KEY POINTS:
Former Kangaroos league hardman Mark Geyer is calling for the Warriors to be dumped from the NRL.
Geyer has made the claims in an article in the Australian-published magazine Rugby League Week.
This forum debate has now closed. Here is a selection of your views on the topic.
Fitz
Mr Former star. It is a shame that you have nothing going for yourself at the moment. Have you got a little lonely and after some attention? Well maybe you should wake up from your dream. Yes, you no longer have a team in south and western Aussie because, yes, they failed, so wake the hell up. Maybe you should take a leaf out of other former stars and put your efforts into helping the game in Australia. Opening your mouth only wastes our time and your own.
jadean74 (Auckland)
I really think we maybe need to implement a first division and second division system for the NRL. That way if a side isn't performing they will drop a division but that allows lower sides to develop and go up again. We can include a second team from NZ as well as Perth, Central Coast and whoever else applies. It would give new meaning to end of season games for sides near the bottom of the table out of the running for the finals. That way the Warriors can survive as they need to for the NRL to thrive.
Chris
Yes, I think they're wasting their time and they make the New Zealand name look bad. They don't even represent all of NZ and half the team isn't even kiwis. Any way, they will never win it. It's an Aussie sport played by Aussies, made for Aussies.
lips (Sydney)
I am a kiwi living in the heart of the bulldogs and I am a bulldog fan and always will be, but I don't think that the warriors should go, ok so some of the player's may need a kick up the butt for some of their ball handling skills but then again noone is perfect and I believe if given half the chance I really think the warriors will be able to win the grandfinal, but like any team they need to develop their skills and gain confidence and get rid of all the bad apples.
Rops
Yes and no - yes kick them out because we seem to be getting more and more Aussies in there and dropping the NZ players which defeats the whole purpose of having a NZ team (I mean how dare they pay Brent somebody that much money $4000,000. My God!!! He's not gonna save the Warriors _ I smell a rat, I think Pricey has got too much say in it - and also how much are our NZ boys getting? Jerome Ropati who is one of the best at the moment $50,000? I would not be surprised!- and no don't kick them out because the NZ players left in there it is their livelihood - it's a job that brings the bacon home.
RoJo
As we all know, Mark Geyer has about as many brains as you could shove up a nits backside on the end of a pin.... so why even consider what dribbles out of his mouth. He spent most of his playing life being sent off or suspended, he's a moron. Let's kick the Blues out of Origin Geyer... they've lost 4 on the trot.... ha ha ha.
Warrior (North Shore)
Those comments by Geyer are just ridiculous and is certainly a minority view in the rugby league community, both in NZ and Australia. The NRL is the strongest league in the world partly due to the influence of kiwis and the Warriors. Other NRL clubs also choose to promote the game in this country by playing their home games in Wellington, so what good would getting rid of the warriors do. The Warriors have a great coach now and if we can buy a decent 6 or 7 i think we could do well. Hopefully the Warriors can string together some wins together! Get a life Geyer.
DodgyDave (Wellington)
Geyer misses the whole point of professional sport. The sport is a product that is sold - which requires people to buy the product. As I understand it, Sky NZ pays something like $8m dollars for the NRL product. Put another way, the Warriors completely pay for themselves and cover all the costs of another Oz team. A lower profile for league in NZ (as a result of no NRL team) could also potentially dilute the numbers of juniors playing league in NZ that the OZ teams so happily dip into. There are two many teams on the Eastern Coast of Australia - and most of those are in one city. If Geyer is serious about spreading the game, he needs to look first at the Sydney clubs - the numbers don't add up.
Warrior Season Ticket Holder
I find it funny how everyone is quick to judge the Mighty Warriors. How long have the Rabbitohs been in the competition and have only just come out this year looking better than before? Sure a couple of players have been changed, but their fans had stuck by them through thick and thin always giving the best support on their home games. ThisS helps a team get through, if there is negativity it is felt within the team. I hold a season pass and always give it my all to let them know I am behind them all the way, so if we all did this - it could change a lot. It really depends on how much you would like this side to really give it to the Aussies! The team needs us and we need them. Go the Warriors.
Rob (Norway)
The Warriors have been a waste of time and money since they joined the competition it's time they went. I think NZ players are better of playing for a top Aussie side than a second rate Kiwi one. It hasn't done NZ Rugby league any good, we still thumped by Aussie more often than not.
