MAJOR SEMI-FINAL (2008) BLUEBAGS v WARRIORS

[Willow]

Forum 7s - MAJOR SEMI-FINAL - 2008
*WINNER TO GRAND FINAL, LOSER TO PRELIMINARY FINAL*
NEWTOWN BLUEBAGS v NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS​

-v-

​

Game Thread:
* Please note - This is a game thread only, therefore only game posts can be made here (Teams, Articles).
* Any other posts may result in loss of points and is at the discretion of the referee
* Only original articles, not used in previous games, will be marked by referees.​

Naming Teams:
* 5v5 (+ 2 reserves for each team)
* No 'TBA' or changing players named
* Captains must stick with original teams named​

ALL THE RULES & REGULATIONS: http://f7s.leagueunlimited.com/rules.php​

FULL TIME: Wedneday 10 September 2008 at 9pm (Syd time)​

REFEREE: The Colonel
Venue: The Front Row Stadium​

**The Referee Blows Game On!**

CLICK HERE FOR OFFICIAL WORD COUNTER​

 

[Jesbass]

Dobrý den from the Česká Republika!

In what is possibly a Forum Sevens first, Jesbass flies to Prague, but after negotiations with the rival Forum Fifteens club collapse, he is resigned to the reality that he must once again take to the field with the Warriors. Meanwhile, a "coup leadership group" had already been set up, causing mass confusion at the coin toss...

Run On Team:
2. sportsthought
6. byrne_rovelli_fan82 (vc)
7. Jesbass (c)
9. Misanthrope (vc)
11. rayroxon (vc)

Bench:
13. MKEB...
23. Mixmasterreece

 

[Jesbass]

After a failed bid at standup comedy, ("I'm in Prague! You should...CZECH it out!"), Jesbass takes to the field one more time...

***

Lands Of Our Fathers (742 words between the stars)

“Rugby is a good occasion for keeping thirty bullies far from the city centre.” – Oscar Wilde​

Europe's a funny old place. Only here can it feel perfectly normal to break up an argument between a Finn and a Czech both speaking broken English, and to laugh about it afterwards with a pair of Italians.

But despite the occasional humorous and outlandish situations that arise on this continent, there is still plenty to be learned from events of the past.

In a small English church graveyard, in an only slightly larger Suffolk village, at the end of a long and winding hedge-framed country lane, there stands a stone monument. This manmade structure, surrounded by overgrown burial plots and faded headstones, reads:

“TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF KIRTON WHO DIED FOR KING AND COUNTRY
1914 - 1918”​

Welcome to Kirton. Population: dwindling.​

The statuette, like so many others of its kind throughout the world, stoically stares back at the reader with the grim finality of death, in amidst plants that insist on remaining very much alive.

Unlike other monuments to fallen soldiers, however, this one is of supreme personal significance.

The first name on the roll of honour is one Joseph A. Bear. Apart from serving as a soldier in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, with whom he breathed his last in the fields of Europe in early 1918, Private Bear has the somewhat dubious honour of being my great-grandfather.

Now, I think it's worth pointing out here that I'm not going to suggest for one moment that this ancestor of mine was a rugby league player. Nor am I trying to make light of the duty and demise of so many soldiers who gave their all “for King and Country”. (It is an inescapable reality that no matter how many times I quote the late Bill Shankly, rugby league always has been and will remain “only a game”.)

What I do want to state, though, is the rather obvious fact that history is an important lesson to learn if we are willing to be taught. It teaches us of origins and of consequences; of past mistakes and how to avoid repeating them; of how not to reinvent the play-the-ball.

Coming from a country as young as New Zealand, where our current constitution only came about in 1840, it's easy to discover that 'history' is a decidedly relative term. By example, starting this article in the land of Stonehenge and Hadrian's Wall, and completing it in the Czech Republic city of Prague, (where 80,000 Jews were killed at the hands of the Nazis), puts the average Kiwi's “Guide To History 101” well and truly into perspective. (And from a literary point of view, Prague was also home to the most famous incident of defenestration – a sorely underused turn of phrase!)

