The numbers decline of adult men playing Rugby League

[AlwaysGreen]

My cousin who is 45 plays masters rugby league. Open to all ages, you wear different coloured shorts which corresponds to your age. For the younger blokes its full contact, then two handed hold and for the old dudes like him and above touch. No running from dummy half. He loves it.

 

[Frankus]

Interesting. Should the NRL care about how many adults play, and instead focus heavily on Junior participation? You would think doubling junior numbers would naturally increase the adult numbers and those who don't play as adults will more likely remain followers of the game.

The main reason as a number of posters have already said that numbers fall is because life just takes over. Study, girls, jobs, whatever. I've always thought in any sport that the number of kids drops off once kids can get their driver licence and what little numbers that still hung on dwindled even further once of legal drinking age.

You can even see it in junior clubs, and I'm taking this from growing up in SEQ where I played in the 90s. Depending on the club, they will have 4+ teams of kids in U8s and multiple divisions through to U10s (some might be 4 or 5 divisions deep in both North and South regions - so 10 comps) then numbers just start slowly dropping off.

The participants fade to the point where U17s will be lucky to have 2 divisions for the entire Brisbane comp - maybe 20 teams tops. That's maybe 400 young men still playing at age 17 that havent cracked another level. Some will migrate to touch at Whites Hill or somewhere else but most just hang up the boots.

I'm not sure how the NRL can combat kids growing up and taking on other interests - they need to keep people involved from early teens. Who knows, maybe as T-Boon hinted, a permanent 9s comp or something in the juniors.

 

[T-Boon]

The NRL pissing money away by buying touch in Austsralia means jack shit. In every other country on the planet that has touch it has nothing to do with RL. In fact in many countries it is owned, run or affiliated with union.

I've heard union try to claim touch footy. I do not buy it.

1. It was invented by rugby league players in Sydney;
2. Has a play the ball with 5 metre neutral zone;
3. Touch count of 6;
4. Hit ups;
5. No line out, scrum, ruck or maul;
6. No kicking.

Touch footy should be proud of the fact it is further removed from rugby union than rugby league is (not the least in that it has dropped the name "rugby").

As it is going bananas throughout the world, League should do more to own it and in some respects copy it (i.e. generally trying to distinguish itself from boring old rugby union, going back to 5 metre neutral zone, less players on field and no scrums).

 

[Valheru]

Soccer runs 6 a side outdoor and indoor modified rules comps mid-week, year-round.
Cricket has indoor keeping people in the game.

I bet both sports count these players in their participation numbers.

None of the people I know who play weekend full-size soccer and cricket train twice a week on top of this, as far as i know.

Yeah true, the training commitment and load isn't as severe but that has as much to do with venue ability as anything else.

I have no clue whether soccer/cricket include shorter forms and/or indoor variations in their numbers. Either way, we can't discount the participation numbers for the true forms of those sports. The shire for example has ~150 all age male soccer teams across 16 grades with a further (approx) 50 O35 teams as well as around 30 O45 teams. 21s and 18s have their own comps as well. Last summer, cricket had around the 85 mark in terms of senior mens teams in the shire comp. Rugby league is flat out getting 16 teams together over 2 grades.

Having said that, i agree that it doesn't really matter. The vast majority of people i play soccer with or have met through the game are RL fans first and foremost and would much prefer to watch/attend RL over soccer with a good portion of them playing RL as a junior.

RL is just one of those sports that once puberty hits you find out very quickly if you are any good at the game or not and if you aren't, the discrepency in ability is tougher to hide on the field than other sports and the effect it has on your body is less palatable. In other words soccer and cricket can still be fun if you aren't good at it as can oztag and touch.

Someone brought up the NFL and i think it is a pertinent point. The philosophy over there is that if you aren't good enough for high school, college and ultimately the NFL you don't play the game at all as you may as well not bother. I wouldn't want to see as extreme a viewpoint as that here because i would hate to see park league disappear but i also don't see an issue with modest mature aged participation rates given the nature of the sport.

