At the risk of starting another argument with you he ran for 144 metres against Penrith. It's nuts to write him off against Aussie opposition when he consistently does it against the best in Superleague and has done it against the best the Aussies have to offer too when given the chance. At what point do facts rather than perception come into play? He's equally, or even more, effective as any of the incumbents at club level and has consistently out performed Tommy Makinson in recent years who has had a pretty good international career, wouldn't you say?

Top finisher, consistent try scorer with pace to burn and among the best when bringing the ball out of yardage. Sounds like the ideal formula for a winger if you ask me!

Unlucky to not get picked.

Agreed. Also the game(s) only being made available via Our League which (for me) the feed keeping on dropping out added to the chaos. I probably only managed to view 15-20 mins of the first half and none of the second. For a service being provided by the uk RL governing body, this was very poor, and not an advert to encourage subscription to the channel, not withstanding the negative impact to the sport's image. Marketing and promotion of the event absolutely amateurish. If the RL wish to push the site, then they need to ensure that the system can handle the demand.

I fear it would take a monumental effort to get International RL back to where it was (which in itself was only ever average compared to RU anyway).

We desperately need an end of season test series against the Kangaroos. Played in the heartlands to ensure decent attendances: Etihad, DW and Elland Road.

We had a 25k attendance against Penrith arranged over a few months so the appetite for RL is obviously still there. Tour details home and abroad, dates and venues need to be set in stone 5-10 years in advance, with tickets sales 12 months in advance.

I can't believe we had better organisation in 1982 when the Invincibles came over and blitzed us. Subsequent tours and tournaments (86 tour, 90s World Cups) were incredible compared to today.

The lack of long term planning is criminal and ultimately much of it comes down to the whole sport being in a choke hold by the NRL. They call the shots on what can and cannot go ahead. We're meant to be going on an Ashes tour at the end of 2025 and if they want that to be a success and for people to travel from over here, the dates and venues should be set in stone. It isn't a cheap trip and people will need to plan ahead but they'll likely not get that opportunity. I wouldn't bank on it even going ahead tbh, as the NRL is likely to throw out their 'duty of care' line. That's the same league who will let players play Origin on a Wednesday night and then turn out for their clubs on a Friday night. They will then say lads cannot play in a WCC fixture because they've not had the minimum number of months off. They're a joke and I hold zero hope that International Rugby League has a chance of thriving going forward due to the money in the NRL.

to compound the problem further, the Tongan, Samoan players are all being pulled into the NRL mindset (being told they cant play)

it should be an honour / privilege for Pacific Ocean sides to tour to GB, but given that Tonga have declined this year, and we've squeezed a 2 match series in with Samoa, just shows who is running the show

i like to watch test cricket and they have such a well defined cricket calendar. I can see now up the the ashes tour in 2027/8 so know exactly when or where they are playing for the next few years. we are winging a schedule if someone remembers about it i.e. i know lets play France and then let see if we can get someone to come over here and play us in a post season test series

rugby union can manage the autumn internationals, 6 nations and then summer tours / world cups, but again a well defined international calendar