Is league not stimulating enough to keep stars?

After seeing Hunt's efforts over the weekend in the VFL you would hope Folau's advisors would immediately drop any idea of him playing RUnion in the off-season......that effort by Hunt should be a big wake-up call..... Folau has plenty of work to do, as does Hunt.... RL people might be fooled by the "2 goals" headline with respect to Hunt's first AFL game but that is very misleading.... both Hunt's goals were gifts that any AFL player with two arms, two legs and heartbeat would have kicked - both goals were from point blank range and both were gifted to him; one goal given to him by a team mate with a handball to him running into an open goal and one by the umpire from a free kick in the goal square....the rest of the game Hunt virtually had no possessions and looked totally out of his depth and out of the flow of the game....in his debut game Hunt looked exactly like what he is - an oversized and overage Auskicker... nothing more nothing less.... Good luck to Hunt & Folau but the truth is that there is a hell of lot of very hard work ahead for them both to attempt to raise their standard to be even a mediocre AFL player - and there is certainly no guarantees ..... hopefully they can do it but I wouldn't bet 5 cents on it... people who've actually played AFL know how hard the skills are and also know how difficult it can be to find the ball and be involved in the play...and that's even with a 12 year junior pedigree.... some RL supporters have said some very stupid things on these forums about Hunt/Folau coming in and dominating AFL games ..... well as far as Hunt goes all he did was kick 2 gift goals lay a tackle, make a handball and kick the ball out on the full - oh and run around like a headless chook and cramp up in the 3rd quarter.... so much for dominating....i don't think Gary Ablett 's standard 35 possession game in the AFL is in any danger from Hunt... if Hunt comes into the AFL and manages to get a quarter of Ablett's stats that will be a massive acheivement....

I agree the game of league has become so stereotyped, it is generally boring to watch. The replacement rule has led to fit players on the field for the full 80 minutes so the gaps don't appear as late in the game. Too many good athletes and not enough good footballers. I would bring in the rule 2 tacklers only permitted outside your own 25. This will free hands to offload the ball and also require proper tackling techniques. Also I would give a 2 point try only for a try scored from a bomb. It is sad to think that watching the ball playing skills of english rugby league games is more enjoyable.

JVGO, Some people believe Australia can't sustain 4 professional footy codes into perpetuity, & I happen to agree with them. You can tick Football (Soccer) as being here to stay. You can also tick Aussie rules as being here to stay. But AFL will always continue to fight against its achilles heel - lack of international reach. No wonder they made such a fuss of ground hiring with the FFA's application for world cup hosting rights. Which brings us to rugby league and rugby union. There will be a merging or takeover of one rugby code by the other. When or how this will exactly happen, I don't know, except that it will. And should any merger/takeover be inevitable? Call it rationalisation, natural attrition or whatever. We haven't even seen the trigger yet, & it may even be something small that escalates out of control. It could be economic rationalstion by big business, or media moguls (again), or massive player movement. I have no doubt there will eventually be only one rugby code. I don't think AFL is envious of NRL, rather than enjoying some destabilisation, since they're in a position to do so. The AFL probably appreciate the sporting landscape more keenly than the other codes. They might be dominant at present, but they realise that they must totally overwhelm the sporting market, not just be number one. Their lack of international penetration will continue to make them feel very insecure. They just don't want to admit this fact, however.....

I guess that means you're even older than i am Sheek, so I better show some respect. But hell when hasn't RL had a lot to worry about, at least over the last 15 years? Frankly after all its been through i am amazed that it's still in the position it is. I thinik in the end you just have to look at its strengths to explain why it is so resilient. It has rules and a club structure that suits a week in week out competition unlike Union where too many results are decided by penalties and the refs. Yet it still has higher levels of play which are even better at SOO and Test level, unlike AFL which with their SOO didn't actually seem to raise the level of the spectacle. Really only soccer is comparable in these terms and it has weaknesses which we won't even go into. But RL also has a close cousin in RU who is likely to become more like RL in the long term than the other way around. Also it is the absolute dominant TV rating product in the major TV market in OZ and the broadcasters simply cannot replace it with anything else as 95% of people in Sydney aren't interested at all in AFL or RU or even football. So in the end they have to bankroll it regardless of anything else. Add it all up and AFL has to be envious of RL's strength. In fact it seems to me more likely that some hybrid rugby code will dominate OZ sporting culture in 50 years than the AFL or soccer will. AFL right now is probably about as good as it is going to get, although soccer can probably establish itself further.

If Falou goes to Europe just shows he's really interested and challenged to succeed in AFL......not. "Show me the money" Tom Cruise

I'm in the same boat, I watch the Swan's, attend games and am a member, but jeez they are pushing it now,as I have followed league since I was a kid, but also Rugby nut. For me it's like brothers fighting, you don't want to get involved and you don't want anyone to get hurt, but then the big brother start's hitting below the belt, you feel you have to get involved and then you're forced to take sides.

Agree mate, I am not watching an AFL game with Folau or Hunt in it. I will probably keep watching the Lions, not as hard out as I used to, but don't poach players and become friends and you will see a new bunch of supporters jump on your band wagon. I reckon the rebels and storm will actually find a great niche and should think about selling memberships that cross over for both codes.

