Grumbles gone?

[Bowside]

I dont understand why you all hate grumbles.

I read his column from time to time, and mostly it is just a few rumors and a bit of fun. Who cares if they are not always true, I'd still rather there be a rugby column filled with half baked rumors than no rugby column at all.

 

[Rob42]

Apart from his laziness and sheer lack of insight, the thing that bugged me most about Growfat in the last few years was his constant negativity towards the game, he rarely, if ever, had anything positive to say. His consistent criticism of the Waratahs is a case at point. Contrast his work with that of Michael Cockerill, the SMH soccer writer, who always, but always, was able to present his game in a positive fashion, even when he was making a critical point.

Really? I think Growden improves if you compare him to Cockerill. One of the worst things about soccer in Australia is correspondents like Cockerill who seem to believe that his game can only be promoted by bitching about the other codes.

He was relentlessly negative towards the Tahs administration, but I think they earned that.

 

[mudskipper]

"Anyone who isn`t confused, doesn`t really understand the situation..."

Crumbles could sure hold a grudge for a long time...
Here’s a few endearing turns of phrase to farewell the chief rugby correspondent… an over zealous New South Welshmen.... a true master of the cheap shot... the lone sniper of Australian rugby… a man who made his own news…

And gents, Radio was a straw man, his alter ego...

I won’t be missing him... but I wish him the best catching taxis in rugby heaven and finding a new way…

 

[Jnor]

Are you applying Matt Burke logic to Gumbles' negativity wamberal? Pots in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at black kettles.

 

[daz]

I thought it was telling that when Grumbles gave his "highlight" reel from the last 30 years, most of the highlights came from a generation ago.

Having read Grumbles on and off over the years, I have found that he has become very cynical and weary of the ARU and the constant politics as the years go by, and his writing has become a faded and slightly nasty as a result.

Funny how that slide into rugby journo mediocrity appears to be in tandem with the fortunes and standing of the national team in the eyes of the public. Coincidence?

I also agree with Gags that he is a "reporter" of news, that also needs to be customer friendly. In other words, entertaining. Not many SMH readers want to dig into every presser that the ARU holds or analyse the buckets of ARU/Wallaby/S15 movements. Christ, have any of you read the reader comments on half the SMH rugby stories? The bar is pretty fucking low.

Go read the Australian if you want serious opinion pieces.

Say what you will about Growden, but he is a reflection of the dictatorial organisation he writes about, the literally incomprehensible media crap that comes out of the ARU and the readership group his paper caters for.

Is Monday Maul nothing more than a sniping gossip column now? Yes, it is. But ask yourself why. Then ask yourself if the ARU has shown any particular liking towards criticism (i.e Real Investigative Reporting) of any kind.

And even if the above is all rubbish (I don't discount that at all, since I am a mere spectator with no real clue), just think about the fact that Grumbles has lasted as long as he has; someone is obviously reading him. The media is not known for hanging onto people who don't get read.


PS: Waylon. Really? Put your money where your mouth is, champ. Submit a blog post every Monday morning to the GAGR editors. 1000 words, just the way Gagger described, week in and week out. Happy to accept you don't have ARU access, but be creative and find a way to plug that gap. Let's see how you go.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

I thought it was telling that when Grumbles gave his "highlight" reel from the last 30 years, most of the highlights came from a generation ago.

PS: Waylon. Really? Put your money where your mouth is, champ. Submit a blog post every Monday morning to the GAGR editors. 1000 words, just the way Gagger described, week in and week out. Happy to accept you don't have ARU access, but be creative and find a way to plug that gap. Let's see how you go.

Well put.
He presided over a period of unprecedented success for the game in this Country, the immensity of which only becomes clearer the longer we lurch along as we are at the moment, and yet he didn't seem to get a lot of joy out of those things.
If you were allocated to writing rugby you could hardly have asked for a better 30 years.

 

[Cat_A]

I thought it was telling that when Grumbles gave his "highlight" reel from the last 30 years, most of the highlights came from a generation ago.
....

..... 1000 words, just the way Gagger described, week in and week out. Happy to accept you don't have ARU access, but be creative and find a way to plug that gap. Let's see how you go.

Sorry to abridge your quoted post daz, but I like this post so strongly I wanted to do more than just "like" it but I didn't want to slow down the page loads for everyone else by keeping it long

 

[daz]

Thanks Cat. I really gotta work on my rant word counts, though.

