The aussie boomers basketball team play B and C teams for it’s games unless it’s at the olympics/basketball world cup etc, and they cope fine and the players attend the pre-tournament camp, and YES it’s the only two times basketball fans in mass numbers every four years care about the Boomers correct who cares.. As said, spring tour games and tests vs argentina fail the pub test and are nothing more than soccer style friendlies that most don’t care about no wonder world rugby is trying to create a league of nations tournament as no one cares about the spring tour or july three test series(outside lions)…

TWAS more crap your talking regarding training camps.. For the wallaby world cup training camp in 2015, both Matt Giteau and drew mitchell attended the whole world cup pre-camp and didn’t miss any thing with full permission from Toulon. Stop acting like the european clubs in 2019 and beyond won’t let players go to the world cup training camp/and the world cup.. They allow all the players from all nations to attend the world cup training camp/and the world cup.. Give it up twas, and reward disloyalty not punish it by picking inferior locals for world cups, who stayed loyal to the cause for less money.

they don’t need to B, we play a B team vs all matches except, the World cup/lions series and bledisloes.. And who cares, we are playing a B team now as it is, as quite a few wallabies would make the wallaby 23 but aren’t gonna be picked coz they took the money overseas(skelton/joc/joe tomane/sean mcmahon/and soon same kerevi and adam coleman). reward such mercenary money hungry behavior from these wallabies and let em have there cake and glory and only turn up for world cups and lions. basketball does that with the boomers, it allows it’s best players to only turn up for world cups/olympics if it wants and turn up for nothing else..

stop talking crap TWAS, all the aussie players will be released by there club for the world cup and lions series.. Will Skelton would be released for the world cup from saracens, it’s rugby australia that won’t.. stop acting like the clubs wouldn’t in 2019 they will. let players abandon local aussie super rugby and only turn up for the world cup and lions series if that’s all they wanna turn up for, stop acting like the clubs will stop em and hold em to ransom.. Regulation 9 will protect them, all the european players will be release to represent there european nations, as will the argentina and south africa players. Isa from Argentina the star no 8 for toulon is going to the world cup and has been named in argentina’s playing squad as argentina is picking european argentina players again as is south africa..

They will be released, so let australian players overseas only turn up when it suits them(the world cup and a lions series, and the odd bledisloe).. and get over the fact that makes us weak for spring tour games vs italy or games vs the boks or games vs argentina in the rugby championship, the players don’t care otherwise they would be staying..

open the floodgates and let wallaby players only turn up for the glory games, and use local players for non world cup/lions series games.. get over it TWAS, let the players have there cake and eat it to..
So stop acting like the european clubs will stop them from playing in a world cup, we aren’t pacific island nations. And anyway, pacific island nations players are now almost 100% released and have been since the 2011 world cup squad and have formed a pacific islander union.. Samoa at 2011 world cup had there best squad possible..

Get over it TWAS, and reward disloyal aussie players who are better than local aussie players, and only wanna turn up when it suits them(glory stuff like the world cup/lions).. Get over it that our marquee wallabies don’t care about spring tour games vs italy or one off tests vs fiji or games vs argentina or games vs scotland in newcastle. let players pick and choose and only turn up for world cups and take the big money overseas, let players have there cake and eat it to TWAS…

So sick of stubborn RA, they need to get over it an accept players to want to have there cake and eat it to eg big club money overseas and still turn up for the wallabies for the glory games when it suits them eg the world cup/ and lions series…
Can you imagine the boomers or socceroos not picking Andrew Bogut/Ben Simmons Harry Kewell/Tim Cahill etc. Hell no, they pick the best side possible..
The Boomers let the likes of Bogut Patty Mills Ben Simmons pick and choose games eg only turn up for the Basketball world cup/Olympics basically..
And in the old days before Australian soccer moved to Asia, our best more or less only turned up for the South Americans two legged play offs eg Kewell Viduka types.. The rest of the time we basically used NSL games to demolish the likes of Tahiti in Oceania qualifiers..
Same applies in basketball at the moment, we used NBL players more or less to sweep commonwealth games gold medal and asian cup gold medal..
But basketball Australia allows that, and has no objection to picking NBA Boomers who only wanna turn up to the glory tournaments and nothing else..
Rugby Australia need to have the same attitude.. So what if Will Skelton/Matt Giteau/Samu Kerevi/James O’Connor types only wants to turn up to things like World Cups/Lions series/Bledisloe Cups, who cares pick em.. We allow such behavior by our basketball and soccer players..
And who cares if super rugby becomes a farm league for european comps.. In soccer and basketball, our A-League and NBL are farm leagues to european soccer comps and the NBA, who cares..
Does Portugual ban Ronaldo from the national team coz he doesn’t play his club soccer in Portugal anymore, um no.. Could you imagine the uproar, if we went to world cup soccer 2006 and Hiddink didn’t pick Kewell/Viduka/Tim Cahill/Mark Scwarcher coz they chose not to play in the A-League?

