Gloves off in the playground battleground

[East Coast Tiger]

I have massive problems with the NRL, but that's because it's half News Ltd. I have massive problems with the clubs owning the sport, which is what is proposed. What I want to see is people running the game whose only agenda and responsibility is to do the best thing for the game. I don't believe the current NRL fits the bill, nor do the clubs and their propsed commission. We need NRL expansion and international growth and assistance. The NRL as it is and the clubs have shown they can't or won't deliver this. The ARL has its problems but it's biggest problem is it's hamstrung by News Ltd. It is is still the closest thing we have to an indepdendent, benevolent, national govering body whose role is to do the best thing for the game. Within its limited power and resources it is doing that at grassroots and international level but with News and the clubs still holding far more of the power and the resources we are unlikely to see any major stides taken to grow the game in new areas and build the international game into something truly significant.

 

[Loudstrat]

Well said

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

Waiting for the AFL's expansion to fail won't grow our game. They're selling their billion $ TV deal bid on this expansion and I bet they'll get it. We're trying to match it with nothing new to offer. They're investing in new teams, spending money to make money. We're hoping TV networks that have previously screwed us over will just give us heaps more money. We might well get more but we won't get as much as they will and that will ensure they still have the cash to fund these clubs. We actually have markets crying out for new teams and we're ignoring them. And we have a string to our bow in international footy that they don't have. And we're largely ignoring that too. We can keep going the way we are and maybe the game will grow slowly in some places and we'll get a bit more money, and maybe the AFL teams will struggle as we expect. But we'll still be falling way below our potential and being dragged into these localised battles on our own turf with AFL when we could be making big inroads on their own turf instead and dominating them imeasurably at international level, which in turn will help us compete domestically.

This is precisely it. Now when they pitch their deal, they can confidently say they've got the two missing pieces of the puzzle covered.

The other thing to factor in is that the AFL will shamelessly rig the draw, draft, salary cap and so on to benefit these sides. They are already doing this with the establishment but as they did with the Swans and Lions, they'll happily change the rules as they go along to try and get these teams flags.

I think RL needs to find more of a niche, or a USP, to grow the game.

There's also the element that the AFL is far more responsive to the juniour stuff than RL seems to be. As soon as the first noises came through about Mums being concerned about letting their kids play because of the violence, the AFL was all over the head high tackles and hits and stuff.

My understanding - alluded to in this thread - is that there's somewhat of an issue in RL juniours about kids of different size (often Islander) dominating.

As I said, you guys really don't need to freak out about the AFL and GWS. In fact, getting yourselves into a tizzy like this is exactly what they want as it keeps a media frenzy turning and the names in the papers.

FFS - the Storm have been in Melbourne for what, a decade or more. I've never seen a game and am unlikely to ever do so unless its sort of inescable - a work do or something. Why? because I don't like RL, wasn't brought up with it. Not my thing.

RL could put a second team to 'create a rivalry' in a brand new stadium at the end of my street and name it after me and I still wouldn't go. Why? Coz I don't like RL.

When I have kids, they won't be exposed to RL, they'll grow up Aussie Rules in an AFL city and almost certainly be Aussie Rules fans. That's the way it goes.

Its the same with you guys. So much of this whole debate is like when the Springfield kids go to Shelbyville and discover everything is pretty much the same there.

The Storm have been in Melbourne for ten years and footy has never been bigger or stronger.

As i said earlier, the way to get RL to be stronger etc is not to freak out about the AFL, but to concentrate on your own game.

 

[Loudstrat]

I don't think RL freaks out about AFL as much as AFL freaks out about RL.

Our perception up here is that the media in NSW and QLD are far more accepting of AFL then the southern states media are about RL. We see many media comments (from Pat Smith and the like) attacking RL with rubbish pieces that are not reciprocated by the likes of Roy Masters, Steve Mascord or Phil Gould. When we had our world cup on, there was a lot of stupid attacks penned by pro AFL journalists that wouldn't have bothered if the WC was Union, Hockey or netball.

When Sheedy turns up and says "I haven't heard of Nathan Hindmarsh" it smacks of the same arrogance. Eith Sheedy is a senseless twat, or the media in Melbourne is so insular that you lot have genuinely never head of Hindmarsh - and therefore the likes of Hayne, Lockyer, Thurston, and also Raper, Beetson, Grothe, Langlands or Fulton. If that's the case then that smacks of how pathetic the media is down there.

