What fascinates me about the Chiefs is on multiple levels.
1) Papua New Guinea the place and its people blow my mind.
2) They are the only nation on earth that adopted Rugby League as their national sport
3) In the 80's they beat us, The only tier two nation to do that to a tier one for many decades eh.
4) The tribalism of the crowds, spear waving and shit in the eighties.
5) They play like mad bastards. That is what League once was, the sport for mad men. Before sponsorship and entertainment corrupted that fight out of the game.
6) They have wanted this for so long.....and it was an impossibility until rare and unusual global events entirely external to the game aligned in such a way that the impossible became a reality.
7) Unique in world sport. Unique in world politics. The first and it will be the last and only time that a sport is used to stave off the global expansion of an Asian Empire - oh sure we have seen politics in sport before (NZ has one the worst histories of Politicking around sport - hell we were boycotted at the Olympics for being racist wankers and telling lies about Sport not being part of politics - how lame is that argument now in the light of China - PNG - Canberra).
8) You could make a decent movie. It falls in the sports fantasy movie section really, a blending of Salmon fishing in Yemen and Field of dreams.
9) The Chiefs will help the children of PNG in the same way that the Warriors and All Blacks have helped many a youth in this country. Except the Chiefs impact will be profound,. The long term strategic plan to develop League in PNG via the chiefs is going to open up pathways to other NRL clubs for PNG youth in the same fashion the Warriors tilt young footballers towards league in this country.....except for one key difference - these kids are already Rugby league born and bred, they just don't have fields to play on or coaches etc - or even a dream.
How many youth inspired by sport that do not make it in that sport, still go away changed people for the experience of being part of something?
9) Haere mai, haere mai, haere mai, brothers and sisters of the Austronesian realms, a new culture in the NRL, a new country - for far too long has Aotearoa been the lone 'visitor' in this place, it is well nigh past time to share that burden of being the outsider with others. And thanks for taking it on the chin with the Refs when they give you the special noob treatment - don't worry it wears off if you complain for two decades and they Ref fairer.
10. I will make this my last point, coz I do 100s and 10 points is cheeky - pushing it, this team is going to boost interest in the sport period. Lets hope they are competitive out the gate, especially opening night, like 1995....Mt Smart.....the biggest night the NRL has ever had. There is not a single regular season game in the history of the NRL that has even come close to the first time the NEW AUCKLAND WARRIORS came out of that tunnel.
1) Papua New Guinea the place and its people blow my mind.
2) They are the only nation on earth that adopted Rugby League as their national sport
3) In the 80's they beat us, The only tier two nation to do that to a tier one for many decades eh.
4) The tribalism of the crowds, spear waving and shit in the eighties.
5) They play like mad bastards. That is what League once was, the sport for mad men. Before sponsorship and entertainment corrupted that fight out of the game.
6) They have wanted this for so long.....and it was an impossibility until rare and unusual global events entirely external to the game aligned in such a way that the impossible became a reality.
7) Unique in world sport. Unique in world politics. The first and it will be the last and only time that a sport is used to stave off the global expansion of an Asian Empire - oh sure we have seen politics in sport before (NZ has one the worst histories of Politicking around sport - hell we were boycotted at the Olympics for being racist wankers and telling lies about Sport not being part of politics - how lame is that argument now in the light of China - PNG - Canberra).
8) You could make a decent movie. It falls in the sports fantasy movie section really, a blending of Salmon fishing in Yemen and Field of dreams.
9) The Chiefs will help the children of PNG in the same way that the Warriors and All Blacks have helped many a youth in this country. Except the Chiefs impact will be profound,. The long term strategic plan to develop League in PNG via the chiefs is going to open up pathways to other NRL clubs for PNG youth in the same fashion the Warriors tilt young footballers towards league in this country.....except for one key difference - these kids are already Rugby league born and bred, they just don't have fields to play on or coaches etc - or even a dream.
How many youth inspired by sport that do not make it in that sport, still go away changed people for the experience of being part of something?
9) Haere mai, haere mai, haere mai, brothers and sisters of the Austronesian realms, a new culture in the NRL, a new country - for far too long has Aotearoa been the lone 'visitor' in this place, it is well nigh past time to share that burden of being the outsider with others. And thanks for taking it on the chin with the Refs when they give you the special noob treatment - don't worry it wears off if you complain for two decades and they Ref fairer.
10. I will make this my last point, coz I do 100s and 10 points is cheeky - pushing it, this team is going to boost interest in the sport period. Lets hope they are competitive out the gate, especially opening night, like 1995....Mt Smart.....the biggest night the NRL has ever had. There is not a single regular season game in the history of the NRL that has even come close to the first time the NEW AUCKLAND WARRIORS came out of that tunnel.
