Roar Rookie
Joined October 2019
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What shape will rugby take on the other side of its coronavirus-enforced hiatus? To formulate the rugby calendar of the future I've had to…
When you think about how much it costs for a test ticket these days, I think that rugby fans are being royally ripped off. As others have said, simply blow time off for scrum sets and shots at goal, with a goal kicking time limit of 45 seconds so the kicker can’t bore the crap out of spectators with his “ritual”.
Just how much time is being lost in a game of rugby?
This latest farce just reinforces my belief that the NRL is in the top 5 worst officiated/administered professional sports on the planet.
The NRL thinks you are all idiots
Probably because the IQ levels are not that high.
Madge hails 'special moment' for beleaguered Brooks as Tigers star nails winning field goal
While I always like to see the Tigers win (even if they’re not Balmain any more), they can count themselves lucky that the voluntary tackle rule has been (among others) thrown out the window.
Madge hails 'special moment' for beleaguered Brooks as Tigers star nails winning field goal
Round one and the rules have been thrown out already. A couple of sets before the Raiders’ winning try there was a glaringly obvious voluntary tackle which should have resulted in a penalty to the Sharks. NRL is the worst officiated professional sport on the planet.
Raiders survive crucial Bunker call to win Wighton's 200th game, but Hodgson limps out
Why not simply call them the Brisbane Dolphins or East Coast Dolphins? The NRL’s own website doesn’t use team geographical names at all. Neither do News Ltd publications so does it matter really?
The Dolphins will be paddling upstream unless they settle on proper name
I can confirm that the Dawson twins came across to league from Easts rugby.
The rugby league club graveyard – the little Aussie battler (Part 3)
I agree with everything you’ve written. I was a huge fan of league from the 60s to the early 2000s but now I can’t stand how the game is played and mainly for the reasons you’ve outlined. I rarely watch it at all but still keep an interest. League is appallingly officiated and the rules are so often ignored that it is pointless to even get angry about it (don’t mention roll-balls and the bendovers). The bunker is a massive waste of money as it doesn’t help. I’d love to see the game go back to rules that made it great. But pigs might fly before that ever happens.
Wrestling fix was a band-aid solution that didn't address the cause
You only have to look at the success of schools like Palm Beach-Currumbin and Keebra Park High schools on the Gold Coast in developing rugby league talent through their academy programs to know that this would absolutely work in other state schools in all states. For that to happen in rugby it needs people with drive and passion like Mr Orange to get schools to adopt rugby as a pathway not only for sport, but also for academic success. Having worked and coached at PBC I know that the influence the league program has in reducing misbehaviour in the classroom is immense. This must surely be a selling point to school administrators. I have also witnessed first-hand how good state school rugby was in the old days as I went to Randwick Boys High in the late 60s and played against some great talent at schools like Sydney High, Cleveland St and Matraville High. Love to see it rise again and stomp on the GPS schools once more!
Growing rugby in Australia through the state school system: No, this isn’t a joke
You only have to look at the career of Dayne Zorko to know that clubs should probably pay more attention to standout players in the state leagues.
Greg Clark: The mature-age WAFL sensation your club needs
Well done Grant. Great career at Hawthorn and thank you for your efforts at the Lions.
Humble Birchall calls time on AFL career
Djokovic’s actions were that of an over-indulged spoilt brat. He will never win my admiration for his tennis successes with behaviour like that. I long for the day when tennis officialdom finally declares enough is enough with these tantrums and introduces laws that makes a player who has broken his/her racquet in a fit of temper play on with the damaged racquet, just like golfers have to do. That’d stuff ’em and rightly so too. Solid, well written article.
Novak, it's time to say sorry
Ian Walsh was obviously a better hooker than Smith as I’d bet that Cameron Smith never had to hook for the ball in a bendover (scrum?) in his entire career!