That's why we get fired up. It;'s the arrogance from AFL, and also Union, that continually tells League that it is finished because it is crap.

Despite that, our GF outrates yours nationally. Our Pay TV ratings are bigger than yours. Our Origin is the most watch rep sport program in the country. It doesn't make our dick bigger, but it does suggest we deserve attention and respect.

As for our expansion - we haven't yet foilled all our heartlands with top flight teams yet. Gosford and another SEQ side are more than ready - only the existing rulers of the game fret over having too many teams. It wouldn't take much to have a Wellington based side either, before we do the hard sell into Perth.

However, AFL has nowhere to go. It has banged on for so long about it's big crowds that it cannot go into a place like Canberra or Newcastle without embarrassment - is there no other reason that there is no Tassie AFL side yet?

Some RL people do freak out about AFL - mainly they are the ones in Perth and Melbourne. The media would have them think that AFL is about to put RL into it's death throes. However, those who know who Nathan Hindmarsh is are not so worried. Our product is great. Super League proved how bloody resilient we are. We certainly don't have to worry too much about what other sports are doing.

 

[El Diablo]

The AFL is petrified of Soccer mainly.

Victorians are unaccepting of any sport really

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

The AFL is petrified of Soccer mainly.

Victorians are unaccepting of any sport really

I'd agree with the first line, certainly.

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

I don't think RL freaks out about AFL as much as AFL freaks out about RL.

Our perception up here is that the media in NSW and QLD are far more accepting of AFL then the southern states media are about RL. We see many media comments (from Pat Smith and the like) attacking RL with rubbish pieces that are not reciprocated by the likes of Roy Masters, Steve Mascord or Phil Gould. When we had our world cup on, there was a lot of stupid attacks penned by pro AFL journalists that wouldn't have bothered if the WC was Union, Hockey or netball.

When Sheedy turns up and says "I haven't heard of Nathan Hindmarsh" it smacks of the same arrogance. Eith Sheedy is a senseless twat, or the media in Melbourne is so insular that you lot have genuinely never head of Hindmarsh - and therefore the likes of Hayne, Lockyer, Thurston, and also Raper, Beetson, Grothe, Langlands or Fulton. If that's the case then that smacks of how pathetic the media is down there.

That's why we get fired up. It;'s the arrogance from AFL, and also Union, that continually tells League that it is finished because it is crap.

Despite that, our GF outrates yours nationally. Our Pay TV ratings are bigger than yours. Our Origin is the most watch rep sport program in the country. It doesn't make our dick bigger, but it does suggest we deserve attention and respect.

As for our expansion - we haven't yet foilled all our heartlands with top flight teams yet. Gosford and another SEQ side are more than ready - only the existing rulers of the game fret over having too many teams. It wouldn't take much to have a Wellington based side either, before we do the hard sell into Perth.

However, AFL has nowhere to go. It has banged on for so long about it's big crowds that it cannot go into a place like Canberra or Newcastle without embarrassment - is there no other reason that there is no Tassie AFL side yet?

Some RL people do freak out about AFL - mainly they are the ones in Perth and Melbourne. The media would have them think that AFL is about to put RL into it's death throes. However, those who know who Nathan Hindmarsh is are not so worried. Our product is great. Super League proved how bloody resilient we are. We certainly don't have to worry too much about what other sports are doing.

Sheedy is a moron but I'd never heard of Hindmarsh and I'm a relatively clued up guy (he says).

That's because as you say, RL gets stuff all coverage in Melbourne and Melbourne papers ... which I read as I'm based in the UK.

One thing that's interesting is that in the Aussie bars one is forced to frequent to watch footy much of the time, they show NRL and Aussie Ruiles, and I'm yet to see anyone gathered there with their mates (outside of State of Origin natch) to watch games yet the Aussie Rules gets a fair turn out.

I don't want a duck measuring contest. I really don't care if the NRL GF outrates the AFL one or if we get bigger crowds etc.

Where I will certainly agree with you is the arrogance of the AFL. The way they blatantly lied to when they were trying to relocate us in 2007, treated us like idiots, tried to bully us, I won't forget in a hurry.

The hilarious things is they ended up costing themselves loads more time and money through their attitude. I suspect this will come to pass in the GWS expansion as well.

