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Willow Cup :: Bluebags vs Titans :: Round 1

Drew-Sta

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
24,567
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- V -
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Game Thread:
* This is a game thread only. Only game posts can be made here - team lists, substitutions, and 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:
* 3 -V- 3 (+ 4 reserves for both sides)
* No 'TBA' or changing players named
* Captains must stick with original teams named


Rules: http://f7s.leagueunlimited.com/rules.php
Official Word Counter: http://f7s.leagueunlimited.com/wordcount.php

Kick Off: Sunday 24th Feb 2013 (6:00pm AEST)
Full Time: Sunday 10th March 2013 (Fulltime is at midnight)
Referee: Non Terminator
Venue: Henson Park

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Eelementary

Post Whore
Messages
56,108
Here goes nothing? I am representing the Bluebags for the first time:

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The Greatest Game Of All

Such is the way Andrew Voss welcomes us to the rugby league console games, and truthfully, it is difficult to argue with a man with his credentials. But why is it so? What is it about rugby league that attracts such fanaticism (a word used in its most positive manner) in its fans and followers?

I have certainly met more than a handful of self-labelled “casual fans” of rugby league that could tell me how many tries Billy Slater scored in his debut season, or how many tackles Nathan Hindmarsh made against Melbourne in the 2009 season. And conversely, I haven’t met many self-described “casual fans” of other major codes anywhere else in the world. During my time in Barcelona, the majority of football fans were either ardent Espanyol or tribal Barcelona fans - but a small element claimed they were “football fans in general”. These fans usually took a glancing interest in football, but not to the extent that “casual” rugby league fans do. And I want to explore this.

Is it the physical aspect to the sport? Certainly, seeing a rampaging Fuifui Moimoi steamroll over a fullback for a try, or a crisply-executed (albeit currently illegal) Sonny-Bill Williams shoulder charge, brings the crowd to their feet. And yet rugby league is not the only sport that boasts physicality as a feature - ice hockey and gridiron are two other sports that actively market their apparent brutality as drawcards. And disregarding population sizes for one moment, I would argue that rugby league fans worship their clubs with unrivaled fervor. Gridiron fans will turn out to games in droves, donning face paint and creating makeshift signs for their teams to read and be inspired by - and yet, whilst over in the USA, I can say that I rarely saw many people with vehicles decorated entirely in their teams’ colours, or bedrooms styled using predominantly club hues. The “biggest Barcelona fan in the world” (at that time)” was on the local news in 1998, and sported tattoos of his beloved club and a car with blue and red rims. Merely weeks ago a passionate Parramatta Eels fan was on the news for using the Eels’ blue and gold to add character to her car; the streets of Parramatta itself were drowned in blue and gold in the Eels’ glorious run to the Grand Final in 2009.

Is it the skills involved? Rugby union fans claim it is the game “played in heaven”, but neutral observers are often left puzzled at this statement. How can a heavenly game feature a final score of 9-3? Surely the heavenly game features entertaining, expansive, running football, right? And this brings you to the skills of rugby league players - we have been privileged, in the last decade alone, to witness skills sets as varied as raw speed (courtesy of Billy Slater); crisp and selective passing (thank you, Andrew Johns); electric footwork (cheers, Jarred Hayne); and polka-dot accurate kicking (magnificent stuff, Jonathan Thurston). If God insists on a game representing His kingdom, it must surely be rugby league.

Perhaps it is the raw, primal and tribal nature of rugby leagues fan bases that add an extra dash of magnetism to the code? Football fans from different clubs hate each other, it’s true - it’s no secret the Croatians hate...Well...Everyone...But despite a shorter history and smaller population compared to larger codes, rugby league boasts some of sport’s most passionate and bitter rivalries: a Rabbitohs-Roosters game is as intense as any other spectacle on the planet.

Maybe it’s just rugby league’s refusal to die, and to represent the everyday Australian, that makes it so wonderful. Rugby league has survived (and some would argue, thrived through) scandals essentially as soon as the modern professional era was created - and here it stands, as strong as ever. Rugby league players are “underpaid” considering the work they do and compared to other athletes, according to many peoples opinions.

