ARLC signs off with a bang for 2012 with host of rule improvements

And now we have the Broncos, so no reason for Origin then eh Oikee? ;) In some ways that may be true, but eventually the shoe will be on the other foot and then it won't be true anymore. The Broncos will probably always be around, but in time with other feeding regimes the NSW clubs may not be so filled with strictly diehard Blues fans and then maybe the Broncos can become a genuine national club like their AFL counterparts rather than perpetuating the very hillbilly stuff you guys get so offended by.

Yes by far the best part of changing the laws of a game is the train crash that sometimes happens as a result. One of the things which slightly annoys me about Cricket is the fact that it's rules are basically static, which suits some people (definitely appeals to Indians because of their cultural orientations) but if there isn't evolution these days you're often getting dangerously close to extinction, and heaven forbid cricket losing out to the A-league as the genuine summer code ;)

And therein lies the rub. Unfortunately that's not going to happen Brett. There will never be a Victorian-born, raised, schooled, genuine development player. And I think Origins designed just to prevent this from happening, its one of the major reasons why there are (a few) NSW born, raised, schooled, developed players are in the AFL. Seeing as there's no State of Origin anymore, the concept which was supposed to replace it basically tries to make the state of origin idea seem exclusive and thus antiquated for a comp involving more than two states whereas the All-Star thing is supposed to seem inclusive. The NRL's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness when it comes to growing pathways outside the two states, meaning that those who were marginally inclined to grow the game in their non-Origin states are probably discouraged from it. This afforementioned issue should never rear its ugly head because the All-Star contest (periodic as it is) was designed to avoid it, but it therefore lacks the intensity of a true hatred.

So the trust in charge of the SCG are dinosaurs then Pogo? Football and Cricket do still go together in many parts of the world...it's just that rectangles don't go well with ovals, but playing cricket away from Eden Park will take away from the cathedral effect. But then again so few sports fans in NZ and particularly Auckland (Canterbury understands it all too painfully) understand the religious conotations of playing big-time sport in the 'backblocks', ie away from the cathedral. But then again our sporting experiences here are like all other things one of the least religious in the world :P

I'm not sure very successful is quite the right word though nzmate? Certainly bigger crowds than you'd get at Mt Smart, but the Test match didn't get near a sell-out, so there's plenty of work to grow the matchday attendance. But Auckland is no longer so one-code as it was even when the Knights were plying their wares. I think it's to do with the Breakers...but the North Shores finally attending live matches like they never did at any stage before. But in Auckland you really have a mini-Sydney scenario where apathy is the real rival...where the winning code in the code wars is not even a sporting one: cafe-sitting-beachdunking takes the cake hands down!

RL support in Auckland is predominantly South Auckland and Central based with pockets in West, North and East. But Mt Smart's not good for them either, though is geographically closer. I think the issue with Auckland is that unlike Melbourne particularly, but I guess also Sydney, there has been very little help from local and until recently national (for RWC) money for stadium. And unlike Sydney there's not the money or interest for private contributions to it...so Mt Smart which was originally the Commonwealth games athletic stadium was used. Also in terms of playing more on Eden Park there is the issues as the Blues play more games now there than they ever did before, but it is a sign of RL entering the category of being a legitimately all-Auckland Rugby code.

But clear evidence is actually worse a standard than Benefit of the Doubt, because you end up spending a whole lot of time and quite literally only the absolute legal scholars can understand the ruling, much like the American obsession with their constitution/ Supreme Court rulings rather conveniently undermining good old fashioned common law which is supposed to be in effect in the States!

I'd love to visit that place, actually. It sounds like my kind of place ;) But just on Origin, I think the real issue it faces is the fact that unlike all other All-Star concepts, it isn't supposed to be an All-Star concept, so you can't barrack for the team/state which represents your club, because many of the players cross the border for reasons of a) money b)chance of winning c)mateship d) any other reason under the sun. In the NFL, I support the NFC team because I support 3 NFC teams (Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals) to one AFC team (Cleveland Browns). But in Origin, I support NSW (!) actually mostly because NZ was once, for about a month of two part of NSW until Lieutenant Governor William Hobson was promoted to full Governorship. But it would mean more if you were only eligible if you could only play with clubmates.

Those Chinese signs I'm talking about aren't in china town and I'm pretty sure the Vietnamese speak Vietnamese (common knowledge) so they probably aren't going around putting Chinese signs up.

