Probably Luca. The Toronto Gook Wranglers, with him screaming on the badge.
Probably Luca. The Toronto Gook Wranglers, with him screaming on the badge.
That sounds like a silly way to burn a pile of money.
The Toronto Wolfpack.
My name was better, but they've got an all-black kit, will play home and away in blocks of five, and they're going to pay for the other teams to travel, so this is exciting and/or mental. On the other hand, they've given Brian Noble a job, which these days is the rugby league equivalent of hiring Harry Redknapp (although Paul Rowley is the actual manager)
Blocks of 5 makes it very interesting actually and is exactly what super duper 18 should have tried to do with the Japanese and the Argies.
Will they be invited into the Super League if they have a few good seasons?
They will need to get promoted through two divisions, but if it works (and looks sustainable) they will probably end up finding a way to invite them in.
I think the distance issue is being over-stated, seeing as London (or Hunslet) to Toronto is only the same as Auckland to Perth. It's simply a case of whether they have the finances to establish themselves, since you would expect them to be able to attract a better standard of player than their immediate competition. Either way, I think I'm going to buy one of their shirts. If it works then my hipster credentials are secured, and if it flops I will always have a shirt from that lol attempt to get a team going in fucking Toronto.
Oh yeah, and lol at everybody pretending that they support Kieran Foran. You can't miss a test match, let alone bail on the team you captain, because your lass dumped you. Ray Price must be spewing.
I don't see how it could work out unless they sign a bunch of English, Australians and Kiwis with Canadian passports. Good point about the travel that shouldn't be an issue at all because It's the amount of time zones crossed that is a huge bummer for travelling teams.
I was going through the USA Pro Rugby Union teams the other day and noticed Timana Tahu was playing for one of them. He would be perfect for that Toronto mob.
Im pretty confused about bloody Aussie Semi being allowed to play for the Kangaroos but not allowed to play Origin. Off the top of my head I think he is the first bloke to pull that off.
Jamie Peacock claims to have been approached, so it will presumably be a mix of jobbers, local union crossovers, and the odd big name (Willie Mason's involvement is surely inevitable). Their plan is to have about six local players at first, but they would obviously need more to sustain themselves and get into Super League.
Picking Radradradradradra is a joke, and Corey Oates must be seething.
It just shows that the NRL gives zero fucks about International League. They could have easily used the WARCHEST and used Semi as the face of Fijian Rugby League.
Regional mentality continues to prevent League from being relevant outside of QLD and NSW.
It's difficult to get right as far as the actual rules go, since making them too restrictive would only prevent the likes of Fiji and Samoa calling Australians up and fielding competitive sides; but how hard would it have been to just not pick him (and paid him to promote Fijian league, like you said)? The quote about the Palestinians 'never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity' describes league perfectly. Once the broadcasting and season ticket money is already in the bank, everything else is fair game to be ballsed up.
League just can't get out of it's own way. Victoria still hasn't produced one professional league player despite being around for almost 20 years and there are plenty of Sydney clubs scratching to break even.
The NRL is bloody lucky with grass roots in New South Wales and Queensland. It feels like every suburb in Brisbane has a junior leagues club with at least one field and pokies room attached as standard.
That's fantastic.Originally Posted by Queenslander
I'm going to State of Origin I this year. Get to watch NSW get battered.
I think the nature of league as a lesser-known sport leads it to being run by 'passionate' people rather than people who actually know what they're doing, and it's noticeable what happens when you either get a smart chairman (Leeds, Wigan) or somebody comes in from outside and starts asking questions. Having said that, the English clubs are currently said to be more profitable than ever. It's probably because the salary cap has barely increased in a decade, and because expensive imports are all but finished, but the general feeling is that they have finally (twenty years on) hit upon a sustainable system.
I would fancy New South Wales if they picked the Canberra halves and James Tedesco. Which they won't (Tedesco might be injured anyway).
Picking the Canberra halves would be the best imaginable choice.