James Tuwairua
Geyer should put a league jersey back on and run the ball straight into Ruben Wiki and Steve Price and then tell us if the Warriors should go.
Dan
Sad to say I think he has a point. I would love the Warriors to stop ruining my Sunday afternoons and actually string some wins together but I can't see it happening anytime soon. I don't see them ever winning the comp so why bother watching and why bother having a team if no-ones watching?
Chaye D
Personally, I love the Storm, which is full to the brim with players from Melborne. Thanks Mark Geyer for your non-founded view points.
Dean (Milford)
The Warriors should stay in the NRL. Mark Geyer picked the Warriors to come third in 2007. He is embarrassed! However, John Hart said in a Sunday paper recently that the Warriors are 2-3 years away from becoming really competitive. We have been hearing this for the last 10 years! The Warriors are in big trouble right now and look like going close to winning the Wooden Spoon this year (hope I'm wrong).
Fili (Sydney)
What another waste of a season - might as well end it here. No heart in defence, no brains in attack. What else? And why is it that we always have to play catch-up football and forever lacking the mental toughness week after week, year after year even with all those Aussies in the team? The players can't even hold the ball in the first hit-up let alone make a simple tackle. Basic skills but schoolboy errors. It's a joke man - pitiful attitude. Our best talents had headed off-shore, even when they were still young and in their prime it's so ridiculous. What sort of man-management have we got at the board, or hardheads to stabilise the ever-deteriorating club we were once damn proud of? It has only been very frustrating for us passionate supporters it's totally unfair to constantly put up with such rubbish from so-called well-paid professional footballers. Either do something now or just submit a letter of termination to the NRL. Since there's been zilch determination from Day 1, we no longer should be in the comp' and should fold once 'n' for all - considering how that's exactly the way the boys play on the field - giving up too easily! I rest my case.
Daks
Come to New Zealand Geyer. I got a mate named "left" with a bro named "right" shoulder waiting to spear you.
Auckland
No! I'm pretty sure all Rugby League fans in NZ are struggling to "keep the faith" but I truly believe that the problem with the Warriors is more mental than anything else. Actions speak louder than words don't they? So when your national team runs out of the tunnel on to the field with their heads down, looking like they just lost the Grand Final before the starting whistle has even gone - it really is hard to believe that they are passionate about the game, committed to their team / fans / themselves and have the belief that they can win not only this game, but every game from here on in. I am in a very cut throat industry where I am constantly getting knock backs, surrounded by negativity, screamed and yelled at and everything is always my fault, so I'm no stranger to how the Warriors must be feeling now. However I have learnt - do the basics, do them well, and do them over and over again. And never, never, never, never give up.
Rachael
No, they should not be dumped. Besides, half the team is made up of Australians, and most true blooded kiwis are in other NRL clubs anyway, so what good would it do??!As for the knockers, I far prefer to watch the fit, well built Warriors play anytime - far more than the over-rated, pretty boy All Blacks who I have no interest in the slightest since it became all about their brand, and veery little to do with skill. Go the Warriors, I'm a faithful fan all the way!
Alex Knowles
I definitly think the Warriors need to go. Time and time again the Warriors look (and make us look) terrible. But in the same instance it would make our international league standards drop even more than they are. They do need to be dropped at the end of the day but they shouldn't be dropped for the future of the game in our country so all we can do is probe for an answer for our current and past form to help us with future form
bad news brown
I love the warriors with all my heart. reuben wiki is such a stud and would probably die if the warriors got canned.
Jon (Thornlie, WA)
No way should the Warriors not be in the NRL competition! I am a Kiwi living in Western Australia for the last year & a half and this nobody, Mark Geyer, talks about WA & SA not having a league team in the comp. Does he know why? They don't want one and they don't care about league as they have their 'footy'. These two states are very ignorant about any other codes apart from AFL so leave them be and the Warriors too! I'd like to see this guy come up to a bunch of passionate Warriors supporters, myself included, and say that to us: the Warriors don't belong in the NRL. He wouldn't be walking away! I will and have always been a Kiwi supporting Kiwi teams and even if the Warriors don't make the playoffs this year I will still continue with my support and love for them! Having a team means being there for the good and the bad times. This Geyer guy should crawl back into the hole from which he was living in till yesterday. Go the Warriors!
Julz
That is a real unfair comment to make. I am not the hugest warrior fan and I am a kiwi but I don't think they should be out. Yes they have had a terrible time of late, but with a coach like Cleary they can only get better. There are plenty of teams past and present that have had dismal seasons. Leave the warriors where they are, given a little bit of time with the right coach and they will be fine.
