New Zealand 2 will deal a massive blow to NZ rugby

[Matua]

I don’t get paid to repost stuff for people to stupid to read it the first time

That's weak bro.

Either (re)post it or admit you made it up.

 

[Perth Red]

So how your favourite sport AFL is only stuck largely in 3 states Wa, SA, Vic... ffs, it's niche everywhere else, could even break into nz

2 Clubs in nsw, 2 clubs in qlnd. Biggest club in nsw, second biggest club in qlnd. Hmmmmm.

4v1 expansion clubs.

 

[The Great Dane]

Oh I agree Aus would be a force with just the one code but I don’t think they’d be as dominant as some are suggesting.
There gets a point of critical mass with playing number that evens itself out at a certain point, after all you can only pick a teams worth of players, it’s also why you see some countries with less resources compete in world sports that logically should not be able to.
Taking into account their NRL players Aus would be in a similar position to SA. If AFL didn’t exist majority of their players wouldn’t likely be playing rugby they’re more suited to soccer and basketball.
As with the ABs there’s also an arrogance around the Kangaroos ability, it’s a unwinable pissing contest when in reality both sets of athletes are likely of a similar ilk albeit with different conditioning, it’s very rare to see a dominant player of one code convert and dominate the other.

LOL, no.

If Aussie Rules and RL didn't exist RU would have been the dominant football and sports code in Australia for well over 100 years at this point. It's not unreasonable that the nation could have supported a 30+ team national professional competition, and almost all of the AFL's talent would have grown up playing RU from a very young age.

If you don't think that a solid majority of AFL players could have made capable rugby players in an alternate life then you're sorely mistaken.

 

[The Great Dane]

So you acknowledge having the storm in the nrl has done little for the game in Victoria

and you forgot about New Zealand and png

I acknowledge the ARLC's lack of investment in grassroots in Vic along with their poor influence in fta tv covering the game there has done little to grow the game in Vic.

I didnt say it was confined to two states, I said it was stuck largely in two states. it remains niche at best everywhere else in Aus and NZ.

Despite the neglection of the grassroots and junior development in Victoria, which is as much the NRL/ARLC's fault as the Storm's, RL's profile and audience has grow exponentially in Melbourne and Victoria over the last 26 years and without the Storm none of that would have been possible.

Without the Storm RL would still be a tiny niche sport in Victoria watched by hundreds and played by dozens of people, without anywhere near enough interest to support significant investment into the grassroots and junior development at all. Unless something catastrophic happens that growth should continue for decades to come as well. The Storm are already indisputably one of the largest and most successful clubs in the NRL, in another 20 years time they should be significantly bigger than they are now.

So no, the fact that RL still hasn't developed a strong grassroots scene in VIC isn't evidence that 'the storm in the NRL has done little for the game in Victoria', and only the ignorant or delusional would suggest otherwise.

 

[The Great Dane]

The Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt experiment backfired on AwFuL. Neither player were Abe to adapt to the game due to their somatotype. It created bad will in Brisbane because both players were poached from the Broncos.

I sort of disagree.

Pinching Hunt and Folau was a massive PR boon for the Suns and GWS. It massively jump started their marketing and publicity and was the main thing that kept them in the headlines at least in NSW early on.

I can't speak as much to the Suns or QLD, but without that story and star power keeping GWS in the headlines early on they would have struggled significantly more than they have. I'd go so far as to say that there'd have been a good chance that we might be talking about the Canberra Giants right now if it wasn't for the AFL poaching Hunt and Folau.

It's not really any different to when people suggest that NZ2 should try to poach an All Black for the publicity either. Whether or not they're actually any good on the field isn't really the reason you'd hire them in the first place.

 

[Matiunz]

I sort of disagree.

Pinching Hunt and Folau was a massive PR boon for the Suns and GWS. It massively jump started their marketing and publicity and was the main thing that kept them in the headlines at least in NSW early on.

