Re: World Cup: Thoughts so far? : Wed Nov 22, 2017 7:31 pm  

Uncle Rico wrote:

I hope that you're not going to start every post with this same 'prologue', as that would become a bit tiresome?

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments regarding Tonga, Fiji and PNG this time around. It would have been great to see Samoa kick on and perform following 2013, their exploits fondly remembered in Warrington, but, it seems as though they have lost their way a bit, so the idea of a regular platform would help.

The Fijians were again knocked back in their application to join the NSW cup in 2018 and are regrouping for a tilt at 2019....I can't see any reason for this rejection unless they are concerned about the financial costs involved but you can fly Sydney to Nadi direct for about AU$700 with Fiji Air who may well see the benefit of sponsorship via a contra-deal like Transit with the wolfpack?


I'm not sure of how the Pacific Island communities are represented in Australia, but in terms of heritage players, the Fijians seem to be the team of the three who rely more so on Australian born players whilst Samoa and Tonga come mainly from NZ.....so maybe if there is going to be a Tongan/Samoan bid to join the QLND/NSW Cups it could come from New Zealand...there aren't any direct flights from NSW or QLD to Tonga but there is from Auckland....and flights would be considerably cheaper to Auckland rather than the Islands......question is do we need another Auckland NRL side or would it just dilute the Warriors fan base?

Re: World Cup: Thoughts so far? : Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:49 pm  

Call Me God wrote:

The Fijians were again knocked back in their application to join the NSW cup in 2018 and are regrouping for a tilt at 2019....I can't see any reason for this rejection unless they are concerned about the financial costs involved but you can fly Sydney to Nadi direct for about AU$700 with Fiji Air who may well see the benefit of sponsorship via a contra-deal like Transit with the wolfpack?


I'm not sure of how the Pacific Island communities are represented in Australia, but in terms of heritage players, the Fijians seem to be the team of the three who rely more so on Australian born players whilst Samoa and Tonga come mainly from NZ.....so maybe if there is going to be a Tongan/Samoan bid to join the QLND/NSW Cups it could come from New Zealand...there aren't any direct flights from NSW or QLD to Tonga but there is from Auckland....and flights would be considerably cheaper to Auckland rather than the Islands......question is do we need another Auckland NRL side or would it just dilute the Warriors fan base?

Is the reasoning behind Fiji being rejected simply down to air fare?

Re: World Cup: Thoughts so far? : Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:00 pm  

SecondRowSaint wrote: Is the reasoning behind Fiji being rejected simply down to air fare? I'm not sure, but they were making negative statements like :rejection won't stop us" a full month before the bid was rejected. They would be responsible for paying for the travelling costs of visiting teams and they have claimed it's hard getting major sponsorhip... Civoniceva admits signing a major backer has proved difficult in an environment competing with rugby union. http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/fiji-targets-place-in-2019-nsw-cup-after-falling-short-on-latest-bid-20171014-gz0zjg.html Not sure if this means Union is deliberately getting in the way, but the Union side is sponsored by Fiji Airways.

SecondRowSaint wrote: Is the reasoning behind Fiji being rejected simply down to air fare? I'm not sure, but they were making negative statements like :rejection won't stop us" a full month before the bid was rejected. They would be responsible for paying for the travelling costs of visiting teams and they have claimed it's hard getting major sponsorhip... Civoniceva admits signing a major backer has proved difficult in an environment competing with rugby union. http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/fiji-targets-place-in-2019-nsw-cup-after-falling-short-on-latest-bid-20171014-gz0zjg.html Not sure if this means Union is deliberately getting in the way, but the Union side is sponsored by Fiji Airways.

Re: World Cup: Thoughts so far? : Mon Nov 27, 2017 5:19 pm  

sell out for the final then??!

or at least more there than the fiji semi final?

Re: World Cup: Thoughts so far? : Mon Nov 27, 2017 6:51 pm  

brearley84 wrote: sell out for the final then??! http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/ashes-extras-strong-brisbane-crowds-show-gabba-deserves-india-test/news-story/eb2f94908c22d770365862e89936d77d Brisbane is a pretty good sporting city with 45k there for the dead rubber v the All Blacks and 124,000 at the first 4 days of the ashes at the Gabba, so let's hope they sell it out.....If it doesn't sell out the Aussies shouldn't ever get a sniff of hosting it ever again. As an aside, I think the Aussies have lost their last 3 tests at Lang........ EDIT: Just seen that the Final in 2008 was sold out months in advance (according to wiki)...how come we've seen a step backwards from the Australians in the last few years? New Zealand beating England at Lang in 2008 got more spectators than Australia v Fiji this year?

brearley84 wrote: sell out for the final then??! http://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/ashes-extras-strong-brisbane-crowds-show-gabba-deserves-india-test/news-story/eb2f94908c22d770365862e89936d77d Brisbane is a pretty good sporting city with 45k there for the dead rubber v the All Blacks and 124,000 at the first 4 days of the ashes at the Gabba, so let's hope they sell it out.....If it doesn't sell out the Aussies shouldn't ever get a sniff of hosting it ever again. As an aside, I think the Aussies have lost their last 3 tests at Lang........ EDIT: Just seen that the Final in 2008 was sold out months in advance (according to wiki)...how come we've seen a step backwards from the Australians in the last few years? New Zealand beating England at Lang in 2008 got more spectators than Australia v Fiji this year?

[Uncle Rico]

Re: World Cup: Thoughts so far? : Mon Nov 27, 2017 7:00 pm  

Has anyone any idea what the attendance was for the Australia/Fiji semi? Not for a whinge, prediction comp points at stake!!

Re: World Cup: Thoughts so far? : Mon Nov 27, 2017 7:13 pm  

Uncle Rico wrote:

Has anyone any idea what the attendance was for the Australia/Fiji semi? Not for a whinge, prediction comp points at stake!!

22,073

Re: World Cup: Thoughts so far? : Mon Nov 27, 2017 9:11 pm  

Sir Kevin Sinfield wrote:

You can be a tourist in your own country of residence. Hosting World Cup games attracts people to the area and benefits local businesses, because of this local authority’s (with the exception of Sydney) are willing to pay to host games.

Attendances are clearly down from 2013, but we should remember there were some very cheap tickets in 2013. How do prices compare to this tournament? It may be the case that although attendances are down, ticket revenue could possibly be higher.

I went to England v Lebanon and paid AUD 20 for the lowest category adult ticket. That's about 11.50 in the Queen's English.

[Uncle Rico]

Re: World Cup: Thoughts so far? : Tue Nov 28, 2017 7:10 am  

Call Me God wrote:

22,073

Cheers pal

Re: World Cup: Thoughts so far? : Tue Nov 28, 2017 8:58 am  

whens this yawn fest over, you'd struggle to know that the poop show is even on over here, bring on the second Ashes test & next years NRL