I think it was on either this weeks Footy show or Sunday Roast that they mentioned 40% of the NRL and 75% of the under 20's are Polynesian. So it's obvious they will play a huge role in the game going forward.



What worries me is how this is managed from a brand perspective, Will the typical 'white' fan still support RL in 10/20 years or move over to say AFL/Soccer.

This thread is beginning to look like something out of apartheid South Africa – why wouldn’t ‘white’ people support their club/code due to the ethnicity of the players?



Is Australia really that backward that the colour of a players skin impacts whether you would support them?

Because no white American follows NBA...

just calling it like i see it



polyenesians have their strengths and weaknesses as do non polynesians



im recognized their gifts as well but there are some areas where they are lacking



discipline is one of them



they need more coaching and mentoring than non islanders



lots of nrl coaches have mentioned it about the additional mentoring many of them require

nope it wont



you have loads of black players in the nfl its just like that



as talented as the african americans are in the NFL, we have our own version being the polynesians whose body types are perfect for RL

my favourites players are either polynesians, aboriginals or kiwis



i find the other players boring, playing a robotic style of football



the guys ive mentioned above are either explosive and break through the line or nimble and step around it



id have no problem if the NRL was all aboriginal, islander or kiwi

Firstly dally....I posted this last year on the NRL board where it belongs and was told by people, including you, that this was boll0x..........but now you are on the VT as the giver of new news





Anyway.......given:

the lack of pacific islanders in near proximity to the UK

the regulations on UK teams playing overseas players

the fact that this is an australian issue that has NO affect on the UK game.....

...I am surprised it's got to three pages......



Australian RL is no longer the working mans game....it is the game of choice of the islanders and with a very few exceptions, in 10 years, all NRL teams will be made up of 95% pacifika players and they ARL will have f()cked their herritage countries of birth by b'stardising their precious SOO even more

. NSW V Qland with 1 or 2 white faces on the park......outstanding work ARL





The future of RL if the aussies are left in charge is essentially that of AFL......a sport watched by millions in its own back yard but by nobody else.....because it's a local sport.



A nothing thread with little or no impact on SL.......and until the ARL/NRL take international league seriously then it has no place on the VT.........but then again, dally messenger can't get a thread on the NRL boards now without being show up for a no-nothing

I guess the weight catorgory thing is to avoid the "Give it to the big kid" strategy, which is not condusive to improving the skill side of the game.



As for the influx in polynesians - surely this is oppotunituy to boost the international scene of our game?

Even if England aren't particulary benifitting, surely if nations like Tonga, Samoa & Fiji can pick from this pool of players, then the Southern Hemisphere at least could have a very interesting international set up.



The international scene is the massive difference between the two codes, but in terms of club rugby, reports on here suggest the NRL is outstripping the super14s in Aus quite dramatically.

Proffessionalism in RU has meant their all-encompassing international scene is a lot less competetive than when the world cup started in 89 or whenever. If we managed to boost the international scene with more decent fixtures for the likes of Samoa, then these kids will be less enamoured with qulaifying for the Green and Gold.



Perhaps England should be inviting Samoa and Fiji over for Autumn internationals, it might help us get some decent international veiwing instead of us getting bummed by Austrailia every year.

True GF. I recall telling Dally 3 seasons ago about the concern of the NRL. It was after I went to Belmore for Rd1 of the juniors with Norths when I worked there and saw this huge geezer in the centres for the Doggies in the U18s. His name was Jamal Idris!!!

and black people can't play tennis and white people can't sprint





Maybe you can explain why the Warriors are only mid table on penalties conceded?

Do the Warriors even have the most Polynesian players?

What about your statement that “other than play making roles and lock and hooker i can see future NRL teams being largely Polynesian” – this is implicitly stating that the Polynesian players cannot perform these roles, despite their ‘gifts’ (whatever that means)