RLWC 2026

KPGreatness said:
True but we do have that to go on for Francis as well granted it was at second row but he did play against NRL sides and still dominated but again that was at second row but I don’t see why he can’t do he usual barnstorming running with the additional passing that he would obviously need to work on if he did get the 13.

I don’t want to say it but I think we the salary cap crunch and what not I think I see Croker going.
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Yeah, and don't get me wrong. Francis > Croker. Salary will be too. I'm more showing my annoyance at the quality of the tournament.
 
Les Misérables said:
Its an interesting one because Croker is likely to cop an offer from the Titans or the Tigers etc for twice as much as we'd pay. So he is very likely gone.

Although, given how many minutes Holbrook gives Croker, and the role he seems to have within the team, I wouldn't be surprised if Holbrook saw Croker as indispensable.
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I hope if he does leave he gets a big deal.
PNG could do with a Croker.
 
This tournament is ridiculous, restrict it to 6 teams and make it some sort of whoever makes semi finals is automatically into the next World Cup and every other team competes for two spots the year before.

Create a separate competition for the other nations these score lines are insane.
 
101k said:
This tournament is ridiculous, restrict it to 6 teams and make it some sort of whoever makes semi finals is automatically into the next World Cup and every other team competes for two spots the year before.

Create a separate competition for the other nations these score lines are insane.
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So who would you leave out, Fiji beat NZ in 2017, PNG beat Great Britain in 2019, Lebanon lost to Tonga by 2 in the 2017 quarters …

You can’t call a six team competition a World Cup. And it’s already been reduced to 12 teams this tournament.

Nobody’s forcing you to watch if you don’t enjoy it, but plenty are, as evidenced by the crowds and ratings.
 
Problem is that there are no plans for development in International RL, they have rarely existed in the past but are practically non-existent now.

The International game is now whatever V'landys can be bothered to put together for the least expense, organised a month out from the end of the season.

Any other serious sport would have a qualification process that enables teams to have years of preparation, funding, and elite player development to give emerging nations the best opportunity to compete and grow from tournament to tournament.
 
Rather than looking at the other football codes, perhaps RL should be looking at Test cricket for inspiration in the international game. Admittedly it wouldn’t be the same as the Test Cricket Championship because the club game is so dominant but a tournament run over a few years at the end of each season to create a league table then the top 4 play semis and a final to decide the winner.

To keep other clubs interested they could also do a shield competition for the 5th to 8th placed teams. One in the Northern hemisphere and one in the Southern to maximise interest in the two biggest markets.
 
The only way we grow the international game outside of the Southern Hemisphere is by allowing players to fully open up their heritage for the World Cup only.

I.e. someone like say Jamal Fogarty who's arguably one of the better halves in the comp but won't get a look in for any of the top 6 international teams may happen to have a great uncle from Ireland so they let him wear the jersey.

No idea of his lineage but that sort of thing distributes talent more evenly, lesser players learn from playing with elite players.
 
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