From a Forum Sevens perspective, this very match has history attached to it. It is not only a finals rematch of the 2007 Grand Final, but the Warriors are trying to make club history be defeating the benchmark Bluebags for the very first time.

But for most league fans, there is no place with a greater history than in the North of England.

Heading Eastwards from Liverpool and Manchester, powerhouses in association football – that's 'soccer' to those of us lacking a British background – it's inevitable that some very familiar place names appear along the M62. Leeds, Bradford, Castleford, Halifax, and St. Helens all whoosh by in quick succession on road signs along the way to the location with the most league history of them all: Huddersfield.

It was in this West Yorkshire town that rugby league gasped its first fledgling breaths of broken-time pay life. The story is well known, so I won't bore anyone with the details, but suffice to say, there is a very strong air of history at the George Hotel, in which the game was conceived in 1895.

But in stark contrast to the gloom offered by the monument in Kirton, the history of the George Hotel symbolises not death, but life; not a conclusion, but the beginning of an exciting, adventurous chapter in world sport.

And, while literary giant Oscar Wilde may disagree with me, I'm convinced that the battle to keep rugby league alive and healthy is one worth fighting.

HOLDING HISTORY: The original Challenge Shield, established in 1897, located in The George Hotel, Huddersfield.​

***

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huddersfield
http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=902141

I'm just glad I got to use the word 'defenestration'! :lol:

 

[Willow]

The Baggers bus rolls into town, mounts the footpath and gets swamped by autograph hunters. Good luck and all!

Willow (c)
gorilla (vc)
Drew-Sta
Black Kitty
Everlovin' Antichrist
Res:
Cheesie-the-pirate
Timmah

 

[Black Kitty]

Black Kitty storms onto the feild for her first ever Major Semi-final. Resplendent in her Bluebags colours and ready to fight for victory.

To Err is human… isn’t it?

It’s grand final night. Your mind is in overdrive thinking of all the things that have happened, could happen and probably, maybe, possibly could go right or wrong. You can’t keep a single straight thought in your head and for the love of God what happens if you miss that pass of fail to kick that goal?

What happens is that you are instantly the new target for fans, reporters, commentators and just about everyone else that sees you as the damnation of their team. Ever wondered how they feel? What in the world must be running through their heads at that point in time? All the self blame and all the self doubt ever imaginable. How can you possibly pick up your game and carry on from there? It would take an extremely strong character to stand up, brush themselves off, block out the jeering and try to make amends.

You may not be a professional footballer, or a professional sports person, but I’m sure you can put yourself in a similar spot at some point in your life. Maybe the last time you sat exams at school? Your HSC perhaps? Or the last job interview you went to? You know, the one that you really wanted because it could change your future and give you a stepping stone to what you always wanted? You work so hard towards these goals and invest so much time, energy and emotion into seeing them come to fruition that when the outcome you envisioned does not actually come about you are devastated and immediately look for someone or something to blame. Our footballers are no different.

So how do you cope with such pressure? How do you calm those nerves so you can go out in front of all those cheering and jeering fans and do your job to better than your best? Is it possible that our football heroes are so used to being in the spotlight that it’s just second nature and really doesn’t affect their nerves so much anymore? I really don’t think so. Every game in this competition counts, and for the last few weeks they have counted even more than ever. With the top eight ladder being such a tight competition that one dropped ball could cost your team their spot in the eight.

Or worse, what if you’ve made it to the grand final and in those last pressure filled 80 minutes of the season you make a mistake that is critical to your team winning the game that ends the season. Fans can be pretty harsh, commentators can be harsher still and there is no one that is going to forget that fumble or missed kick any time soon. How hard are your team mates going to be on you? Or will they understand the pressure because they were feeling the exact same way themselves? What about the coach? Can he forgive and forget or will you be running laps till the souls of your shoes wear away?

