KerryKatona
Ever Hopeful
Contributor
Holy shit I'm glad we have video ref - even if they get it wrong sometimes. Check out the last play against NSW! I remember watching these at the time, but for some reason remembered us getting beaten by more. Man Superleague sucked - playing NSW without Johns, Fittler, Harragon etc.
Sup42
I used to have a Video Tape of the Kiwis playing Queenland before those games.
Kiwis had a shock loss to PNG then Kevin Iro tore Queensland a new one.
They won the Test over the Kangaroos.
Went to Mt Smart to watch the Superleague Origin , that games final secounds was made a Homes show Item after Sean Hope had a Try disallowed for an obscure reason.
It didn't help our course that the media were beating up a story about how many Millions Australia would lose if the Origin Final was Kiwi.
That game just reinforces how bullshit any state of origin is compared to international tests.
Sure it's not the full strength NSW squad but it's a 99 % pure Queensland team.
Australia cheated because the Origin is all sht
Kiwis had a shock loss to PNG then Kevin Iro tore Queensland a new one.
They won the Test over the Kangaroos.
Went to Mt Smart to watch the Superleague Origin , that games final secounds was made a Homes show Item after Sean Hope had a Try disallowed for an obscure reason.
It didn't help our course that the media were beating up a story about how many Millions Australia would lose if the Origin Final was Kiwi.
That game just reinforces how bullshit any state of origin is compared to international tests.
Sure it's not the full strength NSW squad but it's a 99 % pure Queensland team.
Australia cheated because the Origin is all sht
surfin
It was also not a full strength Kiwis side, as not all the Kiwi boys went to SL. Not like an Aussie to forget something like that when comparing teams.
snake77
John Monie was on NRL 360 last night doing some reminiscing for retro round.
He did re-write history a little bit saying he returned from England and the Warriors had already signed with Super League. That would require the Warriors to have signed before the coup that happened 1st April 1995.
My recollection was he finished at Wigan as was back here 6-12 months before the 95 season signing players, settling into Auckland etc.
He did re-write history a little bit saying he returned from England and the Warriors had already signed with Super League. That would require the Warriors to have signed before the coup that happened 1st April 1995.
My recollection was he finished at Wigan as was back here 6-12 months before the 95 season signing players, settling into Auckland etc.
razzrillinger
He also said Stacey Jones was 16 in 1995 when in actual fact he turned 19 that year.
snake77
Yeah heard that one and with Jones being a year older than me I was thinking that doesn't sound right. Or have I lost a few years. That made his statement about not really needing Greg Alexander seem strange as if Jones was 18-19 you could debut a youngster coming through. A 16 year old would of made headlines seeing as Josh Hannay got stopped from debuting at 17.
Before Rugby League Week folded there were some articles from their old editor Geoff Prenter who had a little dig at the Warriors heading off to Super League. Problem was his facts were incorrect. You would expect the media to be impartial and get their facts right, well for events 20 years ago at least as the heat is off to be the first for the scoop.
That was a good discussion on NRL 360 last night. Anderson's part about the Bulldogs being torn apart with the 5 ARL players and how they would catch up at the bar and weren't allowed to discuss football.
mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
Contributor
Warriors had signed up for the Super League in 1995. Unsure of when but the comp was meant to start in 1996 except for the injunction the ARL got just as the season was about to start hence the Round 1 win against the Broncos by default and the emergency supplier in Lenco...
Hardyman's Yugo
Monie left Wigan as early as May 1993, Dorahy took over at Wigan for the start of the 93/94 season.
snake77
Thought as much as he was going around NZ watching a lot of the local league and building the squad. So the whole I signed with the ARL and when I arrived they had signed with Super League seemed like an exaggeration you would hear in pro wrestling.
Also his quote about Maurice Lindsey and Wigan only shop of the top shelf shows the type of squad they had back then. Can't remember if it was Monie when he came back or Endacott who brought over some Warriors reserve graders. Remember reading a Wigan forum with fans saying they were some of their worst imports.
snake77
Good away win that 96 win in round 1. Remember exactly where I was when that was announced. Was living in a youth hostel in Tauranga.
1995 with all of the signings and rumours were an interesting time. Who signed with which group and if their club is with the other competition where are they going to go?
mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
Contributor
Interesting all right. On the whole the Warriors players all sold themselves well short. Awen Guttenbeil who was a fringe first grader at Manly was signed to SL for more than Stacey Jones was lol. Some players set themselves up for life earning on par with the best nowadays...
Hardyman's Yugo
Superleague also produced some brilliantly funny fixture lists for the non league following comedians. Workington v Paris, small steel producing town on the remote Cumbrian coast plays the capital city of France
snake77
Used to read stories of the parking lot at training sessions used to be all Fords and Holdens etc. A few months later Audis, Porchse's were all common place as guys went nuts.
Contract signings were the usual X amount for X years. Then a signing bonus. Some of the sign on amounts were what guys were previously getting for a year or a contract term
Think about the squad the Warriors had in 1995 for a salary cap of $1.6 million which had to cover multiple grades. A year or so later sides were paying $8-9 million for 25 players.
