Re: Tonga vs Australia : Sun Nov 03, 2019 12:57 am  

puroresu_boy wrote:

Jason Taumalolo decision to play for Tonga started all this.

To be clear. A New Zealand born player, picked for the Kiwis Squad in 2012, capped by Tonga in 2013 and who was then selected to play for the Kiwis in 2014, disagreed with the punishment of 2 Kiwi players for taking a class A drug and therefore opted to play for Tonga and you think that is a good thing for Rugby League?

He opted for New Zealand, then Tonga, then New Zealand aggain and now Tonga again. I get that other sports have "ringers", with the England Cricket Captain being Irish, their ICC World Cup hero a Kiwi and even the England Union side's first try v the AB's recently was scored by a Kiwi, but you are claiming a team, born almost entirely outside Tonga is Tongan?

Yes, where you are born doesn't always reflect your heritage (I hold Irish citizenship, I was born in Hertfordshire), but a side that is 98% not born in Tonga is not "good for International RL", no matter if they beat Australia, GB and New Zealand.

The current Tongan 21 man squad has 9 Australians, 11 Kiwis and a solitary Tongan Born Player, 11 of whom who have since (or before) represented the country of their birth, or in once case, John Asiata was born in Australia and has played for both Samoa and Tonga is as plastic a side as you can get. Do those fans who made up 15k of the 25.5k there yesterday care? Probably not, but neither does their playing under a flag boost the domestic game in Tonga.
Play a Tongan international RL match anywhere south of Hamilton and see what crowds you get. Google Tonga v Lebanon 2017 for an idea....it's not good. Even the game in Hamilton v GB was poorly attended. £12 is what the 3 games cost me to attend yesterday. Low pricing and games played on their doorstep, and Tonga looks to be the answer, but the reality is that like Toronto in SL, they're just a made up team doing little for the games development in their "home" town/country but making Myopic RL fans feel that the game "is on the up"

Oh. BTW. Tonga would have been relegated to Group B if the comp was definitely going to happen next year, but if it does happen, it'll be without the touring Kangaroos.

Re: Tonga vs Australia : Sun Nov 03, 2019 6:16 am  

Tongan players are getting their living expenses covered mostly.
Australian players are getting $30K per game.
The best Tongan players, who could be playing for Aus or NZ instead, are hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket to represent their culture.
Jason Taumalolo would walk into the Australian side, but plays for virtually nothing for Tonga instead.
Honestly, the Tongans completely own the moral high ground when it comes to representing your people and culture.
A bunch or Australians are playing for England for a sweet paycheck, and Jason Taumalolo is living the dream of playing for his people for nothing.

Re: Tonga vs Australia : Sun Nov 03, 2019 12:29 pm  

AXE2GRIND wrote:

To be clear. A New Zealand born player, picked for the Kiwis Squad in 2012, capped by Tonga in 2013 and who was then selected to play for the Kiwis in 2014, disagreed with the punishment of 2 Kiwi players for taking a class A drug and therefore opted to play for Tonga and you think that is a good thing for Rugby League?

He opted for New Zealand, then Tonga, then New Zealand aggain and now Tonga again. I get that other sports have "ringers", with the England Cricket Captain being Irish, their ICC World Cup hero a Kiwi and even the England Union side's first try v the AB's recently was scored by a Kiwi, but you are claiming a team, born almost entirely outside Tonga is Tongan?

Yes, where you are born doesn't always reflect your heritage (I hold Irish citizenship, I was born in Hertfordshire), but a side that is 98% not born in Tonga is not "good for International RL", no matter if they beat Australia, GB and New Zealand.

The current Tongan 21 man squad has 9 Australians, 11 Kiwis and a solitary Tongan Born Player, 11 of whom who have since (or before) represented the country of their birth, or in once case, John Asiata was born in Australia and has played for both Samoa and Tonga is as plastic a side as you can get. Do those fans who made up 15k of the 25.5k there yesterday care? Probably not, but neither does their playing under a flag boost the domestic game in Tonga.
Play a Tongan international RL match anywhere south of Hamilton and see what crowds you get. Google Tonga v Lebanon 2017 for an idea....it's not good. Even the game in Hamilton v GB was poorly attended. £12 is what the 3 games cost me to attend yesterday. Low pricing and games played on their doorstep, and Tonga looks to be the answer, but the reality is that like Toronto in SL, they're just a made up team doing little for the games development in their "home" town/country but making Myopic RL fans feel that the game "is on the up"

Oh. BTW. Tonga would have been relegated to Group B if the comp was definitely going to happen next year, but if it does happen, it'll be without the touring Kangaroos.