I have no way of telling how each individual player will react to the devastation of defeat. But I’m guessing that any of us can put ourselves in a similar situation. All we need to do is think of the last time we had something in our lives that we felt was the be all and end all of our little existences. That exam, or that job interview, or even that girl or boy that just turned you down for the tenth time. The sinking feeling in your stomach that nags at you telling you ‘if only’. If only you’d done just this one thing that little bit different the rest of everything else would have turned out just the way it ought to have.

I’ve always felt the deepest sympathy for the underdogs, the second place getters, and especially the guy that just should have kicked a little to the left. Seeing the devastation and the sorrow and the loss on the faces of the team that loses in the grand final. Watching as they let their knees give way and their tired bodies sink to the grass. We put these sportsmen on such high pedestals that we leave them with an awfully earth shatteringly long drop when they fall from grace. Perhaps when we are cheering for our chosen sporting heroes we should remember that to err is only human. And they are after all, only human.


**748 words including title, according to the official word counter**

 

[sportsthought]

sportsthought for the Warriors. Bring it.

*****************************

Compensation claim

​

Wade McKinnon’s suspension for spitting got me thinking; should the NRL be compensating clubs for negligent performances of their referees?

Today I'm going to discuss whether the NRL should be compensating clubs for the negligent performances of their referees.

It goes deeper than the simple mistakes made by match officials. These mistakes always have and will happen. Sometimes they cost a team a win, sometimes they don't.

Just like players really. Sometimes they make a blunder that costs their team victory, other times they execute a move that leads to a match winning try. Such actions can result in getting dropped, sacked or even a pay rise.

Before I get too distracted lets wind the clock back to 2007, in Townsville where the Warriors are playing the Cowboys on a typically balmy Saturday night. The Warriors, on a 3 match winning streak received what I describe as the worst referring decision of 2007.

Wade McKinnon scored a brilliant individual try, but video ref Steve Nash decided that Wairangi Koopu had obstructed a defender and penalised the Warriors. It was plain to see this was not the case.

So the ref cost Wade McKinnon a try and the Warriors six points. The game was lost by six points. The math is so easy my unborn child could do it.

The next week they played in front of a paltry 10037 supporters against the Dragons at their home ground of Mt Smart Stadium.

But how many more fans would they have got if they went into the Dragons game with 4 straight wins? For arguments sake, lets say they got another 2000 punters, each paying an average of $30. That's sixty grand down the gurgler because of a dodgy call. And what can the club do about it? Nothing. This is quite a conservative estimate, considering they had a crowd of 20,000 to watch them beat the Titans the week before.

Since the start of 2004 the Warriors have not managed to put together a winning steak of 5 games or more. This is a key factor in their inability to attract large crowds on a regular basis. So, and I don’t ask this lightly, should the NRL have compensated the Warriors for their error?

Let’s not forget the NRL are happy to dish out $10,000 fines to clubs who criticise referees. Should the NRL as a professional organisation act in a professional manner and compensate clubs when their staff make wrong calls that impact a clubs revenues?

Significantly the Warriors received an apology from Robert Finch, the referee’s boss. This was a clear admission that they got it wrong. Let me say that again - the man in charge of the NRL referees apologised for the stuff up.

The game is lucky this was not a semi final, or even a grand final, where the consequences would be rather more dramatic.

Another incident from last year came in a game against the Tigers. With less than two minutes remaining Paul Simpkins sends off McKinnon for kneeing Taniela Tuiaki in the head. The decision was clearly wrong - even Tuiaki and his coach Tim Sheens felt it was unwarranted.

So, when McKinnon strode up to the judiciary a week or so ago on a spitting charge, why were these injustices not taken into account? Should he have been granted 'credits' for the poor service received from referees?

The easy answer is ‘no’, but that does not mean it’s the correct answer. And a ‘yes’ is probably not the answer either – but some sort of middle ground must be met.

Quite what that middle ground looks like is beyond me at the moment.

It’s not just sour grapes from a Warriors fan either – the above examples are ample evidence that he and the club have suffered. There is no point blaming the referee’s for making mistakes, they are as inevitable as death and taxes. It’s what happens afterwards that matters.

