City-country

[Lambretta]

The NRL are affording City v Country all the respect they think it deserves and the clubs and players are behaving accordingly

The game is not a genuine trial for Origin - it's just a "rep" round for people not good enough to make Origin
Would you want to represent a team which basically says "nah tosser, you're not up to Origin"?

Having the game on a Sunday and then having an NRL game four days later is just f**king stupid.
Play it on the Saturday or the Friday or kill Thursday Night Football for the week after, but don't ask players to back up 4 days after being asked to represent in a game which has little or no meaning any more

The game is an insult to all those people out in the bush who support our code. Rugby League has insulted Country football for a long time and this just rubs salt in the wounds. If they were serious about supporting football in regional towns we'd take NRL games there - not a game which the clubs and players are boycotting in droves.

The sooner this game dies the better. It is such a great concept but it's been so badly managed that it's not worth bothering with.

 

[nick87]

I fully endorse and support Stuart's position
No one we throw out there is genuinely playing for higher honours, i dont want to risk guys like Bj, Croker, Paulo etc in a meaningless game.

The game is getting the treatment it deserves. NSWRL made this bed, now they can lie in.

 

[Hardcore_Fan]

Lol Pauli Pauli hasn't even played first grade for the knights this year and he is the best they could find to fill a bench spot.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

I prefer it as a lower grades match cause at the moment it looks like it might as well be. Have the NSW Cup players playing for City and the Country players are players from the Country. Play it during Origin weekend. Whether the people in the bush will be interested, I don't know but it shouldn't be the only fixture played in the country.

The NRL should tell the clubs to go out there and take a game to the bush. At least Penrith has a deal with Bathurst, hopefully the others will follow.

But with no real plan, I cant see whats going to be done to the game in the bush.

Nothing surprises me.

 

[King hit]

Looking at the country team only Vaughan and De Belin although that is a long shot have any chance of making the Origin team. I would imagine that if Vaughan plays a blinder he would become very hard to overlook. De Belin is also a good player but there is no way he is making Origin but if he plays well he could keep himself in the mix for the future.

 

[edabomb]

Is there a NSW Cup rep game? If they wanted to stick with having City/Country for traditionalism they should have sent it back down to that level. You could have it over the rep week with a proviso that players selected have played 6 of the first 9 rounds in NSW Cup (and not played first grade in the last round). You'd still get some ex-NRL talent on display in the bush each year.

This game has really had no relevance since it was brought back in 2002. It was great in the 90s.

 

[TheVelourFog]

Tell me again why i should care whether the NRL play a game in "the bush"?

Not everyone can have professional sport played in their backyard

If they do, great. If not, well thats life?

 

[PARRA_FAN]

A bit of a positive, that's not a bad Country team. Some of the players have been in good form and have earned a rep jumper.

 

[no name]

The nrl shouldn't have announced that this was the last game until after it was played

That would require pro-active forward thinking......

 

[no name]

Tell me again why i should care whether the NRL play a game in "the bush"?

Not everyone can have professional sport played in their backyard

If they do, great. If not, well thats life?

Expect the standard of play to drop if the NRL continues to neglect 'the bush'.
And that goes for all grass roots footy.

 

[Perth Red]

Time to put this one away in the annals of history. As previous have said better the NRL comes up with a regional engagement strategy and gets clubs linked to important areas, like Penrith just committing to ten years of games at Bathurst.

 

[davi]

Expect the standard of play to drop if the NRL continues to neglect 'the bush'.
And that goes for all grass roots footy.

Dropping city and country and dropping funding for grassroots country football hardly can go hand in hand. I've heard a criticism though country footballers in late teens to adults lose focus. Are more interested hanging out with friends and going out on the drink rather then concentrating on football. City/suburban Football development players are more disciplined and less likely to lose focus of the main goal despite the social/ recreational temptations that are around. I remember they said it on the Sunday Football Show it was their words not mine.

 

[King hit]

Dropping city and country and dropping funding for grassroots country football hardly can go hand in hand. I've heard a criticism though country footballers in late teens to adults lose focus. Are more interested hanging out with friends and going out on the drink rather then concentrating on football. City/suburban Football development players are more disciplined and less likely to lose focus of the main goal despite the social/ recreational temptations that are around. I remember they said it on the Sunday Football Show it was their words not mine.

I read in the book 'The night the music died' that when those country boys won the Amco cup in 1974 it was the beginning of the end of strong country teams. Once the boys from the bush beat the city slickers Sydney clubs then attracted the best country players when they were aged 15 or 16 and got them through development programs in the city so they have hounded the bush for the best talent ever since. I've had personal experience with this as well.

Dropping this game seems like it was inevitable in the end with the annual questions over it but the NRL really need to still foster links with regional areas without it.

 

[Cockadoodledoo]

Looking at the country team only Vaughan and De Belin although that is a long shot have any chance of making the Origin team. I would imagine that if Vaughan plays a blinder he would become very hard to overlook. De Belin is also a good player but there is no way he is making Origin but if he plays well he could keep himself in the mix for the future.

Not when Laurie Daley is coach, he guarantee's players starting positions before the comp has started. I would love to see Vaughan in the origin team, particularly ahead of Woods but that would never happen due to Woods superior hairstyle.

 

[Munted]

Jack DeDERPIN

 

[Lambretta]

Regional towns in NSW are great - I have personally visited Bathurst, Port Maquarie, Coffs, Wagga, Mudgee, Dubbo, Tamworth, Armidale, Glen Innis, Mullumbimbee, Albury and many, many more. I love regional NSW and implore people to get out there and travel our great State.

There are loads of towns crying out for a bit of proper Rugby League and we should give them a taste

During Origin games die in the arse and people in the Cities lose interest with many first graders missing

Why don't we make the bye rounds the Country rounds?

During each of the "Origin" rounds where there are four games happening, we could take one or two to the bush

Make it an annual event where people are guaranteed first grade footy and have a tie in with an area for a specific club. Panthers for Bathurst, Knights for Mudgee, Raiders for Wagga etc

Some years you wouldn't play regional footy but every two or three years a club visits a town and makes a weekend of it.

 

[TheVelourFog]

Regional towns in NSW are great - I have personally visited Bathurst, Port Maquarie, Coffs, Wagga, Mudgee, Dubbo, Tamworth, Armidale, Glen Innis, Mullumbimbee, Albury and many, many more. I love regional NSW and implore people to get out there and travel our great State.

There are loads of towns crying out for a bit of proper Rugby League and we should give them a taste

During Origin games die in the arse and people in the Cities lose interest with many first graders missing

Why don't we make the bye rounds the Country rounds?

During each of the "Origin" rounds where there are four games happening, we could take one or two to the bush

Make it an annual event where people are guaranteed first grade footy and have a tie in with an area for a specific club. Panthers for Bathurst, Knights for Mudgee, Raiders for Wagga etc

Some years you wouldn't play regional footy but every two or three years a club visits a town and makes a weekend of it.

Not sure what NRL teams playing in these places has to do with development of players. They have scouts for that you know. Sounds like 2 different issues.

I've lived in Wagga Wagga, plenty of sporting greats come from the Riverina...Mark Taylor being one

I'm not sure how many Sheffield Shield games were played there though.

 

[TheVelourFog]

sorry Lambretta wasn't meant to be a reply to you

 

[ed-grimley]

Maybe C-C could be for representative virgins who have the potential for higher honours and could benefit from the exposure.

 

[coolsteve]

city v country used to be a trial for NSW to play QLD, so Jake Marketo playing for city? hes a QLDer City v Country should be best of NSW Country groups v best of city (intrust or whatever it is}