A big headache for NRL bosses ahead of the grand final. 

10 stars are reportedly lined up to leave league, defecting to rugby union’s Saudi-backed ‘R360’, including Ryan Papenhuyzen, Zac Lomaz, and Warriors winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. 

The competition is targeting an October 2026 start date. 

But Australian Sports Journalist Jim Dolan confirmed to Mike Hosking that no one has officially signed onto the project yet. 

He says there’s no coaches, no venues, and while there’s plenty of talk of money coming in from around the world, no one’s actually put their hand up and confirmed they’re investing. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

A big headache for NRL bosses ahead of the grand final.&nbsp;
10 stars are reportedly lined up to leave league, defecting to rugby union’s Saudi-backed ‘R360’, including Ryan Papenhuyzen, Zac Lomaz, and Warriors winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.&nbsp;
The competition is targeting an October 2026 start date.&nbsp;
But Australian Sports Journalist Jim Dolan confirmed to Mike Hosking that no one has officially signed onto the project yet.&nbsp;
He says there’s no coaches, no venues, and while there’s plenty of talk of money coming in from around the world, no one’s actually put their hand up and confirmed they’re investing.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Open your mind to the world with New Zealand’s number one breakfast radio show.

Without question, as New Zealand’s number one talk host, Mike Hosking sets the day’s agenda.

The sharpest voice and mind in the business, Mike drives strong opinion, delivers the best talent, and always leaves you wanting more.

The Mike Hosking Breakfast always cuts through and delivers the best daily on Newstalk ZB.

Open your mind to the world with New Zealand’s number one breakfast radio show. Without question, as New Zealand’s number one talk host, Mike Hosking sets the day’s agenda. The sharpest voice and mind in the business, Mike drives strong opinion, delivers the best talent, and always leaves you wanting more. The Mike Hosking Breakfast always cuts through and delivers the best daily on Newstalk ZB.

Open your mind to the world with New Zealand’s number one breakfast radio show.

Without question, as New Zealand’s number one talk host, Mike Hosking sets the day’s agenda.

The sharpest voice and mind in the business, Mike drives strong opinion,...

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Jim Dolan: Australian Sports Journalist on the latest rumours surrounding R360

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/24dddfca-e917-4919-994b-b369014b438c/transcript

2500 job applications. That’s got clickbait written all over it, doesn’t it? 

One job supposedly had 2500 applications. One headline added that the company boss was shocked. 

Oppo is your company and in the story of their job they are looking to fill is some good news. Mainly, that the job is here and not long ago it wasn’t. 

It’s a call centre job and the call centre has been relocated back to New Zealand, which is one of those weird job things. 

I thought we went through this years ago when it was broadly accepted that call centres offshore did save you money, but language and actual help on the phone generally was so bad they gave up. 

Anyway, they must have advertised the job globally through international sites because only 44% of the applicants were actually from New Zealand, so 2500 becomes a pretty misleading number. 

44% is still a lot of applicants. But here is the other thing you will have learned in this tight job market of late. 

A lot of people apply for literally everything, whether they want it, can do it, or not, they apply. They waste people's time, are not genuine applicants and are a nightmare for HR.   

Just for the record, this is not to say jobs aren't tight because we all know they are. 

But the inference in these stories is that times are desperate, and they are not. Jobs are available if you're determined. 

Which is the next point – those who have dealt with call centres, and that is most of us, don’t get what you would loosely call a world class experience. 

Like a lot of jobs that are front facing, they are filled with —how do we put it nicely— gormless people, people who have bad attitudes, don’t want to help, don’t know how to help, don’t know what you're asking, don’t have answers and are not empowered to basically do anything. 

A lot of useless people have work. It’s a frightening fact. Are all the people without work better than the useless ones with work? Or are they even worse? 

Also, tragically, that many applications for a low skill job tells you the decay of our economy; too many people with too little to offer. 

