Rugby League is "a violent game played principally by cretins"

[Banana Peel]

You're drawing an exceptionally long bow to try and pin that one on a culture problem in the AFL.

It's not such a long bow.

He said the time he devoted to his role as an assistant coach caused a disconnect with his son.

But, yes. AFL culture is as much to blame for that as sexual assault, general thuggery and drug dealing are to be blamed on an individual playing rugby league.

Which is to say, not much at all.

 

[hutch]

Pathetic article, no other code get smashed by the media like rugby league does on a annual basis. Other codes have there fair share of demons yet are kept in the closet by there media while rugby league everything is out in the open and criticized constantly. Without a doubt, rugby league media love to eat there own and bring down the code for there own gain.

Rugby league has the most negative media in all of sport.

That's it, we rarely have anybody actually defend our sport against wankers such as this because the stays RL journos are also sticking the boot in. I remember news limited allowed a full page opinion piece a few years ago by Paul Pottinger titled 'rugby league is not a sport, it's an abomination'! I have never bought the Tele since and my life is better for it. No other sport is forced to put up with this except rugby league.

 

[Perth Red]

We are not forced to put up with it, we choose to. The lack of influence on the media the NRL exerts is an embarrassment.

 

[TheFrog]

Yes, I agree that the crowd at Lords are better dressed and behaved then a crowd at a Bulldogs game.

Can you imagine the winning Rabbitohs side being able to walk past the Bulldog army after last year's grand final, a la Lords?

 

[Canard]

That's cricket.

The violence and hooliganism associated with English soccer is beyond disgraceful.

The cursory reference to this, to try to imply balance, belies the "troll" nature of the article.

On any scale League puts soccer crowd behavior to shame.

 

[Perth Red]

League has always had a great reputation for its fan behaviour, no need for segregation at a RL stadium!

Soccer appeals primarily to 15-40 year old blokes so no surprise the testosterone fuelled crowd kicks off at times. RL has always attracted more women and families so has been a much more fan friendly environment. I've taken my friends little kids to RL games but would never dream of taking them to a soccer match, even now a days.

Having said that RL in England back in the 80's sometimes got pretty ugly at some grounds. Remember the battle of Boulevard when hull and hull KR fans kicked off big style. Thankfully it is very rare and we don't tolerate it when occasionally it starts to rear its head.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Err, the golf at St Andrew's? London wasn't in Scotland last I checked. But hey this toff isnt going to let facts get in the way of a looking down his nose rant.

The SKD stuff actually disgusts me, the flippancy he has over a man who is at this stage to be presumed innocent

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

Leave it to some no name journalist expat to write the most high horse article of the year. Give him a top hat and he is an A grade toffhead.

 

[Usain Bolt]

Buzz Rothfield ghost wrote this article

 

[STORM.99/07]

At least in league we don`t have fences separating opposition supporters.
We don`t have to have police escorts to the game.
We don`t have to enter on one side of the ground while the oppositions enters from the other end.
This journo is just a tosser.

 

[Masoe_eats_babies]

Is this guy serious? I sit here in England and laugh at some of the minor crowd controversies NRL fans get bent out of shape over. :lol:

Drunken behaviour and violence is far more prevalent over here than it is in Aus when it comes to sports. Football is serious business.

Whoever wrote this is a clueless f**k and a propagandist. I mean, his point is that England is some haven from good sporting behaviour, but then in the second part he argues that the worst of Australian sportsman go and play in England because they're effectively outed from the NRL? His argument is self defeating. It makes no sense. In short, he's a genius.

 

[Masoe_eats_babies]

It's amazing Rugby League's hatred in parts of the media means that everythime there is a latest atrocity, some journo I have never heard of uses it as a justification to rehash every scandal over the past 10 years...

Does this happen in any other sport?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's unashamed classism. Most criticisms leveled at rugby league and its culture are thinly veiled attacks on the working class.

It happens to predominately working class sports in all countries. In England, it's football that draws criticism as a thugs game because that's the working class sport of choice. In Canada, I'm sure hockey is seen as a thugs game. In America I'm sure it's somewhat similar but at the same time slightly different on account of racism being the big social issue - I would guess sports with high black participation, namely American football and basketball, are regarded as the knuckle dragging sports for thugs and scumbags.

I would be surprised if you can find a popular working class sport in some country that doesn't have a similar reputation for thuggery. I'm sure there are a couple but I bet they're an exception rather than the rule.

If badminton was the most popular working class sport in Wales I bet it would get a bad reputation :lol:

 

[Tenacious Titans]

total f*ckwit, nuff said

edit: just watched some of his so called 'financial reviews' on youtube, this guy tries so hard to be funny.

 

[adamkungl]

Speaking of cretins http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showthread.php?t=448105

 

[Cockadoodledoo]

In America I'm sure it's somewhat similar but at the same time slightly different on account of racism being the big social issue - I would guess sports with high black participation, namely American football and basketball, are regarded as the knuckle dragging sports for thugs and scumbags.

Go to the NFL forum, you have to have near genius IQ to play the game.

 

[WireMan]

"No matter their misdemeanours, the sport's ecosystem simply ships its disgraced halfwits off to England to rehabilitate in obscurity."

Can't argue with that.

Except he then used Greg Bird as an example who of course played in France.

Err, the golf at St Andrew's? London wasn't in Scotland last I checked. But hey this toff isnt going to let facts get in the way of a looking down his nose rant.

The SKD stuff actually disgusts me, the flippancy he has over a man who is at this stage to be presumed innocent

I don't know where he was coming from here. London is the best because of golf at St Andrews, and motor racing at Silverstone?

To be honest, I don't actually believe the writer has been to London.

If he has been, or is in London now then he needs a new career.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

Go to the NFL forum, you have to have near genius IQ to play the game.

He's talking about perception, not reality.

I'd say he's pretty spot on too. I knew someone who went to a US uni where basketball was huge and she had pretty poor opinions of the guys on sporting scholarships there.

 

[LeagueXIII]

Didn't a union player in nz get charged with rape this week

 

[Jason Maher]

League should takes notes from the AFL. A game for true gentlemen.

 

[some11]

Go to the NFL forum, you have to have near genius IQ to play the game.

Ihear they're only accepting potential SpaceX recruits now..