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Poupou Escobar

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Has Kent audited the 11 NRL clubs ?

Seriously, how the f**k would the merkin know
He would probably know which clubs are shopping significant numbers/values of players around. This is info that plenty of NRL hangers-on (journos, etc) would have access to.
 

Twizzle

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so that means they are over the cap ?

drawing the long bow there Poo

what if they want a clean out like the Doggies
 

Poupou Escobar

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so that means they are over the cap ?

drawing the long bow there Poo

what if they want a clean out like the Doggies
Maybe they do. Nothing wrong with a person making an assessment though. We rarely have all the information, and still decisions need to be made.
 

hindy111

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I just read this on the Daily Telegraph site. It is very well expressed and heart felt by another betrayed NRL supporter. How long do you all think it will be before it is to late for RL. Like I said the other day, there is a tipping point, once you reach it there will be no return.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...s/news-story/b97925e83d2edff384b86d9191444f84

Israel Jun 28, 2017
What about the 8,000 that showed up at Belmore a few weeks back, or the 6,000 that attended Campbelltown, or the 10,000 that attended Kogarah this past weekend?

Suburban grounds are not the answer. Improving the game day experience and providing value for money is. Furthermore, Thursday night blockbuster will not attract a crowd, neither will a Friday 6pm game. I went to my first AFL game last weekend, and I can honestly say the atmosphere, the very family friendly atmosphere, was beyond any NRL level Rugby League game I've ever attended. It was an event. DJs, competitions, jumping castles, activities, families and it was full of life. Not dead like a league game. I loved it, despite the fact I absolutely hate AFL. They're doing it right. They're also engaging our kids. I know too many kids who are mad Swans or GWS fans because they visited the schools and gave them some merchandise and tickets to a game. Kids who have no interest in league, yet live in the middle of league heartland, because the Swans spent 20 minutes at their school. What are we supposed to do? Convince them AFL sucks? Not allow them to kick the Sherrin around with their friends at the park that's just recently been transformed into an AFL field. The same park I grew up playing rugby league in. Their school integrated AFL posts into the playground. No rugby posts.

My biggest worry is for the future of the game. The present is bad enough. Fans are disillusioned. I'm a paid up member, yet haven't used my membership once this year. Why would i? The best games are Thursday night and Sunday 6pm. I can't attend even if I wanted to. But I don't. Not anymore. I've had enough with the NRL taking fans for a ride. I've had enough of coughin up $180 for an NRL jersey. AFL ones are $80. And soccer $90. Do the sleeves on a shirt really justify an extra $90?

But what about the kids? How will the game look like on 10 years time? In 20 years time if we lose the young generations? Kids are not playing league anymore. The NRL fed us some fake figures last year about increasing participation, and finally conceded that participation rates have actually dropped off significantly. Why? Kids don't want to play, and parents won't let them. Why haven't we introduced weight/age classes across our junior system? NZ did it decades ago! Why's it so hard for us to do? Why have we been speaking about it for the past decade and done nothing? Why do we have 25,000 less adults playing the game than we did a 2-3 decade ago? Our population has increased by 4 million yet senior playing figures have actually decreased. It's not just kids who aren't playing the game!!

Back to the issue at the centre of this article. Dropping a Sydney club won't make crowds better. It'll disillusion a fan base and we'all lose fans. What makes Buzz believe that eliminating a team will equal an increase in crowds for another? Does he really think taking the Sharks out of the Comp would mean those 14,000 fans will show up to St George games instead? Or Tigers fans would become Eels supporters? Take North Sydney as the case study, and let's never repeat that again. An entire region lost to League, and a legion of fans welcomed into the Swans grandstands. If my team is culled, I'm done. I won't support another club. I'll go back to the Tahs, or maybe even start following the AFL more closely, since I had an absolute ball at the Swans game Friday night. BTW there was 35,000 fans there, and only 6,000 at Campbelltown on the same night. The weekend before only 7,000 showed up to watch the "most famous rugby league club in the world" the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Don't forget rugby league flourished with a dozen clubs in Sydney for a century. AFL continues on doing it, despite their clubs being even closer neighbours than ours. Rather than cull clubs, we should be talking defending our core markets, and developing new ones. Perth and Adelaide both averaged 15,000 fans 20 years ago. Imagine the size of these clubs today had we supported them. They'd be established 20 year old franchises with a established fan base, and theoretically an established development system. We'd be a truly national sport, we'd probably be arguing about adding a second team in those cities to create cross town rivalries and leverage their massive supporter bases. But no, we can't even get a second team on the biggest rugby league market in the world, Brisbane.

