Wallaby 31 players for 2015 RWC

[Pfitzy]

The difference is that League players hang out with their so-called 'mates' who don't give a toss if their 'mate' gets in trouble.

Actually most of those "mates" are accustomed to living in the same little bubble as their star "mate" - the one with a few privileges and no repercussions.

The rugby league loving public treat these guys like demigods, particularly if they're in hospitality, so they can get other bogans in the door.

Remember that guys like Carney are treated like their shit doesn't stink from a very young age, and don't really understand responsibility or value their position. I think most bored, young blokes with too much money would end up in the same boat.

There are simply less rugby players in this position, and a smaller public profile, so less of them get into trouble like that.

 

[wamberal]

There is another hugely important factor in all this. It is not at all uncommon for kids to be signed up as young as 14 to professional contracts in league. That must warp their view of life in general, and particularly ephemera like education. I mean, why bother learning anything except how to count to errrrr 6?


I do not subscribe to the view that rugby players are intrinsically less likely to get into trouble, but I do think that it helps if a kid finishes high school, and then starts some sort of tertiary education. That two step process is far more likely to happen in our game, and I would guess that virtually 100% of our elite players at least finished high school. Maybe that gives them a slightly more rational worldview, a bit more capability to understand cause and effect, a bit more maturity. One thing is for sure, the average rugby player is far more able to speak relatively intelligently in media interviews, compared with their knuckle-dragging counterparts in loig.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Not many rugby players are signed straight out of school. Being put in your place by club stalwarts in amateur rugby generally sets them on a good path.

 

[Pfitzy]

There is another hugely important factor in all this. It is not at all uncommon for kids to be signed up as young as 14 to professional contracts in league. That must warp their view of life in general, and particularly ephemera like education. I mean, why bother learning anything except how to count to errrrr 6?

You only need 5 if you're a playmaker in Loig - no-one else needs to count even that many.

You're right about education - while the private school system that rugby is tied to has many flaws, at least it ensures the kids who come out of it know there are prospects out there beyond rugby. For someone whose parents are e.g. white collar professionals with careers, and/or hard workers who got their son through a fairly exclusive school and instill those ethics and values, there is an environment in which they know how to behave.

A lot of the kids who end up in League (and AFL) are there because it is an escape from circumstances. Not that there aren't "rich" families in league, but it covers a much broader socio-economic spectrum and so the option for a talented kid to make it in the big time and earn twice what his old man ever did, at the age of 20, is tempting.

Very few actually make it though, and fall back into the semi-pro game before repeating the cycle with their own offspring.

 

[Jets]

I know a few rugby players who went to exclusive schools who didn't get a great education. Some of these schools see these guys as cattle to play rugby and not as student athletes. I'm all for scholarships if the kid gets an education, not if they just play rugby.


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[Pfitzy]

Well you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it think

 

[Lindommer]

That'd be in Queensland surely, Jets?

 

[wamberal]

I know a few rugby players who went to exclusive schools who didn't get a great education. Some of these schools see these guys as cattle to play rugby and not as student athletes. I'm all for scholarships if the kid gets an education, not if they just play rugby.


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At the other end of the spectrum, when I was doing some voluntary work at the local primary school, one of the kids, aged 10, was a champion surfer and loig footballer. He had already decided that he was going to make a fortune playing professional sport, and made it very clear to everybody that he was not going to put any effort in at all at school. His parents actually employed a tutor for him, to little avail.

That is the fault of his coaches, frankly. Every junior coach should be reminding their charges of the importance of education.


Bugger me, even loig players need to be able to read and comprehend a contract, I would have thought.

 

[Braveheart81]

The NRL has actually made big steps to ensure people are seeking further education.

Everyone (from U20 to veteran NRL players) has to be doing some form of study until they reach a certain level of qualification.

It's a good thing because the average NRL player gets paid pretty poorly and has a short career.

 

[fatprop]

Not many rugby players are signed straight out of school. Being put in your place by club stalwarts in amateur rugby generally sets them on a good path.

And you can tell the non "learners" they keep changing clubs and are not missed, despite their talents, by their previous clubs

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

That is the fault of his coaches, frankly. Every junior coach should be reminding their charges of the importance of education.

The coaching coordinator at our local footy club (where my boy plays), who also has the same role at the district WAFL club, every year gets up in front of all the parents and gives the same lecture about the odds of becoming a top level player (very low). The message appears to have sunk in and it's a pity it's not delivered more frequently in other places.

 

[wamberal]

The coaching coordinator at our local footy club (where my boy plays), who also has the same role at the district WAFL club, every year gets up in front of all the parents and gives the same lecture about the odds of becoming a top level player (very low). The message appears to have sunk in and it's a pity it's not delivered more frequently in other places.

Tthe average NRL career is 49 first grade games spanning 4.2 years. 36% of players who make first grade play fewer than 10 games. 56.8% play fewer than 30 games. It would be interesting to see these statistics for all professional sports. Should be required reading for all potential "stars" of the game, whichever code.

 

[Braveheart81]

Tthe average NRL career is 49 first grade games spanning 4.2 years. 36% of players who make first grade play fewer than 10 games. 56.8% play fewer than 30 games. It would be interesting to see these statistics for all professional sports. Should be required reading for all potential "stars" of the game, whichever code.

I think these sort of stats are fairly universal. The number of games may change (depending on the competition) but the length of time being a professional doesn't so much.

I think the one major outlier would be football where players playing in top leagues in UK/Europe who don't cut it will have so many options below that to ply their trade as professionals.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Not only those average stats from @Wamberal, but more important information would be the average salary.

Multiply that figure by the 4.2 years to see how attractive that is as a career option.

Our "Mr Average" player would have earned a small stipend while in the U20's and SG Ball comps - not a lot, and would not be attracting much in the way of third party endorsements or sponsorships either.

Unfortunately every parent and coach seems to think that their kid is going to be the exception to the rule, and end up as the superstar making squillions from the game and endorsements/sponsorships, followed by a well paid and enduring role in the media after their playing career has finished.

 

[wamberal]

Not to mention the certainty, Hugh, that the average kid signing a pro contract would immediately go out and buy a new car, sign a lease on a swish apartment, etc etc. Expenditure has a habit of rising to meet (and often exceed) income.


I wonder how much money Todd Carney has in the bank, or other unencumbered financial or real assets? My guess is, two-fifths of you know what.

 

[Scrubber2050]

Did hear of a kid who ended up on a music scholourship at a famous rugby and GPS school. Reason: they were all out of rugby scholourships : Poor bugger did not even know what a clarinet was - thought it was a wine

 

[cyclopath]

Did hear of a kid who ended up on a music scholourship at a famous rugby and GPS school. Reason: they were all out of rugby scholourships : Poor bugger did not even know what a clarinet was - thought it was a wine

Played badly, it is a whine.

 

[Train Without a Station]

NRL and AFL would be on the low end due to the lack of options outside Australia. Cameron Treolar for example has not played in Australia for close to 7 years yet was still playing professional in Europe this year.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Tthe average NRL career is 49 first grade games spanning 4.2 years. 36% of players who make first grade play fewer than 10 games. 56.8% play fewer than 30 games. It would be interesting to see these statistics for all professional sports. Should be required reading for all potential "stars" of the game, whichever code.

As BH said, those numbers are fairly universal. When I lived in the US, the average career for an NFL player was from memory around 3.5 years.

 

[Tomikin]

So back to 23 for world cup.. if Karmichael comes could he make it.. I think he has as good a chance as JOC (James O'Connor) .. Im excited probably more then Izzy.. mostly as its been drawn out but the guys class ..