I'm glad he has Steve Price at least on the coaching staff. Not that he is elite. But he's better than Adam Blair.
International Pacific Championship
- Thread starter Shogun
- Start date
NZWarriors.com
Mooks was in the box too.
NZWarriors.com
It’s been raised previously but where were the Kiwi fans - I count myself in this too .
The NZRL gave away a heap of tickets late in the week and my old RL club was advertising on FB that if anyone wanted free tickets they were available.
Back in the day we used to go to test matches but I haven’t been for 2 years now . I suppose I now go to the Warriors instead .
The Tonga vs Samoa game will be massive and any neutral supporters should go just for the experience !
The NZRL gave away a heap of tickets late in the week and my old RL club was advertising on FB that if anyone wanted free tickets they were available.
Back in the day we used to go to test matches but I haven’t been for 2 years now . I suppose I now go to the Warriors instead .
The Tonga vs Samoa game will be massive and any neutral supporters should go just for the experience !
NZWarriors.com
Adam Blair is on the coaching staff
Look at why you didn't go - whatever those reasons are, probably applicable to other fans.
I genuinely don't understand it. I'd rather go to a Kiwis game than a Warriors game any day of the week, barring a playoff game.
NZWarriors.com
Theories:
1. The supposed rise in interest in league in NZ is really just a rise in interest in the Warriors within the NRL. The NRL is an increasingly successful entertainment 'product', and there was a post-Covid bump in interest in the Warriors that fortuitously coincided with a well-coached Warriors team. We've made playoffs 2 out of 3 years, which has only previously happened under Anderson and Cleary. We haven't yet seen 2-3 dire seasons back-to-back since Covid to remind us of just how tenuous that Warrior fanbase really is.
2. Rugby league in NZ generally but Auckland specifically is now overwhelmingly Pasifica - far moreso than rugby. The past two RLWCs and now the Pacific Championship have had the same effect on fans as on players: players now feel fine about playing for their country of heritage, and fans that previously might've supported NZ are now all in with their countries of heritage. If you're Tongan NZer who favours Tonga, with NZ as your second team, then you'll spend your hard-earneds going to any game involving Tonga, and probably flag the Kiwis/Samoa game.
3. International rugby league is so niche. It's almost perceived as an afterthought in the non-Pacifica NZ public's sporting mind. It's hard to market a sports product that lasts a month max.
Nailed it IMO, the warriors have an eternal underdog appeal that cuts across all demographics and casuals, the Kiwis is for non-Pasifika league heads, who are more evenly spread around the country, and who get the most excited about a chance to beat the kangaroos.
Also might be something that none of the kiwi stars are based in New Zealand anymore. No Jones, no Mannering, no Johnson. Fish is respected, but not loved like those players were.
And as good as Hughes and Tapine and that are, there is no Benji or SBW true excitement machines, the NRL in general don’t have too many of that sort of player left, Walsh is one of the few people might pay just for him.
And it takes a long time to build tradition, that was a very good game on Sunday, if you had that every year for 5 years you might start getting somewhere. I miss the anzac test, though it made sense to not stop the comp for a week, you knew when it was on and looked forward to it, despite almost always having it in Australia with Australian officials and their general criminality.
NZWarriors.com
Rugby league to most casuals in NZ equals NRL and SoO. Kiwis & local footy are an afterthought.
Seasons over after the GF. The rep team that gets them excited is QLD/NSW.
I've got mates who'll fly over for Origin games but won't show up to watch their own rep team against the best players from those sides combined.
That's the attitude the NZRL has to try and change somehow.
Seasons over after the GF. The rep team that gets them excited is QLD/NSW.
I've got mates who'll fly over for Origin games but won't show up to watch their own rep team against the best players from those sides combined.
That's the attitude the NZRL has to try and change somehow.
yep I know a dude like that brought up on winfeild cup, a big bulldogs fan who has never been to Bankstown who thinks SoO is the pinnacle and could give a stuff bout the kiwis.... I was converted to league as a teenager earlv 80s after watching Kiwi v Aus test series and its been the pinnacle for me ever since..... NZRL need to stop trying to make a quik buck and start getting bums on seats, sell family of 4 pass for something like 40 bucks, NZRL piss me off so much
Shit. Lol...I thought he was a trainer or something. We won, I shouldn't be moaning.
NZWarriors.com
Think the Kiwis have a bit of an image problem. For me the Apathy started with the PI exodus - if guys playing for the team didn’t give a shit about the team then why should we? The kidwell years that followed showed the team to be a bit petulant, the whole ‘youse got what you wanted’ from an awful WC campaign through to the ‘jobs for the boys’ Stacey Jones appointment just sabotages themselves yet again.
Think the general NZ public get their league fix over the year with the Warriors and being a long season viewer fatigue probably sets in, also the fact that very few Warriors actually feature these days is probably another factor.
People are also time poor these days and current financial environment means they are a bit more picky, PI don’t get much chance to see their national team so will turn up for the 1-2offs moreso than NZers with more opportunities to see more teams
Think the general NZ public get their league fix over the year with the Warriors and being a long season viewer fatigue probably sets in, also the fact that very few Warriors actually feature these days is probably another factor.
People are also time poor these days and current financial environment means they are a bit more picky, PI don’t get much chance to see their national team so will turn up for the 1-2offs moreso than NZers with more opportunities to see more teams
NZWarriors.com
I think the age thing plays into it a lot. My grandad went to every Kiwis test at Carlaw and would follow them around Aussie, so I was brought up with the Kiwis being the be all and end all.
It feels like newer fans, particularly those from non-league families, don't have that connection to the Kiwis or the understanding of the history and heritage.
NZRL don't help themselves though, they almost promote Samoa/Tonga playing more than their own team. The social content is really strong, but only reaches those who are already engaged. They need to rebuild the mana around the Kiwis name and stop relying on Pasifika fans to fill their ground.
The whole organisation being full of old boys doesn't help though. They desperately need someone who can inspire some cut through. I'd be picking Cam George's mind if I were them.