Is this worth it?

[roopy]

whoops - wrong thread

 

[roopy]

We have learnt that things we thought were important, like completion rates, competent kicking and defence, do not matter.

The WC has been good for the small nations to get to play some footy.

Only one team is playing decently & there is no competition.

You are very good at judging where that line is.
Every post you do has me thinking about using the troll thread, but you just keep on the right side of the line.

 

[butchmcdick]

Every game has been on TV. It's been in the paper every day. The people at your work are tossers, not die hard fans. If you bothered to watch any of the games other than the Australian ones you would have seen some of the best RL in the last few years.

Isn't it supposed to be about making it interesting for said tosser's to get interested in international league and not just geared toward the diehard fan ? If it is I don't see us doing too much to get the casual fan interested.

 

[JasonE]

Samoa v Ireland on wednesday at Parra Stadium was one of my most exhilarating moments in Rugby League, i will never forget the the game and atmosphere before, during and after.

 

[griff]

When I finally went to my first WC game after 8 years of angst and debate, and saw people wearing shirts from minor nations, singing along to national anthems, I knew it was worth it.

I think there is a slight problem in that there just aren't enough games to develop a sense of continuity and a tournament atmosphere. There are way too many days during the tournament with nothing happening.

 

[Brutus]

The organisers of the tournament are a farce, but I've loved every minute of it because I'm always looking out for the games and world cup news.

In terms of attractingthe event-goer or casual fan, the organisers deserve a massive kick up the ring hole.

 

[bowes]

The world cup as a concept we have to have, or at least some form of world championship where everyone has the possibility of getting in, so from that perspective I'd say yes. But as for the world cup format, I couldn't have come up with a worse one if I'd tired and I think RL is better than needing a Super pool and it makes the sport look smaller having one.

So YES to the world cup as a concept, most definitely, I want more

But NO to having another one in this format

 

[bowes]

You only need to refer to an article just before the WC started to know that this would be profitable and profits would be used to fund future internationals!

They said that last time before a ball was kicked and it lost millions. Though hopefully this time will be profitable and we can get a better world cup next time

 

[roopy]

The world cup as a concept we have to have, or at least some form of world championship where everyone has the possibility of getting in, so from that perspective I'd say yes. But as for the world cup format, I couldn't have come up with a worse one if I'd tired and I think RL is better than needing a Super pool and it makes the sport look smaller having one.

So YES to the world cup as a concept, most definitely, I want more

But NO to having another one in this format

I disagree, and if i were organising world cups for any sport except soccer - including basketball, cricket, baseball, ice hockey etc - i would have a look at the format we have used.
Soccer is the only sport who can put 16 or 24 competitive nations together.

 

[adamkungl]

Isn't it supposed to be about making it interesting for said tosser's to get interested in international league and not just geared toward the diehard fan ? If it is I don't see us doing too much to get the casual fan interested.

I'll slightly rephrase. Any "RL die-hard" who doesn't even know about the WC, obviously isn't a RL die-hard in any sense of the word. The WC was advertised at *EVERY* NRL game this year. I can understand if they didn't care, but the original poster made it sound like they didn't even know it was on.

 

[Parra]

I disagree, and if i were organising world cups for any sport except soccer - including basketball, cricket, baseball, ice hockey etc - i would have a look at the format we have used.
Soccer is the only sport who can put 16 or 24 competitive nations together.

Hype & spin aside - how many teams do you really think can win a soccer world cup? There are an elite few at the top - that's what makes them elite.

 

[yakstorm]

The nature of soccer makes it a bit easier to have 'weaker' teams up against stronger teams and produce a competitive result. With a bit of luck and some solid defence it isn't impossible to limit top sides to one or two goals, and if a 'weaker' side gets some luck with their shots, an upset can occur, so yeah they've got a plus on most other sports just on the structure of their game.

