As I sit here off the high of the mighty Broncos winning 37-18 over arch rivals the Cowboys, I begin to reflect on my time as a rugby league fan.
I have tuned in yearly to watch Queensland and NSW do battle in State of Origin since the late 2000s.
Five years ago, following the completion of another State of Origin series, I turned my eye to this prized competition of rugby league known as the NRL where I became a Broncos fan as they seemed closest to the mighty Maroons and my dad was already an avid fan.
A year later I had just watched my first full season of NRL from the pre-season trials right up to the final whistle, and then turned a keen eye to the World Cup where I saw the passion of rugby league truly on display and was in awe at this competition taking place in our very backyard.
Following Australia’s gritty 6-0 over England in the World Cup final I had officially become hooked on ‘rugba leeg’ as Peter V’landys puts it.
Now here I sit reflecting on my time following this great game after not just the last week of political war of words between English and Australian rugby league over the World Cup, but over the last 18 months as we navigated our way through this pandemic that pulled everything to a halt.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
It wasn’t that long ago that there were discussions some NRL clubs may not survive the pandemic and rugby league as a sport would be scarred by this brutal coronavirus.
Just days ago I was bemoaning the ARLC and NZRL for withdrawing from the World Cup, believing they were too brash and were driven by pure self-interest.
Again in this time of reflection, I’ve realised that although I still think the RLWC can forge ahead this year, I will not bemoan any country who decides to pull out as this has been an extremely stressful and dangerous period for our beloved sport.
During this reflection I also ponder about the future of our great game with ambitions to make our Olympic debut in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and the hosting of future World Cups in nations other than Australia and England favoured for the 2025 and 2029 editions.
I cannot help but have a sense of optimism for our game.
Hopefully a well-constructed calendar can be instituted for rugby league with a clear timeline of when domestic competitions occur and when representative games occur (perhaps that ever famous rolling calendar we always hear about).
Imagine a rugby league year starting with the NRL in March carrying through until September with Origin taking place in June/July and finally the international window of October/November where the best around the world can represent their nation.
Maybe this Broncos win has blinded me with senseless optimism but regardless at the worst my mood may dull to a ‘I wish these things were done better’ but I don’t think I’ll ever reach the stage of those doomsayers saying rugby league is on its last legs.
It’ll survive in some capacity, I mean come on, it is the greatest game of all.
trilby
Roar Rookie
Why would it be a realistic goal for the Olympics? It’s less than 12 years away and not even recognised by the body and meets none of the requirements. Baseball is far more widespread. The other problem is they already have rugby 7’s which are popular, so unlikely rugby league would get a run before rugby
andrew
Roar Rookie
:laughing:
Jockstar
Guest
Need to get their 6 coaches out of the box and keep it simple. One city should have a plethora of players . Watch how good TPJ will play next year for the Doggies. If the Roosters had Haas, he would be the number one forward in the game rather than just a good forward.
Clancy
Roar Rookie
I think that would absolutely be the biggest concern, and again I think the game can still expand globally and have an international presence without being a sporting titan. Whether or not that comes to fruition I guess only we can wait and see.
In brief
Guest
The sport won’t die but the question is whether it will grow or decline. Clearly internationally it is in decline and I fear the domestic game in NSW / QLD has reached its peak. When the current and ageing generation of died in the wool fanatics move on, will you have a similar number coming up the rear to replace them? Time will tell..
Clancy
Roar Rookie
Absolutely John which is why I believe the game will never die, but we should accept the reality that it would take decades of aggressive expansion and promotion in combination with a sudden decline in following of other major sporting codes. But as you put it we still have a far more legitimate world competition than sports like the MLB and I think the Olympics could be a realistic goal for a game like rugby league.
Clancy
Roar Rookie
Definitely Nat, I think especially now with QLD heading into lockdown for the next few days perhaps the world cup should be put on hold for now as much as I hate to say it. It may be a missed opportunity for the growth of the game but as you said there are far bigger issues at play at the moment in the world.
Tony
Roar Guru
John, an unkind and parochial person would suggest that the AFL do take their game to China.
Nat
Roar Guru
It's been a rough time to join the Broncos brotherhood Clancy but I can see why that WC2017 affirmed your enthusiasm. I've been watching for a while myself and I don't think I've seen scenes like that supported by good, passionite footy. I'd love to see that again over in the UK but, nfoertunately, there are a lott bigger, global issues happening right now and if you've been sitting at home for the past month, you understand that we just have to accpet some crappy things right now. Start the countdown now to WC2025 and speculate who may be the in the Aust/NZ team by then. It will be completely differnt to who may have gone over this year.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Good morning Clancy & Tony An interesting & accurate perspective of where the game sits overall. The Rugby League World Cup will never come close to the number of participants that the Football (Soccer) World Cup has (for obvious reasons) however we still outdo the MLB “World Series” as only clubs from two countries are involved. What about the AFL’s annual announcement of their “All Australian side”which never takes the field? They tried to take their game to China however the crowds were small & not many people were “peeking” at the match.
Clancy
Roar Rookie
Agreed Tony, rugby league I don't think will ever be an international titan of sports but perhaps with development of domestic competitions across different nations it can become a bit of a niche sport with a devoted following in different pockets of communities around the world. It's likely the only real international limelight the sport would get would be Olympic participation, but again I'd say it would garner casual interest from fans while the Olympics are on but the continual grind of the sport at all levels will be left for the committed fans.
Tony
Roar Guru
An interesting read Clancy, and I share your optimism. Rugby League will never be a world game from a participation perspective, and trying to make it so would probably be a great waste of time and effort. Better to put that effort into feeding the grass roots, and the game will survive for those who enjoy it.