Diesel
I wonder how much of this played into the hands of QRL sitting back and doing nothing?
Just look at the state of the Kiwis with Kidwell at the helm of the team and the bozos in the boardroom
Just look at the state of the Kiwis with Kidwell at the helm of the team and the bozos in the boardroom
Bruce should be happy.
Born in Australia, spent most of his life in Australia. The boy is Australaian.
Born in Australia, spent most of his life in Australia. The boy is Australaian.
brightman
He made the right decision and it was his to make, but how about if he makes the Kangaroos a few times then the WC comes along and he is selected but gets the shits because he knows he's 4th in line or something silly and opts to play for NZ instead..
Well unfortunately he can't jump between Tier 1 nations so it couldn't happen but hypothetically if he did the Kangaroos would never select him again on principle, Aussie fans and supporters would be disgusted let alone he lead the Kiwis to beat the Roos. Now all that virtually played out for the Kiwis when JT led a turncoat renegade band of "Tongans" against NZ, but we're a supposed Tier 1 nation on the bones of our arse fostering these guys in their youth and when we need them most they stick the knife in our back..
JT and his squad should never play for the Kiwis again and the Kiwis should never opt to play Tonga again outside of a WC until the turncoats are no longer playing in their strip, let them smash the Samoans once a year and bolster the ranks of SOO when the ARC/NRL flip that switch. But for god's sake can the NZRL get their shit sorted and turn this shit around!
Weno
Would love to see the Tusk cup brought back.
The champion teams from every province having a knockout crack at each other.
Dont know what it would do to aid the strength of the game.
Besides bringing the provinces together.
But it was great.
I think Huntly South did the best of our Waikato sides back in the day.
They made round three , i know they beat Takahiwai ( Whangarei ) but not sure on the other side.
United ( Ngaruawahia Panthers and Turangawaewae combined ) made round two after beating Ngongataha and Loosing to Te Atatu.
Will always remember the Roosters half Mike Kini , he was amazing.
Saw him in the NZ Maori team during the Pacific Cup.
The champion teams from every province having a knockout crack at each other.
Dont know what it would do to aid the strength of the game.
Besides bringing the provinces together.
But it was great.
I think Huntly South did the best of our Waikato sides back in the day.
They made round three , i know they beat Takahiwai ( Whangarei ) but not sure on the other side.
United ( Ngaruawahia Panthers and Turangawaewae combined ) made round two after beating Ngongataha and Loosing to Te Atatu.
Will always remember the Roosters half Mike Kini , he was amazing.
Saw him in the NZ Maori team during the Pacific Cup.
mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
Contributor
NZRL sleeping once again. People are more interested in serving their own butthurt over the defections than doing whats best for the game. Watch and learn NZRL. Hope they learn a lesson before the idiots go bankrupt. Again...
Mal Meninga backs secret talks for a historic Australia versus Tonga Test match in Hawaii next season
Matt Logue Exclusive, The Daily Telegraph
December 28, 2017 9:04pm
Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith during the Rugby League World Cup.
CAMERON Smith and the Australian Kangaroos playing in a historic Test match against Jason Taumalolo’s Tongans in the Paradise of the Pacific.
Sounds like a pipedream, but you better get your surfboard ready because The Daily Telegraph can reveal Kangaroos are in secret negotiations with Tonga to play a rugby league Test in Hawaii next year.
Australian officials, including coach Mal Meninga, are behind the plan to stage the groundbreaking event at Honolulu’s 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium.
In a bid to capitalise on the popularity of new rugby league power Tonga following the Mate Ma’a’s efforts to reach the World Cup semi-finals, officials are looking to play the match in October 2018 in the weeks following the NRL grand final.
Talks about an Australia versus Tonga Test in Hawaii have been positive, but Meninga says the game requires funding from the NRL and the International Federation to become a reality.
“At the moment we’ve got no money in the bank, but we are talking and ideally we’d like to play a Test match against Tonga at the end of next year,” Meninga said.
“We’ve got a Test against New Zealand already, but I’d like to think we can do something special with Tonga as well.
“We want to make it exciting for the players and have something to inspire people to want to play international footy.
Jason Taumololo in action for Tonga in the Rugby League World Cup.
