International rugby league

[Foordy]

Courier Mail reporting that Haas could be the next one jump ship from Australia and play for Samoa

 

[Harry Sack]

Courier Mail reporting that Haas could be the next one jump ship from Australia and play for Samoa

Hope he does. Can't see the guy that wants a million a season doing it though.

 

[Sproj]

Courier Mail reporting that Haas could be the next one jump ship from Australia and play for Samoa

No chance, they don't get 30k per game or whatever it is.

 

[BroncsFan]

No chance, they don't get 30k per game or whatever it is.

Maybe it's a requirement from Uncle Nick... I'm sure he'll compensate him accordingly if so

 

[Foordy]

Joseph Suaalii has committed to Samoa for the world cup.

I bet the ARL are now regretting their decision to allow 2nd tier nations to play origin and represent a country other than Australia.

I'm not actually sure why they deviated from the original rule that allowed 2nd tier nations to play origin and represent their 2nd tier nation IF NOT selected for Australia.

I wonder how long it will be before top tier nations get the same privilege

 

[BroncsFan]

Joseph Suaalii has committed to Samoa for the world cup.

I bet the ARL are now regretting their decision to allow 2nd tier nations to play origin and represent a country other than Australia.

I'm not actually sure why the deviated from the original rule that allowed 2nd tier nations to play origin and represent their 2nd tier nation IF NOT selected for Australia.

I wonder how long it will be before top tier nations get the same privilege

Meninga in shambles. I'd say he would've had him pencilled in for a few games over the world cup.

Does that mean someone like Cobbo comes in??

 

[Fitzy]

Australia:
1. Tedesco (C)
2. Holmes
3. Mitchell
4. Burton
5. Addo-Carr
6. Munster
7. Cleary
8. Fa’asuamaleaui
9. Hunt
10. Carrigan
11. Martin
12. Murray
13. Yeo
14. Grant
15. Cotter
16. Trbojevic
17. Crichton

Samoa:
1. Suaalii
2. To’o
3. Crichton
4. Tago
5. May
6. Luai
7. Milford
8. Papalii
9. Clark
10. Papalii
11. Tuilagi
12. Su’A
13. Faitala-Mariner
14. Brown (Fa’amanua)
15. Leniu
16. Aloiai
17. Molo

Note: Manu Tuilagi probably forces his way in if he elects Samoa, Tabuai-Fidow I can’t really find a spot for having benched all year.

Tonga:
1. Lolehea
2. Katoa
3. Staggs
4. Talakai
5. Tupou
6. Amone
7. Katoa (Isaiya)
8. Fonua-Blake
9. Havili
10. Pangai Junior
11. Kaufusi
12. Kolomatangi
13. Taumalolo
14. Luke
15. Fifita (David)
16. Fotuiaka
17. Paseka

Note: Forward rotation could heavily differ as they are stacked in that department.

New Zealand:
1. Manu
2. Mulitalo
3. Niukore
4. Hiku
5. Rapana
6. Brown
7. Hughes
8. Bromwich
9. Smith
10. Fisher-Harris
11. Papali
12. Bromwich
13. Tapine
14. Foran
15. Leota
16. Asofa-Solomona
17. Nikora

notes: same side as Tongan rep round game. Sebastian Kris finished the season well and might force his way into the centres, likely at the expense of Niukore who would move to the bench.

Fiji:
1. Turuva
2. Sivo
3. Valemi
4. Blake
5. Ravalwa
6. Naiqama
7. Wakeham
8. Campbell-Gillard
9. Koroisau
10. D. Saifiti
11. Kikau
12. T. Sims
13. Milne
14. Lovodua
15. J. Saifiti
16. Kamikamica
17. K. Sims

Note: Lack of depth means this is basically what will happen without injury or pulling out. Korbin just retired but we might see him pull on the boots for the last time for Fiji alongside his brother.

PNG:
1. Johnston
2. Coates
3. Olam
4. Macdonald
5. Derby
6. Laybutt
7. Lam
8. Kapinias
9. Ipape
10. Albert
11. Putt
12. Russell
13. Martin
14. Biondi-Odo
15. Yei
16. Isaac
17. Albert

Note: entirely someone else’s team. Didn’t know enough about PNG but some exciting names like Edwin Ipape and Xavier Coates as inclusions since the rep round.