Cameron Smith finally announces retirement
But isn’t that a skill that needs to be perfected? Honestly, rugby league for years has be de-skilling the game to the point where now all you need to be able to do is catch, run, pass and tackle. Scrummaging? Gone. Winning possession from marker? Gone. Ball distribution? Gone. Now you want to get rid of what is really a simple skill. And yes, it states in the last rule international rule book I read (July 2020?) that the ball must be heeled back, so either the heel of part of the foot must touch the ball. It’s not hard to do but so many modern boofheads can’t seem to get it right. Worse, the stupid refs let them get away with it.
As for some of these other rule changes, 40m drop goals? Stupid. Bunker? Stupid. The pursuit of perfection in this game is a forlorn hope no matter what technology you throw at it. Want to speed up the game? Get rid of the bunker. Get rid of the water boys on the field!! Ultra-stupid and a really bad look for “professional” athletes. Captain’s challenge unsuccessful? Bad luck old mate. Don’t these challenges also slow down the game? Stupid. Get rid of them. Make the refs do the job they’re paid to do. Let them live or die by their perforomance. If they won’t follow the rule book, “Back to state league you go, old son. And here’s a rule book to study also.” Here endeth the rant!
Screwing over the man: How teams will pervert the new rule changes
For years the Gold Coast has produced some wonderful rugby league talent. High schools like Keebra Park and Palm Beach-Currumbin have been at the forefront with their sports excellence programs. Some prominent names who never played for the Gold Coast would include Benji Marshall, Ben Te’o, Corey Norman, Darius Boyd, Ben Hannant and to a lesser extent Ben Ikin (who played only 8 games for the Seagulls as a raw teenager before being pinched by North Sydney). It is good to see that the club has FINALLY learned its lessons of the past.
The forgotten players: Gold Coast Chargers
Maybe this will help….https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/08/21/greatest-englishmen-played-rugby-league/
The forgotten players: Gold Coast Chargers
Thanks Boss for your look at the Tigers of the past. As a current Balmain Tiger fan it’s good to see the old club is not forgotten. If I had my way I’d dissolve the Wests Tigers tomorrow and bring back Balmain and West Subs as separate entities. Their merge never felt right with me, even in 2005 when they won the premiership. Oh well, I guess I’ll just keep my wonderful memories of my Tiger days.
The Balmain Tigers' greatest ever team
Larry was one of the fastest players I ever saw in football boots.
The Balmain Tigers' greatest ever team
How can you have a brain explosion when there appears to be no brains in the first place?
Wallabies Bledisloe 3 DIY player ratings vs New Zealand: The results
Yes there certainly was a Cane bump but it was not enough in my view to push the winger into the tackle. Plus he wrapped his arms around the flyer. A smarter player would have slowed a little to time his approach to the tackle as the NZer landed. Maybe we ought to have an IQ assessment of prospective future Wallabies as well as quite a few of them don’t seem to have too many brains, especially those in the forwards who seem to think they can match it for pace with the likes of Mo’unga.
Groundhog day for the Wallabies: Four talking points from Bledisloe 3
Before the game my wife asked me what I thought the result would be. I said that we’d get beaten by about 30 points. By half time I asked for a new target as the 30 points was almost up. The Wallabies were, once again, bloody terrible. I ask you, how does a winger at international level (which assumes he’s been around rugby long enough to know the rules) in the 2nd minute of a test, attempt to tackle a player who is mid-air trying to catch the ball? Is the guy brain-dead or what? As soon as I saw that, I just knew my prediction was going to be hopelessly inaccurate. Luckily, I turned it off at half time as I couldn’t stomach another 40 minutes of Wallaby drivel and switched to something on Netflix.
Groundhog day for the Wallabies: Four talking points from Bledisloe 3
Raeleen’s just quit!
Michael Lynagh withdraws signature from captains' letter as Eales, Shaw voice their support of Rugby AU
Is there such a thing as a negative IQ?
Contract goes up in smoke: Proctor apologises after Titans sack him for 'half-time vape' incident