McKinnon has had issues with referees over the last two seasons and the bloke is a hot head, no doubt about that - remember his suspension for pushing Jason Robinson last year?

But professional sporting team are not cheap and most of the clubs in the NRL sustain heavy losses. The NRL must accept the impact it’s referees can have on a club's revenue and as well as on a players career, and acknowledge club and player for blunders like the one the Warriors and McKinnon were a victim of.

*****************************

748 words between the starts, as per OWC.
​

References:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=360&objectid=10450629

 

[gorilla]

gorilla sucks in a few bigs ones, stubs it out and wanders onto the field

******************************************************
God, how can we help ?

‘Old props never die – they just get hip and knee replacements’.

My brother-in-law played Sydney 1st grade league for eleven years until a bung shoulder forced him out of the game. Like many footballers, his body couldn’t keep up with the game’s demands. He jokes that he had to stop as his shoulder would dislocate too often and this was just too much as it was his ‘swinging arm’.

He was in Sydney last week for an arthroscope and a clean up of scar tissue. He spent some time explaining that old props tended to have a lot of hip and knee operations. The knees due to the load they carried, and the hips because of the need to pivot and prop in competitive scrums leading to trouble with their inside hips due to the twisting and stress.

He was relatively lucky as he now owns a machinery business out west, unlike so many others. Listening to the radio every day to the various talk shows I consistently hear about old players – where they are, when they died, how they’re going. Whether its ‘Talkin’ Sport’, the gibberers, the ABC with Wok, or even the ‘In Your Corner’ on the weekends, they have a common thread running through them of “What ever happened to ….. ?”

Before modern professionalism, and the now common regime of training, payments and game demands forced players to have jobs, it was a cliché for players to have jobs like garbo, milko, beer delivery (Langlands), truckie (Smith) and dunny collector. Some of the most famous were policemen, such as Bumper Farrell or Bill Hamilton.

As the years went by and demands became greater, other fields became more prominent, such as real estate, bank johnny, salesmen, even poker machine representatives. Other players created small empires in hauling and cartage (George Piggins), or fast food (Ron Coote), furniture stores (John Coote), even Members of Parliament (Kevin Ryan and Michael Cleary).

The last lot of players through in the 1970s and 1980s before hyper-professionalism set in had alumni such as Peponis (doctor), numerous commentators and administrators, and even mobile telephone companies (Benny Elias).

The players of today’s game have a full-time career that might just include the odd bit of study in something like human movement or journalism. Clubs are doing their part with many of them now conducting mandatory vocational training, as well as setting life and career plans for players.

Generally though, they have nothing like the work demands of the previous generations of players and we will have to see if they put their non-playing talents to work and become bar attendants, clothing salesmen and pimps. Greg Bird will, however, not get a job picking up glasses in a pub.

The older players have only a social players support, the memories of their club and fans to support them, apart from one interesting institution: The Men of League Foundation” (MOLF: somewhat unfortunate link to MILF&#8230.

This is an organisation formed from need and based upon helping those in need. It was formed in 1992 after Ron Coote became worried about an old player who was in trouble. Not only does the MOLF have an Honour Roll arrangement with inductees, but it also has a major fundraising ball around the latter half of the football season, this year attended by 650 members and guests, as well as having eleven MOLF Committees across NSW and Qld to help old players and also raise funds at a regional level.

Apart from helping in response to need, there are two other arms of the MOLF – their Scholarship Scheme and Residential Care and Rehabilitation Facility. The Scholarship ($6,000) helps young NRL players who come to the big smoke looking for glory but don’t make it. An example is Velu Nuumaalii, who accidentally broke his neck playing against Parramatta in a Ball Cup semi-final. He received $1500 each year for four years to complete his HSC and begin his tertiary education.

The Scheme attempts to help an increasing problem of older player health care (residential care and rehabilitation facilities) for use by former rugby league players, coaches, referees, officials, administrators and members of their families who have fallen on hard times.