I can't speak as much to the Suns or QLD, but without that story and star power keeping GWS in the headlines early on they would have struggled significantly more than they have. I'd go so far as to say that there'd have been a good chance that we might be talking about the Canberra Giants right now if it wasn't for the AFL poaching Hunt and Folau.

It's not really any different to when people suggest that NZ2 should try to poach an All Black for the publicity either. Whether or not they're actually any good on the field isn't really the reason you'd hire them in the first place.

When the Warriors started they did a similar thing in Signing All Blacks John Kirwan and Mark Carter, although JK was past his prime and ‘ok’ on the field it brought a few more eyeballs and publicity

 

[Matua]

When the Warriors started they did a similar thing in Signing All Blacks John Kirwan and Mark Carter, although JK was past his prime and ‘ok’ on the field it brought a few more eyeballs and publicity

TBH, I think JK went better than ok (but obviously would have liked to have seen him in his prime), and from all accounts he ironically brought much needed professionalism to the club.

I doubt Carter brought many eyeballs, Marc Ellis would have though. If you don't listen to Monty Betham's Once a Warrior podcast the recent Ellis one is good, as is JKs, not sure if Carter will get a show though.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

TBH, I think JK went better than ok (but obviously would have liked to have seen him in his prime), and from all accounts he ironically brought much needed professionalism to the club.

I doubt Carter brought many eyeballs, Marc Ellis would have though. If you don't listen to Monty Betham's Once a Warrior podcast the recent Ellis one is good, as is JKs, not sure if Carter will get a show though.

Yea that was a really good watch. Quite open about how much physically tougher league was, especially coming from rugby before it went professional. Was funny hearing about the serve Ridge gave him for missing Renouf... as if he was the only one that's ever happened to lol

 

[MugaB]

2 Clubs in nsw, 2 clubs in qlnd. Biggest club in nsw, second biggest club in qlnd. Hmmmmm.

4v1 expansion clubs.

Huh, so Swans is what you hang your hat on, coz Suns, Lions and Giants are all just ass

To counter that we got Storm for Swans, and Titans for Suns, without the infufferable SA and WA ass teams that AFLs version have to throw away money at (Lions, Giants)

 

[Matiunz]

TBH, I think JK went better than ok (but obviously would have liked to have seen him in his prime), and from all accounts he ironically brought much needed professionalism to the club.

I doubt Carter brought many eyeballs, Marc Ellis would have though. If you don't listen to Monty Betham's Once a Warrior podcast the recent Ellis one is good, as is JKs, not sure if Carter will get a show though.

JK meant based on his prime, yeah Carter was a dud but ‘AllBlack’ was good publicity.
Have been listening and thoroughly enjoying Once a Warrior Podcast, speaking of Ellis -not a league podcast but heard a good very candid one with Matthew Ridge the other day think it may have been an episode of Dom Harvey’s runners podcast

 

[Matiunz]

Yea that was a really good watch. Quite open about how much physically tougher league was, especially coming from rugby before it went professional. Was funny hearing about the serve Ridge gave him for missing Renouf... as if he was the only one that's ever happened to lol

The JK one said something similar about the cardio aspect, conversely I believe the both said there was quite a difference in game day prep where Union the day of was quite big on prep where’s the Warriors would just kinda switch on quite close to the game

 

[final say]

That's weak bro.

Either (re)post it or admit you made it up.

It's from an article I shared, nobody's scrolling though 100 pages to find it.
It quoted a few figures that were astoundingly positive for the game in NZ. I think NRL as a whole was up 35% from memory.

 

[Thatwasnthighref]

The JK one said something similar about the cardio aspect, conversely I believe the both said there was quite a difference in game day prep where Union the day of was quite big on prep where’s the Warriors would just kinda switch on quite close to the game

Yea that surprised me a bit too, given RU was still amateur when JK and Ellis both jumped. If any code was less focused on prep, I assumed it would've been the part timers but I guess the ABs were ahead of that curve at the time. Seeing Ellis' highlights in that segment I'd forgotten how handy he was, especially in his first year.

