The League Media

[terry j]

Regarding homophobia, maybe you don't know how oooooold the wrestling = gay trope is. But your comments about men aggressively hugging each other and Beast trying to fuck (!) Warburton are clearly homophobic code, and the second one is a direct sexual reference. So take your sanctimony elsewhere. If you don't want to be accused of being homophobic, don't make comments like Beast is trying to fuck Sam Warburton on the pitch, when you damn well know better. Wise up or harden up. So yeah, I think you're taking it too personally, otherwise you would have chosen your words a little more wisely.

Hi mixy, you knows I love your work, but in this case I think you got the wrong end of the stick and maybe owe papabear an apology.

Well, at least by my reading of what he wrote, but the saffa bloke is trying to fuck him off to get at the ball because it is just sitting there with a shit number 9 who wouldn't get a reserve grade nrl contract takes forever to pick it up.

Unless there is another thing he wrote that I missed, i am assuming this is where you got your 'homophobic' thing from. If this is it, then to be honest I think you read it wrong.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Yeah 7s is good..

not to my taste - but I'm not against its marketing clout being used to get people in

 

[mxyzptlk]

Reducing a game to only have one aspect, like sevens, just rams home to me that everything in life is evaluated by comparison.

7s can get repetitive, and it's the kind of thing you can have on in the background and just look up every now and then. But in the past year I've seen some rolling mauls and there are a few players around now who can chase down nearly anyone, and there's nothing quite like watching the Fijians in full flow.

 

[mxyzptlk]

Hi mixy, you knows I love your work, but in this case I think you got the wrong end of the stick and maybe owe papabear an apology.

That wasn't the first time he'd said something like that regarding wrestling, and I'd already said something once, so I assumed he was just trying to be clever by continuing to use that kind of language. There were better word-choices to make in that context (knock him off the ruck, push him, throw him, etc.). Because of that, I also questioned his sincerity at being offended -- both the initial uses of that language and the hurt feelings afterwards seemed like a distraction from the argument at hand.

But if he's sincerely hurt, I sincerely apologize. I'd rather focus on the real scoundrels, the league media! (Which I think have actually been pretty good about acknowledging the problem with slowing down the tackle, and many have been good about not giving domestic abuse a pass.)

 

[papabear]

all accepted, all is fair in love and the internet.

To be fair to this forum, in comparing rugby union and rugby league, this forum is a healthier spot for conversation and debate, far far more healthier then league unlimited. Though, how league unlimited became the most active of all rugby league forums annoys me..


I think I am in the firm majority that
1 - enjoyed your sevens clip more then wrestling of either code.
2 - no right minded person whatever their sporting persuasion gives domestic abuse a pass.

 

[terry j]

so I assumed he was just trying to be clever by continuing to use that kind of language.

Yes, no, maybe. Tho to be fair I don't particularly recall him saying things as you took it. If I did, I too would prob be ready to 'assume the worst'.

I might not have used those words, but if I am honest it does sound like the type of thing I could say, so in all honesty I doubt he meant it the way you read it.

(and yes i read your post too papabear) Whilst it is obvious I don't agree with papabear in the slightest regarding the relative merits of the games, I think it is particularly 'wonderful' that he CAN come here with very different points of view and be able to discuss them with us.

It is simultaneously a commendation of him as well as a commendation of ourselves.

And because we all have at least some degree of common respect, it has been an enjoyable discussion!

Not that I have tried, but I can well imagine what the response might be if I went onto a league forum and told them all rugby is a better game. I doubt I would be made as welcome as papabear is here.

Aww, shucks, group hug fellas hahah (geddit? main topic of recent discussion)

So, in brief, thanks to both you and papabear (as well as everyone else of course) for contributing. I think we'd be poorer if we were not as tolerant and welcoming.

 

[papabear]

which is exactly why this is forum is far better then league unlimited.

 

[mxyzptlk]

all accepted, all is fair in love and the internet.

To be fair to this forum, in comparing rugby union and rugby league, this forum is a healthier spot for conversation and debate, far far more healthier then league unlimited. Though, how league unlimited became the most active of all rugby league forums annoys me..


I think I am in the firm majority that
1 - enjoyed your sevens clip more then wrestling of either code.
2 - no right minded person whatever their sporting persuasion gives domestic abuse a pass.

I honestly was not convinced that you were sincerely offended, and I did believe you were having a low-level crack at the sport. But if I did offend you, I do apologize.

(And I'll save my wrestling stuff for some other thread, or at least just bring it out when necessary/asked.)

By the way, even if all the NRL coaches reject any possible law changes, could they go through anyway? Or do they have to have a majority coach approval?

 

[Mr Doug]

I couldn't resist the chance to comment on a bloke who some refer to as "Darius Bennett"!! It has been suggested that his torn Achilles today was "kharma"!
Mr Bennett sacked two good fullbacks to get Boyd into the Broncs, and it has backfired! Suck it in Wayne, you grub! What goes around, comes around!!
To borrow a phrase from Santa: "Ho, ho, ho"!!

