It’s a great shame people don’t watch it. I, however, am a season member of the Bulls and love watching Shield cricket. Shield cricket thrived in its first run and perhaps if Test players were involved people would attend again. Although it is fair to point out most of the Shield games are played on week days during business and school hours. Now when everyone is on holidays, there isn’t a Shield game until February. T20 is on at night and during the holidays. Sometimes it’s just not possible to be there, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still love it and defend it on news sites.

Completely agree. How can you expect players to perform at that level if they are never exposed to it? In saying that I think a lot of people playing Shield and Grade right now could probably out perform some at the international level.

I definitely agree on that. It’s the high pressure, elite level games that are so taxing on the players, including the constant travel. It seems wrong doesn’t it that someone should have to under perform and be dropped before having the opportunity to work on their game in a domestic or grade competition they never play in. Wouldn’t it be magical if they were able to do this at the start of the season, making our Test team full of the performing 11. Unfortunately, I concede, where’s the money in that?

Sorry I just really don’t understand this attack on QLD ability. Even if you don’t personally see them as “the best in the world”, you still have to appreciate their success. You can call Thurston a ball hog, but the Cowboys wouldn’t be anywhere without him. The amount of games he’s won single-handedly is incredible and he rips apart NSW time and time again. It’s true that every player benefits from having a good team around him – that’s the nature of a team sport. But that doesn’t mean you’re not talented. Some of the greatest players have been part of great combinations. In my opinion, the ability to combine and make others play well is what makes a player truly great and that’s what Lockyer excels at more in his later years.

Truth is: QLD is full of talented ball-players who’ve come together to fuse as a team, and their success has only solidified that.

If you want to talk about a game lacking spirit and passion, then talk about Test rugby league.
Does anyone actually ever play well or even care about Test matches? The team is disjointed and isn’t cohesive and that’s why they don’t perform. If you want to whinge about QLD passion then go ahead, but there’s no point trying to deny that this team is full of incredible talent. You can’t question the amazing abilities of players like Slater or Thurston and Lockyer who carry their club teams week after week deep into the top 8. And if you do, you will always lose that argument. Focus your energy on other arguments bud.

I mentioned Tallis not because I was naming him as loyal, but merely saying he led a consistent team for the period of time I grew up. It was that consistent team that made me such a dedicated supporter and perhaps the reason they were consistent members of the eight was because they had such high quality players for so long. In terms of Petero that was ridiculous and was to do with very poor management which is a whole new issue.
I agree that it’s a lot harder for Sydney teams because it’s so easy to change and of course that’s a reality, but while that is the case I believe that’s an issue. It’s no secret Sydney crowds are low and I think that constant player swapping and team changes could be a large contributing factor to that. Obviously player loyalty is a bit idealistic, but now that we have monetary options I think it should at least be thought about. It of course wouldn’t stop players moving around but it would have some impact. An extra few dollars when you reach 5 years or more is nothing major or difficult, but might help.

Why was it that we didn’t lose 4 in a row; that Lockyer got to that dropped ball first and Brent Tate out ran everyone else to get 12 points in less than 10 minutes? But, even if you don’t believe or understand that we do have a unique passion for origin, you must believe in the importance of confidence. Queensland couldn’t be more confident or have more belief in their team and their ability to win. NSW is very aware of that and, with constant changes to their line-up, it’s hard for them to have confidence. So if this “passion” transcends to confidence, Queensland has the edge and that’s still not something that can be forced or prompted.

Hey, at least some NSW players will have a chance to win for a change. If they want to go out and have some fun, go ahead. Doesn’t mean anyone has to watch though.

It’s not something the players would talk about over lunch. They would have no idea 12 other players were getting other payments or the extent of the deals. Isn’t it possible to them it was just an extra incentive put by the club to keep them around? And if they were aware, surely it would’ve slipped out at some point over the past five years. It’s hard to bluntly say they were involved in the scheme.

I agree, it is an understandable decision for Folau. He’s only 21, so he can play AFL for 4 years, get a bunch of publicity, set himself up for life, and come back to the NRL when he’s 25 for up to 7 more years of origins, tests and potential premierships. Either that or he loves AFL and has a long, illustrious career. It’s hard for any of us to say we wouldn’t do the same. But, in saying that, it’s a shame for the game to lose another young, flashy player and the possibilities of future deferments become increasingly likely. Similarly, it’s disrespectful to AFL and the young players, who have much more talent for the sport than Folau, struggling to be drafted.

I agree. Nadal’s dominance on clay is the one thing that has stood in the way of Federer’s countless bids to win the grand slam and remains as the one factor against his claim as the greatest player of all time. When it comes to playing Nadal, the usually flawless and relentless Federer seems to falter and this is exemplified at the French because of Nadal’s clay expertise. It is rare to see two champions compete one on one with just 24 metres between them. It’s amazing to watch and I’m sure will provide many more historic sporting moments.