England:
1. Tomkins
2. Makinson
3. Farnworth
4. Percival
5. Hall
6. Lomax
7. Williams
8. Walmsley
9. Mcllorum
10. Thompson
11. Whitehead
12. Bateman
13. Radley
14. Welsby
15. Burgess
16. Sutton
17. Farrell

Note: Someone else’s team yet again but I know the players well enough that it is 90% probable.

Close World Cup this year. I think England will start to drop below some of the pacific nations. Media can toot Samoa and lesser so Tonga’s horns all they like but the reality is their spines aren’t good enough to win it. NZ have a good crack and Australia still favourites but I think will likely be not as hungry as some of the other nations are as they seem to have ended up being the last few times they have run out. Pretty new team but and a lot of debutants so good chance to change the culture of the Australian team.

 

[Foordy]

the NRL360 panel (with the exception of Brent Read) have blamed Mal Meninga for losing Suaalii (and the others) ... with Kent saying it wouldn't have happened under Bozo (that's how far he went back, lol); Kent said if he'd had a chat with Victor Radley, he might be playing for Australia too (he forgets to mention that Vic Radley isn't good enough to make the Aussie Team.

not one of them mentioned the change in Origin eligibility rules as the cause for players jumping ship, predominately to the second tier nations. If these players still had to be eligible to represent Australia to play Origin. very few to none would have jumped ship

 

[Alec]

If the rules allow it, the more players spread out like this, the more interesting the comp will be.

 

[Wolfie]

If they dont play for Australia, scrub them out of Origin contention.

 

[Nashy]

For the good of the game, what if Australia just stopped whinging for a little bit.

 

[Fitzy]

For the good of the game, what if Australia just stopped whinging for a little bit.

I agree with this. I want International football to be as competitive as possible. But I want Origin to keep its integrity and remain as a rep team for those who genuinely consider themselves Australians and as such Qlders or NSWelshmen not Samoans or Tongans or whatever. Look I get why they want to play for those countries. But they run around identifying from such places which is good and fine but you are taking away from somebody who identifies solely as a Qlder. This is an Australian rep team that is essentially a trial for the Australian team. I actually encourage those if they feel like the are more in touch with their Polynesian or Melanesian heritage to choose that. But obviously the pinnacle of the game is Origin and 90k per series payments don’t occur on the international stage. I love what is occurring in this coming World Cup where there is an amazing spread of talent across the teams but it is ludacrous that 70% of the players can qualify for either of the 2 states and that is the issue here. Got nothing to do with Kangaroo domination it purely has to do with the current system is a fucken mess and joke.

I want it to be one or the other but I truly want these players to play for their nation of choice. I get some of them grew up in Australia their whole lives under such cultures and view themselves as Qlders and New South Welshmen as well but they have to decide which one truly matters more. None of this best of both worlds crap and then truly taking away from the players who aren’t afforded that luxury. None of this make my self available for Australia until I don’t get selected shit, or I’m a qlder until I miss the side and then Tonga here I come. It’s a sham of a system and people wonder why their is no passion or buy in from Australia to the national team. It’s a fucken disgrace. Whilst they sit around and let it occur it won’t change, the international game will continue to fail and Origin loses its mould, integrity and value. This isn’t some racially motivated thing for those I fully expect to come at me. It’s fixing the system and bettering rep footy internationally and arguably in the state.

 

[Nashy]

I agree with this. I want International football to be as competitive as possible. But I want Origin to keep its integrity and remain as a rep team for those who genuinely consider themselves Australians and as such Qlders or NSWelshmen not Samoans or Tongans or whatever. Look I get why they want to play for those countries. But they run around identifying from such places which is good and fine but you are taking away from somebody who identifies solely as a Qlder. This is an Australian rep team that is essentially a trial for the Australian team. I actually encourage those if they feel like the are more in touch with their Polynesian or Melanesian heritage to choose that. But obviously the pinnacle of the game is Origin and 90k per series payments don’t occur on the international stage. I love what is occurring in this coming World Cup where there is an amazing spread of talent across the teams but it is ludacrous that 70% of the players can qualify for either of the 2 states and that is the issue here. Got nothing to do with Kangaroo domination it purely has to do with the current system is a fucken mess and joke.