 

[Loudstrat]

I would hope the existence of life without the knowledge of Nathan Hindmarsh is because you've been in the UK for a decade.

He, and the other League names I mentioned - are among the very elite of Australian sport - up there with Bradman. I suspect Melbourne media completely ignore their existance.

Melbourne, quite simply, needs a triple.

And for what it's worth we got coverage of the North Melbourne story -power to you guys for telling the AFL to f*ck 'emselves!

 

[skeepe]

I would hope the existence of life without the knowledge of Nathan Hindmarsh is because you've been in the UK for a decade.

He, and the other League names I mentioned - are among the very elite of Australian sport - up there with Bradman. I suspect Melbourne media completely ignore their existance.

Melbourne, quite simply, needs a triple.

And for what it's worth we got coverage of the North Melbourne story -power to you guys for telling the AFL to f*ck 'emselves!

Hindmarsh an elite player?

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

He's an overrated thug, and that's all. It's sickening how someone with so little talent is rated so highly. He's the Kurt Gidley of the forwards.

Back on track, the AFL propaganda machine is what gets me the most. I remember an article last week where Kelvin Shandy was spruiking the signing of a South African player for his new team (I forget where they're located), with the article making it sound like he went to the slums of Soweto and rescued this bloke... yet hidden in the article, mentioned only in passing, was the fact that this Saffer was actually signed, not from the Cape Town Cowards, but Shelby found him at the out of the way place of North Melbourne, from a little-known team called the Kangaroos.

Subsequent articles mentioned Sholdy would be going on "further overseas recruitment trips", starting with California, after "last week signing a South African".

Lies, lies and more lies. And who the bloody hell is Kalvin Shonky anyway?

 

[skeepe]

Raiders march in


SIMON BRUNSDON
09 Feb, 2010 10:18 AM

THE Canberra Raiders sailed in to Wagga yesterday to kick-off their One Community program as part of their pre-season.

The team made its way down through the countryside, stopping in towns such as Gundagai, Adelong and Tumut on the way to visit the local schools.

They will spend the next two nights in Wagga at the Kapooka Army Base, and make their way around the region, visiting schools and giving the locals a chance to mingle with them.

Raider's captain Alan Tongue said he enjoys coming to the countryside and meeting the locals.

"We love coming to the country, it is important to be able to give something back to the community," said Tongue.

"A lot of us are from small towns around here, so we like being able to come back here and visit all the schools and so on.

"The Riverina is a big drawcard for our club, especially Wagga.

"We are one of the only clubs that sent our whole squad out to do this, other clubs just send three or four players, which means they can't get to all the schools and stuff."

The team will today be broken up into eight groups, and visit a total of 27 schools, both primary and secondary.

They will then get together at the new Paramore Park for a special junior league event.

Tongue says the players enjoy getting the chance to interact with the children.

"My favourite part is visiting the schools, it's good to get out to the kids.

"They ask a lot of interesting questions, and are always curious to see how we play footy.

"The kids at Tumut were great, they gave us a great reception."

Last night the players and coaching staff attended a Men Of League fundraiser dinner at the Officers' Mess at Kapooka.

Tomorrow the squad will depart Wagga, before making their way through Cootamundra, Junee and Tumbarumba.

Tongue is confident the Raiders will be ready for their first match this season, after a successful off-season.

The team has been working hard since November, and has been put through a number of training camps to test their fitness.

"It's going well, we have been doing some good training and have some young talent in the team," said Tongue.

"I am pretty confident we can go better this year."

http://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/news/local/sport/rugby-league/raiders-march-in/1746037.aspx

 

[Loudstrat]

I am of the opinion that if the Raiders were dumped the average IQ of League fans would rise dramatically.

Why not just sit back and wait for Campo to the get Clive Churchil medal that he is a shoe in for in October...........

 

[Dogs Of War]

One thing that's interesting is that in the Aussie bars one is forced to frequent to watch footy much of the time, they show NRL and Aussie Ruiles, and I'm yet to see anyone gathered there with their mates (outside of State of Origin natch) to watch games yet the Aussie Rules gets a fair turn out.

Probably says a lot more about the culture of Victorians and the like. WHen I am on holidays overseas, or even working over there, it's more like I am out enjoying myself, and will watch the NRL via the bigpond website or something similar at a more suitable time.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

I think it shows that even the UK is a better place to live than Victoriania.