I'm the type of person who would never dare say anything in 10 words if a 1000 would do.

 

[Cat_A]

Thanks Cat. I really gotta work on my rant word counts, though.

I'm the type of person who would never dare say anything in 10 words if a 1000 would do.

Nope - you're good. You have a long way to go until you qualify for the ARU Media Unit

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Daz,

That was only 365 words. Lift your game.

 

[hawktrain]

Spoiler: Radio was just Growden himself.

Never particularly liked him to be honest, he said some pretty bad things over the years about players, especially recent All Blacks. Also I think his coverage of Sydney club rugby has been very negative, when he is supposed to be the chief rugby writer of the SMH, and the only mentions of the Shute Shield he can give are rumours and negative stories about how the competition is going downhill. Perhaps if he had given the competition a more positive mention, it might help?

Still, he has also written some amusing things in his article over the years, and anyone who is responsible for a page of rugby news can't be that bad. I hope he enjoys his retirement. Hopefully someone takes over, and rugby isn't completely lost due to the job cutbacks at Fairfax.

 

[Richo]

I reckon we tend to let a lot of shit slide when it comes to reporting in general. We say, "oh, that's what the readers (sorry, customers) want". And then the customers find a better place to go and we all end up reading great stuff at places like G&GR and joints like Fairfax end up down the tubes.* There's nothing wrong with expecting higher standards from journos, whether they write about rugby, politics or the Lismore fair.

*Yes, this is a simplistic analysis and I know there are many other factors at play.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Spoiler: Radio was just Growden himself.

Never particularly liked him to be honest, he said some pretty bad things over the years about players, especially recent All Blacks. Also I think his coverage of Sydney club rugby has been very negative, when he is supposed to be the chief rugby writer of the SMH, and the only mentions of the Shute Shield he can give are rumours and negative stories about how the competition is going downhill. Perhaps if he had given the competition a more positive mention, it might help?
.

He wasn't employed as a booster


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[daz]

I reckon we tend to let a lot of shit slide when it comes to reporting in general. We say, "oh, that's what the readers (sorry, customers) want". And then the customers find a better place to go and we all end up reading great stuff at places like G&GR and joints like Fairfax end up down the tubes.* There's nothing wrong with expecting higher standards from journos, whether they write about rugby, politics or the Lismore fair.

*Yes, this is a simplistic analysis and I know there are many other factors at play.

Quite right. I guess my point was don't blame the sub-standard journo/reporting, blame the system that allows it.

Honestly, if I wanted to know anything about school boys/club rugby, I wouldn't even bother with "mainstream" media. I would want to read guys like Lee Grant who can tell me more in a single post than any newspaper article.

If I was confused about the laws of the game, I have Scarfy and Baa-Baa literally on tap.

For those that remember, Austin used to produce some awesome game analysis.

At the same time, I can also get a dose or two of light-hearted banter when I am full to the brim with serious rugby info.

This is why places like GAGR et al exist, and my suspicion is that even if we had a plethora of quality rugby reporting in the media, we would all still be in these forums day in and day out.

Why? Because this is our sport, and we like talking abut our sport in a community of like-minded fans.

 

[Richo]

Yes. A similar argument can be made for almost every area of news and journalism. On the one hand, it's great. On the other, it's meant that traditional media groups have become less essential, but their response to that has too often been a race to the bottom rather than an earnest, concerted effort to compete on substance and quality.

But, as Lee Grant would say, I digress.

 

[Gagger]

You naysayers hang your heads in shame!

Vote 1 (like) for Grumbles!

 

[daz]

I was walking through my supermarket when I saw that on my twitter feed from Iain Payton, and very nearly snorted nose goop all over the pink lady apples.

I think Gags did the fastest Twitter RT in history with that one. How fucking proud are you right now?

 

[Richo]

I was walking through my supermarket when I saw that on my twitter feed from Iain Payton, and very nearly snorted nose goop all over the pink lady apples.

I think Gags did the fastest Twitter RT in history with that one. How fucking proud are you right now?

Gold!

Whoever proposed the shirt should shared get a share of the credit too! (I don't remember who it was)

 

[cyclopath]

Gold!

Whoever proposed the shirt should shared get a share of the credit too! (I don't remember who it was)

it was Braveheart81