It’s almost impossible to get tickets in QLD. For every person who got one there would be at least 10 who missed out. There’s no doubt we would fill an 80 000 seat stadium. I think it’s ridiculous that Gidley had to write a letter to plead for people to come. It doesn’t say a lot for NSW rugby league or their bid to put a stop to QLD’s dominance. Whether it’s because of QLD’s recent dominance or just general support for the game, QLD definitely has the greater support base.

I definitely agree. Cheerleading can be really entertaining and impressive. The problem with NRL cheerleaders is that they stand in a bunch on the field and perform mediocre moves in a sort of unison. If they did actually lead cheers and pull off impressive performances, I think it would create a great atmosphere for the crowd and the home team.

That’s a great point. The World Twenty20, along with the IPL, is a competition cashing in on the shorter action-packed version of the game. To give it some potential for a tiny bit of credibility a 4 year or even 2 year gap would suffice and possibly generate further interest and profit; but, any likelihood of that seems to be taken away by the dancers and poorly-selected medley of songs.

Since the 2009 competition, Australia has performed brilliantly in Twenty20 games not to mention their unrivalled dominance in the fifty over form of the game. Kersi, your point about tennis Grand Slams is exactly right: seedings are based on current form as well as their history on the surface. Australia has clearly been dominant recently and our reputation is impeccable. The competition is now paying for their lack of foresight, which isn’t helping their cause during football season.

it’s definitely a good strategy and there are plenty of options the NRL needs to look at. In the end we can all agree the salary cap must be addressed otherwise the NRL will be left with very few quality players. There’s no incentive to stay for $250000 a year when you are offered the same amount per week in French rugby no matter how much you’d rather play rugby league.

All this investigation into deals etc., is all well and good, but for them to make this cap evasion work for 5 years with speculation and nrl raids (and what they hoped would be longer) they wouldn’t be telling too many people about it. Representative players, like Folau and Turner, have left the Storm and of course they would’ve been the first to drop in to their new clubs that the Storm have actually been cheating. Similarly, if one of the players started playing badly they would have no option but to keep them to protect their dirty little secret. A lot of thought would’ve gone into this scam and I don’t think they would risk telling the players or anyone that didn’t absolutely need to know. So, in that case, they would’ve actively made sure the players didn’t catch on.

The 10-metre rule was always a bit idealistic. In theory it makes sense, but if the opposition picks up a knocked on ball and runs eight metres it’s not practical or advantageous to take it back, which is what I’ve seen everytime the rule has been enforced this season. The play has resumed and that’s what the audience and the players want. The lack of stoppages is what makes League so exciting especially when compared to other codes. So, I’d be very happy to see it go back to the way it was; sometimes, fewer rules makes a cleaner and better game.

T20 is a very different game with a very different audience and there will always be plenty of die hards watching tests and one dayers. But to say they will survive just because there have been some good performances in these forms recently is a bit much. The T20 game is still growing and more players are getting involved or even specialising in it. It’s getting more coverage and interest and the implications to tests and one dayers is yet to be concluded.

In the end there’s no point retiring to help the Broncos when he would spend those weeks wishing he was playing origin. That kind of regret would probably end up doing worse things for the club than if he wasn’t there. While it will be a tough few weeks, it’ll be a great learning experience for the young team and it wouldn’t be the first time the Broncos have had to deal with missing origin players. It’s great to see Lockyer playing on, Queensland and origin wouldn’t be the same without him.

I understand what Skaife and the others are saying, but for me the Holden vs Ford rivalry is what sets V8supercars apart from other forms of motorsport and makes it unique and exciting. It is much more appealing to support a manufacturer or in a way an ideology and indulge in a love hate relationship with the other than to support individual people racing for themselves and nothing more. In Australia, sports like the football codes, cricket etc, are far more popular than any individual sport and I believe this is based on that same premise of supporting a team or a unified idea with players representing and playing for that idea. The rivalry in V8s is based on red vs blue and most fans are very passionate about it. Introducing other manufacturers would definitely change the sport for these fans who are very set into the way things are currently. I think it would definitely take away from the rivalry and the already suffering sport could be in worse shape as a result.

There’s no doubt Lockyer’s decision will leave one team at a huge loss. He is obviously crucial to the Broncos line up with ten years more experience than most of the team and his co-dependents crowding the injured bench. With the team dangling at the bottom of the ladder for the first time in its illustrious history, three weeks without their captain and arguably one of the best to play the game would be disastrous. While the Maroons have more than enough on the field with Thurston and Prince, Lockyer’s absence would still be felt. His leadership and passion has been part of the team longer than any of the current Maroons and his departure would surely be a change in dynamic especially in those dying moments of the game. With NSW desperate to regain some dignity this could be imperative to the upcoming series. This must be incredibly difficult for Lockyer, but the respect being shown by both Queenslanders and the Broncos is a testament to him as a player and a person. Personally, I think it would be incredibly difficult for Lockyer as a passionate Queenslander to walk away from the Maroons on the brink of a history making series.