Media should embrace world rugby league
Roar Rookie
By kiwiinoz, 11 Mar 2010 kiwiinoz is a Roar Rookie
113 Have your say
Well, the season is about to start and all us NRL nuts cannot wait. We also have the “pleasure” of looking forward to the “champion” of our great game, Channel 9, running their Footy Show.
I, for one, cannot wait for the new Channel 7 show and hope they show us some news from the English Super League. Let’s also hope Channel 9 shows some, too.
There are a plethora of Kiwi and Australian players in the ESL, not to mention other places around the world. Why do we never hear how well the game is going on that circus act they call a footy-based show?
Why do we never hear such news as the Celtic Crusaders and their signing of the Welsh rugby union captain?
Surely this is great news for our game and the game in Wales, but, oh yes, it doesn’t involve NSW or to a lesser extent Queensland.
I challenge us all to email Channel 7 and 9 and ask them to include news from outside Australia.
You only need to look at how great our game is going in the Gulf States and the Islands via these web sites. If only the television and media would pick up on this and promote the game!
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Col the Bear said | March 11th 2010 @ 5:08am | Report comment
I buy Rugby league review each month it is by the far the better rugby league magazine going around, and I recomend this read to everyone.. it has all the countries who play RL in it and good in depth on how the country rugby leagu divisions are going.. this is the mag that you do find out with whats going on with rugby league around the world..
M1tch said | March 11th 2010 @ 5:24am | Report comment
Agree 100% kiwi, havent been fox sports have 1 story on gareth thomas signing, but no doubt any league player crossing over and its first item every bulletin
oikee said | March 11th 2010 @ 7:12am | Report comment
I seen a super league game sunday nite. You have to tape them, but 9 is at least putting them on air still. It would be good if Matty Johns show has a bit about super league. I am not suprised that nobody has done this.? What would you expect, we are the most backward run code in the world.
We are run by dills , Col, Mitch, you 2 could do a better job for rugby league. From the top to the media to everyone involved in running rugby league, the only good ideas are coming from the new blood in the sport, think about that, And then you can sleep easy because it can never get any worse.
Dave said | March 11th 2010 @ 7:34am | Report comment
Thomas switching codes made news in Wales and in Northern England. Don’t tell me your going to blame others when it is the job of the rugby league journalists and rugby league employers to get this news to the media.
There has been many rugby league players who switch to rugby in the north hemisphere that never made the news here in Australia or NZ.
Rod said | March 11th 2010 @ 8:32am | Report comment
Name them Dave.
Siva Samoa said | March 11th 2010 @ 9:28am | Report comment
what about this lot ? Gareth Raynor, Chris Ashton, Henry Paul, Pryce, Connoly, Fred Tuilagi, Sullivan, Shontayne Hape, Motu Tony, Semi Tadulala, Tevita Vaikona, Clinton Toopi, Henry Faafili and many others.
Rod said | March 11th 2010 @ 9:41am | Report comment
Yep, heard of the all siva.
And if you go to a few Aussie newspapers and have a search, no doubt most of those names will come up in regards to switching, so stop the BS mate.
Shodan said | March 11th 2010 @ 10:45am | Report comment
Samoa spouting BS? next thing you will be saying that is that he uses alts.
Dave said | March 11th 2010 @ 9:33am | Report comment
There has been many switch from superleague to rugby that never made the news Rod. Im sure you know most of them.,
Rod said | March 11th 2010 @ 9:44am | Report comment
Look dave/siva haha, how ironic you two clowns posting together huh?
It makes news out here simply because the newspapers always jump on it because they seem to like making the impression that RL is dying.
Dave said | March 11th 2010 @ 9:56am | Report comment
Like the impression now that RU is dying every time the ARU are in trouble ?
Rod said | March 11th 2010 @ 10:22am | Report comment
No, RL fans say it to get to the likes of you, that’s all.
Steffy said | March 12th 2010 @ 1:56am | Report comment
Super League is a rugby competition.
Rod said | March 11th 2010 @ 7:36am | Report comment
Agree with all of this.
I have watched games from England, Wales and France already this season so the games are out there if people dig deep enough and look.
It wouldn’t take much to get a half hour show on 1 day a week, maybe a Sunday after the footy show/Boots n all.
Something similar to Total Rugby or one of the World game shows they have on SBS every week.
Funny thing is, NZ gets more international RL on TV than we do, yet we get all the International RU, daft isn’t it, they have got it backwards.
We had to watch the RLWC qualifiers on Telstras big pond site while NZ and England had them on Sky sports, I know it’s hard for FTA TV to put them on, so what is Foxsports excuse?
I use to have Pay TV just for the RL, yet they’ve never offered to put anything on from outside Australia besides a week old SL game on a thursday night that went head to head with the footy show at times and they use to change the times when it was on.
They treat the game like garbage out here.
Rodney McDonell said | March 11th 2010 @ 8:14am | Report comment
This is pretty simple. There isn’t a large enough market for information on what is happening in the ESL. Its the same reason that local media don’t talk up the Top14 or the professional water polo leagues in europe. Neither do we get extensive coverage of the NFL or Major League baseball. It’s simple. Not enough people care. Just because you do doesn’t mean everyone else will.
Channel 9 showed an ESL game last weekend. So there is enough coverage there to show a game in the early morning hours. Maybe the footy shows will mention the odd Australian plying his trade over seas, but i doubt it’ll be regular. NRL on FOX did an expose on Matt Orford last night and i think that’ll probably continue in the weeks to come.