But whatever reason one chooses to assign to their argument as to why it is the greatest sport of all, it is in the amalgamation of all these reasons - and more - that we begin to see why this code is, to quote a famous line, simply the best.
 
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Drew-Sta

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
24,567
Morning all!

Sorry for taking so long to post the team. Here we go!

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Run on
1. Eelementary
2. Danish
3. muzby (vc)


Reserves
4. Drew-Sta (c)
5. griffo346
6. Timmah


Congratulations to Eelementary and Danish on their debuts in the Blue!
 

Danish

Referee
Messages
31,835
Here is my first contribution for the Bluebags... be gentle!

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A week in the life of a rugby league tragic
By Danish

Thursday:
My God the wait is almost over. After months in cricket purgatory the footy season is but a week away, and the excitement in the Danish household is palpable. Our membership packs have arrived; 8 cents worth of stickers and a sweat shop scarf. It is glorious. I toss my new favourite scarf (yes, I have enough scarves to have a favourite) in my car and head off to work. For tonight, Mrs Danish and I have been handpicked to represent our beloved roosters at the NRL season launch!

Friday:
Between you, me, and Jehovah the season launch was interesting to say the least. Turns out being handpicked meant being the only diehards stupid enough to respond to the marketing email, and representing the Roosters at the season launch meant being an unpaid extra in the NRL’s pre-event stage show. Mental note – avoid all future Roosters marketing “special offers”.

Saturday:
Praise Allah this is taking forever. Still 5 days to go. How could I have been so excited when it was “only” 7 days away? At least there is a test match on. That will tie me over until the real sport begins.

Sunday:
Sweet Shiva something really needs to be done about this cricket business. When did watching 11 blokes stand around in a park for 8 hours become so incredibly boring? Thursday will not come soon enough.

Monday:
Football is pushed aside today for the birth of my beautiful twin nieces. Is there anything more wonderful than seeing a newborn grasp its tiny fingers around yours? Truly Thor has blessed us wi....wait, is that a Souths blanket they are wrapped in? Screw this, I never liked kids anyway.

Tuesday:
What a day! Will he? Won’t he? The world hasn’t witnessed such drama since the Cuban missile crisis. After much speculation white smoke is seen coming out of Nick Politis’s chimney and it is confirmed that SBW will be taking the field on Thursday night.

Wednesday:
In 24 hours it begins. Battle lines are drawn at 10 metre intervals. My traditional good luck call to my filthy Souths loving Nan is laced with nervous banter, each promising not to rub the loss in the others face. A promise that has never and will never be kept.

With my freshly ironed jersey and sweat shop members scarf ready for tomorrow (Roosters marketing special offer: Wear your scarf to win!) I pat my lucky Buddha for good luck then retire to bed in search of sleep that I know will never come

Game Day:
O.M.G!

I spring out of bed at 5:00am like an excited child on Christmas morning, assuming the child is not living in a joyless atheist household. I slept but 2 hours, although pure adrenaline will get me through the day (and about 8 lattes. I’m a Rooster after all). I arrive at the office an hour early. Ironic really as I will not be completing a scrap of work all day. Thankfully as the manager I am able to delegate work to my minions and spend the day on more important matters such as chewing my fingernails down to the nubs. In no time at all it is time to leave for the game.

We arrive at the ground over an hour before kickoff and Moore Park is already jumping. Fans of all walks of life litter the streets. Some wear jerseys fresh off the rack while others are kitted out in jumpers that must surely have been bought with pounds and pence. I suppose this is what happens when the 2 oldest clubs in the competition come together. Once in the stadium the emotions take over. I take up my familiar seat which has been my home every winter for the past 6 years and strap myself in for the night.

From kick off to the full time whistle is a blur. My mighty roosters start well, but the experience of Souths as a squad proves the difference. Their combinations are a long broken in pair of Italian loafers while our boys are still slipping and sliding trying to scuff up their soles. In the end the score doesn’t matter though, as regardless of who got the chocolates you can’t wipe the smile from my face all the way home. The footy is back, and I cannot wait for the rest of the season.

