The nrl should model itself on nhl

[Saintsified]

Ive been thinking and i dont quite understand why the NRL thinks a biff now and then in Rugby league will turn people off and especially in a game like ORIGIN....they believe mums wont let their kids play League because its a bad look lol are they kidding?.

Well NHL (NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE) in America embraces fisticuffs and if two players go toe to toe the refs stand back let them tire out then split them up, never ever will you hear NHL, its fans or media over there bag a biff nor think it will offend anyone, in fact they believe the game belongs to the current fans and they love it so it stays, if you dont like it piss off its how it is...the NRL never listens to the core fans and that is why our game is on the downslide.

Anyone agree?

 

[axl rose]

Ive been thinking and i dont quite understand why the NRL thinks a biff now and then in Rugby league will turn people off and especially in a game like ORIGIN....they believe mums wont let their kids play League because its a bad look lol are they kidding?.

Well NHL (NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE) in America embraces fisticuffs and if two players go toe to toe the refs stand back let them tire out then split them up,

They do let them fight it out, but its still an automatic stint in the penalty box is it not?

 

[Eelementary]

I don't see why they decided that fighting was something to be banned. It's a physical, tough, aggressive sport - I would say that's a big part of the reason so many of us were attracted to league in the first place (due to its physicality).

First they ban the shoulder charge. Then they ban the biff. Administrators are choking the life force out of rugby league.

 

[thorson1987]

I don't see why they decided that fighting was something to be banned. It's a physical, tough, aggressive sport - I would say that's a big part of the reason so many of us were attracted to league in the first place (due to its physicality).

First they ban the shoulder charge. Then they ban the biff. Administrators are choking the life force out of rugby league.

Fighting has always been banned.

 

[Bengal]

I'm not for the NHL style biffo. I think things were just fine a month or so ago.

 

[Eelementary]

Fighting has always been banned.

True. I didn't phrase it correctly.

I have always felt that a penalty is sufficient for biff, unless it gets severely out of hand.

Sin-binning players for fighting is just stupid IMO.

 

[snogard6]

This will be the first time since 1999 I won't be at a grand final, all thanks to the recent changes to the game. 1st it was the shoulder charge rule, that frustrated me ( all to appease the doctors, pfft ) now the biff rule ( to appease the mothers ) that just infuriated me. What's next? It's an absolute disgrace.

Thanks for f***ing the game to whoevers idea these great changes where made by.

How about listen to the once loyal supporters to what they want from the game.

 

[newman]

When I lived in hockey town Canada there was serious debate at all national levels about fighting in hockey because one player (kipersov?) king hit a bloke from behind and nearly killed him. Fans from the opposition called the police and wanted the player charged with assault. The federal government was discussing intervening in the NHL to ban fighting. My memory of the exact events are hazy but the overlying opinion was that hockey was a blight on the landscape and an embarrassment because of the violence, and Canadians LOVE hockey. It is a true national sport.

 

[Masoe_eats_babies]

I think people overestimate the fights in the NHL. They're on ice skates, off balance, half the time partially suited up, with very little ability to put power into their punches given that they can't plant their feet.

If the NRL had anything like the NHL attitude to fighting, half the competition would be out injured at any given point. Fighting on grass is a completely different ball game. Broken hands and faces would be a guaranteed occurrence every time two players come together. There would be nothing good for the game, even if you enjoy watching the biff, in having half your squad sat on the sideline recovering from concussions, broken noses, broken jaws, broken cheeks, broken fingers, knuckles, hands, wrists, and so on.

If you let league players square off toe to toe every game would be a certified blood bath, it would make hockey fights look tame. I'm not saying league players are infinitely tougher or better fighters, just that two guys fighting on grass in skin tight kit is a world away from blokes falling over themselves trying to throw a punch on slippery ice.

 

[The Gambler]

To be fair, fights in the NHL are pretty farcical.

 

[Masoe_eats_babies]

but the overlying opinion was that hockey was a blight on the landscape and an embarrassment because of the violence

Which is bullshit and is a lesson to league fans. Critics of the game will happily lie and resort to emotive bullshit to influence your opinion.

Anybody who thinks that hockey blights or embarrasses Canada can't have spoke to people outside of Canada.

 

[Matchball]

Let's play league on rollerblades while we're at it.

 

[steggz]

I think people overestimate the fights in the NHL. They're on ice skates, off balance, half the time partially suited up, with very little ability to put power into their punches given that they can't plant their feet.

If the NRL had anything like the NHL attitude to fighting, half the competition would be out injured at any given point. Fighting on grass is a completely different ball game. Broken hands and faces would be a guaranteed occurrence every time two players come together. There would be nothing good for the game, even if you enjoy watching the biff, in having half your squad sat on the sideline recovering from concussions, broken noses, broken jaws, broken cheeks, broken fingers, knuckles, hands, wrists, and so on.

If you let league players square off toe to toe every game would be a certified blood bath, it would make hockey fights look tame. I'm not saying league players are infinitely tougher or better fighters, just that two guys fighting on grass in skin tight kit is a world away from blokes falling over themselves trying to throw a punch on slippery ice.