The Foundation is just about the only concrete thing many older players and families have – you don’t need to be an ex-player. Check out the website and become an Associate Member – you can help those players you love(d).

http://www.menofleague.com


************************************************
748.63 words between the stars

 

[Willow]

*Willow | Bluebags*

Join rugby union and see the world!

With all this talk about rugby league players being poached by rugby union, I decided to research the post-league career of Clinton Schifcofske, one of the forgotten converts to change football codes in recent times.

Schifcofske switched codes in 2007. About 18 months ago, I referenced his views on the state of rugby union in Queensland. "Unacceptable and downright disgusting" were the words he used when describing South Africa Bulls 92-3 massacre of Queensland Reds in the 'elite' Super 14 series.

In 2008, Schifcofske is no longer residing in Queensland. Instead, he is eking out a living in Ireland, playing for 'Irish heavyweights' Ulster.

The union spin doctors insist that the 33-year-old is still at the top of his game. A few months ago, there was even a yarn in the hilariously named Rugby Heaven publication with claims that an 'unnamed National Rugby League club' was chasing Schifcofske's signature. In delivering its punchline, the publication speculated that "a big deal from Ireland has lured Schifcofske away from the Queensland Rugby Union, and the NRL."

The fact that they mention the QRU and the NRL in the same context immediately brings the publication's credibility into question.

I've got nothing against Clinton, and I have nothing against the fine people of Ireland. In fact I have a great deal of admiration for both. But while visiting the Emerald Isle a few years ago, it didn't take long to work out why my Irish ancestors packed up and left the place. Ireland has five brands of rain every day and it's cold 11 months of the year. The castles, old bridges and pints of Guinness are the stuff of travel brochures, but the novelty soon wears off.

Ireland is the sort of place you go to for a holiday, a nice place to visit. It's also a place you go to chase work. In Clinton's case, it is the latter that seems to be the fundamental reason for his decision. If the report is true and he did indeed have a choice between working in Australia or Ireland, then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out where you'd rather be for the long term.

So Ulster must be paying a Clint a motza, right? Well no... union publications seem very reluctant to mention an actual figure. In any case, he is now earning substantially less than when he was a first grade rugby league player in Australia.

But there is an upside... through it all, Schifcofske's coach reckons he is Ulster's best goal kicker this decade - something of a prerequisite in union. So while Schifcofske might be a football pensioner enjoying warm flat beer in a freezing cold red brick pub, at least he has the rare distinction of being referred to as a great rugby union goal kicker. That's quite a legacy for a player who once competed at State of Origin level in the toughest football code in the world.

So why should I care?

Well, in my opinion it is abundantly clear that Schifcofske was duped in a major way.

Born in the rugby league nursery of Moranbah in Queensland, Clinton Schifcofske played lower grade football on the Gold Coast before playing with the South Queensland Crushers from 1996-1997, setting numerous point scoring records. He joined Parramatta Eels in 1998 before joining the Canberra Raiders in 2001. He posted a club record for the Raiders of 245 points in one season. Schifcofske was selected for the Queensland Maroons in 2002 and again in 2006 for the State of Origin decider.

In 2006, Schifcofske's final year of rugby league, the Dally M Awards judged him as the NRL's best fullback. Union swooped with promises of financial rewards and of course that antiquated recruitment notion, "join rugby union and see the world."

His first year with the Queensland Reds must have been nothing short of miserable. The side suffered a record worst margin defeat on their way to being lumbered with the wooden spoon. More disappointment followed when the QRU offer for 2009 fell short of expectations. With some trepidation, Schifcofske packed up his things and moved to the other side of the world.

Married with two young children, the price for Schifcofske has been high. Even the union spin doctors were unable to conceal news that their aquisition was torn between staying where his family is comfortable in Brisbane, or chasing a final contract in a sport that once promised so much.