Bring on round 2!
 
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muzby

Village Idiot
Staff member
Messages
45,708
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muzby saddles up for the bluebags in his first willow cup outing for 2013. feels good to be back out on the field.


750 words (OWC) title to end.


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Gamespotting


Hey man, can I have a dollar? I need to catch a bus. Honest man, I do.

So can I have a dollar?

Ok, if I can’t have a dollar, can I at least talk to ya for a while? I’m feeling lonely.

I don’t know what’s been going on, but it’s like my life is starting to fall apart.

My best mate Jimmy, there’s something up with him. He’s become distant from me, and he’s not showing interest in stuff like he used to any more.

Me and Jimmy have this sweet little pad in Fairfield. It ain’t much, but it’s cosy. Got an old couch in the lounge room, and a couple of mattresses in each room. Perfect place for us to drink and get on the gear.

Oh, sorry, hope you don’t mind, but I kinda like heroin. And so does Jimmy. We like it a lot. Please tell me that doesn’t bother you. It feels good to let out my story, ya know?

It all started in August last year. We managed to nick a pretty sweet TV and instead of hocking it, we decided to keep it ‘cause we sold our last one for a hit. Anyway, I get home one night from found Jimmy watching a game of NRL on TV. When I walked in, he changed the channel quickly like he was trying to hide what he was doing.

I thought nothing of it, but then I noticed he’d start sneaking off between hits of smack to get score updates & replays of games.

I really started to get concerned when I couldn’t find him one night. I called his three mobiles but had no luck. And when he came home late that night, smelling of crowds & beer initially I thought he’d just fallen asleep on the train again & ended up in Liverpool. But later that night when he was asleep, I was going through his wallet looking for any spare cash when I found ticket stub for Parramatta Stadium.

He’d been at a live NRL game between the Eels and the Bulldogs. So the next morning I asked him about it, and he lied to my face, man. Said he’d been down at Canley Vale station trying to score.

So two weeks later when I gave him some money to get a fix, he comes home late again, smelling like crowds and beer. Said he couldn’t get a fix ‘cause he got rolled for the cash. I checked his wallet again that night after he was asleep, and found another NRL ticket stub. He'd spent our drug money on tickets.

When I confronted Jimmy the next morning & showed him the ticket stubs, he stormed out and didn’t say anything to me for a week.

About two months ago I started to notice the physical changes in him. He’d start skipping hits on the gear, eating more protein and exercising regularly. I was pretty concerned that he’d gone from a casual watcher of rugby league and had graduated into hardcore territory by becoming a player.

My worst fears were confirmed last week. I was a bit short of cash and needed a fix badly, so was looking around the apartment for something to hock. I found Jimmy’s sport bag hidden under his bed, and when I opened it I found boots, shorts and a Fairfield United jersey with Jimmy’s name on the back.

That night we fought like two mates have never fought before. I told Jimmy he was wasting his life by following some stupid fad. Just because some of the other blokes at the pub were trying to play league didn’t mean he had to.

And Jimmy yelled at me, saying I didn’t understand him. So I told Jimmy he had a choice - it was heroin or football. He couldn’t do both, and I wasn’t going to stand by and watch him throw his life away playing footy.

And then he left. He left, man, and he hasn’t been home since, and my life feels like it’s falling apart.

Drugs & sport don’t mix man. This bloody rugby league is a bad influence on Jimmy and it tore us apart.

I just wish he’d give it up and come back to the life we used to know. I miss the old Jimmy. The one I knew before he got hooked on NRL.

So, anyway, can I have a dollar? I need to make a phone call. Um, I mean catch a bus.
 
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Misanthrope

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
47,604
Misanthrope charges out for his Titans re-debut.

A Eulogy

December 15th, 2013
St Andrew's, Cronulla


Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of one of the great..

Okay, okay, Mel Bourne. I heard you object. Sit down.

Ahem... Ladies and gentleman we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of a community member who had been with us for 45 years. And while it could be said by some that our friend did not achieve a great deal during his life, it would be wrong to say that said life had been without meaning.

