Copa

The NRL would attract better ceo talent, both domestic and international, these days.

I doubt Ikin is in the running. He’s not qualified at all.

Origin is on the federal government’s anti-siphoning list and can’t be hidden behind a paywall.

Abdo says that amongst other highlights, he’s really enjoyed watching his children play rugby league and attending grass roots matches, smelling the barbecue, and chatting to the other parents. The press conference has also really shown how human and relatable PVL is. He’s not slick with his rhetoric, he’s emotional, he seems down to earth and he appears really genuine.

Interestingly PVL said at this press conference that any future tv rights must result in affordable access to RL for the fans and that it will be a key factor when deciding who gets the rights. PVL seems to be devastated that Abdo is departing.

They said it mostly relates to the tv rights deal. Apparently media companies start making presentations tomorrow.

He just said at the press conference that he’ll remain ceo until 15 July.

Loss of interest in tennis, housing development, lack of investment etc. It’s a great case study of a sport slipping out of the mainstream due to a range of factors and shows that RL can never just assume it will always remain popular without continual hard work.

He’s done a great job with the NRL. Tennis will be a different type of challenge for him. It’s a tiny shadow of what it was 40-50 years ago and huge numbers of tennis courts have closed down over that time period. Sydney alone has probably lost a few thousand tennis courts this century.

NZers always talk about “league” as it’s their most commonly used word for the sport.

You’ll have to send them a message and ask. Leagues clubs also include some Returned & Services Leagues (RSLs), general sports clubs, workers clubs, musicians clubs, lawn bowling clubs etc. Many are involved in local sports leagues.

Here in Australia we have: - the National Basketball League which plays basketball, - the Australian Football League, which plays Australian football. So what do you think they play in the sport league called the National Rugby League? Millions of Australians call rugby league “rugby”. Many Melbourne Storm fans also refer to it as “rugby”. Even my children, who have been attending NRL games in Canberra since birth sometimes refer to rugby league as “rugby”. The only people in Australia who have issues with calling rugby league just “rugby” seem to be people who also grew up in areas where rugby league is also casually called “football” or “footy”, which is large parts of NSW and Queensland. I’ve even heard some PNG people refer to rugby league as “rugby”. If the NRL is going to expand in the region, you better get used to what other people will call the sport.

I can go out the door and casually run 21km around my part of Canberra without too much effort or carb loading. Despite carb loading for the trail run a few days ago and bringing snacks, I didn’t bring enough. During the race I went through 4 litres of electrolyte drinks and actually needed more. I also ran out of food for energy too. The course had big long unrelenting hills that killed on the decline and incline. I wasn’t used to the long sustained effort required. I’ve done races with a similar elevation gain before but it involved more frequent smaller hills. Every race over the weekend finished with the 951 steps up the cliff. 11k, 22k, 50k, 100k and 100 miles. This is the 22k course I completed:

I completed a 22km trail run a few days ago in light rain that created quite a bit of mud in parts. It had 1200m in elevation gain and finished with 951 steps up a cliff face. It was also the first time I’ve really stuffed up my mid race nutrition and i suffered badly over the last 2 kilometres. I also have to improve my power hiking game. I really learned some lessons out there!

I went to a Super League match in Wollongong, New South Wales. It was a lot of fun.