He said by his third year though, he was pretty much playing reserve grade but didn't elaborate other than it was a bean counter thing. Was that really all it was though? I cant remember what happened at the time. Knowing him he's just as likely to have been blacklisted for pissing in someone's cornflakes.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

2 Clubs in nsw, 2 clubs in qlnd. Biggest club in nsw, second biggest club in qlnd. Hmmmmm.

4v1 expansion clubs.

Dolphins average more at Lang Park than Lions do at the Gabba you lying old dickhead.

 

[Wb1234]

https://x.com/paulcullystuff/status/1786115325429485727?s=46&t=6xYqmuW8CnTQFYLnlqwFWA

Wahs up 74 percent
All nrl games in nz up over 40 percent

union up 11 percent

 

[Perth Red]

https://x.com/paulcullystuff/status/1786115325429485727?s=46&t=6xYqmuW8CnTQFYLnlqwFWA

Wahs up 74 percent
All nrl games in nz up over 40 percent

union up 11 percent

Why are you linking an article about Super rugby tv audience increases?

 

[Matua]

https://x.com/paulcullystuff/status/1786115325429485727?s=46&t=6xYqmuW8CnTQFYLnlqwFWA

Wahs up 74 percent
All nrl games in nz up over 40 percent

union up 11 percent

Paywalled.

Also, that article is from today, not from when gob multi is saying it was posted.

I assume it is similar to this non paywalled one (but nothing about the NRL in this one):

Super Rugby Pacific sees year-on-year viewership bump

Which game has attracted the most rugby lovers so far this season?

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[Matua]

Yea that surprised me a bit too, given RU was still amateur when JK and Ellis both jumped. If any code was less focused on prep, I assumed it would've been the part timers but I guess the ABs were ahead of that curve at the time. Seeing Ellis' highlights in that segment I'd forgotten how handy he was, especially in his first year.

He said by his third year though, he was pretty much playing reserve grade but didn't elaborate other than it was a bean counter thing. Was that really all it was though? I cant remember what happened at the time. Knowing him he's just as likely to have been blacklisted for pissing in someone's cornflakes.

I thought Ellis was pretty open about how he didn't take it seriously enough and how he felt a bit disappointed in himself, although sounds like he didn't get much decent coaching until Frank took over (individual coaching in the game). Gallagher had the same thing in the UK.

I liked how Ellis spoke about the switch on switch off aspect of league at the time and how the ABs used to switch on the moment they woke up and the league guys the moment the game started. Ridgey also said the same in that old TV doco they did on him when he switched. I've got a mate who is an ex AB and he straddled the style Ellis mentions but said by the time he retired it had switched to more like the league (he played roughly 98-2004ish).

CNK this week, while it was interesting (what was his Mum in the big house for?) I think I prefer the past player ones to the current player ones.

 

[Matua]

It's from an article I shared, nobody's scrolling though 100 pages to find it.
It quoted a few figures that were astoundingly positive for the game in NZ. I think NRL as a whole was up 35% from memory.

Shouldn't be too hard for you to find the article for those of us who missed it when you originally posted it?

Looks like both the oval ball codes have increasing viewership on Sky so good news for us fans of both games (less so for you Forever War soldiers on the front lines), but finding the info is fairly difficult so if you know where it is you could helpfully point it out.

 

[Matiunz]

Paywalled.

Also, that article is from today, not from when gob multi is saying it was posted.

I assume it is similar to this non paywalled one (but nothing about the NRL in this one):

Super Rugby Pacific sees year-on-year viewership bump

Which game has attracted the most rugby lovers so far this season?

www.nzherald.co.nz

lol the irony that’s there is a quote about a 74% increase in the article, however it has nothing to do with the Warriors or the NRL