Contract signings were the usual X amount for X years. Then a signing bonus. Some of the sign on amounts were what guys were previously getting for a year or a contract term
Think about the squad the Warriors had in 1995 for a salary cap of $1.6 million which had to cover multiple grades. A year or so later sides were paying $8-9 million for 25 players.
razzrillinger
Matty Johns was talking about the Super League war yesterday on the Grill Team because of Fox Retro Round.
He was on $15,000 previously and then SL were so desperate to get him and his brother over to play for the Hunter Mariners, they told them to name their price. He said he could have comfortably got $1,200,000 but instead they stuck solid with the Knights as a squad and went on to win the ARL comp in 1997. They were still on more than before though obviously.
Gus Gould was in charge of negotiations for the ARL and it sounds like he struck fear into a few players/teams by saying that any SL signed players may not play in Australia again. He didn't have nearly as much money to throw around compared to SL.
Crazy to think how much money was burned on player contracts at that time and how players who held out got a lot more regardless of how good they were.
He was on $15,000 previously and then SL were so desperate to get him and his brother over to play for the Hunter Mariners, they told them to name their price. He said he could have comfortably got $1,200,000 but instead they stuck solid with the Knights as a squad and went on to win the ARL comp in 1997. They were still on more than before though obviously.
Gus Gould was in charge of negotiations for the ARL and it sounds like he struck fear into a few players/teams by saying that any SL signed players may not play in Australia again. He didn't have nearly as much money to throw around compared to SL.
Crazy to think how much money was burned on player contracts at that time and how players who held out got a lot more regardless of how good they were.
Defence
I was in the ARLs corner at the time but looking back I think I was wrong.
If everyone had got behind super league the game would probably be in a much better place now.
If everyone had got behind super league the game would probably be in a much better place now.
snake77
The union guys occassionally bring up their WRC or whatever it was called after the 95 World Cup. Most of the All Blacks besides I think Lomu, Wilson and maybe Kronfield were going to go with the WRC. The journalists bring in the amount of money wasted. That pales in comparison to the Super League war. Probably why they got low balled with the next broadcast deal as News Ltd looked to recoup their costs.
Also remember Gould saying a story about the Johns boys. He was on the phone with them and they were talking about opening up an academy all the while passing balls into the wall of their house, yelling in the back ground about different players they wanted to coach. These guys wouldn't have been on much at the start of the year a few months later they can talk about starting an academy or starting a business.
Gould and Fulton would of been tough to get away from on the ARL side if you wanted to keep your options open and see what the other side was offering. I bet there would have been a lot of promises of rep hounours, move to different clubs etc from both sides.
snake77
It was an interesting time.
1994 the Winfield Cup was going well in terms of ratings, interest in the competition. That carried on into 1995 with the 20 team competition; we only got the start of the competition before the war started. The 20 team competition had weaker teams than we have now.
The ARL also let the door open a bit with some of their policies. The Broncos were annoyed about the amount of money they would generate through merchandise which would go into a pool. The ARL owned all of the rights; annoying for the clubs but was useful for the ARL later during the court cases. Now we have clubs getting more money for their merchandise and the rest going into a pool if I remember the RLW article about the Warriors sales.
The concept of reducing the teams to 12-14 was a good one especially with the amount of clubs in Sydney. A 12 team comp might have been a bit too low. We have probably got close to a compromise now in 16 but still not hitting some of the markets.
We don't have kids in China wearing NRL t-shirts or jerseys like Super League wanted.
The Super League war set things back about 10 years. The NRL signed a 10 year broadcast deal straight afterward which seemed to be undervalued and too long. Had to wait until the 2008-2013 deal to get extra funds.
1994 the Winfield Cup was going well in terms of ratings, interest in the competition. That carried on into 1995 with the 20 team competition; we only got the start of the competition before the war started. The 20 team competition had weaker teams than we have now.
The ARL also let the door open a bit with some of their policies. The Broncos were annoyed about the amount of money they would generate through merchandise which would go into a pool. The ARL owned all of the rights; annoying for the clubs but was useful for the ARL later during the court cases. Now we have clubs getting more money for their merchandise and the rest going into a pool if I remember the RLW article about the Warriors sales.
The concept of reducing the teams to 12-14 was a good one especially with the amount of clubs in Sydney. A 12 team comp might have been a bit too low. We have probably got close to a compromise now in 16 but still not hitting some of the markets.
We don't have kids in China wearing NRL t-shirts or jerseys like Super League wanted.
The Super League war set things back about 10 years. The NRL signed a 10 year broadcast deal straight afterward which seemed to be undervalued and too long. Had to wait until the 2008-2013 deal to get extra funds.
Defence
In Walter little and frank bunces book they said if rugby hadn't gone professional after the 95 World Cup, the entire all black backline would've been playing nrl in 96- they all had deals ready to sign.
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drake83
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