The impact is the player welfare and injury thing, as opposed to lost interest from fans in the NRL.. But the old argument is that origin brings in huge money that funds the competition and clubs, so clubs especially club coaches ahem to get over it and accept that origin pays the bills including there salaries in no small way as if no origin the TV deal becomes smaller and less money for clubs to pay players and coaches..

less tv advertising and sponsors and players trying to make money and just playing for the love of elating new or old like the 80’s and less of sports business attitude and a more for love and semi professional attitude of the 80’s where throwing cans on the field and Wally this wally that insults at the scg, and calling nsw cockroaches .. No one is calling nsw cockroaches on mass. It’s as if gen y and millennials don’t want 80s and 90’s stuff like wally a w****r and cattle dog and cockroaches and cane toads and beer cans being chucked out on the ground. they want ads shoved down there throat and batch’s blues..

No spirit, just endless tv advertising and sponsors and corporate world trying to make money out it and the players to eg big match fees.. There’s no spirit, just players and companies who wanna make lots of money.. At least cattle dog had true spirit it wasn’t a money making gimmick.. No idea why fans keep coming back to it to be drones to be sold products to for two hours… Suncorp was just draped with advertising.. Spirit, what spirit? All i remember is trying to be sold cartons of VB and cheap airlines tickets and four x beer..

It’s become like the super bowl with endless advertising and commercials it doesn’t feel like the footy anymore, it’s just endless hyperboles and ads.. It doesn’t feel like NSW vs QLD anymore just shameless commercialism and ads.. It feels pointless like a glorified club game or city vs country..
AFL was right to ditch its origin.. And players injured during the series harms the NRL clubs etc eg Klemmer out now..
Test footy actually has some meaning, it’s not all about advertising..
The average fan couldn’t care less about origin if you ask me, i don’t care remotely anymore if we lose to QLD, globalization a global world not just two states playing.. Storm 2017 side and roosters 2018 side and tonga 2017 side are all better than both NSW and QLD 2019 sides..

AFC/FFA want the Nix out and rightly so.. Big deal if there is 4.5 million kiwis who cares they are not AFC members it’s farcical they are playing in an AFC sanctioned competition.. And AFC are very annoyed with FFA and made there feelings clear on this to FFA.. Just be gone Nix, and re-apply in Auckland or Welly if NZ joined AFC… I don’t think NZ will join AFC anytime soon, and why would they.. With the world cup likely to almost certainly expand the number of places at 2026 WC, and Oceania guaranteed a spot , it’s a dream run for NZ rather than have to be in the expensive pitfalls of Asia and the AFC where qualifying is gonna get very tough for the socceroos despite more asian places.. Plus an almost certain guaranteed olympic spot to(big deal if fiji occasionally gets into olympics).. So yep, the Nix should be booted, hurry up AFC/FFA get on with it you don’t want kiwi teams in your comps and rightly so just get on with it, enough with excuses..

The champions league group stages have got so boring if you ask me, I’d make the round of 16 onwards just one game knockouts where the highest placed team hosts the match, and the two finals teams, the highest place team should host the final.. But the final stuff ain’t always so easy as you have to organize venue booking etc…

You say all this critsicing the model, but don’t fans of these top leagues get sick of always playing each other in europe.. Or are they content to have a closed shop these fans, as fans ultimately pay the bills and if fans don’t watch then there is no game..
Look at NRL with it’s salary cap any team can win and does, unlike spain or scotland where the usual barc/real madrid/celtic/rangers have an almost universal monopoly, oh what fun for fans.. Leiscter winning the EPL i thought is better at making more fans interested than liverpool wining UCL or Man City the EPL.. But maybe football fans of the big sides like a monopoly and that pays the bills, not endless teams winning like a hot potato that is the ALFL/NRL..

I believe it was a smear campaign in order to try and and make sure Alan doesn’t get his contract paid out or set up road blocks to make it difficult for him to get his severance pay etc.