Junior development is another issue and we need more focus and cash there especially for coaching.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

I've heard union try to claim touch footy. I do not buy it.

1. It was invented by rugby league players in Sydney;
2. Has a play the ball with 5 metre neutral zone;
3. Touch count of 6;
4. Hit ups;
5. No line out, scrum, ruck or maul;
6. No kicking.

Touch footy should be proud of the fact it is further removed from rugby union than rugby league is (not the least in that it has dropped the name "rugby").

As it is going bananas throughout the world, League should do more to own it and in some respects copy it (i.e. generally trying to distinguish itself from boring old rugby union, going back to 5 metre neutral zone, less players on field and no scrums).

Touch has done everything to distance itself from RL for years. It's only cash from the idiots running the ARLC that has changed that in this country, and of course nothing has actually been done other than buying it to boost their participation numbers. That's all it was done for after all. VFL is a joke because of its bullshit figures and, as always, this is just the ARLC's way of copying VFL. It's embarrassing. And it's an embarrassment RL's money was spent to create.

 

[umina panther]

@adamkungl have you signed up all your alts to local footy?

 

[T-Boon]

Touch has done everything to distance itself from RL for years.

What the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the NRL should do is stage an NRL touch footy tournament in February 2018 to commemorate the 50 year anniversary of RLs invention of Touch Footy.
Play it at Redfern oval where the first ever TF tournament was held 50 years ago and allow the best touch players in the world (men and women) to enter a draft to be drafted to an NRL side for the tournament.
See whether Fox or a free to air network will support it.

 

[TheVelourFog]

I don't think it's worth wringing the hands over - we needn't worry about the product because the best players will be picked up from a young age anyway, and clearly people don't need to be playing the sport to be fans

 

[Perth Red]

I've heard union try to claim touch footy. I do not buy it.

1. It was invented by rugby league players in Sydney;
2. Has a play the ball with 5 metre neutral zone;
3. Touch count of 6;
4. Hit ups;
5. No line out, scrum, ruck or maul;
6. No kicking.

Touch footy should be proud of the fact it is further removed from rugby union than rugby league is (not the least in that it has dropped the name "rugby").

As it is going bananas throughout the world, League should do more to own it and in some respects copy it (i.e. generally trying to distinguish itself from boring old rugby union, going back to 5 metre neutral zone, less players on field and no scrums).

Union are trying to get their grubby claws on it in a number of countries

 

[Perth Red]

League is brutal and a young mans game. Id like to see a break down in numbers and stop trying to keep 25 plus year olds in the game and instead have transition forms of the game still linked to their clubs for them to progress into when family and work and slowing down of old age gets in the way.

Full contact 17 aside
full contact 9 aside
13 aside tag
touch
Snrs

if every RL club and comp had these options for men and women they may keep people in their clubs and in the game much longer.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

I don't think it's worth wringing the hands over - we needn't worry about the product because the best players will be picked up from a young age anyway, and clearly people don't need to be playing the sport to be fans

Hahahaha. Yep, this is the kind of shit that comes straight from NRLHQ. Of course when there's no senior rugby league clubs left anywhere and there's no players to coach the juniors and no money coming in because no one pays to watch junior football there won't actually be any young players for NRL clubs to sign. But that's okay. Everyone can just play touch and we'll pretend it's RL. The Helen Lovejoys at the NRL will have completed their mission of removing any contact from the game and they'll still have their participation numbers, none of which will be for actual rugby league.

 

[POPEYE]

My cousin who is 45 plays masters rugby league. Open to all ages, you wear different coloured shorts which corresponds to your age. For the younger blokes its full contact, then two handed hold and for the old dudes like him and above touch. No running from dummy half. He loves it.

Interesting . . . unusual for you but nevertheless

 

[Cumberland Throw]

Interesting. Should the NRL care about how many adults play, and instead focus heavily on Junior participation? You would think doubling junior numbers would naturally increase the adult numbers and those who don't play as adults will more likely remain followers of the game.

Exactly I'm not sure what having 29 year old blokes running around playing local footy actually does for the greater game..