It would, but Mitchell Pearce is back tomorrow, so...
Wash your mouth out.
Mitchell Pearce and Josh Reynolds, with Robbie Farah kicking the goals. Speaking of kicking goals, Jordan Lilley was class again tonight, Baz. He looks like the best young half since Sam Tomkins, so get on board before it's too late.
He could have been a 50 cap player for Wobs if he wasn't a bit of a dill.That's fantastic.
I'm going to State of Origin I this year. Get to watch NSW get battered.
That's the big issue isn't it no one ever asks the hard questions. The biggest thing that comes to mind at the moment is why doesnt anyone question the culture of treating the refs like cunts? The culture of expecting perfect refereeing is beyond a joke and the leeway that Trent Robinson got with going all out on the number 1 ref in the game is bizarre. He can't ref them anymore because it will be weird and he can't not ref them because it sets a precedent for dickhead coaches going forward.
Hard to be pissed off at that annihilation, because that Talanda finish was boss.
Fuck off Lewis etc
I'm a twit
Keiron Cunningham is so far OUT OF HIS DEPTH that you feel a bit sorry for him.
My building is named after him.
Jarryd Hayne's off to play sevens for Fiji in the Olympics then.
Drug testing questions and fitness questions come to mind. He couldn't make the Aussie 7's team let alone the best team in the world.
Then onto the Roosters for the end of the season.
Marwan Koukash, legendary Salford owner who interacts with his own parody account and offers a fifteen per cent discount at his plush hotel if you sign a declaration that you 'hate the RFL' (seriously), has reacted to being docked points for salary cap infringements by gathering support for a vote of no confidence in the governing bodies.
There seems to be a widespread sense of 'You wot mate?' over this New South Wales squad, and rightly so. Planning to every game 4-0 didn't work last year, so this year let's go for 6-0 by picking proper kickers.
That's a good way of putting it. Nothing of threat in the halves and no creativity in the backrow and Jennings would be the only centre/wing that could beat a first tackler.
Sterlo is right and they need to move on from the Gallen years and have a go with a young team for once.
They've gone with a newish team, by the looks of it. No Bird, no Morris, no Pearce. Jennings is still there, of course.
Truthfully, there's just not the talent to beat Queensland, no matter what they do. Even if they got every selection right, as long as Queensland don't implode, NSW won't get near winning.
Im pretty sure Bird is there.
Blake Austin, Lachlan Coote, James Roberts on the wing and Junior Paulo should be considered surely?
I disagree with that. New South Wales could field a much stronger set of forwards if a normal person was selecting them (and still will), and, unless Josh Dugan is allowed to shit up the centres with his refusal to pass, they are as strong from one to five seeing as Billy Slater is dead. It's only in the halves that they trail, but, seeing as the current Queensland pair always seem to stifle each other, somebody like Blake Austin could have caused them all sorts of problems like Josh Reynolds did in 2014. No Michael Ennis is the real crime though.
Those are all changes that could have happened, but let's face it, players like Ennis aren't going to change the result. He's a good player and all, but he's not going to create anything other than a bit of aggression and quick darts at the line.
Blake Austin is the only one that could matter at all, and even that's not nearly going to bring them into the ballpark. Forwards are important, but it's a back's game. And saying that Josh Reynolds caused "all sorts of problems" is definitely reading a little too much into his roles. He was alright, but let's not go overboard.
Forwards keep you in the game, but backs win it.
EDIT: Bird is there, but as 18th man. He won't be on the pitch. Just sharing his professional expertise, presumably. Teaching them how to hold the bottle so it doesn't shatter in your hand. Stuff like that.
They need take more of a risk with players who can take the creative pressure off 6 and 7. It just feels same old same old and very safe.
