NRL Nrl to slow and wheres the respect

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Its like we have all been saying where's the respect for what we did. I know its a journalist opinion but its an aussie news site.

Rival code’s bold move in New Zealand puts the NRL to shame
A rival sports code has put the NRL to shame right when the game should be capitalising on its new-found popularity.




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Rival code’s bold move in New Zealand puts the NRL to shame
A rival sports code has put the NRL to shame right when the game should be capitalising on its new-found popularity.

Dane Eldridge
3 min read
November 26, 2023 - 8:27AM

NRL: Canterbury Bulldogs winger Josh Addo-Carr has told Josh Mansour that he would consider a switch to Rugby Union if the offer happened to come up in the future.
COMMENT

Anyone who predicted soccer would someday boast more professional franchises than rugby league in New Zealand would’ve been sent for a cup of warm Milo and a HIA.

But with the A-League set to launch a second NZ team in Auckland for 2024-25, soccer has not only shamefully jumped rugby league, it has shown how to properly treat a loved one.

First of all, nobody’s saying the new franchise in the Kiwi capital will have the NRL packing its dacks.

After all, it already has a shrewd strategy in place to combat soccer, and thus far planting Nathan Cleary alongside Mary Fowler seems to be raising the game’s profile considerably.

But in light of rugby league’s historical mistreatment of NZ, news of the NRL holding half the number of footprints in the region is like flowers arriving from a work colleague reminding you it’s your wife’s birthday.

Rugby league’s relationship with NZ has always been skewed by a power imbalance, with Australian clubs long pillaging the region’s talent pool like it’s the cashew station at Coles.

Add to this, the game has allowed the Kiwis’ international stocks to be pillaged by emerging nations - albeit to the global game’s benefit - while also leaning heavily on the Warriors to save its ass-like finances during covid.

And what has rugby league delivered NZ in return?

The Warriors, a few Tigers home games, and Michael Maguire, but we’ve snatched him back now anyway.

And that’s about it.

In fact, the only time New Zealand is treated with value is when it’s annexed by Queensland at Origin time.

Put simply, as a major stakeholder that exists on our doorstep with a vibrant NRL presence, New Zealand should’ve had a second franchise the moment we heard Benji Marshall pronounce ‘Whakatane’.

In light of recent events, you’d even argue a third should’ve been fast-tracked when Jacinda Ardern cosied up to China.

Witnessing the NRL beaten to the punch by a rival code is nothing new for rugby league, but falling asleep at the ditch in this particular p*ssing contest is a new low.

Yes, it has been neglecting our southern neighbours for years, toying with the idea of committing to a second franchise without ever really meaning it.

And in fairness, the NRL has made no secret of its expansion strategy, with recent moves relegating the NZ cause below the Pacific region, North Sydney and Vegas.

In fact, Papua New Guinea is now the unbackable favourite ever since the Albanese government pledged to fund their bid in the hope of warding-off Chinese interests using Super Saturdays.

But whatever way you look at it, being outshone by soccer when the NZ game is crying out for a hug is grade five careless.

Yes, it’s acknowledged this new A-League franchise is underpinned by private American ownership, and everyone knows how many soccer teams the USD can buy against the paltry NZ dollar.

It’s also acknowledged Australian soccer holds down new franchises like a balloon in a cyclone, and the new brand could dissipate before it even hits the ground.

But these are times when the Warriors are resurgent, the Kiwis are decimating the Kangaroos, and the All Blacks are at an all-time low after finishing a measly second in the World Cup.

Do we want to neglect NZ forever? Is the NRL content with Kiwi talent forever overlooking league in favour of chasing the highest honour in rugby union, i.e. a contract in France?

Regrettably the game will be too distracted to notice while ever it panders to various red juggernauts (China and Redcliffe).
 
Slow news day. Dane Eldridge has a history of outcry opinion pieces. So what exactly does he want from the nrl? Salary cap relief? Getting more home games (that I can see merit in but needs cooperation and financial incentives for the other team). Is he even suggesting that nz deserves a second nrl team? Is he suggesting what the nrl should do? No because it's ridiculous after just one decent season in a long time. Just outcry because it gives his clickbit piece published and gives ammo to those pushing for "something" without being able to quantify "options".

Anyway, my personal opinion is we move on rather than feeling sorry for ourselves and feeling done wrong by. Everyone suffered, the club suffered more than other nrl clubs but that's part and parcel of being in a comp that is primarily in Aus. Noone owes us anything. It's the NZRL and ARLs job to boost the game in NZ. The Warriors are doing a lot but it'd be nice if the organisations responsible for it were held accountable more than the NRL.

BTW what exactly is the "respect" we deserve for covid years? I'd rather we respect ourselves first by not expecting a handout years on and keep holding onto this lingering after taste. Time to move on. Successful organisations aren't built with "poor us" mentality.
 
Albo is going out on a limb to promise PNG a team in the NRL to appease them in the wake of China taking such a big interest in the region. It is really his pet project.
 