“On the back of the World Cup, I believe we’ve got to play more games.
“We’ve got to be mindful of player welfare and that’s why anything we do has to be a genuine Test match.”
Meninga also wants to play in Hawaii to capitalise on the fact the 2025 Rugby League World Cup will be played in the United States and Canada.
He believes league has an opportunity to stake a claim in the Aloha State with the nation’s traditional American football Pro Bowl being played in Florida for the second consecutive season late next month.
Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
“We’ve got to expose our game to the people over there,” he said.
“That’s why I think we’ve got to think big and how we can showcase our game to other markets and America is certainly one of those.
“I think they love our collision sports and it’s a huge market, so the best way to tap into it is to showcase genuine international Test matches.
With Tonga at this stage only looking at one Test next year — against either New Zealand or Samoa during the season — a clash with Smith and the Kangaroos in Oahu could also help the Pacific island nation retain players like Taumalolo, Andrew Fifita, Michael Jennings, Manu Ma’u, Sio Siua Taukeiaho and David Fusitua.
Tonga coach Kristian Woolf has previously said it would be up to Taumalolo to decide if he wanted to return to New Zealand, while he conceded his side’s one Test in 2018 could count against the Mate Ma’a retaining the dual Dally M winner long-term.
Significantly reduced player wages compared to the top-tier nations could also hurt the Tongan’s bid to keep its big name players, but Meninga says money isn’t the issue.
He revealed his Kangaroos players were ready to take cuts to ensure greater parity for international player wages.
“I think it’s all about the opportunity to play Test match footy for your country,” he said.
“There is some inequality around the funding, but I know our Kangaroos players are all willing to negotiate that to be fair on player payments.
“Because it’s about the Test jersey and it’s not about how much money you make.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...n/news-story/7ff43149c735b2f48fc97005f597c1df
Mal Meninga backs secret talks for a historic Australia versus Tonga Test match in Hawaii next season
Matt Logue Exclusive, The Daily Telegraph
December 28, 2017 9:04pm
Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith during the Rugby League World Cup.
CAMERON Smith and the Australian Kangaroos playing in a historic Test match against Jason Taumalolo’s Tongans in the Paradise of the Pacific.
Sounds like a pipedream, but you better get your surfboard ready because The Daily Telegraph can reveal Kangaroos are in secret negotiations with Tonga to play a rugby league Test in Hawaii next year.
Australian officials, including coach Mal Meninga, are behind the plan to stage the groundbreaking event at Honolulu’s 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium.
In a bid to capitalise on the popularity of new rugby league power Tonga following the Mate Ma’a’s efforts to reach the World Cup semi-finals, officials are looking to play the match in October 2018 in the weeks following the NRL grand final.
Talks about an Australia versus Tonga Test in Hawaii have been positive, but Meninga says the game requires funding from the NRL and the International Federation to become a reality.
“At the moment we’ve got no money in the bank, but we are talking and ideally we’d like to play a Test match against Tonga at the end of next year,” Meninga said.
“We’ve got a Test against New Zealand already, but I’d like to think we can do something special with Tonga as well.
“We want to make it exciting for the players and have something to inspire people to want to play international footy.
Jason Taumololo in action for Tonga in the Rugby League World Cup.
“On the back of the World Cup, I believe we’ve got to play more games.
“We’ve got to be mindful of player welfare and that’s why anything we do has to be a genuine Test match.”
Meninga also wants to play in Hawaii to capitalise on the fact the 2025 Rugby League World Cup will be played in the United States and Canada.
He believes league has an opportunity to stake a claim in the Aloha State with the nation’s traditional American football Pro Bowl being played in Florida for the second consecutive season late next month.
Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
“We’ve got to expose our game to the people over there,” he said.
“That’s why I think we’ve got to think big and how we can showcase our game to other markets and America is certainly one of those.
“I think they love our collision sports and it’s a huge market, so the best way to tap into it is to showcase genuine international Test matches.
With Tonga at this stage only looking at one Test next year — against either New Zealand or Samoa during the season — a clash with Smith and the Kangaroos in Oahu could also help the Pacific island nation retain players like Taumalolo, Andrew Fifita, Michael Jennings, Manu Ma’u, Sio Siua Taukeiaho and David Fusitua.
