Please Don't sack Seibold

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

I'm not arguing that they didn't, it is not good for the game though to have them (and I'll throw the Bulldogs in there too as two of the biggest NRL fan bases) at the bottom of the ladder and not even close to the pace of the comp.

This isn't professional wrestling where everything is choreographed in the locker room to ensure the biggest draw gets the win.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

The rest of the comp is very happy with where the news Corp Broncos are. If only Melbourne could hurry up and do the same.

The two most vile clubs are the ones who owe their success to News Corp.

Between 1998 and 2012 News Ltd funnelled an extra $75,000,000 to the Storm on top of what they already got to run their day to day operations, allowing them to gain a significant advantage over every other team. When News Ltd signed away their stake in the game and with the Storm, they made the ARLC agree to funnel $26.5 million into the Storm over six years. That's $101,500,000 in total on top of what they were getting to run their club. No wonder they have been in the top 4 every year.

Does anyone else think this is fishy?

News had a 50% stake in the game and owned Foxtel. They made a killing from RL fans in Queensland and NSW who subscribed to Foxtel to watch their team. The profits they made from these subscriptions were more or less funnelled into News Ltd's team so they would gain an unfair advantage.

It makes me livid. To rub it in even more, this vile club cheated the cap for years and when exposed, continued to do so by having Smith, Cronk and Slater in their team. There is no way they could have fit them under the cap in 2011 and those blokes would never play for peanuts. Their grubby tactics have forced two players into retirement and hurt numerous others. They have the dumbest and most obnoxious fan base in the world. I am a Queenslander and I hate the guts of grubs like Slater and Smith. My favourite moment was when Smith got whacked in the nuts at Kogorah. Pity Slater didn't get one.

 

[ayatollah_murdoch]

I sold the club for a pittance. I actually lost money on the storm and now NRL want market rates for their tv product.

News' generosity is wasted on you plebs.

 

[reanimate]

The Donkeys are on fire at the moment:

Brisbane Broncos accidentally name retired NRL player John Hopoate for Storm clash

The under-fire Brisbane Broncos have their fair share of headaches to deal with at the moment, but unfortunately a little mistake with their round 11 teams announcement didn't go unnoticed.

Some eagle-eyed fans and media noted that in the Broncos' round 11 team list they initially included John Hopoate in the line-up.

Problem is, the controversial former Manly Sea Eagles and Wests Tigers player hasn't played in the NRL since 2005.


"If you thought things couldn't get any worse for the Broncos, they're now picking players who have been retired 15 years," rugby league legend Wally Lewis said on Nine News Queensland's sports bulletin.

"In an embarrassing social media stuff-up John Hopoate was named on the bench to face the Storm on Friday night instead of his son, Jamil."


Lewis could see the funny side of the error though, and backed 25-year-old back-rower Jamil Hopoate to deliver off the bench for the injury-hit Broncos in a tough match-up against Melbourne.

"I'm sure that will inspire Jamil. He'll have a great game, no doubt about it," Lewis said.

The NRL on Tuesday apologised to the Broncos over yesterday's mistake which was simply part of an "unknown coding issue" according to league headquarters.

 

[Mr Angry]

Ten year plan, keep the man.

I agree with the OP.

 

[SLRBRONCOS]

The Donkeys are on fire at the moment:

To be any chance on Friday we will need to start fingering

 

[hineyrulz]

The two most vile clubs are the ones who owe their success to News Corp.

Between 1998 and 2012 News Ltd funnelled an extra $75,000,000 to the Storm on top of what they already got to run their day to day operations, allowing them to gain a significant advantage over every other team. When News Ltd signed away their stake in the game and with the Storm, they made the ARLC agree to funnel $26.5 million into the Storm over six years. That's $101,500,000 in total on top of what they were getting to run their club. No wonder they have been in the top 4 every year.

Does anyone else think this is fishy?

News had a 50% stake in the game and owned Foxtel. They made a killing from RL fans in Queensland and NSW who subscribed to Foxtel to watch their team. The profits they made from these subscriptions were more or less funnelled into News Ltd's team so they would gain an unfair advantage.

