The NRL season opening game last night was once again billed to be a sporting highlight of the year, with the usual media onslaught that now accompanies the game.
For any Channel Nine viewer it’s that time again when we have to endure the constant bombardment of the game into our households.
This aside I respect the game and respect the athletes within it, it is the misguided proclamation of league as the ‘greatest game in the world’ that I can’t stand.
Last night was a shining example once again.
Flicking between the class programming of Rugby HQ on Fox Sports to the Channel Nine commentary was embarrassing – embarrassing for the league commentators.
The difference between a media person in rugby union versus a media person in league is that rugby journalists and former players respect league in the public circle while former league players, journalists and commentators bag rugby at any given opportunity.
Phil Gould, Brad Fittler, Fatty Vautin and the rest continue to berate union as an inferior game. The best defence has always been offense, regardless if it is offensive to other fans.
NSW and Queensland are the key areas of support for rugby league. Outside of these areas that the NRL capture, rugby league is rarely perceived as being a global power.
It is played by the Melbourne Storm, and New Zealand Warriors, and England has a professional league, but it is clear that it is not the number one sport outside of NSW and QLD.
However, while comments like this are regularly received, what spurred me to write this article was the once again offensive comments from the biggest offender in league – Phil Gould.
His comments regarding Sonny Bill Williams’s return to league were so ignorant they were almost funny.
“From where he has been, it will take SBW a while to slot back into a game of such intensity as league,” Gould said.
A club match between the Roosters and Rabbitohs has greater intensity than a French Top 14 final, Super Rugby final, Bledisloe Cup, Rugby Championship, or heaven forbid a Rugby World Cup final? Laughable.
He then went on to say that league athletes are “superior” to professional rugby union stars.
I’m not even going to dignify this with a response.
From here, Gould proceeds to comment that rugby union isn’t the best game to showcase SBW’s skill set.
Hmm. Yet, in the NRL, if a player kicks before the fourth or fifth it’s considered rash and crazy.
It’s also not uncommon for a prop to literally move to the backs. Is it just me, or do positions mean nothing in league?
Phil Gould has once again turned off a legion of fans by appealing to the lowest common denominator.
supertrooper
Guest
not only could a rugby union loose forward run out of sight he could more than likely run a league loosy into the ground watch a game mate union loosies cover more territory in pursuit of the ball and support of the ball carrier than your one trick loose forward does
von neumamn
Guest
One unfortunate problem. Gould is right.
anthony
Guest
Ok, I read enough now my two cents, live AFL is king the atmosphere is great, a good game of league such as the roosters vs rabbitohs can't be equaled its the game you need to play only if fear is non existant so watching a good NRL match is like watching gladiators some thing unreal, and as much as I have tried to experience the same adrenalin watching union over the years still nothing has done it or even come close. Sure the kiwis are scarey,and all respect to them but if Gus sounds to bias he's only being honest and I don't think honesty is a problem. So yeah when union is as intense or as much fun to watch ad the others I think Gus would tell it like it is. So untill then don't watch channel nine league game. Have fun.
Pomoz
Guest
Could you move over a bit Myles? That chip on your shoulder is obscuring my view..........
Pomoz
Guest
"as long as Phil Kearns is kicking along, we in union circle can’t really throw stones about amateur callers" Brilliant Rob! I watch the EPL a lot and some of their commentators set my teeth on edge they are so awful. it has to be said that bad commentators are everywhere not just in the Rugby codes. I mean what about that muppet who asked Mo Farah (dual Olympic Gold medalist 5K & 10K) have you ever run before?
Pomoz
Guest
Grin4758, you are having a laugh comparing yourself to soccer. It is a long way from being a world game. What is more popular in Australia, League or Union? Yes you are right, the scrum is a farce compared to Union. Mind you, most of the Union forwards are so big and ponderously slow, they could not play league at any meaningful level. They are just not athletic enough. Strong? You betcha, I'm sure most of them could lift a cow. However to lift a cow, you have to catch it first and most Union forwards couldn't run out of sight on a dark night. Different games, different skills and both enjoyable in their own way. All this "my games better than your game" stuff is silly.
Eliah James
Roar Rookie
Can you imagine the furore at Nine if SBW joined a Channel 7 cooking show? Scandalous.
