In a similar vein I wouldn’t advertise Go karting by showing the crashes.

No one condones the fight, it’s not something you see week out week out in Rugby league so of course it’s not good to market it to kids. Because if you are involved in a fight at anything other than the professional level then you will cop a big suspension. If fighting is the big appeal then the child should go to PCYC and learn to box instead.

The professonal game and the amateur game are different. Obviously that’s a mixed message and in a market like victoria where they don’t see much league then you may never undo that perception that there is always fights in rugby league.

So be it, but I doubt there were many kids in NSW who were allowed to play rugby league last saturday who this week aren’t allowed, and I would guess that mums in each state love there children equally.

So to answer your question I wouldn’t market that unsavoury incident, but I wouldn’t pretend it didn’t happen either.

Different Andrew. I am replying to RedB’s linked articles, where the fight is poop pod as why rugby league doesn’t belong outside of NSW and QLD.

Sorry Pip I haven’t found anything in your posts to disagre with.

The storm would be guilty of flase advertising if they used Origin to appeal to children becasue mini league (what kids play) has differnet rules than the NRL and is much safer.

I think the logic is flawed that the game has no future in AFL sates because it’s different from AFL……
Rugby League is a gladiatorial sport, it’s why SOO is on TV in Melbourne even though it’s NSW vs QLD. And it might be a guilty pleasure but I think a lot of people enjoyed the last 15 minutes of that game.

If you took the aggression out of the game to just be fair tackles below the waist then why would an AFL fan be attracted to a bastardised version of their own game?

My main game is football and yet I can still enjoy rugby league because of its physical nature. I consider Platini to me more skilful than an Andrew Johns but Platini didn’t have Shane Webcke trying to shoulder charge him so I appreciate them equally (well John’s more because I saw him play more often and in the flesh).

I think it shows great ignorance when Western Australians and Victorians make out AFL is tougher than Football … perhaps at under 7 level or in the local park it is. There very even in regards what you can do to an opponent and the only reason Afl players have to be bigger is because there’s 18 of them and it’s pretty much long ball football. If every team played football like Norway then there would be a lot more Jonathon Brown builds in the A league. The AFL has hurt its appeal a lot in the northern states by trying to remove the contested mark, that is something that was great about your game (required a mix of athleticism, courage and skill).

I don’t like too see cheap shots, and they do happen in rugby league but what I see in AFL and Football where it’s annoying niggle and there’s no fair way to retaliate annoys me. I will preserve with watching football because I am watching too see skill.

Up north we would never have linked the oppurtunistic bashing of a young man by 3 older blokes to what happens in a football game.

The player that performed the hold was sent from the field.

Thanks for the link to the video

Fabian Barbiero …both goals were awesome. And it seems there the only 2 goals he has scored. I can’t wait too see his third goal in the A league 🙂

@ Hoy

Who said fighting is not acceptable? It’s not condoned andt obviously we cant say fighting is good…. but I dont think it’s on the big red list of things that have to be stamped out at all costs and it’s not the crime of the century.

I agree with cuzy bro, theres been a few afl fans saying “that’s not tough” I agree in regards too some of the cheap stuff but the game of rugby league is a lot more open about it. If you have a grudge you have the chance too aim up and launch a bone crunching tackle.

Prefer that any day to the constant shoulder bumping niggle you get in AFL which lloks like two 5 year olds that hate each other but there mum has told them not to touch each other.

Danny Williams was the player i think who just walked up and king hit someone.

The players all know third man in is in trouble.

If you join in it’s becasue your supposed to be breaking up a fight otherwise it has the potential to turn into an all in brawl.

Pip

There are different areas of the central coast. Perhaps he only lives on the Central Coast on weekends at his Terrigal or Killcare holiday home.

While us (former) Woy Woy residents down the road might not make the cut Mid’s may have hope.

I think Barret was being a tool, but they didn’t take revenge on Barret they just settled for whacking Gidley.

I enjoyed all 3 games despite the refereeing beeing poor (how can a video ref be so bad, are they watching the game on b/w lap tops or something). In rugby if the ref is poor you want a refund.

The only game of rugby leage I can think of that was destroyed by the ref was the Parramatta Penrith game when they started enforcing the play the ball rule.

That’s all right Gaff. I am not so one eyed when it comes to State of Origin but if Parramatta are playing they never commit any penalties and are instead just being victimised by the ref meanwhile the other team should only have 10 men left on the field.

Every game!

Anyway I thought QLD were in the wrong at the end of the game but I don’t see the need for any further action. They had just seen one of their own carted off unconscious, so since no one after that got seriously hurt I think just move on….can’t wait for next year.