*750 words*

Ref:
http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showthread.php?t=170737
http://news.rugbyheaven.com.au/sport...0423-284l.html

 

[rayroxon]

Rayroxon from the Warriors takes the field against the old enemy. See me for your off season packages.

*****​

It’s not over...

Season 2008 is almost over and the public can’t wait for grand final day. The players can’t wait either because it means the off season is just around the corner. Last year we had shoot-outs, club defections, nightclub brawls and more. Based on previous efforts this Centenary off season is shaping up as one of the best ever. We caught up with the Top 8 captains for their thoughts and plans this October long weekend.

Cameron Smith – Melbourne Storm:

The off season is no different to the regular season. No one knows who we are here in Victoria. We can do what we like and no one will notice. Seriously, how can people not notice an eyebrow like this? (Raises eyebrow) Last year we stole a tram and tried to take it up to Qld to visit Israel’s family but only got as far as the St Kilda tram terminal. This year we’re going to go wild, but that’s our secret. (Raises eyebrow) We’re not known as hell raisers of the league for nothing.

Matt Orford – Manly Sea Eagles:

I’m now a Dally M winner and they still won’t pick me for any rep teams. What do you care what we do? It’s not like it would get me the recognition I deserved anyway. From a team aspect whatever we do it will involve doing it for Beaver. We’re all about the Beaver here, especially Michael Robertson; he’s better equipped for Beaver celebration than most.

Paul Gallen – Cronulla Sharks

Nothing too big planned mate. We’re going to combine the three magic ingredients - women, glasses and alcohol then stand back and watch what happens. There should be some eye popping results.

Braith Anasta – Sydney City Roosters

We’re heading up to Coffs Harbour for a team bonding experience. I went up there a couple of years back with Mase, Ogre and Nate and it was a great time. We’ll also be adding red stripes to a couple of the Bulldogs players jerseys. Actually they don’t have anyone decent there anymore because they’re playing for us. Whatever I do it won’t be over rated. I’ve shed that tag.

Darren Lockyer – Brisbane Broncos:

I’m keen to shed my nice guy image. I’m planning on getting into a career in stand up comedy after the success of my Johnny Raper joke from a couple of years back. I’m also planning on becoming one of those adult phone call operators, oh, excuse me I have a call. “Yeah I’m Darren Lockyer, what are you wearing? I’m wearing nothing but my mouthguard and a big smile” (waving motion)

Darren declined to comment any further and went behind closed doors to finish his business call.

Alan Tongue – Canberra Raiders.

It will be a pretty busy off season. Some of the boys are keen to finish their higher education, especially Tilsey. He wants to finish what he started a couple of years ago when he deferred his studies. We’ll also be working on our facebook pages. Finally we’ll be having the ACT 1000 where we drive around the round abouts for 8 hours. Todd Carney and Steve Irwin were the previous winners so we’ll have new winners for sure. It’s bound to be as exciting as a year 6 excursion to Questecon.

Mark Gasnier – St George Illawarra Dragons

Post season? F@*k me fire up! I’ve got 17 toey human beings in this team and we all want to score. Those frogs won’t know what’s hit ‘em. As they say in France “Shimmy shimmy voo lay voo coo shay avec moi sis wah whoosh!”

Steve Price – New Zealand Warriors

I don’t think we’ll be travelling anywhere because the boys don’t really feel comfortable too far out of Auckland. We’ve given Grant Rovelli the task of leading the Kava drinking once Ruben is gone so he’ll be in training most of the off season I reckon. Apart from that we’ll probably spend the rest of the time trying to get Ivan to crack a smile. I don’t think he’s got any teeth.

Well there you have it. From the hair raising to the bizarre, these clubs are all vying for that all important prize – being the first team to get league back where it belongs; on the back page during the offseason. I have a feeling they won’t disappoint.

*****​

730 words between the stars.

 

[Everlovin' Antichrist]

EA for Da 'Bags.

Don’t let the bastards win.

