The League Media

[wamberal]

I have not attended a league match for a lo-o-o-o-o-ng time. However, I actually used to go to watch the Chooks a lot when they played at the old Sports Ground (and I lived at Elizabeth Bay, a pleasant stroll on a Sunday arvo).

It struck me then that the referees were all, universally, hated. At the time I put it down to the fact that most of them were actually cops in real life. And a fair proportion of the crowd looked as though they were on more than passing acquaintance with the boys in blue.


There is a fundamental difference in the relationship between the officials and the players (and the spectators) in our game, compared to that which applies in the other code. In my humble experience, we actually value our match officials, because we understand how important they are.


In the other code, the match officials are, generally, despised and looked down upon.


How much do they get paid? Not enough.

 

[Pfitzy]

The other thing I've noticed is the lack of respect in one simple aspect: in the AFL and NRL, the refs call a lot of players by their first names. In rugby, the captain will probably get that privilege two ways, but everyone else better say "sir" if they're lucky, or just STFU

 

[yourmatesam]

My favourite quote from a rugby league game recently came from the match referee when Josh Reynolds had one of his (three) brain fades in the game - kicked Sam Thaiday in the face, tripped a guy and then jumped up to tackle a player above the ears and finally got ten in the bin.

The referee "You cannot lash out and kick a guy in the face, that's going on report"!! GOLD, deadset gold!

Remember, this is the same player that was given a two week suspension following his tackle in origin that went on report.

For a sport that INVENTED the sin bin, there seems to be a LOT of lee-way there for a player to be sent off. A guy I work with coaches his son's Under 11's loig team and we agree that the NRL have to set higher standards for the players at that level.

The way the professional player's talk to the referee (Remember JT in 2013) is discraceful, their attitudes are poor and it filters down to local footy. The NRL need to become a lot stricter with interpretations around the ruck and rolling away, high tackles need to be policed more harshly (include the SBW shoulder charge in that one too please) and get the referees to start using player's numbers instead of their bloody nicknames!!!

 

[papabear]

I thought the sir that was used in private schools to teachers and in rugby was sarcasm... but hey maybe I was just cheeky.

Here is an article with union media trying unsuccessfully to stick the boot into league.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...ting-league-in-the-shade-20140910-10f1yv.html

If a league writer wrote something of the equivalent it would read like an obituary for union.

 

[liquor box]

I've watched some Super League, and it does seem snappier than a lot of NRL I've seen. The problem, though, is that there's too much disparity between many of the teams. It can lead to some blow-out games that aren't dull because they're repetitive hit-ups, but are repetitive scores by one team.

I think I'm just unlucky, though. I don't tune in to Super League very often, and just seem to catch those blow-out matches when I give it a chance.

This is great for league fans, remember there is nothing more important to the quality of a game than the number of tries scored

 

[liquor box]

The other thing I've noticed is the lack of respect in one simple aspect: in the AFL and NRL, the refs call a lot of players by their first names. In rugby, the captain will probably get that privilege two ways, but everyone else better say "sir" if they're lucky, or just STFU

Back when I played for the Nemingah jets we had a referee who was also a priest, we could not even swear on the field without giving a penalty. He was always sir and nothing else and you could not question a ruling or you were penalised.

I liked it this way.

 

[papabear]

If you are a bitch you would like it that way, especially if you like getting bent over with bad decisions. A sadististic bitch .

Alternatively, you could use your communication skills to explain how you saw events from your perspective. You may be able to show the ref some of the dodgy things the other side are doing.

 

[Train Without a Station]

"Communication skills" is not a term I'd associated with the way a number of NRL players address referees.

 

[Ash]

There's some good role models to copy too, if you want to talk to the ref. As a rugby example, Hoiles when he was captain - there's a guy you should copy. Or if you want to copy a league player, Ennis would be my pick. Refs love them!

 

[terry j]

I thought the sir that was used in private schools to teachers and in rugby was sarcasm. but hey maybe I was just cheeky.

Here is an article with union media trying unsuccessfully to stick the boot into league.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...ting-league-in-the-shade-20140910-10f1yv.html

If a league writer wrote something of the equivalent it would read like an obituary for union.

I am beginning to think half the problems in this thread with your arguments stem from your inability to duplicate and comprehend what is written in front of you.

HOW is this putting the boot into league? In an ironic and funny way perhaps you are correct, it was unsuccessful, but not in the way you think it was unsuccessful. Merely because it was not putting the boot into league, but let's just ignore that inconvenient point.

Is it untrue that giteau, in the twilight of his career, was offered that amount of money? maybe it is untrue, and if so then yes it was a total bullshit article incorrectly pointing out the difference in pay scales potentially available to players in the two codes.

Where is any mention of the relative merits of the two games? Where is an example of the use of bullshit, incorrect characterisation of the 'opposing' game to make an incorrect point, which IS (if you bother to check) the subject of this thread?

If you were the manager charged with finding the best deal for the playing career of your client, would you not be negligent if you did not put out feelers into the rugby world if, as suggested in the article, this sort of pay is available to the right player? Would you not want, even if only for the mercenary reason of increasing your share of the pie, to find out if your client was one of the 'right players'? If you neglected that because your responsibility to your client was clouded by some silly code war notion of a better game, then would you not be open to legal action of not acting with the best interests of your client at heart?

