Go back to your pit you stupid boy

Downo - If you're just telling the truth then you and every other Australian rugby league fan should be embarrassed and ashamed. I was at the Fiji semi final and, tbh, on that showing I think you may be right. There were probably more England fans there than Aussies (more vocal at least). It there's not a good turnout for the final it strengthens the notion that Australia should never, ever host the RLWC again. You sound as if you're proud that Aussies don't care about the tournament. Quite sad really.

If i were a RL fan in a country where i was fortunate enough for it to be close to the number 1 sport and as well resourced as it is in Aus, id want to be part of trying to make that truly global, not deriding the challenges other nations have while at the same time cultivating a very insular attitude.

Why? its not remotely interesting, the tournament is an embarrassment, its be better not to have it, it just drags down Rugby League, the show piece of the game in Australia should always be NRL & SOO, this show just drags us down, its got a lot to do with England being at fault i suppose, seeing as they haven't been competitive in over 40 years

I really think you lot have unrealistic expectations of RL in Australia & are largely ignorant of the sporting landscape

As far as playing numbers go, its a dying game, we struggle to put senior competitions together in the cities, its only the Bush that keeps things going & we have an aversion to funding that even, it may sometimes look a bit glossy on the outside, but inside its withering away sadly

You never know who youre communicating with on the internet though in this case it can only presumed that this individual only posts in an attempt to boost their fragile ego and self worth thas clearly lacking. Its not a discussion and not worth anyones time.

Something that looks more like a conversation, good. In relation to Rugby League in England the profile and quality of the NRL competition is lighyears ahead though im sure not without its challenges. In order to thrive, RL needs to develop and become comparitively (or greater in areas as you say) resourced in more than just 1 country, a change in attitude from all stakeholders in the game is needed to move closer to this. Accept what it is, leave egos at the door and support its (slow) growth, if you believe in the potential of the game as i and others do.

I see the Glorious League Freak has made a return

Regards

King james

But I wasn't talking about the tournament as a whole. I can understand if you think that maybe RL isn't strong enough internationally to warrant holding a world cup. Given how many teams are filled with players from only a few countries, you've probably got a point. That said, it doesn't do any harm to still have the event, and it might grow in time. Besides, none of that stops a one off game like the final between Australia and England being a fantastic occasion. One of my favourite matches is the 92 world cup final, but from my perspective that was just a one off game. I never knew at the time how the teams qualified for it over several years - I still don't know now how that world cup was organised. It was still an amazing match though. I can understand you not being interested in Australia thrashing the likes of Lebanon, but to not even want to watch a final against England, I find that very strange. I wonder how representative you are of Aussie RL fans.

I'd go even further, I think we should exclude Australia from the international calendar, they clearly don't give a stuff about the international game so simply eradicate them from it until they want to give support to the international game, that doesn't mean just putting a team together, they have to show that they (the Australian RL rulers) are willing to respect the sport by actually giving a stuff and marketing it properly.
At the moment I'd rather pay £30+ to watch us v Tonga on a cold winters nights after travelling 185 miles than get a free ticket to watch us v the okkers.

I guess I'm the opposite in that I don't really care about us playing against Tonga and Fiji and teams like that. For me it's all about games against Australia and, to a slightly lesser extent, New Zealand. Plus I love the matches between those two teams as well. In other sports I love sticking it to the Scots, Welsh and Irish, but I don't feel that way in RL because their teams are so weak and they're full of heritage players anyway. Even if we lost it wouldn't be to a team of actual Welsh or Scots but to a bunch of Aussies and other English.

We need to work with the Australians, not disregard them. I would play them three times every year if it were possible.

Spot on. It is a combination of total apathy and a lack of promotion that has delivered pitiful crowds for the games in Australia. The failure of NSW, the state with 10 of the 16 NRL sides to even bid for games is a disgrace, whilst the attitude of the Canberra and North Queensland admins is baffling in that they bid for the games but then carried out no marketing.....14 Pool games (including 3 DH's) averaged 8,550 a game. That is embarrassing.......but even worse is the fact that 51,000 Kiwis have attended their 3 Knock out games with only one game involving the Kiwis....5,000 more than the 3 Australian ties with 2 of those games featuring the home side.....63% of the games yet only 35% of the crowds......I know they won't lose money, but part of me wants them to!

The only problem as I see it would be getting players released from their NRL clubs to represent the PI teams........because without their NRL players, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji would be no match for England