It makes me livid. To rub it in even more, this vile club cheated the cap for years and when exposed, continued to do so by having Smith, Cronk and Slater in their team. There is no way they could have fit them under the cap in 2011 and those blokes would never play for peanuts. Their grubby tactics have forced two players into retirement and hurt numerous others. They have the dumbest and most obnoxious fan base in the world. I am a Queenslander and I hate the guts of grubs like Slater and Smith. My favourite moment was when Smith got whacked in the nuts at Kogorah. Pity Slater didn't get one.

^^^^^^^^^ This, soooooooo much this.

 

[hineyrulz]

The Donkeys are on fire at the moment:

Well he couldn’t play any worse than Dawwwwwwwwius.

 

[Canard]

The two most vile clubs are the ones who owe their success to News Corp.

Between 1998 and 2012 News Ltd funnelled an extra $75,000,000 to the Storm on top of what they already got to run their day to day operations, allowing them to gain a significant advantage over every other team. When News Ltd signed away their stake in the game and with the Storm, they made the ARLC agree to funnel $26.5 million into the Storm over six years. That's $101,500,000 in total on top of what they were getting to run their club. No wonder they have been in the top 4 every year.

Does anyone else think this is fishy?

News had a 50% stake in the game and owned Foxtel. They made a killing from RL fans in Queensland and NSW who subscribed to Foxtel to watch their team. The profits they made from these subscriptions were more or less funnelled into News Ltd's team so they would gain an unfair advantage.

It makes me livid. To rub it in even more, this vile club cheated the cap for years and when exposed, continued to do so by having Smith, Cronk and Slater in their team. There is no way they could have fit them under the cap in 2011 and those blokes would never play for peanuts. Their grubby tactics have forced two players into retirement and hurt numerous others. They have the dumbest and most obnoxious fan base in the world. I am a Queenslander and I hate the guts of grubs like Slater and Smith. My favourite moment was when Smith got whacked in the nuts at Kogorah. Pity Slater didn't get one.

The Storm have nothing to do with News anymore, and are the ONLY club outside League heartland in the comp. There average crowds shit on most Sydney clubs and they have strong corporate support.

Their importance cannot be understated, only a short sighted simpleton would argue that.

 

[Sphagnum]

Bahaha as a Souths fan who had to watch years of misery and whose club has a huge fan base, go to hell.

6 bad weeks and everyone's crying for the Broncos.

Not everyone. In fact I’d say barely anyone

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

The Storm have nothing to do with News anymore, and are the ONLY club outside League heartland in the comp. There average crowds shit on most Sydney clubs and they have strong corporate support.

Their importance cannot be understated, only a short sighted simpleton would argue that.

Let’s see how they go when they’re not dominating the competition year after year.

They are in a city of 5 million yet their crowds are under 20 thousand. Compare that to the Lions who got more to their games when they were cellar dwellers for the best part of 15 years in a city half the size.

Storm have never been cellar dwellers, but when they missed the finals in the early 2000s their crowds dropped to 9,000. Their FTA TV ratings in Melbourne metro are less than what the Lions draw in Brisbane.

 

[Canard]

Let’s see how they go when they’re not dominating the competition year after year.

They are in a city of 5 million yet their crowds are under 20 thousand. Compare that to the Lions who got more to their games when they were cellar dwellers for the best part of 15 years in a city half the size.

Storm have never been cellar dwellers, but when they missed the finals in the early 2000s their crowds dropped to 9,000. Their FTA TV ratings in Melbourne metro are less than what the Lions draw in Brisbane.

Hypothetical's are fun.

The Storm have consistently been in the top half of NRL crowd attendance since they moved to AAMI Park a decade ago, in a non-Rugby League state. And their TV ratings are great for our game and add real value to any broadcast contract. Every team in the NRL pales in comparison to AFL crowds, so I don't understand why you would consider that to be any metric.

They have been privately owned for the better part of a Decade now, and are strategically important to our game.

 

[moffla]

Let’s see how they go when they’re not dominating the competition year after year.

They are in a city of 5 million yet their crowds are under 20 thousand. Compare that to the Lions who got more to their games when they were cellar dwellers for the best part of 15 years in a city half the size.