Tonga coach Kristian Woolf has previously said it would be up to Taumalolo to decide if he wanted to return to New Zealand, while he conceded his side’s one Test in 2018 could count against the Mate Ma’a retaining the dual Dally M winner long-term.
Significantly reduced player wages compared to the top-tier nations could also hurt the Tongan’s bid to keep its big name players, but Meninga says money isn’t the issue.
He revealed his Kangaroos players were ready to take cuts to ensure greater parity for international player wages.
“I think it’s all about the opportunity to play Test match footy for your country,” he said.
“There is some inequality around the funding, but I know our Kangaroos players are all willing to negotiate that to be fair on player payments.
“Because it’s about the Test jersey and it’s not about how much money you make.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...n/news-story/7ff43149c735b2f48fc97005f597c1df
mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
Contributor
No Kiwis in Rugby League World XIII for the first time in six years
HANNAH PETERS/GETTY IMAGES
Former Kiwi Jason Taumalolo is the first Tongan player to make Rugby League World magazine's World XIII.
The Kiwis' 2017 nadir has led to no New Zealand players being named in Rugby League World magazine's Team of the Year.
Auckland-born Tonga star Jason Taumalolo made the cut for a second consecutive year, but it was the first time since 2011 that the Kiwis were not represented in the English magazine's all-star side.
Taumalolo, the North Queensland Cowboys loose forward, and Australian captain and hooker Cameron Smith were the only players to receive maximum votes from the judging panel – 12 rugby league journalists evenly spread between the northern and southern hemispheres.
Smith was joined in the World XIII by seven Australian team-mates, including longtime Melbourne Storm and Queensland State of Origin colleagues Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk.
Smith, the 2017 world player of the year, made the team for the 12th year in a row while it was Slater's seventh appearance and Cronk's fourth.
Three Englishman, veteran prop James Graham, wing Jermaine McGillvary and centre Kallum Watkins, made the side along with Fiji's Melbourne Storm wing Suliasi Vunivalu and Taumalolo, who controversially chose to play for Tonga ahead of the Kiwis after playing for New Zealand in the 2017 Anzac test.
Graham was named in the World XIII for a ninth time – a record for an English player.
Rugby League World noted Vunivalu and Taumalolo were the first players from tier two rugby league nations to make the team since Semi Radrada (Fiji) and Anthony Milford (Samoa) in 2015.
Prior to that there had only been two tier two representatives – Kieron Cunningham (Wales) in 2000 and Papua New Guinea scrumhalf Adrian Lam in 1995.
2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD XIII
1 Billy Slater (Australia)
2 Jermaine McGillvary (England)
3 Will Chambers (Australia)
4 Kallum Watkins (England)
5 Suliasi Vunivalu (Fiji)
6 Michael Morgan (Australia)
7 Cooper Cronk (Australia)
8 James Graham (England)
9 Cameron Smith (Australia)
10 Aaron Woods (Australia)
11 Boyd Cordner (Australia)
12 Matt Gillett (Australia)
13 Jason Taumalolo (Tonga)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/rugby-league/100235565/
HANNAH PETERS/GETTY IMAGES
Former Kiwi Jason Taumalolo is the first Tongan player to make Rugby League World magazine's World XIII.
The Kiwis' 2017 nadir has led to no New Zealand players being named in Rugby League World magazine's Team of the Year.
Auckland-born Tonga star Jason Taumalolo made the cut for a second consecutive year, but it was the first time since 2011 that the Kiwis were not represented in the English magazine's all-star side.
Taumalolo, the North Queensland Cowboys loose forward, and Australian captain and hooker Cameron Smith were the only players to receive maximum votes from the judging panel – 12 rugby league journalists evenly spread between the northern and southern hemispheres.
Smith was joined in the World XIII by seven Australian team-mates, including longtime Melbourne Storm and Queensland State of Origin colleagues Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk.
Smith, the 2017 world player of the year, made the team for the 12th year in a row while it was Slater's seventh appearance and Cronk's fourth.
Three Englishman, veteran prop James Graham, wing Jermaine McGillvary and centre Kallum Watkins, made the side along with Fiji's Melbourne Storm wing Suliasi Vunivalu and Taumalolo, who controversially chose to play for Tonga ahead of the Kiwis after playing for New Zealand in the 2017 Anzac test.
