The Roar
The Roar

The Roar

The Barry

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Joined July 2010

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I’ve been well mate. You?

Obviously excited by guys like Critta, Xerri, Curran and Taaffe but the utility-a-thon leaves me cold. Signing a whole bunch of players who are handy but probably fill rosters positions 18-22 at other clubs doesn’t seem a recipe for success. I guess if they’re in those spots for us, we’re stronger than they were, but if guys like Mann and Hutchison are seriously challenging for top 17 spots, it can’t be good

Kikau almost feels like a new signing given how little footy he played last year. Can’t wait to see how Jacob Preston backs up

But we need props. King and Knight look like being our starting props. They’re both workers and solid players, but too small and get dominated in the middle on both sides of the ball. If they’re three and four in your front row rotation, that’s fine. But not at one and two

I bumped into Phil Gould at Canterbury races a couple of weeks ago. He was actually pretty nice and didn’t mind having a (very) quick chat. As we parted ways I said “Gus, we need some props, mate” his reply was “I’m working on it”

Pressure Points: If Ricky picked up his first wooden spoon, would his position at the Raiders be at risk?

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2d

I wouldn’t have thought the Raiders are genuine spoon contenders. They’d be in the range of 7-14 depending on how things go with injuries, etc

Interested to see how Stuart used Timoko… gun player but maybe not utilised the best for the raiders

Pros: big tough mobile pack

Cons: some question marks over a couple of spine positions which isn’t always a great way to start a season

Pressure Points: If Ricky picked up his first wooden spoon, would his position at the Raiders be at risk?

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2d

Great stuff from Fish…one of my favourite players

I really think he’ll go down as one of the all time great front rowers. Still only 27 years old

'This is our pinnacle': Fisher-Harris backs more internationals as Kiwi stars dominate IRL Golden Boot Award

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4d

For the record I do agree with you that the rule of eligibility should apply to all those eligible 😂 😂 it’s good we agree on something…

Nationality is not just the place you were born or who issues your passport and once it’s decided it’s decided forever. Nationality and citizenship can be the same thing, they can be different, they can be the same from birth or they can change multiple times because of multiple reasons

That’s the context of this discussion and my comment you responded to

Nationality is different from citizenship, it’s a one minute google

Anyway, there’s no right or wrong and happy to leave it there if you are…

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

Finucane, Hynes and Talakai have all been Origin players in the last year or two

Plus Nikora and Mulitalo who’ve been NZ regulars

Pressure Points: Craig Fitzgibbon has proven himself in the NRL – now, he needs to show that Sharks aren’t flat track bullies

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4d

But it’s the “all that” which is my original point

I’ve described lots of different ways that nationality isn’t tied to citizenship or country of birth

Nationality, national identity and citizenship are different things

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

There used to be a saying that backs win you games and forwards win you comps

Has it tightened up even more now that props win you comps?

A flashy 1,6,7 and 9 is fine but is any team going to win a comp that can’t dominate the middle?

It’s probably always been the way but it seems now that quality props require power, mobility and endurance and preferably some degree of ball skills and are more important to a team’s chances of success than ever

Pressure Points: Craig Fitzgibbon has proven himself in the NRL – now, he needs to show that Sharks aren’t flat track bullies

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4d

Sure. But even then people can be dual citizens, have more than one passport, get passports or citizenship based on where their parents were born, emigrate, change nationality by marriage, etc

I’m pretty sure Queensland have had the best of the eligibility conundrum… 😂 😂

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

Says who? It’s a very traditional, old school view of the world. Country of birth is becoming less relevant in terms of national identity

We’re seeing that with rugby league. Brian To’o could have played a dozen tests for Australia and won a World Cup and probably be better off financially, but would rather represent the country of his heritage. I have Lebanese mates who are proudly Australian but identify as being Lebanese

I have a mate who’s Fijian Indian whose family had to flee Fiji in one of the coups. He was raised in NZ and has lived in Australia most of his life. His national identity is far more complex than just where he was born or what’s on his passport

What we’re seeing playing out in football eligibility is mirroring what’s happening in the real world

It’s not an invalid viewpoint, but clinging to “you’re born here, that’s what you are, no exceptions” positions will make rep footy eligibility less relevant, not more

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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Souvalis – unrelated, but have you listened to the Jacob Preston interview on the Bloke podcast?

Another great interview and the Prez is a bit of a character

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

There’s more to nationality than birth place or passport…

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

No, you have to be a national of the country, not necessarily a citizen

You can be a national by parents country of birth or even by marriage, not just where you were born or what country you’re a citizen of. Different countries have different rules

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

We’d only get Mat Rogers, Thaiday, Inglis, Folau, Billy Moore, O’Davis, Bowman, O’Neill, Gillette, Crocker, Tino, Welch. Bartrim, Allan Border and Jeff Thomson… 😂 😂 😂

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

I can read. I responded to your THIRD comment that Kite, Mason and Tonga played Origin in 2005, the edits hadn’t shown up yet for some reason
Nice choice of insult too considering your three posts were all as a result of you not being able to interpret the comments in the article correctly… 😂 😂 😂

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

I think we probably need to separate Origin and international footy

It’s not so much about letting kiwis or poms play, we’re letting people that meet the Origin eligibility criteria play for NSW or Qld

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

I can fully understand that seeing one Queenslander in blue was too many, but it’s also become one of the myths of origin that Blues were winning with teams chock full of Queenslanders in the 70s. There were usually one or two

One of the catalysts I’ve read about was McAuliffe seeing Boustead score a hat trick for the blues in 78 or 79, so maybe it was more about quality not quantity… 😁

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

Mason, Kite and Tonga didn’t play Origin in 2005…

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

Which pre-Origin NSW teams had a ‘hefty percentage’ of Queenslanders in them…?

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

I just gave a contemporary, relevant example of how factors other than Origin form got a player selected in the Australian team

Chris Close was MOM in Origin 1 in 1980 and MOM in Origin 2 in 1981 but wasn’t picked for Australia until 1985

There’s examples of Origins not being a selection trial for the Australian team from the very first Origin to the most recent

It’s a myth that it’s ever been a true selection trial

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

But the rules are the same

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

If we truly only want to see players in Origin who aren’t financially motivated they should remove all match payments

Then we’ll find the ones that are truly passionate

I’m sure most of them will be bloody Queenslanders 😂 😂

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

All sports – including the Olympics have heritage rules where you can represent the nations of your parents or grandparents

Nation of birth or citizenship aren’t the sole eligibility criteria of any sport

You may as well say the Olympics are a farce because athletes represent countries they weren’t born in

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

Origin is clearly not for Australian selection and probably never has been

Walsh outplayed Tedesco this year in Origin, yet clearly there were other factors outside of Origin performance that saw Teddy selected for Australia

It’s always been that way the argument that Origin is a section trial is not just redundant, it’s just wrong

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

Yeah definitely… but I think the ‘smell test’ is the eligibility laws

I can get behind the idea of someone born and raised in Qld or NSW or living there from a young age playing for them but also playing for NZ or England for parents or grandparents or because that’s where they were born

They’re as qualified for Origin as any other player who meets the eligibility laws and nominated for Australia

Someone like James Graham, Hugh McGahan or Sam Burgess who came here when they were in their 20s don’t meet the Origin criteria

That won’t work for everyone but it does for me…

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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5d

Why don’t they go the opposite?

Because that’s what it’s used to be and since the eligibility laws were changed Origin has grown and international rugby league has improved exponentially…

If Kiwis and Poms are allowed to play, Origin might be about to stumble into eligibility rules that work

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