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I stop watching interviews with players after the match now, because you can guarantee what they'll say over and over and to be honest, i'm fed up with it. It's so boring and pointless, where are the personalities? You can guarantee they'll say:

 

  • XXX are a champion/good team, they have quality players and we knew that
  • The boys dug deep to get the result
  • We're just looking at next week and taking it one game at a time

 

This subject doesn't just apply to RL, you see it regularly in football. Cricket is probably the exception where the players are given more free reign to express themselves and have the intellectual capability to do so.

 

Who is at fault for this - the media training the players get that makes them clones? Do we just have to put up with this tripe every week or can anything be done to change this?

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I do find it odd how prevalent it is in RL as I doubt the clubs spend much money on media training. It seems like the only time you get something off-script from a player or manager is when they're trashing a referee. Maybe it's just hard to think of something to say after a tough game. Compare and contrast a soundbite from Todd Carney immediately after a game to the considered analysis he provided us with Jon Wells on the touch screen when he's had a minute to catch his breath.

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I watch a lot of Athletics, and when they stick a microphone under the nose of a distance runner, they're still gasping for breath, let alone coming up with a lot of insight. So it can be worse.

 

You usually see players with NRL experience being more fluent, as they are used to far more media exposure and don't go all "rabbit in the headlights" when faced with a camera and interviewer.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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I stop watching interviews with players after the match now, because you can guarantee what they'll say over and over and to be honest, i'm fed up with it. It's so boring and pointless, where are the personalities? You can guarantee they'll say:

 

  • XXX are a champion/good team, they have quality players and we knew that
  • The boys dug deep to get the result
  • We're just looking at next week and taking it one game at a time
 

This subject doesn't just apply to RL, you see it regularly in football. Cricket is probably the exception where the players are given more free reign to express themselves and have the intellectual capability to do so.

 

Who is at fault for this - the media training the players get that makes them clones? Do we just have to put up with this tripe every week or can anything be done to change this?

You did well to decipher Sandows interview last weekend!

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There are a number of issues here; actual personality is now so likely to be offensive to some infantile reactionary it is safer to be beige than colourful.

Players get asked the same mundane questions, eg  Tanya Arnold: "what does the CC mean to you player so and so" .....they can't help but be dull on the receiving end of that tripe.

And last but not least many sport stars are not just that articulate or may not have done enough in a game to put it into what few words they can muster.

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There are a number of issues here; actual personality is now so likely to be offensive to some infantile reactionary it is safer to be beige than colourful.

Players get asked the same mundane questions, eg  Tanya Arnold: "what does the CC mean to you player so and so" .....they can't help but be dull on the receiving end of that tripe.

And last but not least many sport stars are not just that articulate or may not have done enough in a game to put it into what few words they can muster.

 

I agree with your 2nd point about stupid questions that interviewers ask. The other 2 points for me are a lame excuse. I'm not saying you are wrong as such, more that it shouldn't be difficult to string a few words together which are more enlightening that usual standard post match drivel that continually gets churned out

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I agree with your 2nd point about stupid questions that interviewers ask. The other 2 points for me are a lame excuse. I'm not saying you are wrong as such, more that it shouldn't be difficult to string a few words together which are more enlightening that usual standard post match drivel that continually gets churned out

It shouldn't be difficult but with a national broadcast camera 2 ft from your face the less articulate or sensible interviewee will just plop out the generic soundbite out of common sense and maybe to get the thing over and done with.  I'd love to see some genuine passion or insight come forth from an interview but I don't think the format can cope with such things.

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Darius Boyd used to do very entertaining interviews but other than him maybe Blake Ferguson when he went through that faze of letting Anthony Mundine talk for him was interesting.

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Except for when there are back-to-back games, I usually change channels as soon as the hooter goes. I watched the game. I know what happened. I already have my own opinions about it. I don't need players, coaches or commentators to tell me what happened.

 

I find the HT ones doubly idiotic if, like last weekend in the Storm/Tigers game, one team is behind 26-0. "What do you need to work on in the second half?" Mmmm, I'm not sure, maybe playing a hell of a lot better than we did in the first half.

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I blame the interviewers for asking dull questions, not the players for answering them. Invariably they will ask a yes/no question and then something about what the coach said in the dressing rooms.

'Well done Mr Scrum-half, good win in the end but they made you work for it?'

'Ah yeah mate they sure did. They're a great side and we knew they would throw everything at us so we are just happy to get the win. The boys had to dig deep.'

'What did Mr Coach say to you at half-time?'

'Ah he was pretty calm. We knew we just had to keep completing our sets and defending well, and that's what we did so we're happy and hopefully we can do the same next week.'

I can confirm 30+ less sales for Scotland vs Italy at Workington, after this afternoons test purchase for the Tonga match, £7.50 is extremely reasonable, however a £2.50 'delivery' fee for a walk in purchase is beyond taking the mickey, good luck with that, it's cheaper on the telly.

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This has been a bug bear of mine for many years now.

 

I'd love someone to just pipe up with, "Yeah to be honest I hate [st Helens, especially Jon Wilkin*] and I hope we stuff them 50-nil"

 

*Insert least favourite team and player as appropriate

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Yes, or:

 

Tough game out there today?

Not really. They were rubbish and we knew they would be. We just tried to stay awake long enough to finish the job.

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Exactly.

 

In fact, done with a sense of humour it could be a real highlight.

 

"Yeah, we prepared well all week but then Wigan blinded us with their away kits and the game plan fell apart"

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This has been a bug bear of mine for many years now.

 

I'd love someone to just pipe up with, "Yeah to be honest I hate [st Helens, especially Jon Wilkin*] and I hope we stuff them 50-nil"

 

*Insert least favourite team and player as appropriate

Didn't someone pipe up in 2014 about hating St Helens and it led to some infant making insane conclusions about it in the media. Wane I think before the GF.

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"What did Mr Coach say to you at half time?"

"Ahh mate he was a bit upset and started throwing bananas and excrement at the walls. He said we should knock people out and that he couldn't give us more of a license than that."

I can confirm 30+ less sales for Scotland vs Italy at Workington, after this afternoons test purchase for the Tonga match, £7.50 is extremely reasonable, however a £2.50 'delivery' fee for a walk in purchase is beyond taking the mickey, good luck with that, it's cheaper on the telly.

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"What did Mr Coach say to you at half time?"

"Ahh mate he was a bit upset and started throwing bananas and excrement at the walls. He said we should knock people out and that he couldn't give us more of a license than that."

 

Yeah that sort of thing

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I stop watching interviews with players after the match now, because you can guarantee what they'll say over and over and to be honest, i'm fed up with it. It's so boring and pointless, where are the personalities? You can guarantee they'll say:

 

  • XXX are a champion/good team, they have quality players and we knew that
  • The boys dug deep to get the result
  • We're just looking at next week and taking it one game at a time
 

This subject doesn't just apply to RL, you see it regularly in football. Cricket is probably the exception where the players are given more free reign to express themselves and have the intellectual capability to do so.

 

Who is at fault for this - the media training the players get that makes them clones? Do we just have to put up with this tripe every week or can anything be done to change this?

The Three Leeds players interviewed this evening were concise and eloquent in their match summarisation, not at all as you describe player's DD

"If Rugby League had never been Invented, today we would only have Rugby League"

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I didn't see the interviews, but I enjoyed Ryan Hall's contribution to the post-match video analysis. He comes across really well.

Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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