Rod said | March 11th 2010 @ 8:31am | Report comment
Ummm, we get games from the T14, Curry Cup and NZ’s ANZ on Pay TV out here, no ones watches our local Union games, but they still put on these overseas games for some reason.
Plenty of club union is mentioned on Fox sports, or it was last year when I had Pay TV and that includes the Top 14 from France.
I seen Les Catalans mentioned twice, but they said the English SL with no reference to France.
Springs said | March 11th 2010 @ 10:36am | Report comment
Rod the only time I heard of Catalans on Fox Sports is when they reported on five players being arrested for fighting. In fact that is the only thing (apart from the World Club Challnege) that I have heard on Fox Sports about the ESL this year. Even last year they only thing we saw was the Grand Final score, no highlights, and yet they show highlights of every EPL game.
Rod said | March 11th 2010 @ 10:40am | Report comment
Yes springs, it’s pathetic isn’t it.
I don’t get it, there’d be around 100 Aussies/Kiwis playing in the ESL, yet we hear nothing.
The only sport with more overseas Aussies would be Soccer.
Dave said | March 12th 2010 @ 7:22am | Report comment
There’s more Aussie/Kiwi playing rugby in Europe than league.
Rod said | March 12th 2010 @ 10:52am | Report comment
Prove it, go on Dave.
For a start, Union hasn’t got no where near the amount of players from Australia to send over there in the first place, and NZ is much smaller in regards to a player base compared to RL out here as well.
So Dave, I look forward to you getting around 100 names from Australia and NZ playing in the GP, yes dave, I said GP.
Remember I said the ESL in regards to RL?
So you prove that 1 union comp has more players from Australia and NZ playing R Union in Europe.
When you do that, then you can come back and bundle the T14 and GP together and whatever other comp over there.
Look forward to your reply (if I even get one).
Sam said | March 11th 2010 @ 8:31am | Report comment
I dunno, I think the Australian sports media is pretty insular, and don’t think rugby league should be singled out. Doesn’t help that many people in the media (rightly or wrongly) trumpet the State of Origin as the top level of the sport – hardly helps promote an interest in the game outside of Australia. Maybe the 7 show will discuss the ESL more, who knows.
Crosscoder said | March 11th 2010 @ 9:09am | Report comment
Got to agree with Col the Bear.Rugby League Review(well worth my annual subs) and add in Rugby League World are the “bibles’ if you are into what is happening abroad.
March issue of RLR had further news on the AMNRL(now 12 teams in 2 conferences for 2010) and the new pro tournament.With a 4th July 2010 the pro tournament( as the first pre taster),involving 4 regions Nth East v Sth East, and Nth West v Sth West at the one venue in Philadelphia.The actual 8 team tournament is set down for March 2011.
We await the stampede of knockers,or has become fashionable the charge of the cavalry cynics.
Andrew Voss ch9 and Steve Mascord were the ones in the media ,who mentioned anything about what is happening overseas.
Until such time as the game has a much bigger and more competitive presence internationally,I guess we can’t blame the media for the current situation.
Dave said | March 11th 2010 @ 9:41am | Report comment
Wasn’t the NRLUS suppose to kick off this year . So its now down to four pub teams. Seem to me they try to get there first before the college 7′s and proposed 7′s professional tournament.
cookie said | March 11th 2010 @ 9:24am | Report comment
Are you serious?
Who are they going to report on? I’d bet that you’d be lucky to find anyone who could nominate a handful of teams overseas… Besides there is hardly an international competition… Australians are interested in the NRL, State of Origin and that’s about it…
How would they report on overseas games when much of the media time for league is taken up by pathetic never ending off field dramas rather than NRL games?
Rod said | March 11th 2010 @ 9:36am | Report comment
Wake up cookie, that’s the whole Idea about a half hour show on a sunday so people like you get it into your head that the game is actually played outside of NSW and wigan FFS.
That’s all.
Nothing more nothing less.
The coverage is out there as I watch RL for all over the place, I’m sure if a show was put on after boots n all and had scores and high lights from PNG, France, the Islands, SL and America, RL fans would watch and I’d dare say they’d watch every week.
The footy doesn’t have to be of NRL standard, all the show would be for is to show the fans what is happening around the world, it would open plenty of eyes.
Buy as usual we have the knockers and the flatcappers putting it in the too hard basket or running it down.
Dave said | March 11th 2010 @ 9:44am | Report comment
Well they might as well show club results in soccer and AFL in the Islands, PNG, Japan, Kenya and Morocco.
Rod said | March 11th 2010 @ 10:01am | Report comment
Haha, i’ve seen on Ch9 the results from the AFL in London for gods sake, sports tonight is always pumping the expansion of AFL around the world.
And Soccer has plenty of shows on SBS that show the smaller nations and what’s happening.
Then you have Total Rugby which is a good union program, that’s what RL should get, one like the Union show that goes for half an hour.
If you don’t like that Dave, don’t watch those types of shows and you won’t get upset.
Dogz R Barkn said | March 11th 2010 @ 12:23pm | Report comment
AFL results from London? Never seen it.
You can’t possibly be suggesting that the commercial stations do that as a matter of course??
Dave said | March 12th 2010 @ 7:25am | Report comment
I have never seen any AFL results from London and i’ve watch channel nini news all the time.
Rod said | March 12th 2010 @ 8:11am | Report comment
It happened last year or the year before Dave.
Around the time they had that 60mins puff piece about AFL taking over Sydney and NSW.
You remember that Dave, you participated in a thread about it at a certain Rugby League forum