The Professionals | Evolution of Rugby League

[Timmay]

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Thats such a good video...

One thing that the NRL should be doing with NRL.com and NRLTV is producing a stack of documentaries like this. They would be fairly cheap to produce since the majority of the content is just archive footage and interviews.

But what they can do is create a bigger historical context and narrative to frame the game today. Retelling these old stories, whether it is club rivalries from 60+ years ago, early indigenous/Maori players, migrant integration or whatever else, these stories are only valuable if we keep retelling them.

(For example, I think there is strong evidence to argue that modern RL was actually born in Canada with the Burnside reforms. Whether or not you agree, the simple story would be so valuable for a teach like the Toronto Wolfpack or the Canadian National team to give themselves a wider historical narrative)

Video is top work, keep it going!!!!

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

The brilliance of videos like this as well is that it give the NRL control of the narrative and takes it away from the chaos-merchants at NewsLtd.

 

[some11]

The brilliance of videos like this as well is that it give the NRL control of the narrative and takes it away from the chaos-merchants at NewsLtd.

They should hire a bunch of DT "writers" and let them pretend they're writing for NRL.com. Lock them into a long-term contract with a non-compete clause, then move them to a catering role.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

f**k I hate the word 'narrative'.

 

[Rhino_NQ]

Narrative

 

[taipan]

Narrative

Louder please,I can't hear you.

 

[T-Boon]

f**k I hate the word 'narrative'.

Me and you hate each other but I am with you on this.
I am actually going to start a thread in the cave on alternative words to words I hate like narrative.

 

[Last Week]

f**k I hate the word 'narrative'.

Cool narrative bro

 

[Drew-Sta]

f**k I hate the word 'narrative'.

Vote: AlwaysGreen

Definitely mafia.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

One thing I love about how they tell this story of players going from part-timers to professionals is how they treat the Super League War...

For the past 20 years, the general agreement has just been "dont talk about SL, it never happened".

We shouldn't pretend that it didnt happen, but at the same time we dont need to focus on it 100% and say "X was right, X was wrong".

They way they treat it here is just perfect. It is just a middle point of the story where pretty much EVERYONE loses, and the resolutions are everything that come after. (The players got their pay-day but alienated the fans > The moral is that they need to maintain a strong RLPA that will work constructively with the NRL). You can do the same thing with a dozen other protagonists too; clubs, ARL/NRL, fans, media.

We need to keep retelling the SL stories and embrace that part of our history. Just treat it as the universal low point and everything after that is how things are getting better.

 

[Rhino_NQ]

The teenage/millenial crowd now should be educated about super league and how it related to their club they support.

For us it would be just how close we came to folding and the utter shambles the front office was, hopefully wont take having a side to support for granted. Plenty of different narratives (couldnt resist) for each club past and present.

If anyones seen ESPNs 30 for 30 series something similar for NRL would be great watching. Super league in parts, battle of the hunter (mariners v knights story), the storm salary saga, rise ans fall of the rams/reds/crushers etc, our ride to the 2004 prelim, el masris kicking streak record. Plenty of cool/sad/interesting/controversial stuff to make good viewing

 

[T-Boon]

Looking back I wish there was a couple more years of the super league split. They messed up more in the unification (I guess out of panic) than they did in the split.

 

[Rhino_NQ]

People forget some the approachs and things super league put in motion were acrually good

 

[flippikat]

People forget some the approachs and things super league put in motion were acrually good

Yep. It's been more than 20 years now, time to acknowledge that some of Superleague's innovations helped the game.

It's just that the wreckage of the war (and especially the rushed, ham-fisted & self-interest-filled peace settlement) were such big negatives that they overshadowed the improvements.

 

[T-Boon]

Yep looking back I am sure a big part of the motivation was to slap the Sydney clubs into life, take some control away from them. We could do with another round of it now.

 

[Knight76]

The teenage/millenial crowd now should be educated about super league and how it related to their club they support.

For us it would be just how close we came to folding and the utter shambles the front office was, hopefully wont take having a side to support for granted. Plenty of different narratives (couldnt resist) for each club past and present.

If anyones seen ESPNs 30 for 30 series something similar for NRL would be great watching. Super league in parts, battle of the hunter (mariners v knights story), the storm salary saga, rise ans fall of the rams/reds/crushers etc, our ride to the 2004 prelim, el masris kicking streak record. Plenty of cool/sad/interesting/controversial stuff to make good viewing

Living through the Super League war the Knights back then was leaning towards signing with SL, but the players got together and said no, they wanted to be with ARL, so the players signed with ARL and left the club with little choice.

I'm sure the club being a financially poor outfit for most of it's existence figured the Super League could transform them.

Just watched the Doco, more like that please NRL.com!

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

The teenage/millenial crowd now should be educated about super league and how it related to their club they support.

For us it would be just how close we came to folding and the utter shambles the front office was, hopefully wont take having a side to support for granted. Plenty of different narratives (couldnt resist) for each club past and present.

If anyones seen ESPNs 30 for 30 series something similar for NRL would be great watching. Super league in parts, battle of the hunter (mariners v knights story), the storm salary saga, rise ans fall of the rams/reds/crushers etc, our ride to the 2004 prelim, el masris kicking streak record. Plenty of cool/sad/interesting/controversial stuff to make good viewing

Yeh, if the US can find good stories in their Civil War (even present it as a national rebirth, comparable to the War for Independence) surely we can spin SL into a history that benefits the game today.

The MOST hardcore would be building any future conference system (like the NFLs AFC-NFC) around the ARL-SL comps...

ARL Conference
Gold Coast Titans
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Newcastle Knights
Parramatta Eels
South Sydney Rabbitohs
St. George Illawarra Dragons
Sydney Roosters
Wests Tigers

SL Conference
Brisbane Broncos
Canberra Raiders
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Melbourne Storm
New Zealand Warriors
North Queensland Cowboys
Penrith Panthers

It actually splits the current comp quite nicely, though I dont know how this would land with the fans. It would definitely make for interesting viewing....

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

^^^^^

for those that don’t know, the Rugby League Digest podcast has a series on the Super League Era. It’s brilliant. And it certainly has opened my mind to some of the rationale and benefits of a Super League as opposed to the Staunch ARL supporter I was back then. But as they comment, who you supported was generally where your club went in the war.

highly recommend it to those who’ve not yet listened to it.

 

[siv]

Yeh, if the US can find good stories in their Civil War (even present it as a national rebirth, comparable to the War for Independence) surely we can spin SL into a history that benefits the game today.

The MOST hardcore would be building any future conference system (like the NFLs AFC-NFC) around the ARL-SL comps...

ARL Conference
Gold Coast Titans
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Newcastle Knights
Parramatta Eels
South Sydney Rabbitohs
St. George Illawarra Dragons
Sydney Roosters
Wests Tigers

SL Conference
Brisbane Broncos
Canberra Raiders
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Melbourne Storm
New Zealand Warriors
North Queensland Cowboys
Penrith Panthers

It actually splits the current comp quite nicely, though I dont know how this would land with the fans. It would definitely make for interesting viewing....

Swap Canterbury and the Gold Coast and I could live with it