A great day for the greatest game of all
Roar Rookie
By Corey, 5 Feb 2010 Bam Bam is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- ARL, Four Nations, independent commission, NRL, Rugby League, Willie Mason
February 4th could not have been a better day for rugby league even if the Independent Commission took over from the ARL tomorrow.
This day is the day that the NRL should promote more than that of the Centenary, for this is the day rugby league reclaimed a lost son, scheduled a very decent Four Nations, and the American Rugby League formalised a structure along with announcing some well-known players for their professional inaugural year.
West Tigers unveiled that they recruited Lote Tuquiri, one of our last rep players to return from Unionland. Now the Tigers have a star recruit that can attract season members, which is what will hopefully happen.
Willie ‘Bad Boy’ Mason is now Willie ‘Cowboy’ Mason, and it seems that the Cowboys culture will stem the flow of incidents by the big ‘Johnson’. And now the Roosters can focus on footy instead of appearance.
The Four Nations are scheduled, with New Zealand the big winner with a double-header at Auckland’s Eden Park, along with Brisbane once again enjoying the final. And Melbourne now gets to taste another “Convicts vs the Old Dart”, with rugby league staging a great game in a great new stadium.
Season memberships are up mostly across the board, and hopefully they become an integral part of every club.
The U.S.A. have now got a professional competition scheduled in for 2011, along with confirmation of a couple of great inclusions. Stacey Jones and Daniel Wagon are confirmed for the inaugural competition, along with a fixed schedule, all of this to be launched and confirmed on the patriotic 4th July.
It seems this is a day of relief for the greatest game of all.
Finally, all the puzzle pieces are joining without some childish-character producing a dummy spit to ruin it.
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- Explore:
- ARL, Four Nations, independent commission, NRL, Rugby League, Willie Mason
Crosscoder said | February 5th 2010 @ 5:57am | Report comment
Have to agree with your sentiments, especially with Lote’s return and the 4 nations schedule finally pinned down.The day the SL debacle reared its ugly head,international matches in the code not only took a back seat but withered.
Willie can be a destructed running forward in close and running wide.It is his pinhead attitude at times off the field which lets him down ,and it appears to effect his playing.Most people like a bit of the larrikin spirit,but one must also know when to pull their heads in.
Last year was like a season out of hell offfield,but the resilience of the game,the class of the players and the loyalty of the fans rose above it all.
I too read an article on the new US Pro rl comp, by the respected and well travelled Steve Mascord(who lives and breathes the game),and with his close overseas’ contacts.Appears all is just about bedded down,with backers, overseas players notified,Tv and with just a few loose ends for the initial exhibition season 2010,then the real McCoy said to be announced on 4th July.The knockers were out in force when the initial comments on this comp were noted some time ago,they will still be around as sure as night follows day.
I am also predicting a couple more positive announcements with one club in particular, over the next couple of months.
Mick from Giralang said | February 5th 2010 @ 7:12am | Report comment
Rugby league in the United States should be a winner if it can get some oxygen among the established sports. The NRL finals series was shown last season in the United States (on Spike TV) and the station was inundated with viewers gushing about how good the game is.
It is easy to knock people who are having a go, and this interesting article will bring the anti-leaguies out in droves to knock the US competition. But as Woody Allen once said, 80 percent of success is in showing up.
Siva Samoa said | February 5th 2010 @ 6:03am | Report comment
the only problem wit the proposed usa professional competition is that stacy jones doesn’t seem to know anyting about it.
Sam said | February 5th 2010 @ 7:28am | Report comment
true, a tvnz article yesterday quoted him as saying he knows nothing about it.
Rod said | February 5th 2010 @ 6:34am | Report comment
Siva Samoa for once I agree with you, bit silly to mention Jones and then have the fella come out and say he knows nothing about it.
To much BS being talked and not enough real work going on.
I want RL to expand, I just want it to go about expanding the right way from a grass roots approach.
If the USRL takes off, I’ll be very very happy, but I can’t see it with what has been proposed, it looks to micky mouse to me.
I don’t see why they can’t continue to expand the AMNRL like they will be doing this year with Pittsburgh, it’s been working for them so far, why change now and hope it takes off when everything could fall apart after their first game?
Siva Samoa said | February 5th 2010 @ 6:49am | Report comment
why this amnrl teams don’t have juniors or teams at high schools or colleges beats me.
Rodney McDonell said | February 5th 2010 @ 7:21am | Report comment
Once again jumping the gun on the US NRL. Don’t think it is certain. All we’ve heard is a few dicey details, which is what we heard last year and look how that turned out. Theres nothing here to make me think – as much as i’d like to – that it’s going to be any different.
True Tah said | February 5th 2010 @ 7:38am | Report comment
The problem with US RL is that it is being built from the top down. Where are high schools and junior clubs?
Surely they could have learnt from Australian rugby’s problems??
Cracker said | February 5th 2010 @ 9:26am | Report comment
The top down approach seems to be the case. Where will they draw the players from, remembering that the competition should be of a relatively high standard if it is to attract an audience. They would need a production line of sorts if they are to make the competition sustainable.