Nonsense. You are applying Western/major nation style demographics to a country that doesn’t live in the same conditions.

There are 60,000 people of Tongan descent living in New Zealand alone never mind other nations around the world.

There are only 100,000 people living in Tonga. Of course they’re going to have a higher proportion of players born outside Tonga. It doesn’t stop them being Tongan.

Yet again you can’t stop yourself from b|tching and whining when RL has something even semi successful. It’s bizarre.

Re: Tonga vs Australia : Sun Nov 03, 2019 1:43 pm  

How have hull pulled off the Manu mau signing? He's looking like one of the world's best second rows at the moment

Re: Tonga vs Australia : Sun Nov 03, 2019 2:34 pm  

the artist wrote:

How have hull pulled off the Manu mau signing? He's looking like one of the world's best second rows at the moment

Manu Ma'u is his name, and he has a criminal background from a few years ago. Parramatta regard him as a ticking time bomb and thus a potential liability.

So why would Hull FC not want him and pay anything necessary to get him?

Re: Tonga vs Australia : Sun Nov 03, 2019 3:01 pm  

JEAN CAPDOUZE wrote:

Parramatta regard him as a ticking time bomb and thus a potential liability.

He's been ticking away at the Eels quite nicely since 2014.
They must have been really sh!it!ng themselves about their Dally M nominated second rower of 2019.

Re: Tonga vs Australia : Sun Nov 03, 2019 3:05 pm  

JEAN CAPDOUZE wrote:

Manu Ma'u is his name, and he has a criminal background from a few years ago. Parramatta regard him as a ticking time bomb and thus a potential liability.

So why would Hull FC not want him and pay anything necessary to get him?

He was in trouble in his teenage years, its old news.

And we have built up good connections with the South Sea Island players inrrecent years, I beleive Motu Tony still does adhoc work for the club despite moving back home a few years ago. Ma'u also knows Sika Manu and Mahe Fonua well and I beleive both enjoyed their time at Hull.

Re: Tonga vs Australia : Sun Nov 03, 2019 6:16 pm  

Him wrote:

Firstly those saying Lolohea looked good must have been watching a different game to me. I thought he was average at best with aimless kicking and attempts at miracle plays when he wasn’t anonymous. He’s lost some weight but is still overweight for a half back.

Secondly I couldn’t give a toss which body is decided to be the official one for Tonga (the Tongan PM asked the RLIF to disband the old one and register the new one) that Tongan team wouldn’t be any different so it’s irrelevant who the management is.

We should be celebrating a momentous day in International rugby league and the sport should do everything it can to support Tonga’s development.

Give over Lolohea had a great game, just accept that Leeds may have made a mistake letting a quality player go too soon.

Nobody was watching a different game to you they were actually watching the game!

Re: Tonga vs Australia : Sun Nov 03, 2019 8:53 pm  

Him wrote:

Yet again you can’t stop yourself from b|tching and whining when RL has something even semi successful. It’s bizarre.

Nope. I applaud Tonga as being a good side, but I decry claims that "they are just what the game needs at International level" or that "Tongans will queue up to represent them rather that Au or NZ", when the main driver is cash for the majority of players.
Taumalolo can afford to take the moral high ground given he's in the top 10% of highest paid NRL stars.

Re: Tonga vs Australia : Sun Nov 03, 2019 10:43 pm  

JEAN CAPDOUZE wrote:

Manu Ma'u is his name, and he has a criminal background from a few years ago. Parramatta regard him as a ticking time bomb and thus a potential liability.

So why would Hull FC not want him and pay anything necessary to get him?

He was extremely fortunate to be allowed into Aus from NZ as he was sentenced for a violent crime and a 3 year prison sentence aged 19. Deportation loomed from Aus. if he seriously transgressed again.

He has turned his life around,however, and moves on with his rugby career.

Are there any other current players in Super League that have served a prison sentence?