Born in the autumn of '67, it was clear from an early age that young CS was a child with potential. A few staggering steps in his early years gave way to what would prove - sadly - the best period in CS's life. While it was evident from the outset that the boy obsessed with sky blue had a fierce rivalry with a neighborhood kid in red and white, it was a local bully nicknamed the Sea Eagle who was CS's earliest tormentor.

On two - make that three - separate occasions, Manly and CS clashed with CS the perennial loser. The last occasion saw CS take a particularly brutal beating. Bowed but unbroken, CS vowed to get up and fight again but alas, it would be 19 years before the plucky boy in blue would get another chance at redemption.

I think we all know how that one ended too. Despite turning his back on his family to take up with a suspicious old sugar daddy in 1997, CS still found himself far from being the biggest fish in the pond. In this event, it was a fresh faced Queenslander who spoiled CS's party.

But while winning on the grand stage was not something CS would ever do, anybody who spoke with the lad will attest to how immensely (and perhaps inexplicably) proud of his AMCO Cup he was.

You couldn't get into an argument with the guy without him bringing it up. He just loved that battered old trophy so much but can you really blame him? In his 45 years on this earth, it was just about the best thing he ever did.

"It was a meaningless cup!" some mean-spirited folk would say, but you couldn't deter young Cronulla.

"Two minor premierships!" he would cry, "I've got two of those too!"

And if his excitement over those didn't exemplify his ambition, the comically large trophy cabinet he maintained was proof positive. This was a kid who had delusions of grandeur and it's hard to say whether I admired him for it or pitied him.

There were those who didn't like having CS around.

“He's racist”
“He doesn't have any culture”
“He's a joke”

But others could see the merits of his continued being. It could never be said that our friend was not self sufficient, although Dad did have to step in once with a loan back in '83.

Actually... didn't that happen again in 1993 as well?

And, even if we're being a little selfish, I think we all liked having him around in the same way a girl likes having a fat friend. Didn't we all look just a little bit better by comparison?

I think though that none of us would have wanted such an early end to CS's life, no matter how lacklustre or ho-hum it might have been.

Sit down George! I don't care who canonised you, I will put you over my knee!

As I was saying, it is always sad to lose somebody so young. We all still sting from the passing of old Bear and Dirty Red.

Yes, my friend in myrtle and cardnal, I know you rose from the dead but I think it's safe to say we won't be seeing that here.

It may have been Dad who had to pull the plug, but we all know it was a terrorist by the name of ASADA who pulled the trigger. Our tenacious young 'Shark' fought on for a year after the wound, but it was always going to be a losing battle.

Cronulla, you'll be... well, not missed but it's sad to see you go. Rest in peace.

And now if you'll follow me, we've got the christening of the young Perth lad in the next room.

----

WORD COUNT: 720 including title
 

Titanic

First Grade
Messages
5,906
image.php
Titanic for the Titans (750 OWC)
__________________

Getting real


The new season has just kicked off. The media have spent the last five months debating everything to do with rugby league that doesn’t have to do with playing rugby league.

Case in point: the unfortunate demise of Ben Barbara, if you listen to Norm Provan, or of Benji Barba, if you prefer the Dave Smith version. Here was a young man who gave his all to the greatest game but did the game give him its all?

By his own admission, Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg let many of Barba’s indiscretions fly through to the keeper because he felt it wasn’t the club’s business to interfere. Perhaps that’s fair enough if you're a billion dollar corporation with no link to humanity and you can sweep human frailty under the carpet like underage children making sports shoes.

It’s blatantly hypocritical of the Bulldogs to then roll out the “tough love” solution. Perhaps in all honesty the sport needs to get real.

Many young players will get very depressed in their twenties, and some of them will stay that way for the rest of their lives. Over the years their mates will go different ways, their career dreams will fall through, a girl will break their hearts, they'll be unhappy with their bodies, they'll lose their parents and their favorite pets will die. They will endure at least one very terrible injury that requires hospitalization and breaks new boundaries for what kind of pain they thought was possible.