This has been a testing year. The state government’s poker machine tax is biting hard and threatening the very existence of some clubs, the slimy defection to Rugby Union of Sonny Bill Williams at the behest of “Team Mundine”, the defection of Mark Gasnier, nephew of one of the code’s immortals, also to Rugby Union and negative press all throughout the year for one reason or another had the potential to put the code to the sword in this country.

But why?

I have a theory. It’s strange, maybe even outrageous but based on the year so far, it just may be a possibility.

Maybe our shocking year hasn’t been just a simple chain of unrelated events, maybe it’s not a coincidence that, in what was going to be our greatest year, everything seems to have been going against us.

What we may have witnessed is an orchestrated series of negative press designed to bring the game to its knees in its 100th year, in order for another code to take over. Instead of 12 months of celebration of the code’s existence in Australia we spent most of the time wondering which disaster was next.

Fanning the flames were the sports scribes. I don’t need to name them but they all seemed to have upped the ante this year. At times this year it seemed to be a never-ending deluge of negative publicity for Rugby League and for every negative article there would be the obligatory puff piece lauding someone or something from one of the other major codes. For months we couldn’t take a trick, the tide turned against us over and over again.

Sure, suggesting it was “orchestrated” is a big call, but when you hear that the AFL announcing their expansion plans into two solid Rugby League areas in our 100th year, you can’t help wonder if there are any legs to that theory. AFL is, by its own admission, cashed up and determined to establish a major presence in Western Sydney and on the Gold Coast.

Have you ever noticed that apart from the odd story, negative AFL stories tend to be reported and forgotten? Negative Rugby League stories can run for weeks, months, years but negative AFL stories, apart from a couple of stand-outs, tend to be over before the ink dries.

Even allowing for that, it isn’t working. Even if there are legs in my theory, it just simply won’t work. They’ve done their worst, they have no level under the one they’re using right now and the game is still here, still kicking and ready to move forward.

And what, you may ask, in my paranoid state of mind, moved me to declare that we’re ready to go forward, ready to tackle these infidels head-on?

Two words; Greg Inglis.

In these, the final hours of our annus horribilis, the code in Australia has received the fillip it needed and deserved by a young man who has shown honour and loyalty in the face of the opposite. Whilst other top echelon players have dived into the money pit that is French Rugby Union, Greg Inglis decided that there are things in life more important than money.

Greg Inglis’ announcement today that he will be staying with the Melbourne Storm for the next four years could not have come at a better time. In a year when two of the leading lights of our code have jumped ship and the negative press has far outweighed the positive press, a young man has put loyalty to his club and code before dollars.

This shy but impressive young man has won my admiration not just for his ability on the field, but for his loyalty and insistence on giving back to the fans and the code that put him where he is today.

The tide will turn. Players can and are replaced without much trouble, the next line-up of superstars are already ready to take the place of the defectors. The game will evolve, we will tweak rules and the hiccup that was 2008 will be a distant memory in the future, remembered most fondly by the players and fans of the side that takes the trophy on the Sunday of the October weekend.

I'm neither a Storm nor Queensland fan but part of me thinks it would be fitting if Mr. Inglis had that honour.

734 words including title.


Reference;
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,24323821-5006066,00.html

 

[byrne_rovelli_fan82]

