Lions v Batley at Station Road 1936

[Blue Monkey]

Just been looking at this footage of a 1936 match against Batley at Station Road. The commentator is more suited to that of someone covering the Chelsea Flower Show perhaps.

 

See link below.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNn0ao89a_U

[STU WILLY]

Great nostalgia,but glad the games are not played like that today.

[mike the lion]

Station Road looked magnificent.

Oh, to turn the clock back.

[Blue Monkey]

Great nostalgia,but glad the games are not played like that today.

 

Oh! so you're one of these people who loves the way today's game has been well and truly 'Aussiefied', i.e., the 'footballers' have been sidelined and largely replaced by 'athletes' trained in the gym on weights mostly. Thank God I don't have to watch Super League's contribution to the once wonderful British game. 

 

Whenever this crops up I bring up what a Leeds fan said to me at Keighley a few seasons back when I asked at half time what a Leeds fan (SL top side) was doing at this 'little' match. His reply (I will never forget it) was 'I've come to watch rugby league as it should be played'.

[chris26]

If only the game was played more like the 1936 match. There seems to be a lot of individual flair,which is sadly lacking today, the players just seem to follow a prearranged plan.

When a tackle was made, the tackers rolled away to allow the play the ball (as the rules state ) today's tacklers lie on one another,therefore holding the game up for a couple of seconds. The refs could stop this,but they don't.

The game had proper play the balls. Contested scrums. ( no one surely can't disagree that today's scrums are little more that a farce,and hold the game up to ridicule.

Today's game sees players barging up the field for 5 tackles then a kick. Then it starts again. 5 tackles, kick.

Can get boring.

The 1936 match spectators all seemed to enjoy it. The crowd was probably more than Swinton get all season now. If today's modern game if supposed to be better,then give me the old game, at least you did not know what was going to happen next.

[STU WILLY]

Blue Monkey,Chris 26.I also prefer the rugby i watched in my formative years,early 60's and played late 60's and 70's. The 36 film In my opinion,not right or wrong looked like a game of R U,catch and kick, hacking on at the ruck and trying to catch a bouncing ball unsuccessfully.As for the game that has evolved today,which some people call running through brick wall rugby,I get great excitement and pleasure watching this young lions team give all they've got for the jersey and club. Ps Station Rd did look great, happy days. C'mon you lions.

[mark richardson]

I reckon the game was good then and is good now

What will never change for eternity is narrow mindedness

[Blue Monkey]

There seems to be a lot of individual flair,which is sadly lacking today, the players just seem to follow a prearranged plan.

 

 

Completely agree. It's what we now call 'robotic rugby'. My theory is this 'modern' style of rugby was conceived in Oz like much of today's RL, and we, like gullible mugs, have fallen inline in the misguided belief that all things Australasian must be the best thing since sliced bread.

Also agree, scrums are an utter farce, no doubt something else which took root DU.

My plea is, bring back flair and real rugby 'football' before it's too late and stuff the 'modernists', for want of a polite word.

Just a bit surprised that a certain prominent Lions fan hasn't climbed onboard here to take the opposite view (we ALL know who).

[Bryce]

I'm not sure why you're so anti-Aussie as the game you're describing is Aussie rules football. And he's probably not arguing as he knows there's very little point in doing so. I'd personally like to think that the majority of rugby fans go through the turnstiles because of the love of the game now and not that of the 1930's.

I'm not trying to get you to enjoy the current form of the game or see it for its positive aspects, that would just be silly.

[Mark]

That Thurston guy is rubbish, so robotic and boring! I watch te Aussie games every week and it's fantastic, skill level is out of this world. Most elope that complain must not have seen it for years

[LOYALION]

Players are bigger, stronger and faster now. It is a fact. This is because of access to better training, nutrition and physical development. If the players of yesteryear had the access they would be the same. Hence the game had to change gradually as the players did.

As for the other usual moan about jumpers/jerseys/shirts or whatever to call them, without the sponsorship ON them there would not be anyone IN them. No money, no clubs. Then we would all be watching Super League and not Swinton!

[Blue Monkey]

I'm not sure why you're so anti-Aussie as the game you're describing is Aussie rules football. .

 

What are you on about? You don't seem to be making sense, Aussie rules is a totally different sport. We're talking about rugby league here, which evolved from the parent game rugby union after the split in the 1890s.

I was taken to an Aussie rules match in Adelaide a few years ago. It's a bit weird. They have God-only-knows how many players on the field and about 3 referees (or umpires) there too. RL is mainly popular only in Queensland and NSW.

