Stupid comment. Nothing is an easy fix. What are the parameters for determining which clubs stay and go? Financially, Cronulla are sitting on a huge retail/residential development. Penrith are in a lull at the moment but so are the Tigers and Eels – all of Western Sydney are suffering.

Also, I don’t see what Brisbane 2 will do. Just look at the A-League with the inclusion of Melbourne Heart after Melb Victory had gathered support city-wide. What will Bris 2 offer that the Broncos don’t? As far as I’ve noticed, Broncos have done nothing to alienate fans. The derbies will always be QLD derbies – I don’t see a Brisbane derby adding anything more of value.

Or perhaps because it is one of the only truly steadfast sports of society, its traditions only become more rich and the sport more enticing as one of the very few where history is preserved and we can truly see athletes walk in the footsteps of those before them.

Contrast that to the recent seasons of NRL where the laws of the sport seem to be in a flux and not even the referees understand how to adjudicate the game. Rugby League has pandered those few who splash the big bucks instead of the many who contribute to the game as a whole. The Grand Final (supposedly sacred ground) is now a 7:15pm kick off for nothing more than ratings.

That attitude ensures ultimate demise, not football’s preservation of traditions over short-term cash grabbing.

Good article Ronan, but I’ll call you out on the 2011 World Cup. India won that, and we performed horribly. We came 3rd in our pool and lost against India in the QF.

Surely non-exclusive deals such as what the AFL worked out with Fox/Seven is the way to go. Let Fox show all games live, and include SR in the Wallabies deal, with FTA showing perhaps one game live per week. Essentially that is all we need isn’t it? NRL has only one live game, and then Sunday is delayed (don’t start me on how pathetic that is). A Saturday night Australian match each week would fill a time slot that might attract Rugby League viewers (hope especially for younger audiences) to watch some FTA rugby in place of the NRL. All networks have 3 digital channels these days, and ratings aren’t monitored as closely on the second and third channels as they are on the flagship channel.

Perhaps foregoing a bit of money from Fox for non-exclusive showings of one game a week would be a suitable investment in the future.

Do you honestly expect a team to travel from Japan to America as a part of their home/away season? The players wouldn’t last 3 rounds.

White elephant? Each year it hosts Auckland Blues’ Super Rugby matches, at least one All Blacks’ fixture, Auckland’s ITM Cup fixtures, plus a selection of NZ cricket matches (including a few of the upcoming Cricket WC). You may as well go ahead and call Twickenham a Rugby Union white elephant.

Jayvan, I thought it was out in real time, and while I also agree that there was a noise and a (very) small mark on hotspot, the idea of the DRS is that there should be *conclusive* evidence to overturn an umpire’s decision, hence the ‘half-a-ball’ system that goes with hawk-eye. In absolutely no way was there conclusive evidence to suggest the umpire was wrong.

Also, when showing the snicko (in replays afterwards), they had a close-up from the front on angle of the bat and the ball… there was a definite gap between the two at the time the noise was made, that angle wasn’t even looked at in the decision review.

I’m not for a moment questioning Erasmus’ integrity, but I think he may have sensed the implications (regarding the british press) had he given that not out and Australia had won the match.

Of course, if Clarke had used his reviews as sparingly as Cook, we may not have had to chase those 15 extra runs.

A full stadium is great for now, but growth is a huge KPI of any sporting code. Considering Australia is an ever-increasingly multicultural society, it would seem cause for concern that we have only middle/upper class anglos attending the game. Of course, like pointed out elsewhere in the comments, the price label attached to such a marquee even does contribute greatly.

Except that the laws state that the first infringement will be a tackler not releasing the tackled player, with the ball carrier not releasing the ball becoming an infringement after the tackler has done so.

At the end of the day though, the result is irrelevant, is it not? The Lions are expected to win, and so essentially, these tour games are one great chance to advertise rugby that is not suffocated by negative, ‘play to not lose’ rugby. The jeering at the Lions for taking the points after penalties – contrasted to the euphoria in the stands after the Reds’ quick taps – is testimony to that. Ewen isn’t stupid, he gave the ARU exactly what they wanted: a spectacle, and one good enough to make people start salivating at the thought of the three test matches.

Mr. Cheika, now it’s your turn.