Further to an earlier post ,suggesting the story was known and expected in June of 2011:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/13881329 Interesting for comparison sake,the RFU which has also taken a decent hit and ,has a big reduction in playing numbers(the spiritual home of the game),yet receives only Pds2.5m more than the RFL over 4 years. IOW Union:Pds20m league: Pds 17.5m Perhaps pro rata the RFL is doing more at grassroots level.Whilst the RFL needs to do more,one suggests its bigger brother is not sailing along so swimmingly,as we were led to believe..

Clipper - have read that report, I always though Rugby League was one of the more popular games in England, but this report disputes what I had believed. That's quite a big fall off - not good for internatioanl RL, although it means Australia and NZ will be even stronger.

agree, the <13 age thing is not going to work. It is arbitrary and discriminatory. It's not a good look at all in this day and age, and I expect it will be challenged on human rights grounds. 'Exile' concept is a joke, there is no passion for it. The fans won't care, except for the earnest few who still appear to be under this delusion that league needs to be made more 'international', and want to manufacture teams.

Yes it is funny,as the Sport England funding reduction has been expected since 2011,when the ESL were told about the potential drop in funding.The decline is in England particularly among the 16-18 groups.And follows a trend line pretty much in line with union.' Whilst expected,,it was not a happy result. You see there is a prestigious rl magazine Rugby League World ,that keeps me abreast of the highs and lows of the game in the old dart.It regularly gives the code a serve when warranted. Sport England funding and the story surrounding it ,is well documented.I await the Feb issue to give me an update.2008 GFC how coincidental. Hence the reasoning behind the code, moving the amateur game to Summer months. Dont know where you get the idea rl people ,think participation isn't an indicator of a game's popularity.It is how the figures are collated .Dubious figures are naturally treated with suspicion. It has been my view .If you bother to check the many threads,there is talk of decline in some country areas. That does not alter one iota the growth in grassroots ,London and non heartland areas for the code.Probably the reason the numbers have held steady for the last 2 years. The Student rugby league kicked off in october 2012 with a record number of clubs and teams.there are over 70 teams over 12 leagues.8 teams were added at university level and according toJames Szymik a student ru convert at st Mary's Twickenham(who works for the SRL in London and the south) .he expects that number to go up to 15 before the end of the season. . eg Less than 5 years ago there was just one student side in the area surrounding Bristol.Now both of the city's universities boast teams,while there is a strong Rugby league club at Bath University.A number of local colleges also run teams.. At Imperial College London,with 17 chem engineering students playing rl for the first time. I am quite prepared to bore evryone witless,with further info,butI won't for harmony's sake. Whilst the numbers have dropped in some areas,they have lifted in others. And we know how you have a fetish about demographics. These guys are the potential fans,sponsors and indeeed future politicians.That is the importance the code places on the Student game. BTW just for your edification,Sport England,does not cover Scotland nor Wales nor Ireland for that matter,where rl is played.So the decline since 2008 you refer to. was in fact England,not Great Britain. Yet the British govt saw fit ,to ensure finances were available to the RLWC. Perhaps you can clarify the NZ figure you continually quoted ,which was obselete back in 2010.Or do you wish to steadfastly standby those figures.?

Touche

Nope it was 20,000 players.No specifics.

It's funny - people produce evidence that RL participation has declined in Britain from 80k in 2008 to 50k in 2012 (http://www.sportengland.org/research/active_people_survey/active_people_survey_6.aspx) and league people say that participation isn't an indicator of the sport's popularity and rubbish that result, but are happy to put up participation numbers when they increase, citing them as evidence of the sports growing popularity. Which one is it?

Tont Carroll was the classic...

I think the claim was 20K adult RL players in GB. NZ have always had more...

Emric think you are being a tad hard on the NRLThe code is developing juniors in ever increasing numbers in sheepsville,as evidenced thus:- http://www.nrl.com/participation-grows-in-nz-for-third-year-in-a-row/tabid/10874/newsid/70552/default.aspx To the usual cynics on other earlier threads,claiming only 20,000 registered rl players,the figure was circa 2009.In fact they got it wrong for 2010/2011/2012. If the NZRU is quite happy to secure the services of Thorn,SBW,one could argue ru juniors are saying what the,lets try something else with a career pathway.The code(ru) has a hell of a lot of juniors,only so many can get into the ABS. You are correct aboút the NZRL relying on the tests. Bit like the ARU without the ABs and their auru and promotional value for Oz tests, dont know where the code would be.

Or, Aus should stop sending its poachers over to raid NZ union schoolboys?