Rugby League Internationals

[Dexter]

Well the first thing the game should do is not make origin players choose Australia.

You can be a QLDer and still play for Tonga ya'know. It's a stupid rule that only serves to make Australia stronger when it's already stock piling the talent from most other nations.

IRL is a joke and not tying international eligibility with Origin would go a long way. If a guy wants to play for NZ but was raised in QLD, he should be able to do that. It was a huge first step unshackling tier 2 nations from origin, that should be done for tier 1 too.

As for the Tier 1 thing, no idea what it means in practice other than that eligibility rule.

No way can I agree with this. The last thing I want to see is a team full of Kiwi/Tonga internationals pulling on the Qld Origin jersey. I know Goose wanted to push this a few years ago when Foran, Benji and SBW would have been eligible for NSW but nup, no way, no how should this ever be.
The state game should be an Aussie trial IMO.

 

[Dexter]

So did Tedesco.

SO did Latrell. One of the more heartless efforts I've seen from an Aussie international.

 

[Kimlo]

No way can I agree with this. The last thing I want to see is a team full of Kiwi/Tonga internationals pulling on the Qld Origin jersey. I know Goose wanted to push this a few years ago when Foran, Benji and SBW would have been eligible for NSW but nup, no way, no how should this ever be.
The state game should be an Aussie trial IMO.

If someone was born and grew up in QLD/NSW but has NZ parents for example, I don't have any issue with them representing their state and their country. It would only be good for the International game. It's fine to say it's better for Australia for it to be a "trial" but if we're going to grow the International game so it isn't a joke that needs to be fixed. Right now a player literally has to give 100k if they're eligible to play for Australia but want to represent say, Tonga.

As long as that monetary gap exists the International game will always be a joke and we'll never have a good product.

It's the biggest potential growth area for rugby league the way I see it and it's been stifled by Origin being so successful and the money in that product.

Would it really bother you if Milford played for QLD in origin then played for Samoa in the world cup?

 

[Dexter]

If someone was born and grew up in QLD/NSW but has NZ parents for example, I don't have any issue with them representing their state and their country. It would only be good for the International game. It's fine to say it's better for Australia for it to be a "trial" but if we're going to grow the International game so it isn't a joke that needs to be fixed. Right now a player literally has to give 100k if they're eligible to play for Australia but want to represent say, Tonga.

As long as that monetary gap exists the International game will always be a joke and we'll never have a good product.

It's the biggest potential growth area for rugby league the way I see it and it's been stifled by Origin being so successful and the money in that product.

Would it really bother you if Milford played for QLD in origin then played for Samoa in the world cup?

Bad luck for the players if they have to make the choice between money and their country. I think Tonga has it sorted ATM.
Besides , what will happen once we start down that road is someone will soften the rules to include the pommies as well. It would also serve NSW a lot more than QLD by giving them a bigger base to select from.
I'm happy with the current set up, maybe some things could be tweaked but the players want their cake and to eat it too.
I mean we can't even select Keary to play for QLD but people want this.

 

[Kimlo]

Bad luck for the players if they have to make the choice between money and their country. I think Tonga has it sorted ATM.
Besides , what will happen once we start down that road is someone will soften the rules to include the pommies as well. It would also serve NSW a lot more than QLD by giving them a bigger base to select from.
I'm happy with the current set up, maybe some things could be tweaked but the players want their cake and to eat it too.
I mean we can't even select Keary to play for QLD but people want this.

The other way to sort is to give origin players less money and more money for International games.

You know, if it is what you say it is, and a "trial" for the Australian team then the players should be happy to get 5k a game instead of 35k and that money can be redistributed to National teams. That way you don't lose 100k by skipping origin, and you actually get more money when you play at the highest level instead of state level.

You can say bad luck all you want but it's a professional product and for the guys playing at the elite level, it's their only source of income.

Imagine if all these island countries had their actual best 17 and the worldcup wasn't a formality for Australia to get another tropy but instead of a genuine competition where 5 other nations had a shot at winning it. That's an appealing TV product.

You don't think all this Tonga hype is amazing for league? How many little Tongan kids watched that game last night and now have a dream to play rugby league instead of union? I reckon more than a few.

We can't rely on a good guy like Fifita, who should get an enormous amount of credit for his selflessness in turning down origin to play for his country and starting that trend. 5 years ago Tonga was a joke who would have been beat by 100, now it's a game I look forward to every single time.

 

[Sproj]

Qld would get Taumalolo wouldn’t they? That would be amazing!

 

[Dexter]

The other way to sort is to give origin players less money and more money for International games.

You know, if it is what you say it is, and a "trial" for the Australian team then the players should be happy to get 5k a game instead of 35k and that money can be redistributed to National teams. That way you don't lose 100k by skipping origin, and you actually get more money when you play at the highest level instead of state level.

You can say bad luck all you want but it's a professional product and for the guys playing at the elite level, it's their only source of income.

Imagine if all these island countries had their actual best 17 and the worldcup wasn't a formality for Australia to get another tropy but instead of a genuine competition where 5 other nations had a shot at winning it. That's an appealing TV product.

You don't think all this Tonga hype is amazing for league? How many little Tongan kids watched that game last night and now have a dream to play rugby league instead of union? I reckon more than a few.

We can't rely on a good guy like Fifita, who should get an enormous amount of credit for his selflessness in turning down origin to play for his country and starting that trend. 5 years ago Tonga was a joke who would have been beat by 100, now it's a game I look forward to every single time.

I absolutely get where you are coming from but I wouldn't support it.
You could end up with 2 sides full of players who want to play for their country of heritage. If you feel at heart you are Tongan or Kiwi then you are not a Qlder, are you. You just happen to be living here.
I don't have an issue with that BTW but you don't get to represent QLD and Aus if that is the way you feel just because you can make extra cash.