I meant a disruption to the NRL season(typing error above)

I haven’t watched origin properly since 2010, it feels like a glorified club game now eg like what city vs country became, and origin feels like it’s going down the same track.. Especially when it’s so hard to define what a NSW and QLD’er is anymore.. Sometimes the NRL sides have better sides than the two origin sides, it no longer feels the pinnacle and it just feels pointless and a disruption to the test season.. The rugby league world cup is the no 1 rep event if you ask me.. I don’t care about beating QLD anymore and haven’t since 2010, the concept of origin is outdated… Just feels like a club game.. It’s not anymore or less intense than hard semi final now, as every player in the NRL is full time pro and every NRL player is now capable of playing state of origin..

super rugby is dead, and big deal about the game in Fiji.. I don’t want anything to do with japan argentina or south africa in a super rugby comp. Australian local comp full time pro NRC or a trans tasman comp. Maybe one P.I team based in Suva but that’s it.. Im patriotic and im so bored of watching argentina japan and south africa teams… Also allow more foreign imports into super rugby 5 per side and pick players taking big money overseas eg will skelton.. who cares if australian rugby becomes a farm league.. Most aussie rugby fans follow the shute shield now and only a tiny minority of aussie rugby fans follow super rugby anymore, no one cares in australia..
Argentina and south africa now are picking players overseas unrestricted who take the big money overseas..

doubt he will make world cup squad eg injuries etc

Australians are not going to super rugby games or watching on TV, surely sanzaar and kof/kayo are noticing this and think why not just pull the plug come the end of season 2020… Or does it not matter if super rugby loses money and the broadcasters only care about wallaby games, and super rugby is just a national team trial and keeping elite players match fit? Unlike in europe where club pride/international duty is equal..

Rugby Australia only have themselves to blame for incompetence and I reckon Cameron Clyne should be sacked over this and maybe Rayline Castle.. Signing Izzy back to a $4million dollar deal, it now appears the contract terms were not strong enough, this all happened on there watch.. Izzy might get a big payout now, and to me the RA board and cameron clyne and ratline castle have to take some of the blame.. Were the RA contract terms not strong enough, as it appears now there were cracks in the contract etc…. Like the 2014 Di Patson stuff with KB.. At the start RA were on the offensive blaming Kurtly Beale etc, then look how that turned out, the ARU were left with egg on there face etc, and cover ups etc and blame games. I think Izzy will be sacked with a termination payout(maybe the whole lot) but also Cameron Clyne and Ratline castle might get sacked to over this, as this all happened on there watch this PR disaster..
Shades of Des Hasler all over again at the Bulldogs for Raylene Castle and the chairman at the dogs..

Brett you say that, so did you oppose the scuttling of this match in brisbane at this time and date? I didn’t and a drinks break was fine and adequate. If the heat is so bad etc, why aren’t RA raising such concerns with sanzaar and the media.. Clearly the heat issues playing rugby in Jan-Feb-march-Sept-Oct-Nov in Australia are fine as they continue to schedule matches during this time..

You keep saying dangerously warm, I’m not sure super rugby in febuary in australia is played at in quarters. You imply every night will be hot, if it’s a hot night after 6pm when uv has gone down or almost dark anyway, who says it will be 40 degrees every night. You do know the bleidisloe was played in brisbane in october 2014 did you oppose that..

The cowboys play in townsville all year round and in march when it’s hot and hot always and they play footy up there in spring, they play in sept and townsville hosted a league test in october about 5 years ago, no one died and players were not impacted. they wouldn’t hot games in townsville in sept and oct if they thought they were being negligent. sanzaar is not being negligent staging super rugby games in australia in febuary..

I’ve been told by a south american source that it was Argentina’s A side(best under 20 side) that lost to Uruguay in the u-20 south american titles..

Only pro level… AFL/NRL is far bigger competition market than cricket tor basketball or soccer… But maybe tv networks have thought about this and think rugby will get more tv ratings in SH when played in autumn winter mainly. Then again south africa now has two teams in pro 14 and are playing summer rugby, as those two teams play the european season..

I doubt even GRR will ever actually happen…
USA has MLR which is developing nicely, so they won’t put super rugby teams in a SANZAAR comp.
South america is starting a super rugby style comp next year or year after, and has america’s rugby championship developing well..
I see Argentina gravitating to the America’s more and more.. Uruguay won the under-20 south american championship for first time, beating argentina B side. Argentina will have to start sending it’s firsts side I reckon from now on..
Argentina like south africa, will be picking players from anywhere for world cup, super rugby and europe clubs..
Pro-14 might want more south african sides..
I think NRC might happen in 2020 a full time NRC or a trans tasman super rugby comp. I see singapore a better chance to be part of some asian super rugby comp with australia etc.
Japan and the the JRFU have two strong pro divisions, super rugby gets in the way..
But USA and Japan will maybe join expanded RC in 2021 if world rugby’s plans ever happen which I doubt they will anyway…

i think Aust/NZ should move to an August-May calendar at pro level and align with europe under a true global rugby calendar.. And drop the hot weather crap, we play rugby in spring/summer now anyway in Australia, and you can play matches at 6pm. Cowboys in NRL.. And on weekend it was humid as in suncorp the game didn’t get cancelled..

SANZAAR is fragile beyond 2020 in my view..