The Rumours Thread

[possm]

You are correct, the game in total these days has focused on total entertainment of scoring tries. Thats what brings the dollars in to the NRL. I would still like to see a game with great defence thats winnable like 6 - 4 but unfortunately its not a very good spectacle on the media these days. Seems like defence is an after thought to many teams in the NRL and especially in lower grades, and to me its being coached that way.

Jonny Rape'rs devastating cover defense and Billy Smith's courage in defense certainly entertained me in the day. And more recently the brick wall defense that Bennett introduced to the Dargons was a highlight in 2009-2011.

 

[randomdragon]

Just to add a few drops of petrol to the fire about our juniors. Has anyone looked at the junior rugby league comp just starting now. There are almost no teams from the St George area from about 16 yrs and up
U17 Silver - 1 from St G, 5 from Cron,
U17 Gold - 1 from St G, 5 from Cron,,
U18 Silver - 2 from StG, 4 from Cron,
U18 Gold - 2 from StG, 3 from Cron,
Open Mens Silver - 3 from StG, 9 from Cron,
Open Mens Gold- 1 from StG, 6 from Cron.
League in our region is just dead. Thank God we have Wollongong for juniors because thats our total future.
But is St George as a club doing anything whatsoever to try and fix this, because each year its just getting worse. All ages from 13 up are combined comps with Cronulla because there are so few teams left in our area. Penshurst RSL has no senior teams above U16.Same with Arncliffe Scots. Kingsgrove Colts appear to be the only survivors this year
Yet i never hear this mentioned in any correspondence for the Dragons. Do they just assume were safe having Wollongong so we dont need St George Juniors anymore.
I dearly love watching junior rugby league (in a lot of cases its like NRL was 30 yrs ago) and i prefer to watch it over NRL these days. Its a tough game with no bludgers, played in a great spirit by kids who really want to be there. I suggest everyone on this forum get out and watch a few local games this year. I'm sure you'll enjoy it
You can find all the draws on playrugbyleague.com
Support our few remaining junior clubs

The good st George juniors go and play in the Illawarra comp. St George comp isn’t strong enough for their development anymore

 

[Dragonssupporter]

The good st George juniors go and play in the Illawarra comp. St George comp isn’t strong enough for their development anymore

My concern as i said is that St George seem to be doing nothing to fix this. If kids are basically stopping playing when they reach about 14 then were in trouble. The other sports are going further past us every year and the NRL seem oblivious to it. How do you expand if young kids stop playing
Anyway im off to Renown Park to watch some Open grade today. Go Renown!!

 

[Illusion]

My concern as i said is that St George seem to be doing nothing to fix this. If kids are basically stopping playing when they reach about 14 then were in trouble. The other sports are going further past us every year and the NRL seem oblivious to it. How do you expand if young kids stop playing
Anyway im off to Renown Park to watch some Open grade today. Go Renown!!

Have a good day .....

 

[randomdragon]

My concern as i said is that St George seem to be doing nothing to fix this. If kids are basically stopping playing when they reach about 14 then were in trouble. The other sports are going further past us every year and the NRL seem oblivious to it. How do you expand if young kids stop playing
Anyway im off to Renown Park to watch some Open grade today. Go Renown!!

genuine question, what could the club do to change this?

 

[possm]

Everything from providing scholarships to training gear to social activities might keep them interested. Volunteering with free tickets to home games might also help.

 

[blacksafake]

You are correct, the game in total these days has focused on total entertainment of scoring tries. Thats what brings the dollars in to the NRL. I would still like to see a game with great defence thats winnable like 6 - 4 but unfortunately its not a very good spectacle on the media these days. Seems like defence is an after thought to many teams in the NRL and especially in lower grades, and to me its being coached that way.

Well the way it’s officiated these days means it’s like touch footy.

 

[Puff]

genuine question, what could the club do to change this?

Be more open to new comers.

I have a story about my son. He is currently 16 he is 6 foot 4. And 90kgs. Size 15 foot. When he was 12 he was massive. He said to me can I play rugby league. I said not problems.

Took him to a well known sydney junior club. He was the biggest kid in the team, and he was playing an age group up. I told them he was a unit, done full contact martial arts so wasn’t scared of contact, just teach him the techniques and you may have an okay player.

well they just threw him in. Didn’t bother taking the time to teach him proper technique. On top of that he was playing against kids with 5 o’clock shadows. If you get my drift.

he left halfway through the season. He now plays at school where he uses his mates as speed humps, and they have played league all their lives.