The reason why this will lead to depression, where it may not have done so for an equivalent individual 200 years ago, is because modern day professional sportspersons are a breed of Peter Pans. They were raised on illogical stories where things always work out for the main character for utterly arbitrary reasons. The professional player of today never grows up.

They have been fed on a
diet of entertainment where Han Solo can shoot straight but none of the bad guys can; even though they train more. John McClane beats the terrorists because he has toughness and perseverance; something the bad guys lack even though they should be equally as desperate. If a guy and a girl are right for each other, they always wind up together; careers, geography and personal hang-ups be damned.

Here's the root of the problem: these fantasies were created by adults as a means of escape from the real world. The kids, however, have been watching them since they were in nappies. For most of them, these were their first impressions of how the adult world works, even if on a subconscious level. They had no reality check to educate them to the concept of fantasy.

It may sound frivolous, but consider Andrew Johns who had the football world at his feet. The great player that he was, he was bullet proof until he shaped-up to nuffie Jamie Goddard and received a touch of reality.

The very same Johns fell to the other hot topic of the past weeks, illegal substances. Although Joey chose the recreational variety, if you amble down the drug aisle in your grocery store, in between the pills and the vitamins will be a huge shelf full of herbal supplements that promise to do everything from helping you lose weight to easing joint pain to making your brain work better and it's all fake. Aren't they worried about people accidentally overdosing? No, they're not... you can't overdose on a placebo.

In contrast, there are the predatory illegal substances; the ones that are “cutting edge” and which may be listed as performance enhancing or they are so new-age that they haven’t been identified yet. Add to this the stench of organized crime and the fabric of Australia’s sporting culture takes on a new spectre.

It is intolerable to contemplate that a young player could be so naive that they ingest a banned medication, procured through an underworld connection and then become coerced into fixing a match; yet that is what we could be facing.

To a man-child like Barba or Johns, these temptations are not temptations at all. In their eyes, just as they were able to break the “finish school get a job” mold to follow their forever-young maxim, they don’t consider themselves bound by the same limitations as Joe Average.

These little boys in big boys’ bodies, together with their families and the clubs that turn over millions by exploiting the talent of these susceptible youths, all need to get real.
 
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Titanic

First Grade
Messages
5,906
Sorry guys that's a poor way to start the year. The Sunday midnight deadline caught us out.
 
Messages
17,427
Newtown

Eelementary - The Greatest Game Of All
I remember one of the many golden rules in school, never start a sentence with "and". Maybe it's untraditional but it doesn't take much away from what is a solid debut article.
85

Danish - A Week In The Life Of A Rugby League Tragic
I remember doing an article like this once. I was told how difficult it was and that it was near impossible to nail it. You've done very well, a great story told in a great point of view. Brilliantly worded at times.
I've always thought about doing an article about a week waiting for the Footy Show Quiz a few years back (memories...) to put a cheeky note in.
If I didn't know this was you, I would nearly believe it was Bubbles...lol.
87

Muzby - Gamespotting
Very, very enjoyable.
88

Gold Coast

Misanthrope - A Eulogy
A humble eulogy. May use parts of this at the next funeral I attend.
It sounded like you had tears running down your face whilst writing it.
87

Titanic - Getting Real
An interesting piece on a highly controversial topic. Some may agree, some may disagree.
Nobody can argue that you have displayed what you needed to.
88

NEWTOWN 260-175 GOLD COAST
POTM - Muzby, Titanic
 

Titanic

First Grade
Messages
5,906
Thanks NT ... congrats 'Baggies well done and apologies for playing like a three-legged canine on mushrooms.
 

Drew-Sta

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
24,567
Well done Baggers! Big props to Danish and Eel on their debut's - fantastic efforts!

And muzzers; what can I say but you never cease to amaze and entertain :)

Don't worry Titanic. I'm sad we didn't get a 3v3 as I think you guys were offering up really quality articles. You'll be a force in the regular season that's for sure.
 
Messages
17,427
Awesome to see the Titans back in the competition. Titanic was always a keen favourite of mine, so looking forward to it.
There is so much competition this year, the Bags will be back to their usual podium if they keep efforts like this up. So many awesome debuts this week.
 

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