Storm have never been cellar dwellers, but when they missed the finals in the early 2000s their crowds dropped to 9,000. Their FTA TV ratings in Melbourne metro are less than what the Lions draw in Brisbane.

@Canard hit the nail on the head. You're scraping the bottom of the barrel if you need to go back to our first few years of existence to point out that our crowds dropped for a season or two.

The fact is the club now has over 22k members (Would have surpassed 25k yet again if not for COVID). Now if you told me that 10 years ago I'd have laughed. 15 years ago, channel 9 wouldn't show NRL until about 11.30pm. Now it's on at prime time with healthy ratings. How is this not good for Rugby League?

I don't get why you and so many are desperate to see the Storm fail off the field. It would be of detriment to the competition. The fact an NRL club has made a serious impression in AFL heartland should be celebrated not ridiculed.

 

[blaza88z]

@Canard hit the nail on the head. You're scraping the bottom of the barrel if you need to go back to our first few years of existence to point out that our crowds dropped for a season or two.

The fact is the club now has over 22k members (Would have surpassed 25k yet again if not for COVID). Now if you told me that 10 years ago I'd have laughed. 15 years ago, channel 9 wouldn't show NRL until about 11.30pm. Now it's on at prime time with healthy ratings. How is this not good for Rugby League?

I don't get why you and so many are desperate to see the Storm fail off the field. It would be of detriment to the competition. The fact an NRL club has made a serious impression in AFL heartland should be celebrated not ridiculed.

He just wants to see the Storm fail, on or off the field, those years of relentless pummeling have gotten the better of him and that's all there is to it.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

Hypothetical's are fun.

The Storm have consistently been in the top half of NRL crowd attendance since they moved to AAMI Park a decade ago, in a non-Rugby League state. And their TV ratings are great for our game and add real value to any broadcast contract. Every team in the NRL pales in comparison to AFL crowds, so I don't understand why you would consider that to be any metric.

They have been privately owned for the better part of a Decade now, and are strategically important to our game.

Melbourne calls itself the sports capital of the world. Brisbane doesn't. So you would expect the Storm to get better crowds than the Lions. They don't.

Queensland is not a fumbleball state. Its team was on the bottom of the ladder for 1 and a half decades. Storm in the top 4 during that time, in "sports capital of the world" Melbourne. Lions still light years ahead of Storm in terms of crowds, ratings and grassroots.

Only 3,500 people play the game in Victoria. I'd hate to see what will happen to RL in the state when the NRL stop rigging the competition to get the Storm in the top 4 each year.

Or do you plan on doing this crap for another 20 years for no net benefit?

Imagine the benefits of having the Warriors in the top 4 each year for 20 years?

The game's profile in NZ would be far higher, more people would play it and the quality of the NRL would be better and in a stroger position to expand, the NZ Kiwis would be far stronger and Kiwis vs Kangaroos Tests would probably be nearing Bledislow Cup status in terms of importance. A second and third team in Brisbane would bring far more money into the game and severely hurt our competitors. So would a second and third team in NZ.

But let's focus on Melbourne for almost a quarter of a centuey with a team that draws what, 25,000-35,000 viewers in Melbourne metro on FTA and inspired just 3,500 players across the state to play the game, none of which can cut it in the NRL. And all it took was a team that never loses because the NRL have it rigged that way. What a wise investment.

 

[Canard]

Melbourne calls itself the sports capital of the world. Brisbane doesn't. So you would expect the Storm to get better crowds than the Lions. They don't.

Queensland is not a fumbleball state. Its team was on the bottom of the ladder for 1 and a half decades. Storm in the top 4 during that time, in "sports capital of the world" Melbourne. Lions still light years ahead of Storm in terms of crowds, ratings and grassroots.

Only 3,500 people play the game in Victoria. I'd hate to see what will happen to RL in the state when the NRL stop rigging the competition to get the Storm in the top 4 each year.

Or do you plan on doing this crap for another 20 years for no net benefit?

Imagine the benefits of having the Warriors in the top 4 each year for 20 years?