Answering a phone is not a career path. 

So 2500 people and shock. Like too many stories, it's not the real story.   

2500 job applications. That’s got clickbait written all over it, doesn’t it?&nbsp;
One job supposedly had 2500 applications. One headline added that the company boss was shocked.&nbsp;
Oppo is your company and in the story of their job they are looking to fill is some good news. Mainly, that the job is here and not long ago it wasn’t.&nbsp;
It’s a call centre job and the call centre has been relocated back to New Zealand, which is one of those weird job things.&nbsp;
I thought we went through this years ago when it was broadly accepted that call centres offshore did save you money, but language and actual help on the phone generally was so bad they gave up.&nbsp;
Anyway, they must have advertised the job globally through international sites because only 44% of the applicants were actually from New Zealand, so 2500 becomes a pretty misleading number.&nbsp;
44% is still a lot of applicants. But here is the other thing you will have learned in this tight job market of late.&nbsp;
A lot of people apply for literally everything, whether they want it, can do it, or not, they apply. They waste people's time, are not genuine applicants and are a nightmare for HR. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Just for the record, this is not to say jobs aren't tight because we all know they are.&nbsp;
But the inference in these stories is that times are desperate, and they are not. Jobs are available if you're determined.&nbsp;
Which is the next point – those who have dealt with call centres, and that is most of us, don’t get what you would loosely call a world class experience.&nbsp;
Like a lot of jobs that are front facing, they are filled with —how do we put it nicely— gormless people, people who have bad attitudes, don’t want to help, don’t know how to help, don’t know what you're asking, don’t have answers and are not empowered to basically do anything.&nbsp;
A lot of useless people have work. It’s a frightening fact. Are all the people without work better than the useless ones with work? Or are they even worse?&nbsp;
Also, tragically, that many applications for a low skill job tells you the decay of our economy; too many people with too little to offer.&nbsp;
Answering a phone is not a career path.&nbsp;
So 2500 people and shock. Like too many stories, it's not the real story. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Mike's Minute: The job story is more than just a headline

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/d6d49f28-94be-4fe0-900c-b3f70163726f/transcript

At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all. 

 

Red meat: 9/10 

It's so good, so record breaking, you honestly start to wonder just where is the ceiling? 

 

Dairy: 9/10 

Ditto. Four auctions, four runs batted in. We are rolling. 

 

Warriors: 6/10 

Early days, good crowd in the Bay, bad injury already, but the seeds of success are there. 

 

India: 3/10 

This is the stuff that ankle taps us. Between Labour and Winston, doofuses and xenophobes, we are a two step forward, one step back country. 

 

F1: 8/10 

The fact testing is being covered on New Zealand TV tells you how far that sport has come. 

 

LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW 

At the end of each week, Mike Hosking takes you through the big-ticket items and lets you know what he makes of it all.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Red meat: 9/10&nbsp;
It's so good, so record breaking, you honestly start to wonder just where is the ceiling?&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Dairy: 9/10&nbsp;
Ditto. Four auctions, four runs batted in. We are rolling.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Warriors: 6/10&nbsp;
Early days, good crowd in the Bay, bad injury already, but the seeds of success are there.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
India: 3/10&nbsp;
This is the stuff that ankle taps us. Between Labour and Winston, doofuses and xenophobes, we are a two step forward, one step back country.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
F1: 8/10&nbsp;
The fact testing is being covered on New Zealand TV tells you how far that sport has come.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE FOR MIKE HOSKING'S FULL WEEK IN REVIEW&nbsp;

Mark the Week: The seeds of the Warriors' success are there

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/ef151f7b-5673-4237-b51a-b3f60165f5f5/transcript

It was the fish that summed it up for me. 

The Infrastructure Commission report was profound in its nature this week. 

Chris Bishop was dead right on this programme when he talked of its importance and, yet, its dryness. 