JVGO, Thanks for that. I'm 18 times 3 so i remember super league very well. But you still haven't answered my question, because a hell of a lot of money has been poured into rugby league to keep it going, despite its apparently eminent position in Australian sport. Love your optimism, but rugby league has a lot to worry about.....

Agree, the ironic thing is if the players that left said it was for the money then we would probably see changes to the salary cap a lot quicker and these incidents wouldn't occur as often.

There is a guy I think he plays for the Colts? He is an Aussie kid who was an AFL up and comer (was going to be put in the draft system) and he chose to go to Hawaii and try and get into the NFL in through the college arena, and did (he worked on it a lot though, his speed of catching the ball and kicking it wasn't up to scratch, but now he is good) and he is now the most expensive punter in the history of the NFL, I think his sign-on fee was like 5-10 mill or something ridiculous.

The story is that the AFL are willing to allow him play in Europe during the off-season. Folau would be able to find a club (although it is now getting harder). The AFL can't really stop him doing what he wants in his offtime.

That and the fact he knows nothing about the game and should probably start learning some of the basics.

Aren't they the most cashed up sporting club in OZ? I thought that was a fact.

Glad to see you admit the Swans are a strong healthy club.

Very well said Dan. As a RL fan the signings of Sailor, Rogers et al turned me off the Wallabies who I had always been fond of. The RU marketers by creating the code wars simply polarised fans. O'Neill was in fact a very similar figure to Demetriou. This is why the Folau thing is such a huge miscalculation by the AFL. It will simply backfire and make AFL support in Sydney increasingly unfashionable. It honestly astounds me that the NRL is still in the strong position in Sydney despite all the dramas of the last 15 years. The AFL does not understand the Sydney heartland. But if they had signed Nathan Hindmarsh instead.....oh that's right they don't even know his name.

The party will be on when NRL gets its new TV deal in a couple of years. Come along.

As another RU poster said RU actually became less popular after their signings of Tuquiri, Rogers et al. It turned their biggest potential market which were RL followers against them and divided their own fans. I know I turned off the Wallabies when they did that and I had always been fond of a high level Union game. Marketing people have no clue how things work anyway. Look at the whole SL fiasco, it was a marketers wet dream apparently. This whole code wars thing polarises people and they choose codes where they once might have watched everything. This is a big mistake by AFL. GWS has no chance of attracting supporters and it will hurt the Swans too.

How can anyone who truly love the game be in Glee over these two signings? It is publicising rugby league as a great nursey for good players like never before. People will probably watch league now in the AFL states to see what all the fuss is about. I have read very few positives from AFL fans about this. It is a stunt. If anything it is showing the fact that AFL clubs dont have the talent to bring players along to fill the new clubs. Now i dont believe that for one moment, there are many fine youngrow buckets of afl players but they are being overlooked and they must wonder mmmmmmmm. The AFL has had to pay for the publicity but the NRL is getting it for free bucket loads of it. The AFL cliubs like Sydney must be in horror to see what is happenig this week with all the so called publicity to GWS and nothing to Swans. The AFL is the minor sport in 54% of the population of australia's area of population not land area thats the AFL's domain. But the AFL is #1 in Tasmania which is decreasing in population and in South Australia which is still the same population it was in 1970. MMMMM, problem here - so we better get a move on. Yes AFL is a good game but the events of this week show people that it cant produce its on talent. For all you uoung players in Bendigo and Launceston start learning rugby League because thats where the money is indirectly. As for Rugb League dying are you kidding this has been the best shot in the arm for it for a long time. free publicity in AFL heartland. All it has proved is that the AFL is willing to throw buckets of money for a cheap publicity trick. Meanwhile giving a lot of kudos to these players (2 of them ). Interestingly it seems neary all who have left League come back. It also shows that the AFL (incorporated) has sold its soul for the sake of TV rights at any cost. I am not against AFL i consider it the best football code in Australia. But it is not the only football code. There are too many people like Eddie from channel 9 who are so biased for AFL they dont see the need for allowing others to grow also. It is not on their agenda. Like i said AFL is the best code to watch live for sure. But, Rugby League is also a wonderful game and one that news of its death is a little premature for sure. If anything this has probably done Rugby League a lot of good and i think the AFL might have an interesting time moving ahead with this. As for Sheeds and his GWS , he will never coach the team he is a publicity stunt just like the rest of this whole farce. Play the game and AFL wins play the man and AFL looses big time. What a sad time this is for young afl players and for true blue supporters of our wonderful game - Big Business has won out. Why channel nine has even said if they can get AFL on monday night they will color in the crowd with virtual people. The old game is gone, it was a wonderful experience and now we have the Corporation that is the AFL.

Dan, I was happy with Lote and Dell, it's such a shame they both stuffed it up. Rogers was solid but his heart wasn't in it at the end.

No, unlike Hunt he didn't haven't anythign arranged. Can't see how he would be able to arrange something in the meantime that the AFL would allow, especially considering that they really would like to use him for as much promotional value as possible.