Slow news day. Dane Eldridge has a history of outcry opinion pieces. So what exactly does he want from the nrl? Salary cap relief? Getting more home games (that I can see merit in but needs cooperation and financial incentives for the other team). Is he even suggesting that nz deserves a second nrl team? Is he suggesting what the nrl should do? No because it's ridiculous after just one decent season in a long time. Just outcry because it gives his clickbit piece published and gives ammo to those pushing for "something" without being able to quantify "options".

Anyway, my personal opinion is we move on rather than feeling sorry for ourselves and feeling done wrong by. Everyone suffered, the club suffered more than other nrl clubs but that's part and parcel of being in a comp that is primarily in Aus. Noone owes us anything. It's the NZRL and ARLs job to boost the game in NZ. The Warriors are doing a lot but it'd be nice if the organisations responsible for it were held accountable more than the NRL.

BTW what exactly is the "respect" we deserve for covid years? I'd rather we respect ourselves first by not expecting a handout years on and keep holding onto this lingering after taste. Time to move on. Successful organisations aren't built with "poor us" mentality.
I disagree and not for reasons of respect, owing us anything or that the Warriors are hard done by.

From a purely strategic and business perspective the NRL should have focused on growing the game, international growth, tapping new markets and expansion EVERYWHERE. Not just a NZ comment but in general.

AFL and now soccer have expanded more than the NRL recently. The NRL is still too Sydney focused and inwards looking.

Yes, the NRL should have ensured more success in NZ like it has done with Melbourne. There are ways. There should have been more franchises in NZ, Perth and the Dolphins much sooner. Is this a hangover from the super league days? Have we stagnated by being too focused on the clubs and players rather than investing back into the sport?

The NRL has really been shown up by a second NZ soccer team and its lack of big picture strategic thinking. And yes I personally feel NZ has been used to take from without investing back.
 
Aussie are arguably the epitome (albeit arrogantly) of RL worldwide…..a game that isn’t even in the top 10, little own top 20 played sports globally. Football (soccer) & basketball have billions of fans and players worldwide. RL is a minnow of a sport run by a one eyed board of tunnel visioned Aussie despots that want to maintain that spot of being “the best”…..what more do we expect?

They want to grow the game but only to a certain extent that there’s no threat to them relinquishing their throne. Super Rugby had introduced a fair global competition……that’s inclusive for the world to see and grow Union, they have 7’s that’s played all year around from all nations and it’s its great. I get sick of the All Blacks winning all the time and I’m a Kiwi and don’t watch Union at all anymore…..except for 7’s, why? Because the competition is spread, in my perception, evenly so it’s more compelling. As a result the ABs are on the slide which is great for the game.

The Vegas round in my opinion is to show off in front of an American crowd that screams “look, we play with no helmets & pads”.

Americans still, for the most part don’t even know the difference between Union & League….its all the same to them. The Vegas round won’t do s**t to raise awareness.

The Breakers have won 4 championships in an Aussie comp, Welly Phoenix have been average over the last 16 or so years of their inception but not due to Aussie despots running the show….they’ve just been average.

Nothing much is gonna change in the foreseeable future, the proposed PNG team is a joke. Just another ruse from NRL/ARL to look like they are trying to grow the game…… NRL is Sydney/NSW top heavy and that adds another layer of credibility that those punks want to self centredly keep the sport and all its accolades firmly within their reach.

I’m not even down for another NZ franchise…..but I wouldn’t be adverse to it either but only for the right reasons. 9’s would be a great start to grow the game internationally if played regularly. But with that would come possibly insurmountable intricacies that would threaten the NRL/ARL and its stranglehold on League.

Let’s take our bias League caps off and think about how great this game is to play and watch……it's right up there but no one knows about it. They don’t care that the A-League etc are perceptively showing them up. Just how the Aussies want it.
 
The NRL's future is in slowly but surely raising the financial bar for having a club in the competition so that one day one of the lesser financially viable Sydney 9 (Sea Eagles and Bulldogs are apparantly top of that list) either die off or suggest that they'd be happy to move to "Pick Wherever City". Relocation or Consolidation, not Expansion.
 
Slow news day. Dane Eldridge has a history of outcry opinion pieces. So what exactly does he want from the nrl? Salary cap relief? Getting more home games (that I can see merit in but needs cooperation and financial incentives for the other team). Is he even suggesting that nz deserves a second nrl team? Is he suggesting what the nrl should do? No because it's ridiculous after just one decent season in a long time. Just outcry because it gives his clickbit piece published and gives ammo to those pushing for "something" without being able to quantify "options".

Anyway, my personal opinion is we move on rather than feeling sorry for ourselves and feeling done wrong by. Everyone suffered, the club suffered more than other nrl clubs but that's part and parcel of being in a comp that is primarily in Aus. Noone owes us anything. It's the NZRL and ARLs job to boost the game in NZ. The Warriors are doing a lot but it'd be nice if the organisations responsible for it were held accountable more than the NRL.

BTW what exactly is the "respect" we deserve for covid years? I'd rather we respect ourselves first by not expecting a handout years on and keep holding onto this lingering after taste. Time to move on. Successful organisations aren't built with "poor us" mentality.
I dismissed it pretty quickly as non researched opinion when some simple facts were blatantly wrong.
- Auckland the capital
-NZ being Australia’s’southern neighbour’
- Tigers taking a few games to NZ..it was 1
 

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