So my experience is that junior league is amateurish at best. I have been involved and coached top level junior soccer. And as a sport it, along with afl, shit all over league.

 

[randomdragon]

Be more open to new comers.

I have a story about my son. He is currently 16 he is 6 foot 4. And 90kgs. Size 15 foot. When he was 12 he was massive. He said to me can I play rugby league. I said not problems.

Took him to a well known sydney junior club. He was the biggest kid in the team, and he was playing an age group up. I told them he was a unit, done full contact martial arts so wasn’t scared of contact, just teach him the techniques and you may have an okay player.

well they just threw him in. Didn’t bother taking the time to teach him proper technique. On top of that he was playing against kids with 5 o’clock shadows. If you get my drift.

he left halfway through the season. He now plays at school where he uses his mates as speed humps, and they have played league all their lives.

So my experience is that junior league is amateurish at best. I have been involved and coached top level junior soccer. And as a sport it, along with afl, shit all over league.

Agree soccer shits all over league, at least at a junior level in australia. Mitigating factors though, chance of injury is less than half and it’s a non-contact inclusive sport.

 

[Dragonssupporter]

genuine question, what could the club do to change this?

Well a few things ive noticed over the years-maybe real or just my imagination.
My kids have told me previously that Aussie Rules are present at almost every school and do a great deal of work to try and get kids to play that instead of Rugby League. Theres free tickets to Swans games, and lots of giveaways plus (i believe) , registration is very cheap.
I saw an U13 (first of the now combined comps with Cronulla) game today at Renown Park- there were 2 huge Islander boys playing for Taren Point, that just steamrolled their way through the opposition. I'm not sure what impact this is having on parents but for me, they were twice the size of any other boys, and id be worried if one of them was my child playing against kids so big. We know from NRL, most teams are at least 50-60% islanders, and this really is our future. I cant imagine the game without them-it basically wouldnt exist now, and thats where all the future growth is going to be. However i saw soccer teams playing on the next field, and this isnt affecting their game, because there it would be a detriment to be that big. Soccer is increasing its playing size every year now. I know around Menai /Barden Ridge area a few years back some of the U6 Soccer teams had 6 divisions - A to F. This is a massive number of kids playing soccer that would of years ago been playing League
The St George area is now a big migrant area, and those migrants dont play Rugby League.
I think the only growth the NRL is looking at is NRLW-this is great news but its not great for the boys side of things.
Finally i wish i knew how to fix this problem and obviously its a big problem across Sydney-except for Penrith. I dont know if any research is being done by the clubs as to why player participation dies after U12, but it needs to be.
Maybe i just have to accept that the area i live in no longer a Rugby League stronghold and that things have changed, but i just wish the club would try a bit harder to be represented there. There are no St George-Illawarra NRL signs at any ground i go to ever-theres also very few Cronulla signs

 

[Saints Forever]

Well a few things ive noticed over the years-maybe real or just my imagination.
My kids have told me previously that Aussie Rules are present at almost every school and do a great deal of work to try and get kids to play that instead of Rugby League. Theres free tickets to Swans games, and lots of giveaways plus (i believe) , registration is very cheap.
I saw an U13 (first of the now combined comps with Cronulla) game today at Renown Park- there were 2 huge Islander boys playing for Taren Point, that just steamrolled their way through the opposition. I'm not sure what impact this is having on parents but for me, they were twice the size of any other boys, and id be worried if one of them was my child playing against kids so big. We know from NRL, most teams are at least 50-60% islanders, and this really is our future. I cant imagine the game without them-it basically wouldnt exist now, and thats where all the future growth is going to be. However i saw soccer teams playing on the next field, and this isnt affecting their game, because there it would be a detriment to be that big. Soccer is increasing its playing size every year now. I know around Menai /Barden Ridge area a few years back some of the U6 Soccer teams had 6 divisions - A to F. This is a massive number of kids playing soccer that would of years ago been playing League
The St George area is now a big migrant area, and those migrants dont play Rugby League.
I think the only growth the NRL is looking at is NRLW-this is great news but its not great for the boys side of things.
Finally i wish i knew how to fix this problem and obviously its a big problem across Sydney-except for Penrith. I dont know if any research is being done by the clubs as to why player participation dies after U12, but it needs to be.
Maybe i just have to accept that the area i live in no longer a Rugby League stronghold and that things have changed, but i just wish the club would try a bit harder to be represented there. There are no St George-Illawarra NRL signs at any ground i go to ever-theres also very few Cronulla signs

I think the answer is the junior league should be structured on weight divisions rather than age, until say the kids reach “open age”

 

[Dragon David]

I think the answer is the junior league should be structured on weight divisions rather than age, until say the kids reach “open age”

YEP!

 

[BLM01]

I think the answer is the junior league should be structured on weight divisions rather than age, until say the kids reach “open age”

Understand why but disagree. It wont work. I have been involved in the past with both Juniors and Seniors and you cant have kids against young men even though they are as big as them. There are plenty of examples of 5-7 year age gaps based on weight.
Playing against biggers kids etc has been going on for many years.

I know it seems accentuated these days but until the NRL change these rules to the point of calling held earlier, maybe look at a 5-7 metre in lieu of 10 rule supporting legs tackles which the big fellas dont like hitting the ground then it will keep getting going on
Then coaches can start teaching and introducing proper tackle technique back to the game.
It starts as kids are watching NRL

 

[redv13]

I think the answer is the junior league should be structured on weight divisions rather than age, until say the kids reach “open age”

Weight for age won’t work. I’ve seen some young blokes playing 14/15’s etc that are definitely ahead of the bell curve body structure wise but weight for age could have them playing against 17/18 year olds and they would get eaten alive.

I just don’t think there’s a solution unfortunately. As a parent would you be comfortable having a kid in say year 8 playing against young blokes in say year 11 or 12?? Unfortunately rugby league is a bloody tough sport and it isn’t for everyone and I totally get it that parents get spooked around the 14,15,16 year age mark and I’ve been involved in junior league coaching and development for over 10 years

 

[Gippsy]

I agree that weight groups are not the answer. I personally think that the answer is to bring back around the legs tackles. If we can find a way to reward a good copybook around the legs tackle it will have more players doing them and less injuries, as well as a better spectacle. IMO.

 

[Murraymob1]

He is contracted to the Roosters until the end of 2024, fits perfectly, he wont be coming to us.

The roosters coach said in a interview Ryles would get a release for a head coaching job

 

[Ghostrider22]

Agree soccer shits all over league, at least at a junior level in australia. Mitigating factors though, chance of injury is less than half and it’s a non-contact inclusive sport.

Hey Guys
My son plays Premier League, some of the refereeing is down right disgusting, in a trail game a few weeks back one his mates had his knee shattered in disgusting act, the ref had no control which lead to an all in.

He played footy at school, in state comps they were playing against kids that were twice their size so wrong.

He chose Soccer all his mates play. It’s all the same what ever you play they have problems don’t they.

 

[Rocket Rod]

I didn’t want to start a new thread for this and no it’s not a rumour, but wow hasn’t Gitano’s old fav Euan Aitkin grown another leg under old uncle Wayne!
Just watched him demolish the GC

 

[Parko1310]

I agree that weight groups are not the answer. I personally think that the answer is to bring back around the legs tackles. If we can find a way to reward a good copybook around the legs tackle it will have more players doing them and less injuries, as well as a better spectacle. IMO.

This legs tackle thing, that will lead to less injuries is a myth, and it is many people's solution to less concussions. What isn't taken into account is that most concussions don't come from high tackles on attackers, they come from low tackles from defenders. Defenders end up concussed more often than attackers do because aiming lower means it's much easier to catch a stray elbow, hip or knee to the head.

 

[Inisai Toga]

This legs tackle thing, that will lead to less injuries is a myth, and it is many people's solution to less concussions. What isn't taken into account is that most concussions don't come from high tackles on attackers, they come from low tackles from defenders. Defenders end up concussed more often than attackers do because aiming lower means it's much easier to catch a stray elbow, hip or knee to the head.

Respectfully disagree, the new generation don't do it correctly! Most tackles that are low that cause injuries is because they haven't perfected the technique on the way to first grade. The position their head incorrectly and the timing is out; i don't believe its a myth at all. Reward leg tacklers and perfect the technique.