Read, then understand, then comprehend, THEN put fingers to keyboard.

 

[papabear]

Lol Terry you are too funny.

You can't see any negativity in that article towards league and in the same post you lecture me on comprehension.

I am not sure whether you if you wish this thread to descend into a slanging match with us just dropping witty bombs on eachother (in your case big walls of ignorant boring text) or not. but if it is please proceed for I shall enjoy the dalliance.

 

[Lindommer]

terry j may, or may not, but I certainly don't want this thread to descend into a slanging match. Back to the rugby, boys, or take your petty argument elsewhere.

 

[mxyzptlk]

You can't see any negativity in that article towards league and in the same post you lecture me on comprehension.

Tell you what -- instead of just accusing others of not being able to get it, you tell us exactly where FitzSimon puts the boot into league. If you see something egregious there, don't just assert, show where it is. Otherwise you're wasting time.

The only thing he's pointing out is the money that's flowing into the game in Europe -- really France -- and how players can command salaries today no where near what pros couldn't just a short couple decades ago. And a short couple decades ago, those pros were league, because union was still amateur. No one is arguing that there aren't some incredible athletes in league, and if you look at his graph about Inglis, Thurston, etc., that's actually a compliment about their atheticism -- that those players could command salaries in France playing an unfamiliar code that they couldn't in Australia.

The only possible negativity I can see would be implied, and that's if you read into it. That possible criticism would be that given league's 100 year head start as a professional concern, why is it they're really only in Australia, a region of Britain, and some Pacific Island countries, while newly-professional union has been able to surpass league in scope and in how much money they can bring and offer? If you want to talk about what's a better spectator sport, a lot of the money in France has come from a new television contract with the Top 14, and that contract is based on customers tuning in to see rugby -- enough people that Canal+ is earning enough to pa the Top 14 so much that players at the ends of their careers can make millions. So the market in France has spoken -- those spectators prefer union. Apparently they prefer it a lot.

But that's only a negativity if I read into the article -- that's never actually stated in it. But if you've spotted something in that piece like Dan Ginane bitching about union being "the kick and clap," show us, don't tell us we just don't get it. Because if you don't, we'll just think you don't have a case.

 

[terry j]

exacatactly mxy.

It was supposed to be an example of putting the boot in. I ask where is that example?

 

[papabear]

Matt Giteau's $1.4m offer shows why union is putting league in the shade
The headline, infers league is falling behind. Obviously we don't know what in but definitely a negative inference.

That is, that whatever the outcry at the time, it showed that the genuinely global nature of rugby will always be able to generate much more money for the elite players than the mostly Sydney suburban game of league.
Whether or not you believe it to be true or not, the comparison is again meant to draw a negative inference regarding the size and scope of rugby league.

So I'll ask again. If you were guiding a seriously good 18-year-old footballer and had the choice of steering him to union or league, where would you steer him?
Parra or Paris?

Again you might believe its true, fair enough, but it doesn't make it any less negative towards rugby league in what it is trying to infer.

Just because wording isn't direct the inferences are pretty clear.

 

[Sully]

I can see why a league lover wouldn't like it.

 

[papabear]

mxy I don't want to talk about the rugby union and rugby league market in france.

But if your interested in what my opinion is as to why the market has spoken as you suggested, google rugby league in france.

 

[mxyzptlk]

Facts aren't the same as sledging. Is it not true that NRL players aren't making 1.4 million per year? (For what it's worth, neither are most union players.) Is it not true that union is far more a global game than league? Are you saying that the Sydney suburbs will be able to match what a globalized game can offer?

Look, I'm not a tall guy, but someone pointing out that I'm just not as tall as as lock isn't exactly a sledge against me.

 

[RugbyFuture]

who cares papabear is a guy who goes around on the leagueunlimited forums talking about his victories in talking back to rugby people. Just ignore him.

 

[Set piece magic]

Yes the removal of Rugby League in France is sad IMO and was evil by Rugby administrators. Rugby here is copping similar treatment from a media and perception POV, obviously its analogous but not the same.

IMO Rugby here went downhill the day it joined SANZAR and started playing teams from SA that no one knows about.

Imagine if say, they had the vision to create the NRC in '96 as the premier Rugby comp here with all our pro players, and basically say to NZ well look kents we've got this comp you join up if you want with some of your bigger NPC sides, promotion relegation style.

The result would have been a beautiful running rugby competition, genuine history and rivalry, sufficient product & growth, money, etc.

We play under the NRC rules, fans vote with their feet, people love it, fans demand the IRB adopt the rules, bingo world Rugbys problems are solved.

If we could have an administration with a bit of vision that would be great.

Just imagine a trans-tasman national competition with all of those Rugby areas involved that have such history and tradition for the game. Then we play NZ in a 3 game, 3 week Bledisloe Cup series on Wednesday nights two weeks after the Trans-Tasman Cup (the cup for our provincial rugby sides).

Instead we have a plastic Super Rugby competition where we play plastic teams in the middle of the night on pay television in plastic boring games of football that are all about kicking the ball away.


For all the counter argument with papabear he has made a few points. If only the two Rugby codes where administrated properly ala AFL.