International Pacific Championship

Sports betting is now legal in over 30 states, obviously Vegas is the most known for it though.

True but they're not going to Vegas because it's the most known, it's the biggest market of established bookies
 
Yeah wouldn't surprise me to see RTS playing for Samoa. Isaako, CNK and Mulitalo have sealed their spots in the team, as did everyone else. Although noting 1 year from now is a long way. Players will be injured, or rule themselves out with niggles. Although I bet the taste of this victory is so great that everyone involved in this current squad will make themselves available unless legitimately injured.

Availability always been a Kiwis issue. I remember thinking we entering a great Kiwis era back when our forwards were Matalino, Kasiano, Pritchard, SBW all at their best, while having a spine of Luke, SJ, Benji - turns out there were always injuries, then bad runs of form etc.

I pray for more internationals, and healthy Kiwis keen to play!
 
Lot's of rumours on social media the Roo's players went out on a bender on Thursday night to the early hours...

Sour grapes probably.
Fucking Aussies excuses. Always an excuse. Just acknowledge the kiwis for once. Same for warriors. Will never get respect always an Aussie team off the mark.
 
It's pretty wild the Kangaroo's get a $30k match payment per player - with it possibly going up to $40k next year.

Wonder what the Kiwis get?

Such a skewed playing field when you throw in disparity in match payments and the lure of SOO (and those match payments also)
Meanwhile the NZRL have to get NRL assistance to pay match payments to players. The NZRL has a minimal budget already let alone for advertising and is a likely another reason for the underwhelming crowd turnout. Aside from diehard league fans, people just didn't know it was on.
 
I imagine they will be announcing the Golden Boot in the next week or so, surely it is between Charnze, Fish, and maybe one of the English boys??

I’d be tipping JFH, but it would be mad if CNK won, that would make the last 3 men’s golden boot winners Kiwis fullbacks + of the 5 active Golden Boot winning players, the Warriors would have 3 of them
 
I imagine they will be announcing the Golden Boot in the next week or so, surely it is between Charnze, Fish, and maybe one of the English boys??

I’d be tipping JFH, but it would be mad if CNK won, that would make the last 3 men’s golden boot winners Kiwis fullbacks + of the 5 active Golden Boot winning players, the Warriors would have 3 of them
Hope it's Charnze, playing three tests with a busted rib is King Wally level tough.
 
No way I would put SJ or Tohu in after the incumbents beat Aus 30 nil

Don’t see any spot for Rts

And Mulitalo and Isaako played out of their skin
Isaako also- missed only one goal

Beers wearing off!
I thought DWZ was gonna change from Kiwi's to tonga, as saw from previous poster that his nan wanted him to play for Tonga
 
Very similar player to SJ the Elder.

Especially his tackle five options where he favors the up and under, that is very SJ esque.

I could not help but wonder after that game we lost whether having more Warriors in the Kiwis who are used to the bomb and kick chase would have made the game a lot closer. I see a future role for kick chase expert Rocco Berry in a Kiwis jumper there.

Given Hughes plays a lot like SJ, and given that the Warriors will feature in future Kiwis back lines if the likes of Rocco etc continue to be finals footballers, then the stars would seem to be aligning as far as a Kiwis side using a Warriors template with success long term.

The reason I keep bringing up the Warriors in this discussion is that they were after all....nigh on the third best team in the NRL and therefore grossly under represented in a NZ line up in this Pacific cup.

I never plug Warriors players for the Kiwis, in my experience the Kiwis are better off when they do not have to scrape the Warriors barrel, but all that has changed in my mind after the Warriors became a top four NRL side and should therefore be a significant part of a NZ backlines attacking maneuvers...because the Warriors are bloody great at fast shifts and fancy backline plays. They can score against any Australian NRL players.
Agree, the Warriors are a natural progression to the national side, the next level, now under Webster there's gonna be great combinations - can't wait for next year
 
I saw this alarming report of the NRL taking over NZ rugby league.

Without placing myself at risk of being called a racist against Australians (Australians are not a race and my hatred and vitriol is well backed up by a life time of seeing Australia seek to colonize NZ sports in Rugby League).

The NZRL got it wrong this series, however that should never see them taken over by Australia.

The worst thing that could happen to this sport which Australia almost completely control (look at the actual facts of what that has done to the international games, the origin and NRL hype has left test matches meaningless and poorly promoted),

The NRL is a club body, for a local Australian club competition, how dare they take over a sovereign nations international body?

This is like the super Rugby clubs in NZ trying to take control of test matches off the likes of South Africa and Australia, it is a bloody disgrace,a hostile business take over that has zero to do with international sport diplomacy.


The worst thing that could happen to the Kiwis is for Australia to have even more control.

They have wrecked it already. Don't let them turn these games into their narrative, if you do, tests will become festival games like the Indigenous games, they will be treated as fun pageants below the origin monster.

The main reason Aussie want to take over is that no final will ever be played in NZ ever again. They have not beaten NZ on NZ soil in years, so what is their knee jerk reaction to getting smashed in the final over here? 'lets take it off them and make it easier for our mob to win the finals in Australia'[

Look forward to ANZAC day treatment, not one ANZAC game ever played on NZ soil.

Were we at Galipoli dying? or did I get that part wrong and only Australian audiences deserve a commemorative game?


I know I have been the lone voice of the forum ringing the alarm bell about Australian control of this sport but read the article.



Wake up sleepy sheep.

This shit is real. I saw it decades ago, I feel like a man on an island here....a lonely place, a solo voice yelling into the raging Australian storm.

Since we are so weak and can be taken over so readily by Australia, the English and the Tongans are our best allies and the hope of taking this game back and keeping its ownership to Sovereign nations and their charters of independence.
Bloody hell! thanks for your whakaaro, just thought big brother being an ahole, opened my eyes, keep it up.
 
I was watching NZA v TongA highlights the other day, and thought that was a great game. Probably more Warriors playing in that game than the Kiwis and Toa. Wonder how training with NZA and the Kiwis helped the Kiwis with that performance in the final. One would imagine a few of those players were not far off being chosen for the Kiwis. Was that Tonga A squad as good or close to the MMT squad which played England?
 
I thought DWZ was gonna change from Kiwi's to tonga, as saw from previous poster that his nan wanted him to play for Tonga
Ah yeah I forgot about that, be cool to see it if it happens, DWZ is a loyal hearty Grandson of a Kiwis great, people often confuse these family ties as some kind of treason.

It is as simple as representing your own family members.
 
Lot's of rumours on social media the Roo's players went out on a bender on Thursday night to the early hours...

Sour grapes probably.
No excuses.

They are not the first test side to get pissed before an up coming test and still win the game.

I ran into the French Rugby side getting wasted in a bar on the waterfront the night before playing the ALL Blacks at Eden park. The Frogs smashed the All Blacks.

The Touring British Lions Rugby league sides were legendary for hitting the piss the week of tests.

What it does reflect though, is a foolish underestimation of the Kiwis.

The Roos won a game with pivotal Reffs calls at the turning point and pulled off a few of their characteristic fluke try's to see the end score flatter to deceive.

They should have been warned by the way the Kiwis crushed Samoa that the threat was there, and if we showed up Aus would have to be at their best to win.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top