[Blue Monkey]

Players are bigger, stronger and faster now. It is a fact. This is because of access to better training, nutrition and physical development.

 

Yes, of course, but, I'd like to ask, at what cost?, the huge loss of the wonderful footballing delights we all once enjoyed?

[Mark]

You talk rubbish, I'll ask again how many Aussie games do you watch? It's embarrassing on here, basically it's killed the forum

[LOYALION]

No Mark, fair play, this thread is about 1936 so it's fair enough to chat on about it.

Keith you need to join the present society. You say you won't watch Aussie rugby yet you call it s###e. How do you know?

[Bryce]

What are you on about? You don't seem to be making sense, Aussie rules is a totally different sport. We're talking about rugby league here, which evolved from the parent game rugby union after the split in the 1890s.

I was taken to an Aussie rules match in Adelaide a few years ago. It's a bit weird. They have God-only-knows how many players on the field and about 3 referees (or umpires) there too. RL is mainly popular only in Queensland and NSW.

Yes, I'm the one not making sense.

[lionsfanusa]

No Mark, fair play, this thread is about 1936 so it's fair enough to chat on about it.

Keith you need to join the present society. You say you won't watch Aussie rugby yet you call it s###e. How do you know?

I've been trying to convince myself to stay out of this but....

First, I agree the thread was about 1936. Even Keith and I can't claim to have seen it first hand. Right, Keith?

Second, a while ago Mark chimed in, as he more or less did above, about how many Aussie games I'd ever watched then shut up when I pointed him to Fox Sports NRL and Super League coverage we see weekly in the US. This is the great paradox that I see repeated. Today, we can watch whatever we want, NRL and Super League on Fox, Lions-Batley from 1936 on YouTube. Lions TV.

For instance tonight it's St Helens v Catalans on Fox. So we can watch whatever we like best. If we don't want to watch it, so what? 

If Great Britain played Australia in a Test under pre Super League rules I'd be booking my flight as we speak. Is it good that there are no more GB v Aus tests under any set of rules? Oh yes, we'd get out asses kicked!

But above all, I'm a Lions fan through and through. Scrums or no scrums, play the ball or scuff it back. Forward pass or not. We live in a 21st century environment and short of a sequel to "Back to the Future" that's what we live with. So we do live with it and put our time and money into supporting the Lions TODAY as Keith does. If you never experienced the Lions and RL in general in the 60s you can't really understand what we are talking about, so don't try. Probably your dad did, and that's why you are here today. Be gratefull!

I'm left with the memory of my mother who passed away last year at 102 years old. She was a huge but tiny Lions fan who wriggled her way down to the concrete wall on the main stand side of Station Road, a 5 year old me in tow, so we could both see the action on the pitch. According to my Mum, more or less every time we had the ball "they" were off-side. And she let the referee know it. When I read the match reports on the Lions website, the more I realize the more things change, the more they remain the same, except it's not "offside" today, it's "forward pass"! And, we just re-signed my hero George Parkinson, who would run through Stu Willy's brick wall for the Lions whenever needed. As I said, the more things change, the more they remain the same!

 

If we are going to have a meaningful argument about yesterday's RL v todays, let's start by discussing why in my era every club started out with the same level of financial support, yet this season Bradford got 810,000 pounds from the RL and the Lions got 150,000 pounds.

As I said, the more things change, the worse they get!

[mark richardson]

Whilst all that is valid lionsfanusa the fact remains that present day rugby has lots of skill as did rugby in the 60s and the 30s. As will rugby when we are pushing up the daisies like your mum and my dad who introduced us to Swinton.

The sweeping senseless generalisations are not required

[LOYALION]

lionsfanusa Im 55 so I do remember the 60s although I didn't watch my first Swinton game till 70s so I'm no kid talking about what I don't know about.

I appreciate all your memories and respect them but we often forget that a lot of players weren't much better than overweight sloths and just as fast and a lot of games were no more than a mud bath. A lot but not all.

Blue Monkeys comments are always perplexing as if we applied his mantra of 'it's not as good as it was years ago so I don't watch/wear/use it' to food then I bet he never has a Sunday lunch or rhubarb crumble and custard which always tastes better 'without all the modern day additives'. I bet he doesn't!

At the end of the day nothing stays the same. We all have our preferences but we don't have to go around ruining it for others by telling them theirs is ######. I enjoy b&w films as much as modern CGI ones. I try and like as much as I can of everything, especially beer!

[Blue Monkey]

Yes, I'm the one not making sense.

 

I give up!