Focus on juniours.. thats where the stars will come from..

Heaps of blokes run around playing soccer till 50 but go home and watch NRL all night not soccer

 

[DlEHARD]

At local/grassroots level there should be a range to cater for all levels (Skill, fitness and time commitment being the key barriers to entry):

* Weekend, full A Grade Rugby League + Reserve grades
* Weekend, LeagueTag 10s (a new non-contact form of the game that is as close to Rugby League as possible. Compared to Oztag, Larger squads, full fields, and high kicks)
* Mid-week, new short-form version of contact Rugby League (9-11 a side, 5m rule, shorter game time, shorter competition size and length)
* Mid-week, League Tag and Touch.

Excellent post. We need a layered approach for all skills and experience. Union does well in terms of social and recreational senior football, so I've heard.

 

[Desert Qlder]

Rugby League is a hard game to play. But rulemakers continue to make it even harder for blokes playing in suburban and bush competitions.

In my part of the world, games with total points exceeding 100 is a very common occurence.

The fitness levels required to play by current NRL-level rules is beyond that of the knockabout bush footy player. A prime example of this is seven tackle sets. Players in bush leagues simply do not have the skill level to execute kicks that do not always result in a 20m tap. Why are we punishing their defenders because of this. By the end of a set most of the blokes have simply given up getting back ten metres and a try will result.

They also get no opportunity to contest possesion to relieve their defenders. They can't strike for the footy, If they cause a scrum through knocking the ball down etc. there is no chance of winning against the feed. A mountain of defense is all they have to face.

This just isn't FUN. Having fun is something we normally advocate for kids but it should be the aim of adults as well.

I would designate in Country/bush/lower suburban competitions an eight metre rule for the defensive line and the scrapping of the seven tackle set, as a starting point anyway.

 

[RockWheel]

I would designate in Country/bush/lower suburban competitions an eight metre rule for the defensive line and the scrapping of the seven tackle set, as a starting point anyway.

I'd suggest that each league decides on it's own rule variations; even provisions for smaller teams (12 a side etc.) if some teams can't get 13 on the field some weeks.

 

[TheVelourFog]

Hahahaha. Yep, this is the kind of shit that comes straight from NRLHQ. Of course when there's no senior rugby league clubs left anywhere and there's no players to coach the juniors and no money coming in because no one pays to watch junior football there won't actually be any young players for NRL clubs to sign. But that's okay. Everyone can just play touch and we'll pretend it's RL. The Helen Lovejoys at the NRL will have completed their mission of removing any contact from the game and they'll still have their participation numbers, none of which will be for actual rugby league.

you sad old man

 

[POPEYE]

I don't think it's worth wringing the hands over - we needn't worry about the product because the best players will be picked up from a young age anyway, and clearly people don't need to be playing the sport to be fans

Agreed, let the young blokes play and the oldies can relax . . . sit back and enjoy Puddles Pity Party

 

[Danish]

Or baseball. I don't think there are organised comps for adults wanting to play baseball socially. Its basically pro/semi-pro or playing catch with your mates.

Adults wanting a social game play softball. Pitching is much easier on the shoulder and is easier to throw accurately. Plus the underarm pitching means the ball can't be thrown as quickly, making batting simpler.


As for league, you are never going to get a lot of adults interested in playing such a brutal contact sport on the weekends. How many people ever even play a game of beach footy with mates or something and everyone actually agrees to go full contact? 2 hand touch is the general rule in my group of friends.

The risk of injury and the physical conditioning required to take part in a league match is simply too great for social competition. That, plus the invariable fights that break out every other weekend in amateur league matches puts most people off.

Expanding LeagueTag is the only way the ARLC is ever going to see a boost in senior participation numbers in league. But I suspect that is probably pretty difficult as OzTag seems to have most decent pitches rented out for their comps. So finding the space to play it is probably a little tough

 

[OldPanther]

From Greenberg's twitter:

Chilly start in Canberra & a big day ahead.1st up is touch footy with Parliamentary friends of league-Always a popular event on our calendar https://t.co/9cU8S822nA