I want it to be one or the other but I truly want these players to play for their nation of choice. I get some of them grew up in Australia their whole lives under such cultures and view themselves as Qlders and New South Welshmen as well but they have to decide which one truly matters more. None of this best of both worlds crap and then truly taking away from the players who aren’t afforded that luxury. None of this make my self available for Australia until I don’t get selected shit, or I’m a qlder until I miss the side and then Tonga here I come. It’s a sham of a system and people wonder why their is no passion or buy in from Australia to the national team. It’s a fucken disgrace. Whilst they sit around and let it occur it won’t change, the international game will continue to fail and Origin loses its mould, integrity and value. This isn’t some racially motivated thing for those I fully expect to come at me. It’s fixing the system and bettering rep footy internationally and arguably in the state.

If they can't play origin, the International game suffers. That's why we ended up with these rules, to try and help grow it.

What about a full fledged Australian who wants to play for Australia, but can't, because a New Zealander wants to play Origin?

The rules are dud across the board, but removing the option or Origin for those who meet eligibility, works backwards for the game overall.

Origin shouldn't be the pinnacle, the world cup should be. But Origin has fucked the game because of this constant bitching.

 

[Fitzy]

If they can't play origin, the International game suffers. That's why we ended up with these rules, to try and help grow it.

What about a full fledged Australian who wants to play for Australia, but can't, because a New Zealander wants to play Origin?

The rules are dud across the board, but removing the option or Origin for those who meet eligibility, works backwards for the game overall.

Origin shouldn't be the pinnacle, the world cup should be. But Origin has fucked the game because of this constant bitching.

Origin is the pinnacle cause it makes the most money and attracts viewership. That has fucked it, not cause of people bitching. Your attitude towards fixing the game is awful. he system is so broken that in order to fix it the representative game in fact has to go backwards overall. You have stood there bitching just as much as everyone else complaining that origin is the pinnacle and the best way to grow the game is by leaving everything as is. Don’t be so ignorant. The fact the World Cup will be competitive is good but don’t think for a second that will continue when there isn’t a World Cup at stake. Look back at the last decade mate.

How can anyone watch other international sports and seriously stand there and think that Rugby League is successful in implementing an international game. It’s a joke. There realistically shouldn’t be an international game if this is how it will be represented.

The upcoming World Cup is exciting but don’t think for a second that will be the new norm. They will all back track and becoming fully fledged “Aussies” and distance themselves as far away from that system as possible so as to make themselves available for Origin and Australian end of year tests cause that’s where the attention will shift towards and when they miss it they will call up Kristian Wolf and go “I’m Tongan again”.

You play for ONE nation. Only discrepancy is PNG, Lebanon, Cook Islands, France, Italy, Scotland, Wales etc, who don’t have there own means to grow the game without using eligible unselected Aussies, Tongans, Kiwis, Englishmen etc.

Look at the difference in the quality of teams and squad depth since the middle of the year tests. That is origin players and origin hopefuls changing their aspirations so they can run around and play for there other nation. Only Luai at that time had the balls to say I’m playing for Samoa during that period. The rest knew it wouldn’t fly well. This is an international representative system, not a cultural representative system. If you wish to align your nationality with your culture, fine, but don’t run around pulling the representing my family card which is a valid argument until you go on and don’t represent that in the future.

90% of talented Rugby League players that can play on a representative stage have come out of Australian Pathways. That essentially means almost all of them are eligible for both their pacific nation they are playing for and Australia. That doesn’t mean you get to change every few months for when it best suits your career and so you can play. Completely take origin out of the question. Sit down with every player one by one and ask them what there allegiance is to. Or don’t even bother for that, you can obviously be eligible for all these nations but once you get selected you make a conscious decision than and there if I accept this and play I am there forever. NO CHANGING.

It’s simple make it very clear that you can only play for one tier one nation (revised): Australia, Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand, England, Fiji. Clarify that to play origin you must play for Australia. Yeah it might stunt the limited growth the international game will see over the next 5 years to a decade. But it has endless opportunities.

I can’t stand here and watch this sham of a system ruin the dreams of someone like Mulitalo who wanted to play for Qld and Australia but was 3 months ineligible or watch someone like Victor Radley who made a conscious decision to leave the Australian rep system to play for England to then shift your head the other way and watch the absolute farce that occurs between Australia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and origin teams. Not a single person represents shit in that group of teams cause they jump between them depending on when the suitability is right. International sports everywhere thrives on patriotism, pride and passion. That’s where the value is. That does not exist in the current system for Rugby League between these nations.

The only way forward is backwards my friend. Gonna have to put with growing pains for this to be fixed. Or else it will remain as an excuse for an international game.

 

[Big Del]

If they dont play for Australia, scrub them out of Origin contention.