 

[bazza]

One thing that's interesting is that in the Aussie bars one is forced to frequent to watch footy much of the time, they show NRL and Aussie Ruiles, and I'm yet to see anyone gathered there with their mates (outside of State of Origin natch) to watch games yet the Aussie Rules gets a fair turn out.

That is probably because RL supporters in the UK are more affluent than the typical AFL loving bogan and can afford Sky sports in their house and watch the pre-recorded games at their leisure

 

[babyg]

That is probably because RL supporters in the UK are more affluent than the typical AFL loving bogan and can afford Sky sports in their house and watch the pre-recorded games at their leisure

and if you have zero interest in rugby league why are you bothering to be here. Is it to save us from our hysteria about invasions.

 

[babyg]

and if you have zero interest in rugby league why are you bothering to be here. Is it to save us from our hysteria about invasions.

 

[m0nty]

I think RL needs to find more of a niche, or a USP, to grow the game.

There's also the element that the AFL is far more responsive to the juniour stuff than RL seems to be. As soon as the first noises came through about Mums being concerned about letting their kids play because of the violence, the AFL was all over the head high tackles and hits and stuff.

My understanding - alluded to in this thread - is that there's somewhat of an issue in RL juniours about kids of different size (often Islander) dominating.

As I said, you guys really don't need to freak out about the AFL and GWS. In fact, getting yourselves into a tizzy like this is exactly what they want as it keeps a media frenzy turning and the names in the papers.

Marketing league to a niche is exactly what the AFL wants. The niche that it appeals to most is blokey blokes, or so the cliche goes. Yes I know, probably unsupported by research, but it's the perception. You can see in the media (e.g. Harold Mitchell on Offsiders last weekend) that the AFL's agenda is to demonise league as a sport that should be shunned by women - especially mothers of young boys - as being full of violence, substance abuse and anti-social behaviour.

The league, or commission or whatever, should focus on shifting the sport back to the centre of that particular spectrum. Use squeaky clean, goody two-shoes family men like Hindmarsh to soften the image of the game. Don't get sucked into the hardcore ghetto, or league will end up with the same fanbase as UFC.

 

[SweetLeftFoot]

I would hope the existence of life without the knowledge of Nathan Hindmarsh is because you've been in the UK for a decade.

He, and the other League names I mentioned - are among the very elite of Australian sport - up there with Bradman. I suspect Melbourne media completely ignore their existance.

Melbourne, quite simply, needs a triple.

And for what it's worth we got coverage of the North Melbourne story -power to you guys for telling the AFL to f*ck 'emselves!

I have been but I read the Melbourne papers every day online and never knew of Hindmarsh. Some of the other guys you'd mentioned Hayne etc I had.

If I was cheeky I'd suggest that given you guys are always telling us RL is an international sport that's big in the UK I'd have heard of him over here.

But seriously, the Melbourne media is so thin when it comes to RL I'm not surprised I haven't.

 

[Noa]

One thing that's interesting is that in the Aussie bars one is forced to frequent to watch footy much of the time, they show NRL and Aussie Ruiles, and I'm yet to see anyone gathered there with their mates (outside of State of Origin natch) to watch games yet the Aussie Rules gets a fair turn out.

.

Same thing happens in Cairns so really doesnt mean anything. And careful SLF, Beaussie will be reading this and it will out you :sarcasm:.

 

[Loudstrat]

Mate, you are in London. Got to Leeds, Huddersfield, Hull, Wigan, Warrington, even Manchester.

London is Yawnion town. The Rugby player from London is fat, has a title, and is the spawn of 1000 years of inbreeding!

A brief rundown on Nathan Hindmarsh:

• Provan Summons medal winner 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• Dally M Second Rower of Year 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006
• International Forward of the Year 2004
• Record for most tackles in a game ever recorded: 75 v Melbourne in 2003
• 16 tests
• 16 Origins
• 260 games for Parramatta - will beat Brett Kenny's record in 6 more games

A workaholic with a reputation of coming up with big plays when needed. He once saved a try in a test when he tackled 3 of England's fastest men on his own. All at once.

Also has a reputation as an outstanding ambassador for the game - very popular with fans due to his charity work and willingness to chat to fans whenever. Also very recogniseable - long black hair and shows his bumcrack as his pants are way too low!

He's basically been Parra's spokesman in the media for a decade, and probably Sydney's highest profile player since Brad Fittler retired.