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Thread: GB ashes

  1. #1
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    Default GB ashes

    Just listening to Willie Mason on james Graham podcast
    He talks about gb v Australia being the pinnacle and the most brutal games he's played in..

    Reminiscing about bringing back and making it as prominent as it was.. but also the worry of where super league is/going financially (whole new topic)

    So for me I've never quite got on board with England like I did with GB and I think We had something unique it the qorld of sport and it should never have taken a backward step

    What's everyone's thoughts?
    Is it for the greater good to try and grow wales/Scotland etc..
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    Quote Originally Posted by CGSaint View Post
    Just listening to Willie Mason on james Graham podcast
    He talks about gb v Australia being the pinnacle and the most brutal games he's played in..

    Reminiscing about bringing back and making it as prominent as it was.. but also the worry of where super league is/going financially (whole new topic)

    So for me I've never quite got on board with England like I did with GB and I think We had something unique it the qorld of sport and it should never have taken a backward step

    What's everyone's thoughts?
    Is it for the greater good to try and grow wales/Scotland etc..
    I used to like the GB games,but realistically now how many players wouldn't be English? We have lost the Welsh element of the game and the very few Scots that played for GB.

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    The argument of GB or England is lost when there isnt any form of International Calendar.


    You want to build a fan base for either, they need to be on TERRESTRIAL tv annually against Australia/ New Zealand.

    We need proper structured International windows and tours down in the southern hemisphere.

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    Didn’t help that when they brought it back a few years ago Wayne Bennett treated it with utter contempt. Id love some sort of Ashes or a 3/4 team tournament with GB, Aus, NZ and 1 of the Island nations, probably Tonga/Samoa, we need to make international RL look enticing rather than an afterthought with a WC every 4 years.

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    I grew up with GB so, like others, have that nostalgia to feast upon and like the above, I struggle to get on board with England, especially due to how poorly governed the England side and the game is here and how bad the international calendar (can it be called that, realistically?) is. I don’t support England and didn’t really care less about the World Cup, I watched two games in their entirety, both England v Samoa games purely because they were the best games from a neutral perspective but I didn’t care that England pumped them or that Samoa got their revenge.

    The Ashes, Tri-Nations and Four Nations of the past, up to the mid to late 00’s were the halcyon days of international rugby league. A Four Nations could, quite conceivably, be a Five or Six Nations these days given the standard of Samoa and Tonga and to a lesser extent, Fiji and PNG.
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    Wasn't the rationale to split the GB team into the individual nations so the World Cup could be padded-out with more teams. At the time, Wales had a strong team, with Scotland also being more competitive.

    Makes less sense now - but I think a blended solution could be made to work (and also benefit the other nations).

    Have a GB team that tours and hosts tours. When it tours, hold a 5-nations with an England Knights team plus France, Scotland, Wales, Ireland. Market it well. When teams tour here, make sure they include a game against (and in) France.

    That arrangement would in theory bolster the effectiveness of the other 'home' nations, and potentially attract eligible players to playing for them.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Nazareth View Post
    Wasn't the rationale to split the GB team into the individual nations so the World Cup could be padded-out with more teams. At the time, Wales had a strong team, with Scotland also being more competitive.

    Makes less sense now - but I think a blended solution could be made to work (and also benefit the other nations).

    Have a GB team that tours and hosts tours. When it tours, hold a 5-nations with an England Knights team plus France, Scotland, Wales, Ireland. Market it well. When teams tour here, make sure they include a game against (and in) France.

    That arrangement would in theory bolster the effectiveness of the other 'home' nations, and potentially attract eligible players to playing for them.

    Probably beyond the RL’s thinking. With IMG maybe that could happen.

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    I believe the split happened because Sport England funding was a better option financially, but I suppose a hope that the other 3 nations would prosper was a consideration along the way.

    I still believe GB could an important thing for RL. It doesnt matter if all the players would be English. If every athlete we sent to the Olympics was English we wouldn't call for them not to be Team GB. I think GB can be the Ashes side, and the nations can compete at World Cups. No reason we can't have two international brands and sell them for different things. England play for trophies, GB play for the historic Ashes.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gray77 View Post
    I believe the split happened because Sport England funding was a better option financially, but I suppose a hope that the other 3 nations would prosper was a consideration along the way.

    I still believe GB could an important thing for RL. It doesnt matter if all the players would be English. If every athlete we sent to the Olympics was English we wouldn't call for them not to be Team GB. I think GB can be the Ashes side, and the nations can compete at World Cups. No reason we can't have two international brands and sell them for different things. England play for trophies, GB play for the historic Ashes.
    This does seem to be an obvious solution. and it seems to work fine for RU. There the nations play under their own colours in most internationals, but come together under the (massively successful) 'Lions' brand for high prestige tours.