Shar
How typically Australian. Let's fleece NZ of our top class talent for their competition and Aussie teams and then have the balls to say the Warriors shouldn't be there. Get over yourself Geyer.
Wazman (Cambridge)
I remember in an earlier edition of the RLW this year Mark Geyer was over the moon about the Warriors, mainly because of the number of Aussies playing in the squad this year, and he was sure that they would make the difference. Now when things are a bit tough for the warriors every man and his dog are getting into them. How about some of you whingers put on a league jersey and see how tuff it is in the NRL. Its easy for us to sit in front of our TVs and bag them when they are on a losing streak, but when they are winning they are the next best thing to sliced bread. We need to get behind them rain, hail or shine.
Leroy (Waikato)
Unfortunately a few of these old school fools like Geyer and Gus Gould are still around. It's not a shot at the Warriors only, these blokes would love nothing more than to have their dull little Sydney competition without Brisbane, North Queensland, Melbourne or anyone from outside Sydney. Anyone with any long term interest in Rugby League knows how vital the Warriors are to the game. The whole idea of being a fan of a team is to stick with them through thick and thin not bandwagon on and off.
Steven
I think Mark Geyer should be dumped from the planet. The guy couldn't find his brain with GPS and a telescope.
Neil Warner
The Geyer has had too many knocks to his head. Did his brother-in-law not play for the Warriors a few years ago?
Bob Costar (Brisbane)
I grind my teeth each time these 'former star' journalist's use the power of the press to vent their spleen every time they choose to justify their views with 'Its our comp so lets keep it that way'. Take your bat and ball and go home then both Great Britain and NZ can carry on without having to put up with this attitude. This has been dragged out before and defeated so Mr Geyer should stick to footy tipping and Origin bashing and leave the real reporting up to journalists that care about the game and its promotion around the globe not his back yard. When questioned on some of the stars past and present of the game, most kids in my neighbourhood knew the Lewis's and Meninga's but could not recall a Geyer. Pity spleen venting wasn't a sport.
Michael Traill
Without the slightest doubt they should be out. They are overrated under-performers. I cringe when I see them filling usable TV space. Even fog in their allocated slot would be preferable.
Tim
Australia is easily the best at the world in Rugby League. Kicking The Warriors out would be a backward step as NZ league's standards would drop and Australian league would suffer through lack of good international competition.
Denise
I have just looked up some stats in the history of the NRL. The Warriors appearance in the 2002 final drew a crowd of 80,000, the 7th largest ever. The Warriors have had three playoff appearances in 11 years, I don't think that's too shabby a record. And we have never had the wooden spoon unlike Sth QLD, Nth QLD, Wests and Souths, who have had it twice each. I wonder if wanting NZ out of their competition might have something to do with the growing strength of our Kiwis?
Watty
Just another case of Aussie's bagging Kiwis. Get over it Mark.
WOJ (Brisbane, Australia)
Yes, they should be kicked out of the NRL because they are becoming a joke on and off the field. They couldn't even beat a bunch of 2nd graders last weekend, so please don't put us through anymore embarrassing games. The Worryers club have promised so much and haven't delivered, and their administrators have a lot to answer for. We will win the wooden spoon. Tate is not the answer to the team and there problems. They need to buy a playmaker, a rugby player who can kick with both feet and who can think! Maybe then it will filter through to the rest of the team.
Katrina
Yes, the Warriors should be dumped from the NRL. The Aussie's should look after themselves. League is not an overly popular game in NZ. Just ask the Warriors "faithful". How many Bartacard Cup games they have been to in the last few years? Probably not very many!
Reno
They made a grand final, plus NZ has a growing NRL fan base. Removing the warriors will impact the popularity of the sport there.Plus a good number of NRL stars are kiwis. Mark has obviously taken one to many knocks to the head.
Mitman (Otara) Concerned warrior supporter
Hi There, thats are fair comment about the rest of Australia. But that's got nothing to do with us (Warriors. The game and support is strong here and for warrior supporters in Aussie. The warriors have made the NRL a better game for us Kiwis to watch on telly. Don't worry one day we will win the final I'm sure of that. I watched the Grand final live in Aussie and even though we lost, I was so proud to be a warrior supporter and a Kiwi. When they make the final again I will definitely be there screaming my head off again.