Graham was named in the World XIII for a ninth time – a record for an English player.
Rugby League World noted Vunivalu and Taumalolo were the first players from tier two rugby league nations to make the team since Semi Radrada (Fiji) and Anthony Milford (Samoa) in 2015.
Prior to that there had only been two tier two representatives – Kieron Cunningham (Wales) in 2000 and Papua New Guinea scrumhalf Adrian Lam in 1995.
2017 RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD XIII
1 Billy Slater (Australia)
2 Jermaine McGillvary (England)
3 Will Chambers (Australia)
4 Kallum Watkins (England)
5 Suliasi Vunivalu (Fiji)
6 Michael Morgan (Australia)
7 Cooper Cronk (Australia)
8 James Graham (England)
9 Cameron Smith (Australia)
10 Aaron Woods (Australia)
11 Boyd Cordner (Australia)
12 Matt Gillett (Australia)
13 Jason Taumalolo (Tonga)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/rugby-league/100235565/
bruce
Broken record still spinning, JT is a New Zealander. The NRL will kill the game with this nonsense.
brightman
There goes the NRL in for the kill. Good for you Tonga, enjoy it while it lasts. You're right where you deserve to be, a pawn in the NRL strangle hold over rugby league..
Meanwhile, how many players will the NRL clubs release for this previously arranged test match during the June stand alone representative weekend..
https://www.rugby-league.com/england/article/51560/we-got-issues-denver-clash
drunk_monk
Contributor
Farkin NZRL.
Don't give a shit about the Tonga defections etc at this point.
But being butthurt and letting Tonga get shitloads of games while NZ cries in the corner doesn't help us.
A Tonga vs NZ annual grudge match would be gangbusters for sales because at least half the stadiums would be red.
Keep the love of league alive in NZ and that helps the Warriors.
Stop shooting yourselves in the bloody feet.
Don't give a shit about the Tonga defections etc at this point.
But being butthurt and letting Tonga get shitloads of games while NZ cries in the corner doesn't help us.
A Tonga vs NZ annual grudge match would be gangbusters for sales because at least half the stadiums would be red.
Keep the love of league alive in NZ and that helps the Warriors.
Stop shooting yourselves in the bloody feet.
Maraea
NZRL sleeping once again. People are more interested in serving their own butthurt over the defections than doing whats best for the game. Watch and learn NZRL. Hope they learn a lesson before the idiots go bankrupt. Again...
Mal Meninga backs secret talks for a historic Australia versus Tonga Test match in Hawaii next season
Matt Logue Exclusive, The Daily Telegraph
December 28, 2017 9:04pm
Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith during the Rugby League World Cup.
CAMERON Smith and the Australian Kangaroos playing in a historic Test match against Jason Taumalolo’s Tongans in the Paradise of the Pacific.
Sounds like a pipedream, but you better get your surfboard ready because The Daily Telegraph can reveal Kangaroos are in secret negotiations with Tonga to play a rugby league Test in Hawaii next year.
Australian officials, including coach Mal Meninga, are behind the plan to stage the groundbreaking event at Honolulu’s 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium.
In a bid to capitalise on the popularity of new rugby league power Tonga following the Mate Ma’a’s efforts to reach the World Cup semi-finals, officials are looking to play the match in October 2018 in the weeks following the NRL grand final.
Talks about an Australia versus Tonga Test in Hawaii have been positive, but Meninga says the game requires funding from the NRL and the International Federation to become a reality.
“At the moment we’ve got no money in the bank, but we are talking and ideally we’d like to play a Test match against Tonga at the end of next year,” Meninga said.
“We’ve got a Test against New Zealand already, but I’d like to think we can do something special with Tonga as well.
“We want to make it exciting for the players and have something to inspire people to want to play international footy.
Jason Taumololo in action for Tonga in the Rugby League World Cup.
“On the back of the World Cup, I believe we’ve got to play more games.
“We’ve got to be mindful of player welfare and that’s why anything we do has to be a genuine Test match.”
Meninga also wants to play in Hawaii to capitalise on the fact the 2025 Rugby League World Cup will be played in the United States and Canada.