‘Bandwagon’ is when a South African moves to Australia and when you befriend him, you find he supports Melbourne Storm, despite never having been there, as well as considering Queensland his state of origin. Throw in that he is a Stormers supporter (despite the fact that he comes from Middelburg – up near Pretoria and Jo’burg) and he swapped allegiances from RSA to AUS in cricket and rugby and you have the true definition of ‘jumping on the bandwagon’.

My equal support of the Sharks, Waratahs, Swans and Sydney FC because I come from the Sutherland Shire but do not have an overwhelming code preference is the wagga wagga principle I assume?

How often does RL go to France, Italy, Ireland, Scotland or Wales? And while the Wallabies travel to England every year (plus a majority of the aforementioned countries), the Kangaroos travel every… 4 years? So really, in Rugby League, a world class player would have the possibility to travel to England as often as a world class Rugby Union player could join the Sevens team and play in the Olympics.
That is the world of difference.

And how exactly is NRL more high profile? If you are meaning more exposure, Super 15 is the number one sporting competition in South Africa (population 50 million) for half a year. Add to that the Super 15 is regarded as the toughest club/provincial Rugby competition in the world, and Rugby is played professionally in more countries than League, I’d say Super 15 is more high profile.

I’d say the only correct statement in your whole comment is “And if it’s the Wallabies he wants to play for then 2013 seems like the best year to choose!” But hey, you’re welcome to present me a scenario to make me see otherwise.

I’m a long time supporter of both codes, I grew up supporting the Sharks (probably enough to be negative of League to start with hey?), and I play Union. I’ve always thought that League has had the upper hand with the platform of the rules to allow a more universal enjoyment of the game, whereas Union will always be an acquired taste (I’m still learning all of the rules after playing for years).

League can’t undo the fact that Union was sent international while it stayed as a majority sport in Australia only, but it could become an amazing game if just one coach plays a creative game completely away from the status quo. Unfortunately it has headed more towards NFL than Union.
Take a few examples:
– One out hit-ups inside 20m line: most often a team gets plugged down inside the 20m for the first 4 tackles before a kicker decides to kick ‘early’. Why not put the kick in on the 1st/2nd tackle? The kicker might kick from the 10m instead of the 20m, but there will only be the FB back. And when wingers decide to drop back from early, there are possibilities for attack.
-Using HB or 5/8 more: Use them as first receivers to dictate play. Inside/outside ball to forward runners or if they see gap, send it wide. More possibilities = more chance of breaking the line + more defenders being alert = more tired players.
-Lets completely speed up the play the ball. Insert RU like rule with a ‘roll away’ call once the tackled player hits the ground. Also, held in the air should be called earlier to prevent ‘cannonball’ tackles.
-Scrum properly or don’t scrum at all.

All it needs is one bright coach and rule maker to introduce this style of play and it will make the game that much prettier to watch. Tries will be scored by running the ball, and we will no longer see kicking being in every highlight reel (and that’s coming from a 5/8). After that, bring subs up to 20 for all I care, because the speed of the game will be incredible, and the one on one tackling will become paramount.

PS: We’ve all built Utopia haven’t we?

Johnno, ill-informed and incorrect comments and terminology don’t help a case when you’re fighting a code war. The opposition immediately dismisses your argument:
– When a player is tackled to ground (which is a majority of the time) in Rugby Union, what normally ensues is a ruck, not a maul.
– Rugby League allows for two markers at the play the ball, not one.

I would agree with your argument somewhat, except you seem to be talking from 20 years in the past. League in the 90’s was a faster game, there was no messing around after the tackles. Also, skills in Rugby Union were less developed (due to the amateur status of the sport), which led to more stoppages. Since then, League has gone backwards; the play the ball now takes as long as a ruck in Union does, only there is no competing for the ball. Union has professionalised and with it superior skill sets. As much as I love League, it is a sport that is constricted by one-dimensional play and no creativity. Union is much less predictable, and as such, much more exciting.

Oh, and please show me evidence of Rugby League taking wrestling out of League – ruck times haven’t sped up in the last 5 years. On the other hand, the IRB is currently trialling yet another variation of the scrum calls to speed the process up.

I’d say the Lions would be going with Sexton for the tests, Farrell is still far too raw. He’s had moments of brilliance – notably against Wales in the 2012 Six Nations (that they almost won on the siren), but like the other night, he still has the temperament of a schoolboy. The worst thing he did was clap as Brits was carded. Sexton has to get the nod.