I would agree , if origin was the Australian selection trials .
Origin has less to do with the selections for the Kangaroos come Nov / Dec . Form during semis and final carry a lot of weight as it`s current form . Also lots of origin players end up having off season surgery so aren`t available anyway .

 

[Wolfie]

I would agree , if origin was the Australian selection trials .
Origin has less to do with the selections for the Kangaroos come Nov / Dec . Form during semis and final carry a lot of weight as it`s current form . Also lots of origin players end up having off season surgery so aren`t available anyway .

I honestly just dont like it. They are messing with what Origin has always been about, which on top of the state thing has always been an unofficial Austalian selection trial. You cant blame the players for want to have their cake and eat it, but as i said, i just dont like it.

If they are going to allow it then i think they need to throw the tier system out of the window and let any player who meets criteria for their state play Origin. So for example we could be adding the likes of Brandon Smith and Jason Taumalolo to our ranks.

 

[Big Del]

It was the Kangaroo trials once upon a time .
Those days are long gone . World Cup is a different circumstance . 1st tier and 2nd tier teams have different rules re whether you can then represent a 1st tier team in the future .

 

[Nashy]

Origin is the pinnacle cause it makes the most money and attracts viewership. That has fucked it, not cause of people bitching. Your attitude towards fixing the game is awful. he system is so broken that in order to fix it the representative game in fact has to go backwards overall. You have stood there bitching just as much as everyone else complaining that origin is the pinnacle and the best way to grow the game is by leaving everything as is. Don’t be so ignorant. The fact the World Cup will be competitive is good but don’t think for a second that will continue when there isn’t a World Cup at stake. Look back at the last decade mate.

How can anyone watch other international sports and seriously stand there and think that Rugby League is successful in implementing an international game. It’s a joke. There realistically shouldn’t be an international game if this is how it will be represented.

The upcoming World Cup is exciting but don’t think for a second that will be the new norm. They will all back track and becoming fully fledged “Aussies” and distance themselves as far away from that system as possible so as to make themselves available for Origin and Australian end of year tests cause that’s where the attention will shift towards and when they miss it they will call up Kristian Wolf and go “I’m Tongan again”.

You play for ONE nation. Only discrepancy is PNG, Lebanon, Cook Islands, France, Italy, Scotland, Wales etc, who don’t have there own means to grow the game without using eligible unselected Aussies, Tongans, Kiwis, Englishmen etc.

Look at the difference in the quality of teams and squad depth since the middle of the year tests. That is origin players and origin hopefuls changing their aspirations so they can run around and play for there other nation. Only Luai at that time had the balls to say I’m playing for Samoa during that period. The rest knew it wouldn’t fly well. This is an international representative system, not a cultural representative system. If you wish to align your nationality with your culture, fine, but don’t run around pulling the representing my family card which is a valid argument until you go on and don’t represent that in the future.

90% of talented Rugby League players that can play on a representative stage have come out of Australian Pathways. That essentially means almost all of them are eligible for both their pacific nation they are playing for and Australia. That doesn’t mean you get to change every few months for when it best suits your career and so you can play. Completely take origin out of the question. Sit down with every player one by one and ask them what there allegiance is to. Or don’t even bother for that, you can obviously be eligible for all these nations but once you get selected you make a conscious decision than and there if I accept this and play I am there forever. NO CHANGING.

It’s simple make it very clear that you can only play for one tier one nation (revised): Australia, Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand, England, Fiji. Clarify that to play origin you must play for Australia. Yeah it might stunt the limited growth the international game will see over the next 5 years to a decade. But it has endless opportunities.

I can’t stand here and watch this sham of a system ruin the dreams of someone like Mulitalo who wanted to play for Qld and Australia but was 3 months ineligible or watch someone like Victor Radley who made a conscious decision to leave the Australian rep system to play for England to then shift your head the other way and watch the absolute farce that occurs between Australia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and origin teams. Not a single person represents shit in that group of teams cause they jump between them depending on when the suitability is right. International sports everywhere thrives on patriotism, pride and passion. That’s where the value is. That does not exist in the current system for Rugby League between these nations.

The only way forward is backwards my friend. Gonna have to put with growing pains for this to be fixed. Or else it will remain as an excuse for an international game.

This all reads like an upset Wallabies fan from the 90s.

Origin IS the pinnacle. But it shouldn't be, the international game should be, and as long as Australians continue to allow their national team to take anyone they want with a sniff of eligibility, it will never, ever change.