We have the worlds best sporting product. We also have the world's worst sporting administrators. It's about time rugby league backs itself, takes calculated risks, and reaps some rewards, instead of being a reactive and static sport.

I love rugby league. I hate the NRL. Both with a passion, because I want what's best for the sport. And the NRL doesn't have the sport's best interests at heart. Heck, had I said something like this to Greenberg over Twitter, he would have blocked me, despite me only highlighting my concerns for the game, caring for the game. Oh wait, he actually did. Yes, he blocked me, because what the NRL dowa best, better than anyone in the world, is disillusion it's most passionate supporters, the ones that matter, the ones that spend their hard earned money on the game.

Like the glory stroke. Point of no return.
Are you suggesting the NRL are on its glory stroke?
 

Gary Gutful

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I think also, that rugby league has always been a 'working class' game. played and watched by (predominantly) people from the lower socio-economic end of things. but it seems to me (could be wrong) that the middle-class is far bigger than it was thirty or so years ago. The whole world is now geared toward the middle and upper classes. Unfortunately, if rugby league doesn't turn itself (in a believable way) into a middle class game, it will die out. It has been trying to re-invent itself by sanitising the game and getting women more involved; but I think it's still firmly perceived as a working man's past-time. I don't mind that at all. I come from working class stock. I love it.
Agree to an extent. However, there are still plenty of merkins with the arse out of their pants and that won't change soon. As long as that remains the case, rugby league won't die out.
 

hindy111

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Leleisuauo and Dane Aukofolau for a start should be pushing for first grade next year. Aukofolau more a centre but could work in off season.

We also still have Hoffman, French and Auva'a.

As has been stated once the salary cap becomes set in concrete for next year there will be a number of clubs looking to move players to get themselves under the cap - not just the Dogs. There will be plenty of players moving IMO.

Watching Wenty.
Dane wasnt any more impressive then Jennings, Davis or schullte.
 

Gary Gutful

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I did it pretty tough as a kid, so now I spoil my own. My wife, on the other hand, is firmly middle class and she is pretty tight with money. She pretty much taught me that you don't have to spend money just because you have it.
That mirrors my situation except my wife is still trying to teach me that.
 

hindy111

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Agree to an extent. However, there are still plenty of merkins with the arse out of their pants and that won't change soon. As long as that remains the case, rugby league won't die out.

If NRL died what takes its spot?
You will always have 2 big sports at same time and thats afl and nrl.
Crowds may go down but plenty still watching.
 

Gary Gutful

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What's wrong with responding to Ram's post by drawing similarities with the closest example to his argument that we've seen on the forums?

It's not all about Suity for me - that example could have been anyone if they had trod a silimar path to Ram.

But Suity's clearly got some people jumping at shadows on his behalf too, while he pops out to take personal pot shots whenever he pleases (even if he fails to land any).

I'm having fun, because I never let this place get to me or pretend it's real life. I'd suggest anyone who gets upset at what someone else posts just take a bex and do the same....
One man's 'jumping at shadows' is another man's 'calling it as they see it'.

I'm all for having fun. But I shit bag everyone equally. You largely target one person.

Based on the evidence presented by your posts, it's borderline impossible for you to argue that it isn't all about Suity for you. Until we get to a situation where less than 50% of your posts are about Suity or the Wanderers than any sensible individual will tar you with that brush.

Sadly on this issue Phantom, I am awarding you my inaugural "bean pulling" award.
 
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