The Las Vegas Thread

[Iamback]

I'll judge it in 4 years, if it has actually achieved anything sustainable.

Fair play though they are throwing a lot of time and money at year 1 and doing it well. Though Im more interested to see if 2023 grassroots funding has been restored when the annual report comes out tbh. Thats far more impacting on Australian rugby league than Vegas.

Lets see if its another flash in the pan that will be laughed about in 20 years the way origin in the states was or afl in china, or if it actually leads to something for the game.

Grass roots funding means nothing, how it is spent is more important

 

[The Great Dane]

Id seriously question that!

Then you'd be seriously clueless and stuck in the past.

Quality athletes are regularly switching sports and having success these days. It's all about mindset and having the right people around you. People with that unteachable determination to succeed, discipline, and good coaching, can make it in most any sport, body permitting.

If anything there'd be more chance if we were to have 20 high schools take up RL programs and bring kids through from there into NRL backed USA clubs. Then scouting at 18-20.

That's a fantasy.

The NRL's no position to pull that sort of thing off in the US, nor do any of the local clubs have the means or expertise to support it.

Maybe in the future, and with tens of millions of investment, there's zero chance of that being a realistic option in the foreseeable future.

 

[Iamback]

Looking forward to PR, Canard and the other flog telling us what a horrible thing for Rugby League this is.

You can set your watch to it.

The instant something positive for the game is announced. Out they come

 

[Gobsmacked]

Then you'd be seriously clueless and stuck in the past.

Quality athletes are regularly switching sports and having success these days. It's all about mindset and having the right people around you. People with that unteachable determination to succeed, discipline, and good coaching, can make it in most any sport, body permitting.

That's a fantasy.

The NRL's no position to pull that sort of thing off in the US, nor do any of the local clubs have the means or expertise to support it.

Maybe in the future, and with tens of millions of investment, there's zero chance of that being a realistic option in the foreseeable future.

I think you've sniffed enough of your own farts for one day pal, have a lay down.

 

[The Great Dane]

Grass roots funding means nothing, how it is spent is more important

RL is functionally extinct in the grassroots in most of country NSW at this point. It's the smallest participation sport of any of the football codes in the ACT, and it's male participation is trending downwards. Outside of NSW and Qld it's a farce.

Chronic underfunding and uncompetitive practices is a major contributing factor to all of that, and things will only get worse if it isn't addressed sooner rather than later. The NRL sides coming in and strip mining the best talent for their elite pathways isn't good enough.

 

[Harry O]

Hey Yak any updates on sales???

 

[Perth Red]

Grass roots funding means nothing, how it is spent is more important

You cant spend, rightly or worngly, what you dont have.
Stripping $40million out of grassroots is bound to have a negative impact on an already stressed part of our game.

 

[The Great Dane]

I think you've sniffed enough of your own farts for one day pal, have a lay down.

How about you go f**k yourself, you failed abortion.

Nothing I said was incorrect. Address what was said or f**k off.

 

[Iamback]

RL is functionally extinct in the grassroots in most of country NSW at this point. It's the smallest participation sport of any of the football codes in the ACT, and it's male participation is trending downwards. Outside of NSW and Qld it's a farce.

Chronic underfunding and uncompetitive practices is a major contributing factor to all of that, and things will only get worse if it isn't addressed sooner rather than later. The NRL sides coming in and strip mining the best talent for their elite pathways isn't good enough.

It is trending down in teenagers full stop. Girls, part time work etc are reasons money can't fix

Throw in older people moving for a tree change and they aren't going to play the game.

Better off with a targetted approach as is happening

 

[Perth Red]

Then you'd be seriously clueless and stuck in the past.

Quality athletes are regularly switching sports and having success these days. It's all about mindset and having the right people around you. People with that unteachable determination to succeed, discipline, and good coaching, can make it in most any sport, body permitting.

Is there? In any significant number? Can you give examples, not just one or two, but ten or twenty at any one time?

At the top level very very few kids who've played the game all their life make it, to think someone can switch at 20plus and because they are very fit/strong and can develop the skills and game day nous at the top level in a year or two is extremely optimistic id suggest.

I am struggling to think of any other the sporadic rare case, and many of them were exposed to the other sport at earlier life in some way.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

I'll judge it in 4 years, if it has actually achieved anything sustainable.

Fair play though they are throwing a lot of time and money at year 1 and doing it well. Though Im more interested to see if 2023 grassroots funding has been restored when the annual report comes out tbh. Thats far more impacting on Australian rugby league than Vegas.

Lets see if its another flash in the pan that will be laughed about in 20 years the way origin in the states was or afl in china, or if it actually leads to something for the game.

Rugby league fan here folks.

 

[Iamback]

You cant spend, rightly or worngly, what you dont have.
Stripping $40million out of grassroots is bound to have a negative impact on an already stressed part of our game.

The clubs stepped in. Part of the 130% of the cap

Storm are running a 17's, 19's and u21's

They running it with NRL Victoria, It makes zero sense for the NRL to step in and run their own program.

It is easier for the school for example to just contact the Storm/NRL Victoria person and organise a clinic.