I always thought the solution in NSW was two comps. One for the eastern sburbs and north shore and one for the rest of the state (Western Sydney, Central Coast, Illawara, ACT, Newcastle).

That way teams that are representing areas of potential growth are no longer treated like a “drain” by the established Sydney teams that only care for the past.

White and Price was a fair fight…. the stuff that happened after with no concern for price’s wellbeing was a bitt off.

QLD 12 points down with 15 seconds to go should have taken the 2 points but they tried to put on a cheap shot on Gidley instead… yeh real heros.

I should also mention I always thought it was a myth that mums actually did that but my wife did bring out “if he (7 month old) asks to play rugby then I will say no” line.

But I am sure this would be offset by all the kids talking about origin in the playground today.

Picking prospects rather than proven players who have done well in the finals is too risky.
I think this series has shown up the NSW selectors (or Belamy if he really had much of a say in selction) as stupid. The all heralded new look blues were cut up and changed after a narrow loss in the first game. What did they expect to happpen to a team of rookies?

They were tossing up between Farah and Ennis, going with Farah game 1 fair enough. But then he has a disrupted preparation for origin 2 they don’t bring Enis they play an injured Farah instead….. I understand sticking with an injured Andrew john because he was miles ahead of 2nd place in his position. But when you have two guys who are 50/50 go with the one who’s not crocked.
Williams has had two shockers and shouldn’t be picked for a couple of years at least, but giving him a second chance (game 3) was ok. Picking guys once and then discarding them is worse in my mind.

The team went so much better with experienced halves. Unless someone like Wallace or Mullins do something amazing in the finals I would go with them again.

@ Michael C

Prolly didn’t need to worry about that rule since balls back then were very heavy and not water proof. So being poms, where it always rains (never been there but beer commercials never lie do they?) the ball would have only left the ground once a match.

I stand corrected about the wallabies. They and the rugby league boys do the hugging thing instead.

@ JF

No. The wallabies do it and I’ve always felt once you leave Australia you love it even more…. especially if you moved to England.

I actually think Fury will be ok, even thoughit looks like they will struggle on the field this season.

People in Nth Qld are fairly loyal so it will all be about connecting with the community. The area supported two teams in the NBL and they are going to play at summer so not against the cowboys. The cowboys draw fans from outside Townsville who make a big effort to show up to there games, I am not so confident that the fury will get support like that.

I think the first couple of games will show there potential for when they get it right, and there may be a big drop off but it will slowly build up again. I just hope the core support is large enough to keep the team going during the lean times.

I hate there strip, but there pricing for membership is quite cheap relative to the other QLD teams so hopefully they will appeal to fans who want a cheap summer night out.

Con

Get them to fix the type, it changes size and font too much. Once that’s fixed the article does flow better.

I loved the comments by Cullina. Even though I believe Murphy was right and the game would be really exciting for a lot of the Gold Coast players I enjoyed Cullina returning fire with an equal amount of cheeky patronising.

Some pople may be put off by Palmers occasiaonlly bonkers statements and the worry it’s just a toy rather than a football club but I quite like the way there not prepared to be treated like second class citizens. I will support them.

I think a lot of the problem with the word Soccer is not the name but how it’s said and some of the people that use it.

The media commentators that so rile us now when they use the word soccer are going to be just as ignorant and antagnostic if they were using the word football.

@ KB
Very good points, I guess the way forward would be if the FFA and their marketing partners stopped using the name and just let it survive or die on it’s own merits.
Very lucky you got to see that game against Argentina in person.
Embarrassingly I could have gone to the Uruguay game but was to hesitant to take time of work and organise flights….so instead my mum was present to the watershed moment in Australian football.

@ KB
Well I like the name but largely because I’m used to it. I think my dad isn’t a fan but he hates all forms of marketing.
I don’t actually mind if the FFA uses Australian Football team as the official name…as they should. The Socceroos name can live on as the fans name.
I think it’s hurt because every national team in Australia tries to get a gimicky name going, Diamonds, Hockeyroos, Kangaroos (Rugby League for you southerners), Boomers etc etc.

But the Socceroos name has been around a long time (since the Vietnam war) and I would hate for it to be chucked out with the rest of the bathwater while we cover footballs past with a nice new coat of PC white paint.
Plus “2 nil to the Socceroos” sounds much better in song form than “2 nil to the Australian Football Team”.
I don’t want some bandwagon fan to thumb there nose at me because I use the word Socceroo 🙂

@ Albal
In QLD I heard a lot more about Nate Myles indiscretion than I did Timmy Cahill’s. I don’t think the Cahill story got a lot of traction outside NSW.