Big picture, infrastructure building and planning and funding isn't sexy. It never has been and that in some respects is why we are where we are. 

And what a place that place is. 

We, in parts, are a broken down, tragic, second-hand little nation that has let ourselves go. 

We were fighting fit once. We paid our way, had cash in pocket, did the job properly and had big dreams. 

In 2026 we are in hock up to our eyeballs, bitching, moaning and complaining, wanting everyone else to wipe our bums and solve our problems. 

But the fish is your real clue. 

The fish is in Rakaia and it's the town's mascot. It was in the news this week for being defaced and yet, in another irony, that wasn’t actually the story, or it shouldn’t have been. 

The other problem with small-minded, myopic New Zealand is a defaced town mascot is what passes for news these days, when the real story was the fish that was defaced had just had a $200,000 renovation job. 

$200,000 thousand dollars to polish up a fish?! 

Now, if Rakaia has perfect water and footpaths of gold and record low rates and a spare few hundred grand lying about looking to do luxury jobs, no problem. But guess what? It doesn’t. 

It will be like a lot of small-town New Zealand; in the hole with big picture issues that have been ignored for years. 

Yet a group of people who clearly aren't up for the real work thought it was appropriate to rejuvenate a fish. 

Did they have the dough? No. 

Was there a shed load of proper work to be done? Yes. 

But all that can wait because doing a fish up is easy, it’s a headline and you can bang on about civic pride. 

Until of course it gets defaced, at which point the media can't get hold of it fast enough and you can complain some more about crime and the irony that you now need even more money to fix the fish up again. 

When fish are the news the country's real issues don’t stand a chance. 

It was the fish that summed it up for me.&nbsp;
The Infrastructure Commission report was profound in its nature this week.&nbsp;
Chris Bishop was dead right on this programme when he talked of its importance and, yet, its dryness.&nbsp;
Big picture, infrastructure building and planning and funding isn't sexy. It never has been and that in some respects is why we are where we are.&nbsp;
And what a place that place is.&nbsp;
We, in parts, are a broken down, tragic, second-hand little nation that has let ourselves go.&nbsp;
We were fighting fit once. We paid our way, had cash in pocket, did the job properly and had big dreams.&nbsp;
In 2026 we are in hock up to our eyeballs, bitching, moaning and complaining, wanting everyone else to wipe our bums and solve our problems.&nbsp;
But the fish is your real clue.&nbsp;
The fish is in Rakaia and it's the town's mascot. It was in the news this week for being defaced and yet, in another irony, that wasn’t actually the story, or it shouldn’t have been.&nbsp;
The other problem with small-minded, myopic New Zealand is a defaced town mascot is what passes for news these days, when the real story was the fish that was defaced had just had a $200,000 renovation job.&nbsp;
$200,000 thousand dollars to polish up a fish?!&nbsp;
Now, if Rakaia has perfect water and footpaths of gold and record low rates and a spare few hundred grand lying about looking to do luxury jobs, no problem. But guess what? It doesn’t.&nbsp;
It will be like a lot of small-town New Zealand; in the hole with big picture issues that have been ignored for years.&nbsp;
Yet a group of people who clearly aren't up for the real work thought it was appropriate to rejuvenate a fish.&nbsp;
Did they have the dough? No.&nbsp;
Was there a shed load of proper work to be done? Yes.&nbsp;
But all that can wait because doing a fish up is easy, it’s a headline and you can bang on about civic pride.&nbsp;
Until of course it gets defaced, at which point the media can't get hold of it fast enough and you can complain some more about crime and the irony that you now need even more money to fix the fish up again.&nbsp;
When fish are the news the country's real issues don’t stand a chance.&nbsp;

Mike's Minute: This is why the real issues get ignored

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/d61412ad-533a-4773-83c4-b3f60163a005/transcript

Jim Dolan: Australian Sports Journalist on the latest rumours surrounding R360

In 1 playlist(s)

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips