**Official** NRL 2010 thread

[Burgey]

Were those 44 people evenly spread between the 31,000 at the Reds v Stormers game on Saturday night and the 40,000 at the Tahs v Brumbies game last night?


By the way, I'm far from a league-hater (not suggesting you said I am) - in my opinion, an outstanding game of union is better than an outstanding game of league (in terms of continuity) but a bad game of union is much worse than a bad game of league, if that makes any sense.

Yeah, I actually don't disagree with that. When rugby flows it is great to watch for sure. Was having a lend re the crowd figures mate..

I just can't abide the old school tie element of rugby here, is all.

 

[Smudge]

I know you were having a lend, but it doesn't do you many favours when you come up with throwaway crap like that.

 

[slippyslip]

You have to laugh at the NRL getting all holier than thou about the Storm "scandal".

Maybe its payback form the ARL/NRL for super league all those years ago. This definitely hurts News Ltd more than the NRL. Not only because News Ltd owns the Storm but because if you want to watch the Storm on tv from Melbourne you have to have Foxtel which News owns 25% including 50% of the fox sports channels.

It always seemed to me that News Ltd was interested in expanding the game into Melbourne rather than the ARL. The Swans moved to Sydney 16 years before the Storm came into existence.

But its laughable to have a whopping $4.1 million salary for a professional game. You're never going to build a successful franchise in a non-league city like Melbourne with such a poor. When operating a team in a city where there is little support for that code you're always going to have to pay more to attact players. Players have to move away from family and friends and into a city where they are nobodies and that has drastically less business opportunities outside the game.

There was a reason that Sydney and Brisbane used to have 15% higher salary caps. Its all well and good for the NRL when the NRL grand final outrated the AFL grand final Australia wide because of Melbourne being in the final but they get all high and mighty when they work out how the Storm got to where they are.

 

[slippyslip]

Yeah, I actually don't disagree with that. When rugby flows it is great to watch for sure. Was having a lend re the crowd figures mate..

I just can't abide the old school tie element of rugby here, is all.

Get over it. I grew up in a working class home, went to a public school and follow Union over League. I even played league more when I was younger than union.

You remind me of those people in Ireland who try to turn Ireland's union victories into some sort of diatribe about English occupation.

OMG they're playing Rugby at Croke Park!!!!!!!!!

 

[Burgey]

I know you were having a lend, but it doesn't do you many favours when you come up with throwaway crap like that.

True dat.

And Silly Slip, sorry if I offended you by anything I posted. You're right - NRL re. expansion is amateur hour compared with AFL.

But I won't "get over" anything. Your experience is different to mine - good luck to you. Your analogy is stupid though.

 

[social]

Were those 44 people evenly spread between the 31,000 at the Reds v Stormers game on Saturday night and the 40,000 at the Tahs v Brumbies game last night?


By the way, I'm far from a league-hater (not suggesting you said I am) - in my opinion, an outstanding game of union is better than an outstanding game of league (in terms of continuity) but a bad game of union is much worse than a bad game of league, if that makes any sense.

Bad games are just that and I cant be bothered to sit through them whether it's league, union, afl or tiddlywinks

Anyway, last night's Waratahs game was absolutely dire whilst watching the Storm smash the Warriors is very enjoyable in a macabre sort of way

 

[Burgey]

What are they up to now mate? Wondered how they'd react.. Neither would have surprised.

 

[howardj]

I'm sure Cameron was just having fun with the Union/League stereotypes. It's half the fun of the four codes in Australia - they each have their own stereotypes etc.

On a serious note, one thing I have learnt is that never write a code off without giving it a chance. Have just started watching AFL in the last two years. I am now in love with the game and kick myself for not having given it a chance througout my teens and twenties.

Personally, I don't like Union on the merits. It's become bogged down and boring - nothing like what it was like when I really enjoyed it in the early-mid 1990's. Although, I have to say, the Reds have been awesome this year.

Anyway, back to league...

 

[Smudge]

And it looks like the Storm are letting all their anger/raw emotion explode all over the Warriors like one of Peter North's finest.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Unlimited interchange hasn't been around for nearly 10 years, and recently the number has gone down from 12 to 10 with talk around of reducing the number down further to 8. The 2nd ref charged with controlling the ruck has sped up the play the ball meaning lumbering forwards have to get back quicker tiring them further. Small quick hookers are fantastic at exploiting these gaps in the ruck.

Not sure what you're getting at in your last paragraph, but plenty of teams have a small creative specialist as an interchange player who is brought on to run riot over tiring defenses. Ben Barba for the Dogs and Jarrod Sammut for the Panthers (last year) are examples of these kinds of players.

Reckon you need to watch some more footy tbh. Your complaint about creative players just does not stack up to todays game.

Yeah I agree, I just find the attacking skills in league a fair way ahead of what I see in union when I watch it (needless to say I don't get too enamoured by the tactics involved in union). The defense can be pretty poor in union at times too, but that's probably because they don't get a chance to get back in the line all the time and they're trying to shut down the ball.

Gordon Bray used to **** me when he'd make the front of his pants messy over a simple run-around whilst commentation on the union too.

I also think the 'rugby is more free-flowing' is a bit of a fallacy. Just because they don't call 'held' doesn't mean the ball doesn't sometimes spend a lot of time underneath a bunch of blokes lying on the ground with not much happening. If it is a free-flowing game though it's not so bad to watch.

Also don't think there's any point comparing state/provincial crowds to those of a mainly Sydney-based national competition. Rugby has a greater following in states and provinces outside Australia. Comparitively speaking though the State of Origin stacks up ok vs Super 14. You couldn't play it every week for months on end though with only NSW and QLD. Don't think too many people turn up to watch Sydney or Brisbane rugby clubs go round on the weekend.

 

[Burgey]

And it looks like the Storm are letting all their anger/raw emotion explode all over the Warriors like one of Peter North's finest.

Haha, just checked the score - seems that way.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Haha, just checked the score - seems that way.

Glad I didn't change my tip for that game. Almost went Warriors but hoped the Storm would be angry.

 

[Ausage]

There was a reason that Sydney and Brisbane used to have 15% higher salary caps. Its all well and good for the NRL when the NRL grand final outrated the AFL grand final Australia wide because of Melbourne being in the final but they get all high and mighty when they work out how the Storm got to where they are.

You're kidding right? Gallop has said on countless occasions that one of the strengths of the competition lies in the fact that every teams fans have a realistic hope of winning the premiership at the beginning of the year. They want an even comp and have proven they want an even comp by coming down very heavily on teams disobeying the rules.

 

[social]

You're kidding right? Gallop has said on countless occasions that one of the strengths of the competition lies in the fact that every teams fans have a realistic hope of winning the premiership at the beginning of the year. They want an even comp and have proven they want an even comp by coming down very heavily on teams disobeying the rules.

They have come down heavily on 2 of the teams that they have caught

Raiders were found to be in breach after winning a premiership and given a slap on the wrist

Warriors were in breach by more than $1 million in 2004 and copped the massive penalty of a $430,000 and 4 whole premiership points

Full list of breaches and penalties can be found here

History of NRL Salary Cap breaches - NRL.com

From this it is obvious that the NRL has finally chosen to make an example of somebody and that, if the past is anything to go by, the chances are that there are plenty of others who should be worried

 

[Craig]

Just under 24,000 for the Storm game.

 

[Ausage]

From this it is obvious that the NRL has finally chosen to make an example of somebody and that, if the past is anything to go by, the chances are that there are plenty of others who should be worried

Or maybe the Storm breach was head and shoulders more serious than any of the other breaches? That list looks impressive, but most of it is just third party breaches, fielding unregistered players, or minor breaches that were fully disclosed. The Storm used a second set of books to keep 3 of the 5 best players in the league on their roster for 5 years. They were 700k over the limit this year alone. There's a massive difference of scope here.

 

[slippyslip]

You're kidding right? Gallop has said on countless occasions that one of the strengths of the competition lies in the fact that every teams fans have a realistic hope of winning the premiership at the beginning of the year. They want an even comp and have proven they want an even comp by coming down very heavily on teams disobeying the rules.

A good NBA, NFL, MLB or top player from EPL/La Liga/Serie A earns more in a week than a rugby league player does in a year. Even the AFL has a $7.95 million salary cap that is much more lenient than the NRL's.

One of the reasons super league started in the first place was because clubs like the Bulldogs who were smart and looked after their finances were being hampered by jokes like Souths. League is run for the lowest common denominator. The problem is that the rules are stupid.

If the NRL thinks you can run a successful franchise from Melbourne on a $4.1 million salary cap they're dumber than I thought.

 

[howardj]

Waldron to Spill the Beans

This guy's going to sing like a canary.

He's going to roll over on his mates like a sausage.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I've always thought, what is wrong with having no cap?

Sure, four or five clubs will probably dominate.

However, that happens in the English Premier League, and that comp is fantastic.

I think it's better having trading - where if (as in the AFL) a player gets poached, the club doing the poaching has to trade one or two players of equal ability in return.

Take that free market crap out of the NRL thread. I love a comp where Cronulla could potentially win the premiership in three years.

EPL is a joke because most people are only interested in the games that features Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal and Liverpool. The only reason people care about Fulham v Tottenham is because of a ridiculous culture that doesn't exist in Australia unless you support Richmond.

I think the truth is somewhere between the two views expressed above. The EPL is a debt laden levithan (can't imagine any club in it without a super-rich benefactor is in the black), but also there must be a third way where clubs can spend up to what they can afford. It seems unfair that NRL clubs are essentially compelled to split up successful teams because to reward the players for their success leads to the kind of situation we have with the Storm.

A cap where teams can spend up to a percentage of their income, perhaps?

Rugby ios the least relevant football code in this country by a street.

Tin pot, half-arsed comps doesn't equal meaningful expansion, ffs. Can't wait for the Romania-NZ classic.

AFL hasn't expanded, and quite frankly cricket hasn't in any meaningful sense either.

Yet I'm sure you post in Cricket Chat. Is it a **** sport?

The rugby WC winner will come from the British Isles, SA, France, aus or NZ. The league WC winnet will com from Aus, NZ or the British Isles.

Not seeing how expansion determines Rugby.is the better sport. Plenty of socio-economic reasons at play there too.

Not in this lifetime.

Not sure about dumping all the four home nations in together as "the British Isles" either; yes we do have historical and political ties, but we are very much different countries. & Union is played seriously in all four (Wales the only other country outside of NZ and the Pacific islands where it's the national sport in fact) but league is (despite the best intentions of the Celtic Crusaders) still really only played in three counties of northern England.

Since Union went open the only genuine non-pom to play international league for GB is Brian Carney.

 

[Prince EWS]

Cleared $500 for the week on my league betting. Tipping a full round with two major upsets always helps that, I suppose.