Anyway onto this League World Cup, yes it was meant to get the casuals involved, and it has, I know a lot of friends of mine who I never speak about League to, have made comments about games in this tournament, in particular those involving Ireland, but the main thing was convincing the League public that the World Cup is a worthwhile venture.

Over 4 million people in Australia have an active interest in League, we know that on ticket sales, TV ratings, merchandise sales, memberships and so on. It's not a small market, but it was a market that was reluctant to get behind international competition... I think this tournament has started to put the wheels in motion and getting people to as said above, realise there is more to the game than the NRL.

 

[Parra]

The nature of soccer makes it a bit easier to have 'weaker' teams up against stronger teams and produce a competitive result. With a bit of luck and some solid defence it isn't impossible to limit top sides to one or two goals, and if a 'weaker' side gets some luck with their shots, an upset can occur, so yeah they've got a plus on most other sports just on the structure of their game.

It is a false illusion that has resulted in more crowd tension and misplaced angst than any real world cup upsets. I am not talking about qualifiers, or the odd pool match, but genuine upsets. Cameroon & the Aussies have come closest recently - by closest I mean about as close as Scotland are to winning this RL world cup.

 

[XIII]

I disagree, and if i were organising world cups for any sport except soccer - including basketball, cricket, baseball, ice hockey etc - i would have a look at the format we have used.
Soccer is the only sport who can put 16 or 24 competitive nations together.

it is a farce. there will be a sh*t team playing in the semi's and png would hav e easily beaten all of them.

 

[Parra]

it is a farce. there will be a sh*t team playing in the semi's and png would hav e easily beaten all of them.

Exactly. PNG have been ripped off & treated like cannon fodder. The rigged draw that ensured PNG would not make the finals is the biggest farce of the world cup.

 

[Pig Champion]

Exactly. PNG have been ripped off & treated like cannon fodder. The rigged draw that ensured PNG would not make the finals is the biggest farce of the world cup.

We await tonights score. It may prove you are correct, it may give you a moment to reflect on how right you always think you are.

 

[Parra]

We await tonights score. It may prove you are correct, it may give you a moment to reflect on how right you always think you are.

No need to dodge the issue. I've posted my bet in the punters forum. I don't expect everyone to have a punt, but if you want to make an issue about how right you are, post something definitive here.

 

[deluded pom?]

I disagree, and if i were organising world cups for any sport except soccer - including basketball, cricket, baseball, ice hockey etc - i would have a look at the format we have used.
Soccer is the only sport who can put 16 or 24 competitive nations together.

I was talking to a guy at work about the two WCs (soccer and RL) and I mentioned that until about 1974 there were only about three teams in with a shout of winning the soccer version. They being West Germany, Brazil, Italy. Then Argentina were also rans and came to the fore on the back of hosting the competition in 1978 (and making the final after a very dubious 6-0 win against Peru) and the emergence of the best player I've ever seen. France were a nothing team then and only began their rise (and subsequent fall) in the '80's. England had had their moment of glory eight years earlier when they were the hosts. Now you'd still only name five teams in with a realistic chance of winning the soccer WC whenever it comes around even though soccer is THE global game with money to burn. In the '70's the African teams were classed as a joke and I remember the derision the Scottish team were welcomed back home with after they could only beat Zaire 2-0 in 1974 thus ensuring the Jocks were out of the competition. Now the Africans are taken very seriously by the rest of the soccer world because they have learnt how to compete at the top level by continually being ALLOWED to compete against the "big boys"and getting their best players into the top leagues worldwide. What I'm getting at is that FIFA can see the advantages of their WC not just in financial terms but also in terms of growing the sport worldwide. FIFA grasped the nettle years ago and are now reaping the benefits. Isn't it time the RLIF did something similar?

 

[Perth Red]

I'd suggest this will prove to be the best WC ever.

Biggest Profit, Biggest crowds, Most even groupings etc

Lets face it what other RL tournament will ever be beamed to 125 countries?

 

[vlad]

the games played in Adelaide & Perth were great for spreading the great game across our nation .