The game's profile in NZ would be far higher, more people would play it and the quality of the NRL would be better and in a stroger position to expand, the NZ Kiwis would be far stronger and Kiwis vs Kangaroos Tests would probably be nearing Bledislow Cup status in terms of importance. A second and third team in Brisbane would bring far more money into the game and severely hurt our competitors. So would a second and third team in NZ.

But let's focus on Melbourne for almost a quarter of a centuey with a team that draws what, 25,000-35,000 viewers in Melbourne metro on FTA and inspired just 3,500 players across the state to play the game, none of which can cut it in the NRL. And all it took was a team that never loses because the NRL have it rigged that way. What a wise investment.

You're obviously new to the game if you think the Kiwis and International League, is less competitive then the Bledisloe Cup. NZ has one RL World Cup and Tonga emerged as a major force in the 20 years since Australia won anything in Union, including that tinpot Cup.

Melbourne's existence doesn't preclude new teams in NZ or Brisbane.

How is 3500 juniors in a non-League state bad???

And as for your assertion that Melbourne should have bigger crowds then 75% of the Sydney teams "because", horsehit.

The 25000 TV viewers claim, horseshit.

Your pettiness and immature approach has blinded you to what's best for our game.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

He just wants to see the Storm fail, on or off the field, those years of relentless pummeling have gotten the better of him and that's all there is to it.

I want the RL to go back to being a legitimate sport. Not professional wrestling. The 6 again rule brought in by PVL illustrated what Melbourne robbed RL fans from seeing over the last years. Attacking RL at its best. Melbourne turned it into a snore-a-thon.

The only reason you're defending these cheating pricks from Melbourne is because your mob is cut from the same cloth. Brisbane and Melbourne. The 2 protected species.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

I want the RL to go back to being a legitimate sport. Not professional wrestling. The 6 again rule brought in by PVL illustrated what Melbourne robbed RL fans from seeing over the last years. Attacking RL at its best. Melbourne turned it into a snore-a-thon.

The only reason you're defending these cheating pricks from Melbourne is because your mob is cut from the same cloth. Brisbane and Melbourne. The 2 protected species.

I also tend to see Melbourne as some kind of Frankenstein club.

Their games are usually boring and it’s same old.

I liked them for a short time, but then I found out they cheated.

I’d prefer a Permanent nsw country side or reinstate the Bears.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

You're obviously new to the game if you think the Kiwis and International League, is less competitive then the Bledisloe Cup. NZ has one RL World Cup and Tonga emerged as a major force in the 20 years since Australia won anything in Union, including that tinpot Cup.

Melbourne's existence doesn't preclude new teams in NZ or Brisbane.

How is 3500 juniors in a non-League state bad???

And as for your assertion that Melbourne should have bigger crowds then 75% of the Sydney teams "because", horsehit.

The 25000 TV viewers claim, horseshit.

Your pettiness and immature approach has blinded you to what's best for our game.

I've been watching the game for almost 30 years.

I am aware of NZ's triumphs in the 2005 TriNations, 2008 World Cup and 2010 Four Nations. There was another Four Nations tournament they won, was it 2014?

I was at the GF of the 2008 World Cup 2010 Four Nations.

I remember thr fever for RL in NZ in 2011, the year they held the RU World Cup, when the Warriors made the NRL GF. That shows how much potential there is in NZRL if they're given a chance to grow.

My point about Kiwis vs Kangaroos Tests, is despite them being more completitive than the Bloodyslow, they haven't won over the market like Origin and Bloodyslow. I believe they can become as big as both or close to it, with the right promotion and investment. It will require NZ beating Australia regularly at Test level and dominating the NRL with 2 or 3 teams, but it can be done and it will bear more fruit than Melbourne has produced. It will also grow the game across the Pacific.

I am not against a Melbourne team. I oppose the favouritism they get to ensure they win all the time. There is no justification for it. I will get the ratings foe you. Give me a sec.

 

[Get Rid of The Donkeys]

https://pythagonrl.com/2020/04/06/e...-about-nrl-tv-ratings-but-were-afraid-to-ask/

The Storm average about 35,000 on FTA between 2017 and 2019. I've seen OzTam ratings for this year showing them to be around 25,000.