I think that’s the one point that a lot of people seem to be missing. The first time I heard about the monkey/ape correlation with aboriginals was through the Symonds/Harbhajan issue. So in that regard I can understand how the 13 year old might not have known, and it may have been unintentional racism, but racism nonetheless. The only true measure of that incident is the phone call that took place between her and Goodes.

Eddie’s comments were a moment of absolute stupidity and recklessness – but I am not going to sit here and pretend that I (or a majority of the Australian population) are any better than he. I think it is a complex issue that has hazy borders between traditional Australian larrikinism and sledging – we vilify people for being red heads etc. everyday. The point we need to remember is that Eddie’s joke would have been about as funny to the Aboriginal/coloured community as a joke about my mother getting cancer would be to me.

Definitely worth lodging a complaint to the ACCC about that, there’s no way these ‘high end’ pubs can lawfully abuse Australian men’s long recognised partiality to a good drop of liquid gold. It’s time to put an end to the discrimination.

On the upside, if you come down to Surfers Paradise on a Thursday night, push your way through the scum and find your way to the bar, a few clubs put on $1 house beers (I’m not sure if this is actually an upside, but it’s sure had me worse for wear a few times without blowing my student budget).

The difference in Australia is our sporting system is very much a ‘representative’ based model. So in that sense, for as long as there have been clubs, there have been state teams (at least to the extent of NSW/QLD). So really, it is just as traditional to play the Waratahs or the Reds as it is to play the provincial teams of SA/NZ. Of course, that is one of the reasons we struggle with finding a third tier competition.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/turning-his-back-on-the-west-folau-demonstrates-what-is-really-wrong-in-clubland-20130215-2eil7.html

I actually didn’t know about that. Who is is publicist/manager? Surely choosing to represent (let’s face it, when will he be PLAYING in the Shute Shield?) one of the Western teams would have helped turn his image from ‘money grabber’ to being about family/community values a hell of a lot.

I can’t see it happening either, but I can’t help but go back to the 3rd place play-off in the 2011RWC when QC did his ACL. That was the only time I agreed with Deans’ selections of the whole campaign and it was because McCabe was out. Barnes got chosen at 12 and gave QC another playmaking option as well as the ‘stability’ man to settle it down when QC couldn’t. Beale would be my choice FB with JOC on the wing but given the circumstances I’m torn between whether JOC or Izzy should be 15 with whichever other on the wing.

It wasn’t a great look on the eve of the squad’s selection when all eyes are on his defence. Robbie made a particular note of him defending in the front line, but if he’s not given the chance, how will we know how much his defence has improved?

You can watch EPL matches live… problem is about half the games are played in the exact same time slot (i.e. 3pm Saturdays). Many clubs (Man U, Villa, Liverpool etc.) also have their own channels where you can watch all of the club’s games wherever you are. Of course, outside of that, what you watch on a Saturday is up to the discretion of Sky Sports/BBC/whoever has the rights to the time slot.

On the home front, do you ever see Channel 9 or Fox Sports giving up that stream of income for the good of the game?

Didn’t think so.

Do you see mixed doubles tennis as cannibalising both markets of womens and mens tennis?

It was gracious of you not to mention that the NRL have failed to do what the AFL have done successfully for years, even though that was the basic point haha. Totally agree. Look at the AFL scheduling and broadcast:

All games fixed at the beginning of the year. All games live and ad free on Fox. 3? games per round shown live on 7 (7 mate in NSW and QLD – and I think I heard WA as well).

And NRL:
(Finally) games fixed until round 20. Last 6 rounds TBA by Ch9. Saturday, Sunday evening and Monday night games live and ad free on Fox. 1 game live on Ch9 (Go/Gem in non QLD/NSW). 1 game 2 hours delayed, 1 game 1 hour delayed.

But remember folks, NRL has the big 1.25b deal, while AFL has a piddly 1b. Fair deal? I think not.

Stavros, I think you should look more towards RU and RL’s use of the send-off rule than of soccer. Yellow card infringements in soccer are (on the most part) much less serious than RU or RL (to any football fans about to accuse me of being a ‘sockah hater’, I currently play, and am a passionate SFC supporter).

If you look towards the incidents for sin-bins and send offs in both rugby codes, it makes much more sense how it would apply in AFL. Of course, the 50m penalty seems to be the AFL’s version of a yellow card offence.

On the other hand, Glenn, I couldn’t agree more and have been wondering how many other people have been wondering this same thing. Great article.