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Rugby League is in the greatest shape ever. (Discuss)

T-Boon

T-Boon

Coach
Messages
15,890
Chins get the wins said:
The type of football being played is the best since the early to mid 2000's.

The one problem I have is the illusion of trying to make this sport "safe". It's always been a game for tough merkins and meatheads. I understand why the NRL have to be perceived as making the game safer but the actual fans of the game enjoy violence.
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That is why i say we need to change the type of fan we have. Idiots.
 
Canard

Canard

Immortal
Messages
35,615
soc123_au said:
Pretty much just about taking inspiration from Penrith re just getting on with it and not looking for excuses when key players are out, replacements stepping in and just fitting into the role.
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Kevvie beats last years bottom 4 side and thinks he is a Super Coach.
 
C

colly

Juniors
Messages
1,075
AlwaysGreen said:
So the discussions was are we in the best shape ever.

Coming out of super league we were Rebel Wilson, then we had a long period of Yvonne Sampson, now we're at Emilia Clarke.

Our aim should be Sydney Sweeney.
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I can get on board with that!
 
Reflector

Reflector

Bench
Messages
2,541
At the start of 1995, the future for Rugby League in Australia had never looked better- record crowds/ TV figures/ distribution figures of both the (then) publications exclusively covering the game. On top of that, 4 new teams were coming in- 2 that were designed to further solidify RL as the #1 code in Qld, the other two designed to create further inroads into areas that were heartlands of the rival codes. The AFL were genuinely concerned about what the ARL was doing, and the optimism of the moment is very much captured in this ad, the last of the Tina Turner campaigns:

Then for a number of reasons (much of it to do with self-interest taking priority over thinking about what was good for the code as a whole) the war broke out and destroyed all the momentum gained over the previous decade. It must rank as one of the biggest cases of a wasted opportunity in the history of Australian sport. During the dark days of the late 90's/ early 2000's with the negative publicity about the codes' future, clubs merging/ folding, looking back at the peak Winfield Cup years there was a real sense of "what if" and people wondered if RL would ever get another chance to be as big as it was in Australia until April Fools' Day 1995...

We'd have a chuckle at the arrogance and grandiose visions of the AFL administration ("we'll become the #1 code in every state"/ "all people have to do is see one game and they'll be converted"/ "International AFL is set to take off"). At the same time, it was hard not to feel at least a little bit envious of a rival code where the decision makers had a clear passion for the product they were in charge of and a real desire to grow their game as big as they could.

Since Vlandys has taken the reigns, it feels as if RL in this country (and in the Pacific nations) could get a second chance at kicking on like it was meant to in 1995. He's already demonstrated during his tenure running NSW Racing that he's a big picture guy who puts his money where his mouth is. Once again, we have 4 NRL teams in Qld (and already talking about the next additions), Origin is played in every mainland state, NRL in Vegas has become an actual thing, and rather than being mothballed or talked down constantly, expansion is spoken about to the extent we're not talking about if we had a 20-team competition- but when- and who those teams will be- and how many more after that?

Subjectively, while I'm not claiming Vlandys has got it right every time, I can't recall another time since the immediate pre SL years where I really believed RL could go to a whole new level in Australia and abroad. It's a welcome change.
 
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Dark Corner

Dark Corner

Juniors
Messages
1,610
Reflector said:
At the start of 1995, the future for Rugby League in Australia had never looked better- record crowds/ TV figures/ distribution figures of both the (then) publications exclusively covering the game. On top of that, 4 new teams were coming in- 2 that were designed to further solidify RL as the #1 code in Qld, the other two designed to create further inroads into areas that were heartlands of the rival codes. The AFL were genuinely concerned about what the ARL was doing, and the optimism of the moment is very much captured in this ad, the last of the Tina Turner campaigns:

Then for a number of reasons (much of it to do with self-interest taking priority over thinking about what was good for the code as a whole) the war broke out and destroyed all the momentum gained over the previous decade. It must rank as one of the biggest cases of a wasted opportunity in the history of Australian sport. During the dark days of the late 90's/ early 2000's with the negative publicity about the codes' future, clubs merging/ folding, looking back at the peak Winfield Cup years there was a real sense of "what if" and people wondered if RL would ever get another chance to be as big as it was in Australia until April Fools' Day 1995...

We'd have a chuckle at the arrogance and grandiose visions of the AFL administration ("we'll become the #1 code in every state"/ "all people have to do is see one game and they'll be converted"/ "International AFL is set to take off"). At the same time, it was hard not to feel at least a little bit envious of a rival code where the decision makers had a clear passion for the product they were in charge of and a real desire to grow their game as big as they could.

Since Vlandys has taken the reigns, it feels as if RL in this country (and in the Pacific nations) could get a second chance at kicking on like it was meant to in 1995. He's already demonstrated during his tenure running NSW Racing that he's a big picture guy who puts his money where his mouth is. Once again, we have 4 NRL teams in Qld (and already talking about the next additions), Origin is played in every mainland state, NRL in Vegas has become an actual thing, and rather than being mothballed or talked down constantly, expansion is spoken about to the extent we're not talking about if we had a 20-team competition- but when- and who those teams will be- and how many more after that?

Subjectively, while I'm not claiming Vlandys has got it right every time, I can't recall another time since the immediate pre SL years where I really believed RL could go to a whole new level in Australia and abroad. It's a welcome change.
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I made the pilgrimage to Australia in 1999/2000 and wish I didn't as it was still in the Super League war and yet people still talked about the game but without passion and it was more Sydney Swans, Wallabies and Man U etc .
The game had odd good crowds alongside seeing loads of people playing Touch comps as well as beach Footy but going to the 2000 opener was so depressing with just over 60,000 fans in Stadium Australia comapared to 104583 in 1999.
I don't notice the game getting more popular from in my eyes 2002 season on wards and with the Warriors getting to the final and then seeing Manly come back as it's own entity and have been hooked again since then aprt from the Storm and the wrestle but gee the this year and last year has really upped the ante.
 
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