Rugby league is going back to the 80s
Roar Guru By Walshy17, 17 Jul 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- NSW Blues, Queensland Maroons, Rugby League, State Of Origin
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The other night, millions of people sat down expecting to watch a football match, but what they got was a trip down memory lane: big hits, brawls and guys standing toe to toe.
Many people in the rugby league world were excited by this and much has been written about State of Origin living on.
What I saw was the slow painful death of a professional sport.
The game was tough, exciting and enjoyable for the millions who watched it. But then in the 78th minute, it was all undone, with two baboons going toe to toe with each other.
The crowd roared, the commentators loved it. Origin was back! Back to the good old days of the 80s. Maybe so, but wasn’t the good old days a time when the sport was semi-professional, wasn’t broadcast on television, and when players could drink and do what they wanted outside of the game?
If a game is a success because of two blokes belting each other, then the game is doomed to fail.
The NRL and their half-wit administrators need to stop living in the ‘good old days’ of the 80s and wake up and see that this is a professional sport, watched by millions of people every year (well for now anyway).
It is no longer acceptable to belt someone and knock them unconscious. That’s not what they are paid to do.
I don’t like bringing up the old “mothers wont let kids play” story, but if the game is only successful because of boxing sessions on the field, then mothers and fathers won’t let their kids play.
It’s as simple as that.
I am a fan of rugby league and a fan of most professional sports. I am worried though about the future of this game.
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- Explore:
- NSW Blues, Queensland Maroons, Rugby League, State Of Origin
July 17th 2009 @ 10:14am
Redb said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:14am | Report comment
The Link,
I agree with you comments.
But we already know AFL struggles to win over RL fans in NSW and QLD. That has been the case for 20 years.
Many like to bring up Barry Hall. He got 7 weeks for the punch/jab on Staker, how many weeks will Price and White get? There is huge difference in how off the ball violence is treated.
Barry Hall no longer plays for the Swans as a result of his on field actions.
Redb
July 17th 2009 @ 10:15am
david N said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:15am | Report comment
I have just read that 4 people have died in PNG is brawls after the State of Origin .. maybe that expansion hasnt been so good ….
July 17th 2009 @ 10:43am
sheek said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:43am | Report comment
Redb,
It works like this. Two guys have a difference of opinion on the footy field, they throw haymakers at each, mostly missing. Pretty soon team-mates pull them apart. Or well, maybe after a few others join in.
Eventually sanity is restored & players cautioned. Both players are happy because they’ve shown their ‘manhood’ & got rid of their frustration, & it’s back to the game. In 99.9% of situations, no one gets seriously injured.
Give me that any day in preference to all the dirty, underhand, unseen, cowardly stuff that goes on (still).
BTW, White & Price showed better boxing skills than most footy players (from all codes). Price landed a couple on White before White got the ‘good one’ away.
July 17th 2009 @ 10:45am
The Link said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:45am | Report comment
RL is not going back to the 80′s, it has moved on.
Yeah the referees condoned it so much that they sent off 3 guys (2 for 10 mins)
If Waterhouse doesn’t come in then both Price and White go on report, they got the wrong guy.
However they both should’ve got at least 10 in the bin and a few weeks I agree.
It would be interesting in a straw poll what act people saw as worse, B Hall’s unprovoked punch or White and Price going at it.
July 17th 2009 @ 10:58am
The Link said | July 17th 2009 @ 10:58am | Report comment
Quote from Geoff Carr CEO of the ARL
“We don’t condone what happened, and we don’t encourage it,” Mr Carr said.
“Over the last 10 years, that sort of stuff has been out of Origin. Queensland was desperate to win and make it a clean sweep in front of their home crowd, and NSW was desperate not to let it happen.
“That sort of stuff happened 30 years ago.”
July 17th 2009 @ 11:10am
Redb said | July 17th 2009 @ 11:10am | Report comment
Sheek,
Don’t fall into the trap that I’m comparing appreciated biff/violence in RL and AFL I’m not. AFL fans dont’ like what Hall did or the off the ball incidents either, it’s not what drives them to buy a ticket to an AFL game to see that sort of stuff.
There is some evidence that the Swans have partly suffered a decline in support in Sydney as a result of Hall’s actions particularly the hit on Staker.
The Link,
So do you detect some cringe from Carr worried what it might look like to people in ‘expansion’ states? Being desperate to win is about getting the ball and attacking or defending, I dont think the fight had much to do with winning or losing the game
Carr appears to be only paying lip service to it. The sanction or weeks suspension will be?
Redb
July 17th 2009 @ 11:26am
sheek said | July 17th 2009 @ 11:26am | Report comment
Redb,
My comments have been offered as a generalisation. I would be happy to see two AFL players go toe to toe as well, throw & miss, get their frustrations out, manhood intact, get on with the game.
You should know me as a lover of all the footy codes more or less, that I’m not interested in making cheap shots. Not my usual style at all.
We watch different sports to feed different desires, don’t we. Some of the stuff that is acceptable in the rugby codes would be very out of place in either AFL or soccer, for example.
I try to keep things in perspective. Each sport has its toughness. However, its translated in different ways.
July 17th 2009 @ 11:30am
Redb said | July 17th 2009 @ 11:30am | Report comment
Bill McIllroy, Oikee,
“The RL players face up toe to toe and that say’s it all about the two games.”
Is that right, so the kick to Wolfmans head by Thaiday was fair play?. The bloke who picked up Price off the turf whilst he was unconscious was a tough act, Barret’s hit on Inglis from behind in the previous SOO is how Rugby league blokes handle things? Any better than Barry Hall?
There were plenty of incidents in that SOO that cannot be lauded as tough acts. Most will go unpunished or under punished.
Redb
July 17th 2009 @ 11:39am
Redb said | July 17th 2009 @ 11:39am | Report comment
Sheek,
“I would be happy to see two AFL players go toe to toe as well, throw & miss, get their frustrations out, manhood intact, get on with the game.”
I want to see all out attack on the ball first and foremost not a boxing match.
Redb
July 17th 2009 @ 11:56am
Redb said | July 17th 2009 @ 11:56am | Report comment
that should be Thurston not Thaiday re the kick into William’s head..