Eliah James
Roar Rookie
Tigranes, be careful. The Reds have 8 home fixtures a year under the current 15 team model, while under a 16 team competition the Broncos have 13 home games. Biased stats only lead to gifted counter arguments, i.e. FTA TV (which I believe should have been included as compulsory in the Wallabies rights deals - to show one live Australian conference match a week on FTA).
sixo_clock
Roar Guru
Gus is the spokesmen for every uneducated, dribbling, gormless nit who has to believe that there is only sport, there are no other sports but for League. That is not the consensus of the vast majority of Sydney, nor NSW, nor Australia, nor Asia, nor the Southern Hemisphere, and neither the world. So although I was not offended, because I don't watch League, I take some pleasure from the trolls trying to tell the tide to recede or stop. That they don't have the self control to do so is also a mild form of fun too. Keep up the good work Fatty, Brad, don't ever exhibit the adult qualities that will allow your game to evolve and expand by appealing to wider audience. Always remember you are at the pinnacle of human experience and self-doubt and re-examination are the stuff of teenage girls and mental wards. Walk tall with a box of DNA resistant tissues for your fans.
Brett Humphreys
Guest
I watched the other nights NRL game just to see how SB went. When Mr cashed up, SB entered the game all i could see was how his team carried him. SB looked lost or scared of how to engage the opposi ion. What were his team mates thinking, full well knowing how much money SB was getting paid!Phil Gould is a legent and a very smart man, he knows how to get players meshing! IS SB WORTH THE MONEY? Should SB try out for MKR because he always draws heat!
AGO74
Guest
Junior - your revulsion at " the greatest game in the world" is the same as RL fans at "the game they play in heaven". It is stupid cliches which are an opinion not fact. So your revulsion is based on opinion not fact. By the way your revulsion is misguided. The cliche "greatest game in the world" you reference. In 35 years as a RL fan I have never heard it referred to as "greatest game in world" etc. It has always been "greatest game of all". At least get your cliches straight Junior before you write drivel like this.
BrindiCruiser
Guest
I love Rugby and like League. SBW was a star in league and took a while to become a star in Union. I suspect that it will take a while for him to get to grips with League again. Has anyone cross-code star instantly become a star in the other code? Gould's job is to promote League. He manages to annoy plenty (including me) but given it is his job to promote League, I can hardly be surprised that he reckons it is a superior, more difficult etc game to Union.
Myles Stedman
Roar Guru
Dangerous Dave, these comments are dangerously bad. The point is not which sport is "inferior" or "superior". The point is, for a lover of both league and union, such as myself, watching Channel Nine's awful coverage and listening to morons such as Phil 'Gus' Gould put down union constantly - at that, any sport threatening league - is annoying. As frustrated as Gould may be with league players being enticed with AFL and union, he can go and get angry somewhere else.
Myles Stedman
Roar Guru
It's natural for Gould to feel angry. I mean, union is stealing all the players from "the greatest game on earth"
Midfielder
Guest
If I may offer a little advise to the RU folk..... a large part of the hype of the NRL folk and down south by the AFL folk is the fear of losing ground... RU is an international game .... and it is something they cannot understand or come to grips with in that Australia is not the centre of the universe ... whereas in RL & AFL we are...
simmo green
Guest
You need to treat Gould's remarks with a grain of salt. RL is yet to come to grips with the fact that Union is now a professional game. It irks the Goulds of this world that Rugby players no longer defect to RL, but that League players can be 'cherry picked' at will by the ARU. They can talk intensity all they like, but RL has no set piece contest nor anything replicating the ruck and maul. In a set of six a forward may take the first hit up, but then spends the next five tackles walking forward with his hands on his hips. talk to a sports scientist about contact episodes in the respective games. Love both games, love my Tigers, especially at leichhardt
frazer
Guest
Is it not true the referee decides most rugby games. There is too much grey area in the scrums , rucks and mauls, ( its like guess work), the commentators and rugby experts struggle with the decisions, the referee doing the crusaders game on friday appeared to stick his whistle in his pocket and let everything go, made for an enjoyable game.
Matt_S
Guest
Tigranes, how were the Reds FTA TV figures? Do the reds have this to counter?
Tigranes
Guest
Broncos couldnt even sell out Suncorp - they drew a smaller crowd than the Reds did! I watched the replay of the Kings and Sharks game, and the intensity of that game was gripping, it might not have had tries, but the atmosphere of 45K in PE was bigger than Origin. Gould should be worrying about NRL getting all of its issues in order before commenting on other sports.
Lorry
Guest
Let's keep Ray hadley's ugly views away from rugby... When he commentated in the Rugby World Cup it was an embaressment His views and those of his radio audience are more aligned with rugby league's base.... Good on Sarah Hanson-Young for refusing to apologise to Hadley