Or to have the one organisation contact them, If a school has said no or has something planned. To then have an NRL person call them to organise something is a waste of resources

 

[The Great Dane]

It is trending down in teenagers full stop. Girls, part time work etc are reasons money can't fix

Throw in older people moving for a tree change and they aren't going to play the game.

Better off with a targetted approach as is happening

It's not just teenagers, numbers are down almost across the board in male statistics in most places. On average each new generation of juniors is smaller than the last, and those juniors are where the sport sources the vast majority of it's talent. Less juniors = less athletic talent in the sport = smaller talent pool = less talent to go around in the NRL which causes a whole host of issues.

There is no 'targeted approach', that's just nonsense. Currently the approach is a handful or region where a handful of NRL clubs do some work (mainly just stripping them of all the best talent to feed into their own juniors pathways), and the rest is varying degrees of wasteland. There doesn't seem to be a plan or strategy to address the issue at all frankly, other than the "we can just poach more talent from NZ and the PI's" nonsense.

 

[Perth Red]

It is trending down in teenagers full stop. Girls, part time work etc are reasons money can't fix

Throw in older people moving for a tree change and they aren't going to play the game.

Better off with a targetted approach as is happening

Problem is only area it isnt trending down is in females and thats largely due to coming off a very low base. Teenagers have traditionally left the game in larger numbers, nothing new there. The problem is in local clubs being able to keep the doors open due to rising costs, total stagnation of development officer numbers, and kids choosing better run and funded sports over RL to play in younger years.

League stars was launched in 2019 as our answer to the highly successful auskick. Hows it going? Why isnt the NRL reporting it in annual report? Why does it cost $99 each for kids to do 8 sessions? Is it even still happening? When I try and find a program it doesnt come up with anything?

 

[Perth Red]

The clubs stepped in. Part of the 130% of the cap

Storm are running a 17's, 19's and u21's

They running it with NRL Victoria, It makes zero sense for the NRL to step in and run their own program.

It is easier for the school for example to just contact the Storm/NRL Victoria person and organise a clinic.

Or to have the one organisation contact them, If a school has said no or has something planned. To then have an NRL person call them to organise something is a waste of resources

The grassroots and development funding was never used for elite Jnr pathway programs. That has always come from NSWRL or QRL grants.
Clubs are not funding or running jnr participation or local grassroots clubs/programs.

 

[mozza91]

You can set your watch to it.

The instant something positive for the game is announced. Out they come

They haven’t disappointed. Poor old PR always bringing it back to flogball. The Dane bloke sounds like he’s off his meds.

 

[The Great Dane]

Is there? In any significant number? Can you give examples, not just one or two, but ten or twenty at any one time?

At the top level very very few kids who've played the game all their life make it, to think someone can switch at 20plus and because they are very fit/strong and can develop the skills and game day nous at the top level in a year or two is extremely optimistic id suggest.

I am struggling to think of any other the sporadic rare case, and many of them were exposed to the other sport at earlier life in some way.

The aforementioned Mason Cox (twice), Alexander Volkanovski, Brock Lesnar (multiple times), Jordan Mailata, SBW, Israel Folau etc, etc, ad nauseam.

It happens so often that it'd be impossible to keep track them all without having built a comprehensive record, and most kids that are good at sport and show potential play multiple sports or switch sports regularly during their development these days. In women's sport it's so par for the course that finding a modern professional sport's women that hasn't dabbled in another sport would be more unusual than those that have.

 

[Perth Red]

It's not just teenagers, numbers are down almost across the board in male statistics in most places. On average each new generation of juniors is smaller than the last, and those juniors are where the sport sources the vast majority of it's talent. Less juniors = less athletic talent in the sport = smaller talent pool = less talent to go around in the NRL which causes a whole host of issues.

There is no 'targeted approach', that's just nonsense. Currently the approach is a handful or region where a handful of NRL clubs do some work (mainly just stripping them of all the best talent to feed into their own juniors pathways), and the rest is varying degrees of wasteland. There doesn't seem to be a plan or strategy to address the issue at all frankly, other than the "we can just poach more talent from NZ and the PI's" nonsense.

Doesnt help the ARLC stopped publishing actual player registrations so they cant be held accountable to the decline!

 

[The Great Dane]

They haven’t disappointed. Poor old PR always bringing it back to flogball. The Dane bloke sounds like he’s off his meds.

Pretty weird statement considering that I haven't been negative about the NRL's foray to Las Vegas...

 

[Iamback]

It's not just teenagers, numbers are down almost across the board in male statistics in most places. On average each new generation of juniors is smaller than the last, and those juniors are where the sport sources the vast majority of it's talent. Less juniors = less athletic talent in the sport = smaller talent pool = less talent to go around in the NRL which causes a whole host of issues.

There is no 'targeted approach', that's just nonsense. Currently the approach is a handful or region where a handful of NRL clubs do some work (mainly just stripping them of all the best talent to feed into their own juniors pathways), and the rest is varying degrees of wasteland. There doesn't seem to be a plan or strategy to address the issue at all frankly, other than the "we can just poach more talent from NZ and the PI's" nonsense.

Again look at the changing demographics of the country. We are seeing those from Asian countries aren't coming across to RL.

Those areas still count