[Blue Monkey]

I've been trying to convince myself to stay out of this but....

First, I agree the thread was about 1936. Even Keith and I can't claim to have seen it first hand. Right, Keith?

Second, a while ago Mark chimed in, as he more or less did above, about how many Aussie games I'd ever watched then shut up when I pointed him to Fox Sports NRL and Super League coverage we see weekly in the US. This is the great paradox that I see repeated. Today, we can watch whatever we want, NRL and Super League on Fox, Lions-Batley from 1936 on YouTube. Lions TV.

For instance tonight it's St Helens v Catalans on Fox. So we can watch whatever we like best. If we don't want to watch it, so what? 

If Great Britain played Australia in a Test under pre Super League rules I'd be booking my flight as we speak. Is it good that there are no more GB v Aus tests under any set of rules? Oh yes, we'd get out asses kicked!

But above all, I'm a Lions fan through and through. Scrums or no scrums, play the ball or scuff it back. Forward pass or not. We live in a 21st century environment and short of a sequel to "Back to the Future" that's what we live with. So we do live with it and put our time and money into supporting the Lions TODAY as Keith does. If you never experienced the Lions and RL in general in the 60s you can't really understand what we are talking about, so don't try. Probably your dad did, and that's why you are here today. Be gratefull!

I'm left with the memory of my mother who passed away last year at 102 years old. She was a huge but tiny Lions fan who wriggled her way down to the concrete wall on the main stand side of Station Road, a 5 year old me in tow, so we could both see the action on the pitch. According to my Mum, more or less every time we had the ball "they" were off-side. And she let the referee know it. When I read the match reports on the Lions website, the more I realize the more things change, the more they remain the same, except it's not "offside" today, it's "forward pass"! And, we just re-signed my hero George Parkinson, who would run through Stu Willy's brick wall for the Lions whenever needed. As I said, the more things change, the more they remain the same!

 

If we are going to have a meaningful argument about yesterday's RL v todays, let's start by discussing why in my era every club started out with the same level of financial support, yet this season Bradford got 810,000 pounds from the RL and the Lions got 150,000 pounds.

As I said, the more things change, the worse they get!

 

Thanks Geoff. What a hugely refreshing dollop of sense. I enjoyed every word you wrote.

[mark richardson]

It's not about all agreeing with each other or all disagreeing

All points of view are valid.

But you cannot outright state that everything in the past was better and today players are less skillful and just expect us all to agree because it's simply untrue!

Aussiefication super league isation

The game is the same but different .

Jingoism is the enemy of progress and it's complete and utter rubbish

My dad was blinkered and old fashioned but he put some of the views on here to shame.

And I'll tell you again he was there from the 30s to 2014 and the best player in his eyes was Danny Wilson. Much as he loved Gowers and Blah and Parkinson and Stopford

The NRL is outstanding. The skill level is amazing

Open your eyes to new experiences.

[lionsfanusa]

We can argue about players for ever, my generation, your generation. It's a no win whichever side you are on. In every sport.

Same with RL itself. 

The rules changed, and so the players changed, the tactics changed. The game changed. Could today's players succeed in yesterday's game? We will never know. The old game is dead. Comparisons between rugby eras are like apples and oranges. Two different sports versus two different fruits. 

We move on. It is what it is. Everyone can decide for themselves which they like best.

Meanwhile COYL!

[Bryce]

I give up!

Good.

[Bryce]

We can argue about players for ever, my generation, your generation. It's a no win whichever side you are on. In every sport.

Same with RL itself.

The rules changed, and so the players changed, the tactics changed. The game changed. Could today's players succeed in yesterday's game? We will never know. The old game is dead. Comparisons between rugby eras are like apples and oranges. Two different sports versus two different fruits.

We move on. It is what it is. Everyone can decide for themselves which they like best.

Meanwhile COYL!

Agree with you there. I also tend to believe that many people, in all type of sport, will remember a time they saw their team being successful as the best period for the game. 24 years since we were last in the top flight? And then getting on for 50 since we were competing for top flight honours (realistically)? Its easy to see why the older generations of Lions fans would love the rugby played in the 60's.

I enjoy today's game. SL and below. If people born after 1980 took the opinion that the game is now a shadow of its former self, they probably wouldnt watch it or even play it.

I think the issue on the forum is that it's constantly thrown at people that today's game is awful and that it was brilliant pre-magna carta. And on that note, I'm going to watch some robotic rugby, played in shirts and in Aussie style, on sky. Or I might just enjoy the spectacle, who knows?!