 

[papabear]

to be honest I am not sure how law changes in the NRL work.

My guess is that the NRL rules committee / NRL could put in what rule changes they want. However, each club the nswrl and qrl all have some sort of vote in the ARLC who then in turn make the CEO appointment for the NRL. So they are trying to keep everyone happy I suppose.

I agree with the underlying theme that the NRL shouldn't give a shit about what the clubs want and do whats best for the sport. Otherwise they will only hurt themselves.

As for Darius Boyd, as a raiders fan I have no love whatsoever for the broncos and wish a plague on all their houses and noted that injury without any sympathy whatsoever.

 

[Aussie D]

"As a Raiders fan" I thought they were a myth. You must be the only one left after their gun side retired in the 1990s. Enjoy the wooden spoon this year under Ricky Stuart, he's got quite the coaching knack of achieving them.

 

[mxyzptlk]

.

Thought you might (or might not) like this:

Every Sunday night on talkSPORT in England former England hooker Brian Moore hosts a show called Full Contact. He has a guest co-host on each week, and he covers stories from union, league, women's rugby, and some sevens. Moore has a lot of time for league, and loves to discuss strategies and results during the Super League and NRL seasons.

Every week on the show there's a segment called the Bluffer's Guide, when someone from outside the show asks a rugby-related question. This week the question, from a guy who hosts a football (soccer) show on talkSPORT, was about the rugby league tackle: "Why is it, after they tackle, do they spend hours on the floor and just wriggling on each other? Cuz it's weird."

Moore has played both codes, and his co-host Harlequins winger Ugo Monye was offered a trial in league, but he stayed with union. They give a pretty reasonable response.

You can hear the whole thing here (about 3 minutes).

 

[kandos]

Brian Moore's a Northerner himself and was brought up in Halifax which has had many fine League teams. His response is typical. I've never seen any antipathy between the players of the rival codes. They both realise how hard each code is, so there tends to be mutual respect. It's usually the fans that have never played the game who have issues.

 

[mxyzptlk]

^^^^^^

Ugo Monye's from London, went to school in the south of England, and seems to have plenty of respect for the other code as well.

 

[p.Tah]

Well may be we'll need RL to save us........

Discord believes the NRL should actually consider using its $1.025 billion TV money (the next deal will be much, much more despite the challenges) in a rather daring way. I'd like to see rugby league in Australia buy a stake in rugby union.

The ARU's financial challenges are well documented. Roughly 12 months ago, every club in the country was asked to pay $200 to keep head office afloat.

If rugby league were to buy a stake in the ARU, it could knock down many barriers which currently force players to other codes. For a start, the Australian "rugby" team at the Olympics could be drawn from both codes (that will probably happen with some Pacific countries), which would make the NRL so much more attractive to athletes.

Rugby league in Australia is a club sport needing to strengthen its international component. Rugby union is the opposite. If rugby league were to launch a summer Nines circuit, it could also draw players from both codes.

If clubs can field teams in both sports – as happens in England – then the next logical step is for governing bodies to share resources.

Rugby union is not in a position of strength in Australia right now. As a former banker, NRL CEO David Smith should know that makes it vulnerable for a corporate takeover.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...ease-codes-marketability-20141228-12ejvl.html

 

[wamberal]

It was not all that long ago that rubbish like this would never have seen the light of day in an allegedly serious newspaper.

Maybe it is meant to be humorous?

 

[TOCC]

Humerous...

The IRB would sooner expel the ARU then let a competing code take control of the governing body and test team.


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[wamberal]

Humorous.

The IRB would sooner expel the ARU then let a competing code take control of the governing body and test team.


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Not to mention the reaction from the loig clubs when money that could have gone to them goes to a rival code.

Bizarre is too kind a word for this sort of rubbish.

Incidentally, with the on-going slide in FTA advertising revenues, good luck with his prediction that the next TV deal will be "much, much more".

Despite the challenges? Oh, yeah!

 

[Inside Shoulder]

This Steve mascord.
Earlier this year he banned himself from writing another column on league unless he had a positive story to write: ie he ceased being a journo to become a propagandist.
Besides all that there is no facility for buying a stake: who is selling their stake so this can happen?
This a thinly disguises sour grapes piece driven by the realization that, however lamentable the ARU is, he IRB has some clout with IOC, whereas I doubt they've heard of the NRL.

 

[Quick Hands]

This Steve mascord.
Earlier this year he banned himself from writing another column on league unless he had a positive story to write: ie he ceased being a journo to become a propagandist.
Besides all that there is no facility for buying a stake: who is selling their stake so this can happen?
This a thinly disguises sour grapes piece driven by the realization that, however lamentable the ARU is, he IRB has some clout with IOC, whereas I doubt they've heard of the NRL.

Most league journos are propagandists - notice how many of them talk about "our game" rather than "the game".

One thing the leaguies have worked out is the enormous advantage rugby has with Olympic status. Alas, this penny is yet to drop for most rugby administrators and supporters. No sooner do we get rugby 7s as an Olympic sport, we have people trying to set up a 10 a side tournament - now that's what I call bizarre.