Do we even have decent-quality creative players elsewhere on the park? I mean, I assume that's why they called up "utility player" Dylan Walker. But if that's the point in the barrel we're scraping, then I'm honestly not sure it matters who lines up next week. They could have a dozen do-overs with a dozen different teamlists, and NSW simply won't find the creativity to get close. I mean, maybe they should have selected Jarrod Croker, who can play the ball a bit. But really, there's just nobody sitting on the sidelines good enough to tip the balance.
That's true and I dont watch close to enough NRL to comment. Just going from the gut...
The gut is saying too many props and that Dugan and Ferguson are pretty meh.
St George have lost every game that Dugan has played at center. He's a very adequate fullback, but he's just not a ball-handing player.
Ferguson is meh, but at least decent meh. The tragic thing is that if you start identifying problems in the team, it'll be a while before you get to him.
Back in the good old days Semi would have played for the Blues and the team would looked far more positive on paper.
From what has actually been selected they can still field a pretty creative side provided Dugan and his METERS (he doesn't play against Greg Inglis every week, stats) aren't allowed to ruin it.
Moylan
Mansour
Jennings
Morris
Ferguson
That is probably better than whatever Queensland will put out. Throw in Greg Bird playing as an actual ball-playing (English-style) loose forward, rather than somebody driving it in every time as will actually happen, and there is some potential there. But yes, they've picked the wrong halves so it probably won't matter. This is basically how England have approached every test since we last had two decent halves in 1990.
Morris is 18th man.
Also, that's not better than the Queensland side. There's a reason the Broncos and Cowboys are running the competition. Blake Austin isn't going to change that. He's part of the "right halves", but he's not nearly so right as to be the difference. Not unless he's secretly reincarnated Andrew Johns or something.
Exactly. Morris should be playing because 1) he is an actual centre; and 2) he is a proven big game player, in which case you would get:
Moylan > Boyd-Bennett
Mansour > Oates
Jennings < Inglis
Morris > O'Neil
Ferguson > Gagai (although they are both meh)
You can write the halves off, but the forwards could still make the difference. Brisbane and North Queensland are the best teams because they have the best halves pairings (pairings who complement each other), but the latter was given the edge by their forwards in the Grand Final, and the last two Sydney champions won it on the back of their forward strength. It's also why New Zealand have been molesting the Australians recently.
That's very harsh on Stacey Jones.
I truly wish that Moylan and Mansour would come out ahead in those comparisons, but I truly don't believe that they do. Would be happy to be wrong.
And most importantly, the forward strength will give you an edge if you're in the same halves ballpark. But New South Wales aren't even close, even if they picked their best possible combination - whoever that happens to be.
Brett Kenny and Peter Sterling.
I really would have preferred Inglis at fullback with Boyd-Bennett on one of the wings and Chambers playing right centre. Dickhead Myles is bloody lucky that LOYALTY is still a thing because McGuire is clearly a much better player.
Gagai is there because that Holmes bloke broke Kevie's curfew.
Having previously been his biggest fan, I've come to dislike Inglis at full-back. He doesn't score or create enough tries to be an excellent attacking full-back (at least not with any consistency), he doesn't chew up the meters like he should, and, whilst his tackling is brilliant, he doesn't defend well enough to be a completely dependable last man. I want to see him at thirteen like a fat Brad Fittler.
Michael Maguire stuck Sam Tomkins at full-back and wrecked his knees, so there might be a pattern there.
13 would be ideal but he's a bit fat for a
Proper workload. I just like the idea of him hanging around the ruck like a good running fullback.
He definitely goes missing in the centres though and hasnt got the passing game to be a 6 at origin level.
Maybe put him on the wing and come in for work?
Sam Tomkins should be a lesson to all English Super Stars to play in Brisbane or Sydney and no where else!
He should just stay at centre. Even when he has a quiet game there it basically negates his opposing centre and winger because they're too busy marking him to have any attacking effect.
Canberra seems like the place to be at the moment.
That's true.
What's happening in Canberra?
Can someone please give me an update on Leroy Houston's form? Word on the street is that he has signed for the Reds and will be called up to the Wobs for the English series.
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