Would love to see an Irish team in the Super League. But they should have to do it the proper way

Trouble is they would be about as 'Irish' as the Crusaders team are 'Welsh'

The Welsh are coming. You only have to look at where the Scorpions finished this year in Championship 1. That team is 90% Welsh.

Look at the Irish in the last World Cup they finished a game away from facing the Kangaroos. So to use an old Aussie expression they punched above there weight.

As the Aussies are "aussie" and the Kiwi's are "Kiwis"










South Sea islands anyone?

Original Australian inhabitants who were not light hued in skin pigment to indiginous to Australia and the same in New Zealand.

But with all due respect to the championship .... they are probably worse than the Bundy Red cup sides or the CRL teams dotted around country NSW.

And how many of the 'Ireland' 2008 side were actually Irish?

I cant think of who was in the side now .... I know Pat Richards and Ryan Tandy were... and they are about as Irish as Nelson Mandela

My cousin actually played Central Coast Rep's with Ryan Tandy (also with Mark O'Meley and Chris Heighington).

Give them time to develop. As I said go through the proper channels, by Championship 1, move up to the Championship win that and then hopefully gain promotion to the Super League.

I seen several new clubs / resurrections of clubs over the years. They are always characterised by initial enthusiam by a new public but over a few months interest wanes quickly to a few true converts. That's why I came up with this suggestion - a big first night audience wowed and looking for more but needing to wait 6 weeks might just have more impact and build crowds. There could be the excitement of the "Globetrotters" coming to town again soon! The players would need to play an exciting brand of rugby (like Fulham did in 1980 to appeal to people who don't understand the game). Probably would run the same 3 towns (or at least the 2 most succesful plus a new one) for the first 2 or 3 years and ally that to getting schoolkids playing. The idea would be to build an RL grassroots and culture before maybe settling a club in future in a place (s) that showed a real appetite for the game. The Globetrotting idea would reduce the probability of occurrence of the usual pattern of settling a new club somewhere that is destined to fail.

PS I've always felt that to expand RL needs to massively strengthen its exising core clubs and to massively increase the player base (especially kids) in traditional areas. From their it should take small geographical stepds (albeit giant cultursl ones) to place like Liverpool, SE Manchester, Nottingham, Derby, Preston. Bolton, etc.

That's one way of phrasing it.

and that's one way of phrasing that

yeah right. You sign up and immediately know how to dig up a six month old thread from your last incarnation. You've had two warnings on your first day. You're on a short leash.

He's also wrong because Red Bull are buying Wakefield.

The AFL rents stadiums and brings really competitive games to areas without AFL heritage, what this idea could bring is perhaps a team going to the town for a week, going into schools, running programmes, going on the radio, and acculminating in the game at the end of the week - then the same thing happens again the year after. Perhaps twinning SL teams with places without RL Established, and bring 1 home game a season there.

Would you like to ' explain ' the ' proper ' way ?

Championship 1 to Championship to SL.

This would be Patrick Richards, with the 2 Irish parents who moved over here so he could be near his family and has played for Ireland at every opportunity in every competition possible?

Conferences like American sports and do away with the "criteria" and add teams every 5 or so years for "expansion" (heartland teams are counted as expansion in a conference system)

Playing to identical rules ? , or with dodgy visa's ?

Quote ="Odemwingie"Paul Sykes Hahahahahaha.'" www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... tlead.html

Quote ="Odemwingie"Paul Sykes Hahahahahaha.'" www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague ... tlead.html

Yes.

The same one that was born in West Sydney, thereby being an Australian.

About as Irish as Ronald McDonald

Ah, so that makes you a GlaxoSmithKlionian then.

I did get up early.

And I had a few beers down the Walkie for the footy... and a few more after...

So maybe thats why I don't understand what you just said?