He believes league has an opportunity to stake a claim in the Aloha State with the nation’s traditional American football Pro Bowl being played in Florida for the second consecutive season late next month.
Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
“We’ve got to expose our game to the people over there,” he said.
“That’s why I think we’ve got to think big and how we can showcase our game to other markets and America is certainly one of those.
“I think they love our collision sports and it’s a huge market, so the best way to tap into it is to showcase genuine international Test matches.
With Tonga at this stage only looking at one Test next year — against either New Zealand or Samoa during the season — a clash with Smith and the Kangaroos in Oahu could also help the Pacific island nation retain players like Taumalolo, Andrew Fifita, Michael Jennings, Manu Ma’u, Sio Siua Taukeiaho and David Fusitua.
Tonga coach Kristian Woolf has previously said it would be up to Taumalolo to decide if he wanted to return to New Zealand, while he conceded his side’s one Test in 2018 could count against the Mate Ma’a retaining the dual Dally M winner long-term.
Significantly reduced player wages compared to the top-tier nations could also hurt the Tongan’s bid to keep its big name players, but Meninga says money isn’t the issue.
He revealed his Kangaroos players were ready to take cuts to ensure greater parity for international player wages.
“I think it’s all about the opportunity to play Test match footy for your country,” he said.
“There is some inequality around the funding, but I know our Kangaroos players are all willing to negotiate that to be fair on player payments.
“Because it’s about the Test jersey and it’s not about how much money you make.”
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...n/news-story/7ff43149c735b2f48fc97005f597c1df
Wait a minute, theyve got no money? But its about the jersey? Lol. Fair enough. Who doesnt use sentiment to sell games.
bruce
drunk_monk
Contributor
The novelty of any fixture can wear off.
But a strong Tongan supporter base in NZ could turn it into a tradition easily enough.
I could only see it wearing off if we got thumped every year so no kiwi supporters turned up, which is possible.
YeahNah 4020
Contributor
Tonga deserve the respect they are receiving for a once in a lifetime victory against the Kiwis.
I think the rematch will be a sell out but I don’t see Tonga racking up too many wins against the Kiwis again.
Tonga fielded a good side but played with unmatched enthusiasm and brotherhood
that ambushed the Kiwis on the day.
So let’s lock in a rematch or pacific test series while it’s still hot.
Respect but I don’t see a repeat.
I think the rematch will be a sell out but I don’t see Tonga racking up too many wins against the Kiwis again.
Tonga fielded a good side but played with unmatched enthusiasm and brotherhood
that ambushed the Kiwis on the day.
So let’s lock in a rematch or pacific test series while it’s still hot.
Respect but I don’t see a repeat.
Diesel
bruce
Most of the Tongan team were born in NZ or Australia. There is no rugby league in Tonga. This is just horse shite. If they keep this nonsense up they will destroy international rugby league.
drunk_monk
Contributor
Doesn't literally every sport do the thing you're complaining about?
The RL rules were opened more than most, but players born or raised in other countries represent other nations all the time in other sports don't they?
Also how could it kill the sport? Giving other countries a shit show of being in it outside of 3 countries has surely got to strengthen the international game.
bruce
It will kill the international game in NZ. It will barely affect Australia or England.
The only countries that play rugby league at home are Australia, NZ, England, France and PNG. It is a load of horse shite saying that Tonga is a rugby league nation, pure horse shite. They play union in Tonga.
What is happening in rugby union where All Blacks, South Africans and some Pacific Islanders are being bribed to change their nationality cannot be compared to this situation. New Zealand has done the same with a few Aussie Warriors but that was never going to hurt Australia for the simple reason a Kangaroo jersey is worth more than a Kiwi jersey to an Australian.
It is the same with the All Black jersey. Those people complaining about the All Blacks raiding the Pacific are talking horse shite. Those kids come over here to improve themselves and their families. The All Black jersey is worth a lot more money than a Tongan or Samoan jersey when they eventually sign for a northern hemisphere club. All the more because as a former All Black they will never play international rugby again so are worth so much more to their northern clubs.
The ARL and NRL don't care about rugby league in NZ because they are a bunch of navel gazers and always have been. It is only coaches like Bennett and Smith who are determined to see international league prosper, the administration couldn't care less, they have SOO to wank over.
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