At last, the thuggery has come to an end

If 'tonight' proved anything, its that we need to listen even less to people who think fighting is ok. if you are watching rugby league for the fighting and not for the football, you are are deluding yourself. fighting and insecurity are linked, fighting is a weakness. and i admit its hard to resolve that drive sometimes. its a remnant of our ancient past. in these days of political and social advancement, with everything we know about kids looking up to adults, ect, and the damage that fighting does socially and physically, emotionally....fighting is not cool at all. in fact there are other ways of solving things that produce far better outcomes. rl is a sport, not a boxing ring. i mean, there never was that much fighting lately anyway. well done arlc/nrl...all those players had to do was show a little restraint and not fight, but they couldn't even do that. parents dont want their kids playing a mindless thug game. Origin may be a curiosity for some, even an oddity, but fighting is not on.

If tonight proved anything, it's that we need to stop pandering to the wowsers in society. I'd question whether any of the shrill comments about Gallen's punches came from Rugby League fans. And therein lies the rub. Tonight we saw disgraceful display of hitting a thumbtack with a sledgehammer. There is absolutely no way, no way at all, that four players needed to sit in the bin for ten minutes. How has this come about? It has come about because non-fans of the game jumped onto the social media a couple of weeks ago and complained about Gallen's love taps. These complaints seemed to fall pretty much within one category: 1) ZOMG! My kids saw it! - Well guess what? Paul Gallen is not you child's parent (generally, I'm sure there's an exception or two). Your little darling is going to be exposed to a lot worse throughout the course of his/her life most of it under your nose playing Playstation or watching music videos. It is up to YOU as a parent to make them understand what right and wrong is. Furthermore, I'd propose that if a child is young enough to be influenced to a great degree by what they see on television, they shouldn't be up an an hour to see things that might influence them to such a great and negative extent. The problem is that imbeciles such as we saw last week on the social media have vented their spleen for no other reason that is the only vent they have. These people are the same sorts of people who drive in the right-most lane on the freeway, eyes fixed to the road in front of the, doing 15km/h under the limit. These people believe that they are incredibly safe because they never get a fine. But, eyes fixed on nothing other than the speedo and the road in front of them, fail to see the frustration that they cause behind them. These people wear hats and work a clerical position at the local council. They love rules for rules sake, because it ensures that they are shielded from the real world, with it's passions, loves, hates, hopes and dissapointments. These are the people that say: "I'd never let my child play rugby league". Well, no shit! Your child is the child that would, could, never play rugby league, because your child is a weak namby-pamby that is constantly running to the teacher in tears every time someone looks at them sideways or breaks the rule about replacing the lid on the rubbish bin. Your child is the same child who will take all of the fun, adventure and flavour out of life, just like you have, because they're ultimately quite scared of passionate people. Your child is going to follow in your footsteps and have all the swings, monkey-bars and carousels removed from the park, because they were too bloody unco to use them in the first place. Your child will, like you, measure the world by their own spacicities, and think that the whole world nneds to be reduced to their own level, for their own safety and regardless of how it affects the majority. Your child wiull be that quiet kid next door who takes a gun to work at the post office, because he/she is bored, frustrated and always followed the rules. So who gives a rat's arse what some wowser thinks when seeing the highlights on the news, and who didn't watch the game, and will never watch a game? To hell with them! For the record, I'm an NSW supporter. I support a tougher stance on violence in the game. But what is someone supposed to do when you have some big boofhead running at you? Write up a treaty? Trent Merrin is the only bloke who should have been binned. The rest was a massive over-reaction. When did public servants take over the game. /rant

oikee has never suggested that Papali is going to throw down at Gallen. He is just gonna get him good. Actually what Mal has done has made the NSWelshman think that this is all about the square-up, so they won't see us coming. And we'll be coming. Buckets.

Oikee, you condemn Meesta Gallen and in the next sentence state that you now have someone capable of the same thing... make mind up mate, either ban thuggery or encourage it!, no fence sitting, saying that thuggery is bad from Meesta Gallen, but OK from Meesta Pappali. is just as bad as saying leave thuggery alone. Go Queensland, you have the skills to overshadow thuggerey!..

Is that a euphemism? Sorry THS. Incredible article. Read it twice. The NRL need to show some foresight and bring in tough new laws, mid-season of course, to stamp out the possibility of pinching creeping into our game. Automatic sin-bins for pinches, camel bights, chinese burns or nipple cripples. Send offs for dead legs and vulcan neck chops. We need to think of the children. http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view5/4521479/think-of-the-children-o.gif

"Gallen's fault". I wrote it many a blog ago and let it be written, all this has been caused by one man, and one man alone, Paul Gallen, the thug who put a end to thuggery. Nice work Gals,... PS, we have the Gallen Stopper who has slipped nicely under the radar to rub the salt into this open wound, oh the horror. hehe.

Presented without further comment.

Agreed. Just googled them. Outstanding.

Only Alison Brie gifs come close.

http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/slow_clap_citizen_kane.gif

Probably true, but now maybe some parents or grand parents will be more inclined to go to a match with their kids, let them watch RL on the telly instead of soccor or AFL. Might be a few people will engage with the sport a little more and not drift away, a few might renew their club memberships next year who would otherwise have let them lapse. It might not make a those that don't watch it now start to watch it but it might make a few currently watching continue to do so. There can be no place for thuggish behaviour like that in any walk of life.

"In their wisdom the very best sports minds and league critics pointed out to the rest of us that without punches, people who usually don’t watch the sport will now no longer continue to not watch." Somewhere on the Internet, a chorus of Citizen Kane gifs is wholeheartedly clapping its approval.

So just to be clear, if I am watching an u-15s local match, and one of the 6 foot front rowers from one team decides he is going to rearrange the face of the other teams half back. I am supposed to cheer? And commend him on his bravery? I love a bit of fisticuffs, especially in Origin, but Paul Gallen went too far. It cannot be condoned. And the fact it has been lauded by NSW is appalling.

Sensational.

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

Excellent

Probably the best piece I've read on any footy website for a long time, thank you!