Just on facebook and twitter so far that Fiji have won a bifd to enter a team in the NSW cup next year - led by Petero - home games played in Suva. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fiji-NSW ... e=bookmark

Just on facebook and twitter so far that Fiji have won a bifd to enter a team in the NSW cup next year - led by Petero - home games played in Suva. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fiji-NSW ... e=bookmark

don't join till 2016

Great stuff. Are the Aussies finally getting of their backsides and helping to expand the international game.
With SL aides also finally waking up and signing more French players instead of hopeless Aussies, the international game is taking small steps forward

I would say that Australia's NRL is doing more than the RFL for expanding the game. With the licensing system that prevails in Australia, the invitation of PNG into the Queensland Cup and Fiji into the NSW Cup gives a reasonable prospect for future NRL licensing for each of these national clubs.

Under the reactionary "leadership" of Nigel Wood the prospects for a second French club -- Toulouse -- joining Super League and thus helping expand the game in France, are rather poor. This is because of abandonment of licensing by the RFL in favour of promotion and relegation between Super League and the Championship, and the salary cap differences between Super League and the Championship. It is very difficult for a Championship club to get promoted to Super League and then stay in Super League. The recruitment of a few French players by a few English clubs will not compare to the impact in France of having had Toulouse invited into Super League, with a guaranteed three year minimum tenure, which could have been easily realised with retention of licensing.

The leadership of the NRL is forward looking. The leadership of the RFL is utterly backward looking.

Finally something I can agree with you on.

One wonders how much this is dependent on the September elections. Allegations about harassment of journalists and torture by the junta are emerging and one wonders how likely they are to give up power if the vote doesn't go their way (assuming that there isn't widespread gerrymandering).

What sort of attendances do the Queensland and nsw cup get roopy

It varies between a few hundred and a few thousand.
I go to a fair few NSW cup games, usually home games for the Wyong Roos and the Newcastle Knights. Wyong games get crowds of about 200 if nothing else is on, up to 1000 if there are junior fixtures on their other fields.
Newcastle games get crowds of around 500 for a stand alone game, but if they group it with under 16s and under 18s games the crowd can be up to 2000.
From what I've read the PNG Hunters get good crowds in both Qld and PNG, and when they move the team to the new ground in Port Morsby they could be looking at very big crowds.
Fiji would get large crowds in Suva and Sydney, and all but a few of their away games would be in Sydney, with one in Auckland, one in Newcastle and one in Wyong.

There is a fair amount of coverage of games though, and it's growing. Qld cup game of the week is broadcast in Qld, and all PNG home games are shown live across PNG, where they may actually be the most viewed League games in the world - a decent percentage of PNG's 7 million population would watch them.
NSW cup games are shown once a week on sky and many of the Newcastle games are video netcast, as well as many community radio stations broadcasting NSW cup games in Sydney, both on their radio frequency and as netcasts.

Fiji to eventually make an NRL bid, plus Fiji news www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... z37muasr1Z

Fiji to eventually make an NRL bid, plus Fiji news www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... z37muasr1Z

I thought the crowds would be higher to be honest certainly higher than our championship

Newtown say they get the biggest home crowds in the NSW cup but don't give numbers. I'd say around 3000 at a guess.
Also a lot of games are held as undercard games to NRL matches, and up to a few thousand will show up early for these games.
I don't know why people don't go. The charge is $5 for admission and a programme and magazine, that's probably worth $5 by itself. I often enjoy the games more than firstgrade to be honest. You see a lot more open football.