M1tch said | February 5th 2010 @ 8:07am | Report comment
Great day for the game!
Jay said | February 5th 2010 @ 9:15am | Report comment
Read the article about US NRL – its a six week comp? I guess its better than nothing, but hopefully they have find a window in the busy US sporting calandar to get some half decent exposure.
M1tch said | February 5th 2010 @ 9:24am | Report comment
I thought the original opposed idea was the best start in march and end in july, bit i suppose just to start the sport a 6 week opener is the best way financially
oikee said | February 5th 2010 @ 10:00am | Report comment
French rugby league is non existent, american rugby league has no junior comp, super league is struggling in Wales, PNG has to go their own way to strengthen their international game along with the pacific islands. NZ rugby league has to again start from scratch after letting the local comp die. And the strongest comp, NRL, is going nowhere because the game is run by dinosaurs still.
We are getting washed up Union players back into the game with the increasing threat that many are leaving to go to union because the money is better.
No, the game is not getting any better, we have normal slow growth around the world with nothing to push them to any great heights, because the NRL was to backwardly run to grow the game internationally because of inward thinking.
And you want me to be cheerful about what? A independent commission that could take another 2 years to get up and running, by which time the horse has already bolted and we are being bent backwards by burgeoning gains made by other codes.
Rugby league is great, but the NRL is selling itself way short, it should be telecast into every country over 5 years ago. We are still just selling the game to the yanks now, plus we will be 20 years behind selling the game to the Chinese at this rate.
Rugby league is a bussiness, until we get people who know how to run a bussiness running the game we have buckleys and none of growing the game above amatuer to any country.
We need our best product,NRL, out their selling the game, am i the only one who can see this, their is every code plying their games overseas for other countries to watch, rugby league is way behind in every aspect of international bussiness.
We are a 3rd world league, put simply. We are the Congo, being run by Cogoans, if we had the Chinese running us, think about the prospects. That is harse, but its the only way for you guys to understand what is happening to our game at top level.
mushi said | February 5th 2010 @ 3:05pm | Report comment
Yes rugby league is a business and people that know how to run a business know that blind expansion is about measuring up your Big Willie to tell the other CEO’s how great you are. It isn’t about the return.
There isn’t a CEO in the world taht could of achieved your “should have” case without taking a million to one risk for a hundred to one return.
Springs said | February 5th 2010 @ 3:13pm | Report comment
The NRL is a business, Rugby League is a sport.
Mick from Giralang said | February 6th 2010 @ 6:19am | Report comment
Oikee, I’ve put some cheer-up pills in the mail for you mate.
Luke W said | February 5th 2010 @ 10:08am | Report comment
If rugby league expands into America with the proposed top-down system it will lead to the bastardisation of the game as we know it to fit to American tastes. Just look at the teething problems the MLS had with this approach with all sorts of rule changes such as a countdown clock that paused at stoppages and NHL style penalty shootouts from 35 yards out.
oikee said | February 5th 2010 @ 10:19am | Report comment
I think the top down approach is the only way to go in America, its now 2010, if we waited for a grass-roots system we would be waiting maybe another 100 years. You need to be supplying best product practices, so a game which can be telecast will be better recieved than a amatuer game, expecially in America where sport is already intrenched.
Your only hope is by showing the game, (best of) and hoping that someone likes what they see, if this does not happen, you have buckleys and none of ever seeing a new sport grow.
The NRL needs to be selling its game to America and China and even India. If people like the game, they can then get juniors involved. I think its the only chance rugby league has got, and now is the perfect time to be selling our game, the market is low with money to be made in smart bussiness thnking by the yanks and chinese.
Siva Samoa said | February 5th 2010 @ 11:38am | Report comment
There’s alot of people in Australia and NZ who enjoy watching NFL live on Foxtel and Sky Sports but the majority of them won’t jump out of the cough to go and play it. The same would happen to both rugby codes in America.
M1tch said | February 5th 2010 @ 2:28pm | Report comment
but we dont have the NFL is our own backyard
the yanks will have pro rugby league in some of their backyards
Siva Samoa said | February 5th 2010 @ 3:00pm | Report comment
There’s NFL amateur league in many states and provinces of Australia and New Zealand. The pro rugby league thing in America was suppose to kick off this year. How long are we going to wait ?
M1tch said | February 6th 2010 @ 2:24pm | Report comment
1 year
mushi said | February 5th 2010 @ 3:00pm | Report comment
Not a pro league but every major city has a league you can play in.
Lazza said | February 5th 2010 @ 11:49am | Report comment
MLS operates under FIFA rules last time I checked? If they don’t the US will be thrown out and not be able to compete in international competitions.
I’m not sure about the top-down approach either. The MLS worked because there are so many American kids playing the game and they’re going from strength to strength. All the US based sports shows I see on Pay TV have plenty of Soccer coverage now which is a big change from only a few years ago.
That will be the big test as far are generating any interest goes in the US. If it doesn’t get any ‘oxygen’ of publicity then it will just be a tiny niche sport. You can sell the TV rights to a million countries but if they’re not interested it will be telecast on Sports Channel 8 at 3:am and the NRL will receive about $10 for the rights.