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    Quote Originally Posted by DewiSant View Post
    This does seem to be an obvious solution. and it seems to work fine for RU. There the nations play under their own colours in most internationals, but come together under the (massively successful) 'Lions' brand for high prestige tours.
    Indeed. I'd like the GB side to compete at home in the Ashes as well as on tour, but apart from that the concept is the same and would work. And it would hardly need selling to the neutral observers given nobody gets confused by the Lions concept in RU.

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    There is an argument that everyone switches their alliances to England whereas if GB was the main fixtures like it used to be.. and the pinnacle and the other countries only splitting for the world cup more would play for the others.
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    Quote Originally Posted by CGSaint View Post
    There is an argument that everyone switches their alliances to England whereas if GB was the main fixtures like it used to be.. and the pinnacle and the other countries only splitting for the world cup more would play for the others.
    Makes sense, and I still think GB as a brand sets us apart and always did back in the day. I concur with some others that my emotional attachment to England isn't nearly as strong. It's a strange one but in the same way I'm not fussed about the England football team I'm not that fussed about England RL, but would be more connected to the GB Lions even if the same set of players were involved as England.

    One thing that does annoy me thoufh is how IMG have been paid alot of money and given a fair bit of power to effectively do the RFLs job for them. Anyone with any brains and feel for RL should work out that GB is a thing we should take advantage of, that half the teams making the playoffs is daft, that the structure of the season needs sorting out, that the Cup needs revitalising and that we need more RL on free tv. I'm not sure why we're paying a third party to tell us obvious things, or even scarier why we're paying a third party to maybe not think about those obvious things.

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    I'm thinking the reason its gone to a third party is because when the current organisation tries to change things its all complicated by clubs self interest and self preservation- especially those clubs who produce nothing and take everything year in year out being happy just to survive.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Div View Post
    I'm thinking the reason its gone to a third party is because when the current organisation tries to change things its all complicated by clubs self interest and self preservation- especially those clubs who produce nothing and take everything year in year out being happy just to survive.
    You may well be right. It's quite amazing how often the dumber ones (or, in this instance, perhaps the more self-interested ones) in an organisation will accept from a highly paid outsider exactly what they have previously refused to accept from some of their more enlightened colleagues.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Div View Post
    I'm thinking the reason its gone to a third party is because when the current organisation tries to change things its all complicated by clubs self interest and self preservation- especially those clubs who produce nothing and take everything year in year out being happy just to survive.


    Betfred now have Wakey for the drop

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    Quote Originally Posted by Belgian Saint View Post

    Betfred now have Wakey for the drop
    Suppose they have rolled the dice in upgrading their stadium, to some extent, in the hope IMG keep them in the super league with their grading system.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sinkers89 View Post
    Suppose they have rolled the dice in upgrading their stadium, to some extent, in the hope IMG keep them in the super league with their grading system.

    I was referencing Div’s post re clubs that just hang on, Wakey being a prime example. If they do go down I think that it is deserved. But, if we stay at the same number of SL clubs, who do we bring up that offers more than them. We probably need to cut the number in SL, but the last thing I want is more loop fixtures. I hope we do see something inventive from IMG, though not sure how long it will take them to get to grips with the game.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Belgian Saint View Post
    I was referencing Div’s post re clubs that just hang on, Wakey being a prime example. If they do go down I think that it is deserved. But, if we stay at the same number of SL clubs, who do we bring up that offers more than them. We probably need to cut the number in SL, but the last thing I want is more loop fixtures. I hope we do see something inventive from IMG, though not sure how long it will take them to get to grips with the game.
    I dont disagree that clubs like Wakey , should they go down, deserve to go down. But they know how to game the system, so wouldn't put it past them to now be doing the same for the future.

    I dont know what the future holds, but I agree, less loop fixtures would be a good start.

    IMG have 12 years to work their magic.

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    Not that I think it will be read. I sent an email to the CEO of IMG. No idea who deals with Rugby League there and doubt it will be forwarded but I just feel so passionately about having GB as the pinnacle

    It was like our state of origin.

    The world cup was cool because it was different. And certain players branched off to play for various teams I remember Joynt, mcdemott, O'connor, Martyn playing for Ireland.

    GB should be the pinnacle. With a calender that rotates like it used to. With options including Tonga, Somoa, possibly PNG.

    Then the world cup would be even more unique and gives more incentive for players to play to out themselves in the window for GB maybe a financial incentive should.be there for GB too

    I've never quite felt that passion and connection supporting England like I did supporting GB generally I've always thought of myself British rather than English maybe that's partly to do with my dislike of football and the morons that support England.
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