byrne_rovelli_fan82 for the Warriors

~~~
A One Track Mind

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200702/r128067_737939.jpg


On the weekend, the Melbourne Storm wrapped up their third straight minor premiership, further emphasising they remain the team to beat this season. And yet despite their continued success, their crowd figures remain in the mid 12-15 thousand at Olympic Park. This begs the question; why is such a highly successful team like the Storm not drawing a bigger crowd?

There is no simple answer and many will continue scratching their heads over it. I soon found one reason for the lack of interest is the inability of locals to take in rugby league as another football option. While the dominant football code, AFL rides high with Victorians through its rich history, many stubbornly believe that is the best game on the planet. Even soccer gains plenty of attention leaving rugby league at the bottom of the pile.

A classroom encounter explains the Victorian Psyche a little better.

During a recent book review at TAFE, the book I choose the autobiography of league great, Andrew Johns. Not only did I receive several blank looks but was interrupted during the review to explain the obvious in an attempt to erase the blank stares. It didn’t work. My colleagues pipped up;

‘It’s still not as good as the real football’

‘I don’t what League is so it doesn’t interest me’

It dented my enthusiasm for trying to convince the locals about rugby league. It’s as though they’ve been brain-washed by the local media with AFL 24/7 on the TV, Internet and Newspapers. Even at Storm home games there are constant conversations over which AFL team deserved to win and what the match ups were. AFL madness is seemingly everywhere, you can’t go out or read a magazine without seeing something AFL-related.

Melbourne perhaps owns a false tag when described as ‘The sporting capital of Australia’ when all they care about is AFL. I can, in some ways understand where the locals are coming from, since I view rugby league in exactly the same vein as they do AFL, and my own disdain of AFL perhaps reflects their feelings to league. At the same time, I’ve found, in this day and age people aren’t as willing to stand out from the crowd and dare to be different. There is a human instinct to just follow the pack, the attitude of doing as one is told. And in this instance, down here in the Southern state it is frowned upon to have interest in any other football code.

Even worse, locals aren’t allowed to support an AFL team from another state as I discovered one winter’s morning at TAFE. Wrapped around my neck that morning was my Melbourne Storm scarf and the first comment I received;

‘That’s not the West Coast Eagles, is it?’

‘No, it’s the Storm’

‘Who are they?’

‘A rugby league team that’s based here in Melbourne.’

‘Oh, are they any good?’

‘Yes,’

‘Well that’s good, as long as you don’t support the Eagles.’

Usually that is the sort of conversation I’ve endured over the past couple of years. Along with this, I’m also berated for my lack of support to a Melbourne-based AFL team and showing in interest in the code.

From time to time if you’re lucky you can cross paths with a fellow league fan if you know where to look, but they’re truly a rare species.

Ideally it would be nice to see the locals down here take a step back from their overly AFL-obsessed background and bask in the light of league once in a while. They should enjoy the game and get into the groove of the Storm’s success rather then turn a blind eye through ignorance and bias. The code needs to thrive off field just as it has on field. It’s bad enough AFL is trying to enter league territory in other states particular New South Wales while the NRL has worked so hard to set up base in Victoria since the ‘90s with lukewarm results.

Should it be too much to ask for the Storm to receive a little more attention in the media? How about a back page league spread instead of a half page write up in the papers and the odd mention on TV? The only time the Storm received decent media coverage came from their highly successful finals campaign in 2007.

Get in on the act Victoria! Let’s have stronger support of league in an AFL strong hold. I’d pay to see that.
~~~

749 word between '~' lines.

 

[Willow]

 

[Willow]

Looks like 5v4 in the Bluebags favour but its not over to the fat lady sings.

Good luck to one and all.

 

[rayroxon]

Well done on the 5 in bags.

Warriors, chin up, we live for another week regardless of the result.

 

[byrne_rovelli_fan82]

Pity but we'll just have to wait and see

 

[Misanthrope]

I am so, so sorry guys. My new co-worker came in tonight and my boss shipped me off to Seoul five hours early so I could be there in time to collect her at the airport. I didn't even have time to pack my bag - let alone get online to let you know.

I am really sorry

 

[byrne_rovelli_fan82]

LOL enough with the appologies, like I said in the LR don't worry! Life has a strange and annoying way of intervening at the wrong time and sometimes that's out of our control

 

[Titanic]

Hey Misa! We were all feeling sympathetic until the second read and saw the "meet her" then it all took shape... lol. Better luck next time.

 

[Jesbass]

Thems the breaks, Mis.

Good luck to both teams.

 

[The Colonel]

Sorry guys, I have been floored quite heavily with the flu and watching a computer screen or working has been murder on my head. I have started the marking and will have it finished tomorrow morning and posted before lunchtime (Sydney time for you kiwis) if you are patient and can wait?

Apologies again but I will have it posted soon.