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Fitzy's league Sledge

Messages
11,400
You were saying, Alan
So many points, so little time on the Folau situation, so let me keep it light, tight and bright.

The Super League revolt against his signing with Catalans is fascinating. For, you see, according to the likes of Alan Jones, at the height of the saga: “Only an insensitive, incompetent and virtue-signalling outfit could have brought rugby to this point. And now they have to fork out more millions.” Get it? It was all Rugby Australia’s fault. All other organisations would have copped it sweet and moved on.

But, in fact? In fact, the RA stance was quickly followed by all of their sponsors, the NRL and then other Super rugby franchises in NZ, South Africa and Japan, where exactly the same incontrovertible dynamic applied: If you are professional outfit, living or dying by your ability to bring in the mob, you can’t have emblazoned on your marquee someone who badly pisses half the mob off. The Catalans Dragons are now facing precisely that dynamic.

As to Folau promising he won’t make any more posts, sorry, what? All those arguments about how you’ll sacrifice your career, Israel, to speak God’s truth – as a matter of fact because “God spoke to me” – and you say what? At the first whiff of a contract you do an about-face on that and make the same promise you did to Rugby Australia?

What is wrong with this picture, Israel?


Oh, and one last thing. Where are you, Martyn Iles of the Australian Christian Lobby. Do you have anything to say about this? Weren’t you strong on the ground that this was all about freedom of speech, and that is why your Israel Folau needed the $2 million to sustain the legal fight that might go for years?
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-...-will-take-some-breaking-20200207-p53yss.html
 

magpie_man

Juniors
Messages
1,973
All NRL’s problems solved in one cunning plan
Bring back the Bears
Simples

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/no...-the-nrl-s-new-franchise-20200219-p542es.html

On a personal level: I'd love to see it, having played the majority of my junior football in the North Sydney district and having some fantastic memories at North Sydney Oval.
On a more pragmatic level: weighed-up against other areas that are being considered for a new license, it is well down the pecking order. Futhermore, the idea of a 50/50 split between the Central Coast and NSO is ludicrous.
The only way I could see it being even a remote possibility is if another Sydney team merges, relocates or folds.
 
Messages
14,501
On a personal level: I'd love to see it, having played the majority of my junior football in the North Sydney district and having some fantastic memories at North Sydney Oval.
On a more pragmatic level: weighed-up against other areas that are being considered for a new license, it is well down the pecking order. Futhermore, the idea of a 50/50 split between the Central Coast and NSO is ludicrous.
The only way I could see it being even a remote possibility is if another Sydney team merges, relocates or folds.

Devil's advocate here...
NS / CC Bears...would it be any different to a STG-Illawarra setup?
 
Messages
13,968
I laughed at his article today. The decision to play the game at North Sydney Oval had nothing to do with the NRL at all. It happened due to a scheduling conflict at the SCG. The NRL didn't say "go and play it at North Sydney Oval", had nothing to do with them.
 

juro

Bench
Messages
3,800
I laughed at his article today. The decision to play the game at North Sydney Oval had nothing to do with the NRL at all. It happened due to a scheduling conflict at the SCG. The NRL didn't say "go and play it at North Sydney Oval", had nothing to do with them.
I wonder how having the Bears back would affect union on the north shore. Do you think it would put even more pressure on them?
 

Mr Angry

Not a Referee
Messages
51,788
Australian sides are currently 0-6 against foreign opposition this season, with losses to teams from New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Japan.

A trip over the Tasman has been a death sentence since 2015, with our teams going a combined 1-45 from their past 46 trips. Twenty-eight of the defeats were by 13 points or more.

AVERAGE SUPER RUGBY ATTENDANCE IN AUSTRALIA

2015 season* — 16,898

2016 season — 14,787

2017 season — 11,434

2018 season — 11,004

2019 season* — 11,300

2020 season — 7324

* indicates Rugby World Cup year

LINK


Slow painful death is happening.
 

flippikat

Bench
Messages
4,448
Australian sides are currently 0-6 against foreign opposition this season, with losses to teams from New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Japan.

A trip over the Tasman has been a death sentence since 2015, with our teams going a combined 1-45 from their past 46 trips. Twenty-eight of the defeats were by 13 points or more.

AVERAGE SUPER RUGBY ATTENDANCE IN AUSTRALIA

2015 season* — 16,898

2016 season — 14,787

2017 season — 11,434

2018 season — 11,004

2019 season* — 11,300

2020 season — 7324

* indicates Rugby World Cup year

LINK


Slow painful death is happening.

Yep. And that's bad for NZ Rugby too. If our teams win all the time, where's the appeal for the casual viewer?

Maybe it's an argument for a 2nd NZ NRL team to capitalize on declining interest in Super Rugby here in NZ?

(As an aside, if South Africa leave Super Rugby & join Europe - six Nations and Heineken Cup then Australia & New Zealand may have to bring in America or Asia to make up for the revenue lost there. Union then becomes an East/West split instead of North/South)

Anyway, on Fitzy - I think his strength is writing about social/cultural issues - not sport. I'm progressive-minded, so to see an Aussie columnist take stands on Biggotry, sexism, racism, national identity etc is heartwarming.. especially given the amount of reactionary conservative BS in most Aussie media. It's good to see anyone hoisting the flag for an enlightened angle.

I haven't read much of his writing on Union, but the league stuff is total junk.
 

flippikat

Bench
Messages
4,448
wow. fitzgerald actually wrote a decent article about the new nrl ad. I can't believe it.

I can believe it. As far as Aussie columnists he's probably considered way way liberal on social issues (which here in NZ would be kinda centre-left, such is the right-slant of Aussie media).

Any ad that features so much inclusiveness is bound to get a stellar write-up from him.
 
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