Roar Rookie
Joined August 2017
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Loves to pull out the back, chop low and jam hard. And gardening.
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With each new generation of Australian Rugby leadership ushered in, the hope of rugby fans nation wide is momentarily ignited, before of course the…
Rugby fans young and old, weathered and wishful, rejoiced nation wide upon the announcement of the return of the Messiah. Joseph Suaalii, a rugby…
As the dust settles on an exhilarating and dramatic Autumn Nations series that offered upsets to ruin weekends around the world - and highlights…
For too long the Wallabies have lived under the narrative of a rebuilding team. They have dreamt of all the things that they could…
On Saturday, 24 April, two of Sydney’s elite all-male private schools, Knox Grammar School and St Joseph's College, ventured deep into what can’t exactly…
At the risk of telling the same story that billions of Aussie rugby fans have told the morning after a big Wallabies loss at…
Amid the chaos of Australian Super Rugby teams scoring two wins from 25 matches against their Kiwi counterparts in the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman series…
Everywhere I look in Australian sports media is negative rhetoric surrounding the state of our great, diverse, globally prevalent and – most importantly –…
As an Australian rugby fan, it seems that these days the focus is on the blight of the game at the professional level, the…
After the decision was made to reduce Australian Super Rugby sides to a count of four, and to cut the Western Force, it's safe…
This is the third article for The Roar I've written in two years, on my third account, because I forgot the username and password…
Preserving the tradition of Super Rugby does feel nice, and in a perfect would be ideal – something along these lines
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Also, in your suggested Aussie NRC sides, it does feel like your proposed sides are over granular in some areas, and too broad in others. The Sydney, Norths, Easts and Northern Beaches I feel are all distinct geographical catchments obviously yet to me don’t seem the wisest allocation of the first 8 or so franchises
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Part of me agrees with you about the futility of the mid year test series, however there is a certain charm to the test series as well, which is somewhat unique to and characteristic of rugby and feels intrinsically valuable somehow. Perhaps the spring tour and june test series should be consolidated into one cross hemisphere test series?
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
I don’t mind this frank. But if you’ve got a Parra / West Syd side, I don’t see the point of introducing a 9th side in Western Syd. I’d rather spread the butter into Newy or the Country, or even just complete it with a Souths Sydney club.
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Just like how Super currently works, and all of the top sports leagues around the world, you shouldn’t have to play for the team which covers the geographical area you’re from. So I don’t think it really matters to much, and having a well defined city the team represents, unlike the Reds and Tahs currently, would actually be quite beneficial for the franchise’s identity.
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Jacko what if the NZ comp is, as I suggested in the article, just their NPC?
Do you think that dividing their talent amongst the 14 NPC sides could make them equivalent and comparable to 8 aussie teams? Would this lead to interesting crossover fixtures in a pacific championship in your eyes?
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Appreciate it Geoff – love your work
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
There’s kind of the big 5 super clubs / geos, then the next 4 or 5 NRC but not super geographies, then the group of 4 or 5 expansion sides after that
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Interesting. There’d be some other examples that the NRL haven’t yet gotten their fingerprints on. *nudge nudge* central west…
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
this is it. Is broadcast revenue an equally substantial funding pillar in other sports / comps / leagues?
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Interesting, I see what you’re trying to do, splitting each super team in half. I’ve spent a fair share of my life in the Highlands and I’m not sure they’re ready for a team yet hahahaa. Even given your reasons, Central West, Hunter or Western Syd make more sense to me 👍
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Cheers for the feedback Frank, In a way the problem statement, and the proposed solution(s) could have been separated into individual articles.
I’m certain there’d be some animosity from other clubs, but I don’t think that necessarily invalidates the idea in the long run.
I actually don’t mind if we use NRC style clubs but the overall structure and purpose of the comp is the key here.
In terms of State of Origin… We currently play state of origin (roughly) every year with the Tahs, Reds, Brums/Force/Rebs… And we average about 10 thousand showing up each week. With a fresh coat of paint they could reinvigorate the State vs State concept, particularly if it were an extended Wallabies Trial series. But I don’t think it’s necessary or a top priority right now.
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
I was just trying to be nice Jacko. I honestly agree with you and would rather 8x aussie sides.
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Nice.
I understand the contention about professionalising club sides, but I don’t think it’s impossible.
There could be more frictionless options though, as you say.
Syd, Bris, Brums, Rebs, Force + NSW Country + QLD Country… Feels like the bare minimum. Plus one more for good measure – Newcastle/Hunter or Western Syd…
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
@PeterK why Illawarra?
It’s tempting but doesn’t make the 8 most important Geos for me.
Surely Hunter instead? Illawarra is a couple of hours from Canberra only, so falls under that jurisdiction a bit more.
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
I like it. See you at round 1 2035 👍
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Sounds fun, but 14 sounds like more of a long term goal
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
Appreciate the feedback. On room 101, is Winston the entire Aus Rugby fanbase? Hahaha
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
I’m not entirely opposed to retaining the Tahs and Reds, and I’m not discrediting the history embedded in their branding.
Whilst I support an increased presence in the country, having two country teams (Brumbies and Cockatoos) and one city team doesn’t seem like sensible way to set things up initially as Sydney is the biggest rugby city.
I also don’t necessarily think the ACT Brumbies would have to be reinstated as the Southern brumbies to represent Illawarra, and a clearer identity would create a stronger brand in the future.
Sydney, Western Sydney, Brumbies, Cockatoos, plus Brisbane, Heelers, and the Rebels and Force – could be the go?
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
I think I’d trust an Andrew Abdo or a Dana White with some precious PE funding – but I can’t say I have the same faith in the boys club running RA over the years
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again
All of your suggestions, however, would seem to imply a huge spike in physical player load
The Super Rugby reboot I need to hate the Reds again