 

[winslow_wong]

DCE and Munster deadset looked like Turpin and Boyd. Every Aus forward was dominated by the Tongans apart from Haas and maybe Vaughan.

I don't get the fuss around Cordner, he has less impact on games than Jackson. I guess he's lucky he plays for the rorters and not the dogs.

The qld halves too... walters has his work cut out if he’s coach again.

 

[Kimlo]

I absolutely get where you are coming from but I wouldn't support it.
You could end up with 2 sides full of players who want to play for their country of heritage. If you feel at heart you are Tongan or Kiwi then you are not a Qlder, are you. You just happen to be living here.
I don't have an issue with that BTW but you don't get to represent QLD and Aus if that is the way you feel just because you can make extra cash.

I get your point too, we'd get a stronger International game then Origin itself might become a joke with players picking states for the prestige rather than the passion.

I don't know, maybe the solution is somewhere in the middle, don't change eligibility rules too much but just allocate some of the origin money to the International teams. As I understand it now Aus players get paid less than origin games.

It should be the other way around and if we can dedicate some money to making sure even tier 2 nations get a reasonable appearance fee it may not be economic suicide to choose to play for Tonga/Samoa/NZ.

 

[Wolfie]

I really dont get why state football has anything to do with international football really. We should be able to treat it as two separate arenas. You can still be a Queenslander with NZ parents and moved here as a young child for example so you have a foot in both camps.

 

[Morepudding]

Nah if you're playing for NZ / Tonga you shouldn't be allowed to play Origin. One is a domestic comp, one is international. Sure at this stage Origin is miles bigger than international matches in terms of money etc, but thats just because the audience / money outside of australia is small. The gap between the top countries and smaller ones is shrinking each year, partly due to to neither team having really top grade halves. Previously the big reason Australia and NZ were so dominant is becuase their playmakers were several classes above. Lockyer, JT, Cronk, Marshall, Foran etc. They were all so much better than the make shift halves that the smaller nations would come up with. These days, Munster, DCE, Keary etc, aren't that much better than a lolohea or a centre/second rower (staggs) playing in the halves.

 

[tommy]

Simple solution. No more appearance fees for origin or Aus. You either love the jersey or you don't, not the money.

 

[BroncsFan]

I don't really see any reason why if you comply with the origin eligibility rules you can't play origin and then represent whichever nation you want.

Pommies wouldn't be eligible unless they were in Australia from their junior days onwards. Same with the kiwis.... plus if they feel strong enough about it they can choose not to be eligible like Lolo did recently when it was raised that QLD enquired about him playing origin.

It's not like where you were born is the be all and end all for origin... they made a song about it!!

 

[Broncs_Fan]

Nah, if you don’t see yourself as Australian then you don’t get to play Origin. Origin is between NSW and Qld, two Australian states. If it means so much to play for Tonga, go and play for them for peanuts, but you can’t play Origin.

 

[Kooly87]

Nah, if you don’t see yourself as Australian then you don’t get to play Origin. Origin is between NSW and Qld, two Australian states. If it means so much to play for Tonga, go and play for them for peanuts, but you can’t play Origin.

Except it isn't. It's the best of the QRL developed players vs the best of the NSWRL developed players. Why should it matter what passport a player owns if he's been playing for Brother's since U6's and played Queensland schoolboys football and Queensland U17's rep football?

You can be SBW, born in New Zealand, unquestionably a New Zealander, who grew up in Sydney and played for NSWRL administered junior clubs and NSWRL rep teams both as a junior and an adult, so he's also unquestionably a product of the NSWRL clubs and development systems. It's entirely possible to be both.

Why should his being born in New Zealand mean NSW are unable to be rewarded for the time and effort and resources they've put in to helping him develop as a player?
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No way can I agree with this. The last thing I want to see is a team full of Kiwi/Tonga internationals pulling on the Qld Origin jersey. I know Goose wanted to push this a few years ago when Foran, Benji and SBW would have been eligible for NSW but nup, no way, no how should this ever be.
The state game should be an Aussie trial IMO.

Played in May and June, with no Test matches being played until late October and November. Some trial that would be.

 

[Mustafur]

I would be okay with people playing origin if they played for Tonga or NZ or whatever, as long as they grew up in Australia and have Australian citizenship.

There is no such thing as black or white with this stuff you can be Tongan and Australian for example.

Look at TPJ for example, born in Sydney grew up in Newcastle he is an Australian citizen he has Tongan background and decided to play for Tonga that doesn't mean he isn't Australian or a New South Welshman he is both but he can only Choose to play for one country at a time but when it comes to states, Tonga doesn't play in state of origin so there is no conflict.

 

[Kooly87]

I would be okay with people playing origin if they played for Tonga or NZ or whatever, as long as they grew up in Australia and have Australian citizenship.

There is no such thing as black or white with this stuff you can be Tongan and Australian for example.

Look at TPJ for example, born in Sydney grew up in Newcastle he is an Australian citizen he has Tongan background and decided to play for Tonga that doesn't mean he isn't Australian or a New South Welshman he is both but he can only Choose to play for one country at a time but when it comes to states, Tonga doesn't play in state of origin so there is no conflict.

Yep, 100%.

I'm fine with a cutoff age, say 18, which rules out Sam Burgess for example, but would allow someone like SBW who's lived here since he was a kid to play for NSW.

The idea that you have to be Australian only to play Origin is an old and outdated mentality from 1980 when the average rugby league player in Australia was far less ethnically diverse than they are today.

 

[Dexter]

I can't wait for it to happen. NSW kiwis etc v Qld Kiwis etc. I really hope it happens. It will **** origin though.