Good point

 

[eozsmiles]

The thing about ice hockey is that not many people like it. It is not really a popular sport. The NHL was so unpopular that the Stanley Cup finals were beaten in the TV ratings (in the usa) by a spelling bee a little while ago. They cleaned the game up a bit and the ratings went up a little bit.

When I say the ratings went up, they couldn't really go down. They are pretty stoked in America right now because game 6 of the finals played on monday night pulled 5% of the TV viewing audience, drew 8 million viewers and peaked at 10 million, all in a country with a population of 315 million. Hockey isn't the top game over there, but footy has plenty of competition too. To put that into perspective, it is equivalent to an Australian footy game drawing 500-600k I reckon, which is SFA. Regular season games on Fox, which only about 40% of the population can access, often draw in the vicinity of this many viewers. Origin last night pulled 2.2 million I think - 10% of the total population. In the USA, the NBA finals last week peaked at 35 million for game 7, the last Superbowl got 100 million. Those numbers are in a different world to hockey.

So I guess what I'm saying is that comparing footy to ice hockey is silly because our game is already very popular and good. The only thing most people around here know about the NHL is that they fight. And they don't fight as often as people might think.
Why would we look at one small aspect of a small comp that not many people watch?

If we want to compare the treatment of violence in a North American sport to footy, then we'd be better off looking at sports with real audiences like the NBA or NFL, where blokes get sent off/ejected for farting in the wrong direction.

 

[newman]

Serious question: do the same rules re fighting apply for international/Olympic hockey as in the NHL?

 

[newman]

The thing about ice hockey is that not many people like it. It is not really a popular sport. The NHL was so unpopular that the Stanley Cup finals were beaten in the TV ratings (in the usa) by a spelling bee a little while ago. They cleaned the game up a bit and the ratings went up a little bit.

When I say the ratings went up, they couldn't really go down. They are pretty stoked in America right now because game 6 of the finals played on monday night pulled 5% of the TV viewing audience, drew 8 million viewers and peaked at 10 million, all in a country with a population of 315 million. Hockey isn't the top game over there, but footy has plenty of competition too. To put that into perspective, it is equivalent to an Australian footy game drawing 500-600k I reckon, which is SFA. Regular season games on Fox, which only about 40% of the population can access, often draw in the vicinity of this many viewers. Origin last night pulled 2.2 million I think - 10% of the total population. In the USA, the NBA finals last week peaked at 35 million for game 7, the last Superbowl got 100 million. Those numbers are in a different world to hockey.

So I guess what I'm saying is that comparing footy to ice hockey is silly because our game is already very popular and good. The only thing most people around here know about the NHL is that they fight. And they don't fight as often as people might think.
Why would we look at one small aspect of a small comp that not many people watch?

If we want to compare the treatment of violence in a North American sport to footy, then we'd be better off looking at sports with real audiences like the NBA or NFL, where blokes get sent off/ejected for farting in the wrong direction.

It may not rate in the greater US but it is f**kin huge in Canada and the NE and NW of the states. It is also big in the Scandinavian nations and is the second most popular sport in Germany. Which makes it bigger than Rugby League.

 

[NrlCoach]

just introduce 5 min sin bin for fighting. 10 min is too long

 

[Saintsified]

The point is they don't alienate or turn off their fans, Nrl does....it's a bit like Australia giving billions to Indonesia whilst we got homeless and needy people of our own....Nrl needs to look after their backyard of fanatical fans first.

 

[Ron Jeremy]

it seems more people are worried about the fights in the game then the actual product itself...

wanna see a fight, head to a local pub on a fri and sat night to get your rocks off.

Rugby League is much more then just fighting (which you rarely see a biff anyway these days), if you cannot get through a game now because there are now fewer fights and harsher penalties then piss off, you probably weren't a fan to begin with or just a mere f**king bogan.

 

[WellsNZ]

I think people overestimate the fights in the NHL. They're on ice skates, off balance, half the time partially suited up, with very little ability to put power into their punches given that they can't plant their feet.

If the NRL had anything like the NHL attitude to fighting, half the competition would be out injured at any given point. Fighting on grass is a completely different ball game. Broken hands and faces would be a guaranteed occurrence every time two players come together. There would be nothing good for the game, even if you enjoy watching the biff, in having half your squad sat on the sideline recovering from concussions, broken noses, broken jaws, broken cheeks, broken fingers, knuckles, hands, wrists, and so on.

If you let league players square off toe to toe every game would be a certified blood bath, it would make hockey fights look tame. I'm not saying league players are infinitely tougher or better fighters, just that two guys fighting on grass in skin tight kit is a world away from blokes falling over themselves trying to throw a punch on slippery ice.

As a big Hockey fan, this is the key point here for sure. You don't see too many clean heavy punches in a Hockey fight because they are busy trying to balance on ice skates and they're tugging at each other to try take them off balance. Of course on occasion you see a guy throw some good bombs but most Hockey fights, nowadays particularly, are pretty tame. Eventually they get gassed or flop on top of teach other and that's that.

If you just let a couple of NRL guys separate off and go at it, you're pretty much just saying OK we're doing bareknuckle fighting. Someone like Betham would have been breaking peoples jaws weekly.

Also the OP is way off base saying nobody bags the biff in Hockey, the topic of banning fighting is a regular hot debate.