Copa

70% of Australians live in big cities. It makes for a very sparse population outside of the cities but the cities are still regular cities. Population density across the entire country has little to do with our Covid results. Effectively closing the borders, extremely strict quarantine rules, contact tracing and banning citizens from departing except for exceptional circumstances is what helped....I was recently in quarantine due to potential exposure to Covid and if I left my property during that time I’d be arrested. The police visited everyday at a random time and health authorities were also in touch daily.... the Murdoch press have been very critical but they have simply been ignored.....but I digress.

It’s been easier for us because Australia is an island with no land borders to other countries. If only you had the same....

I’ve done a 200km round trip for a regular season junior (young teens) soccer match and have done plenty of 130km round trips for regular season junior rugby league matches with players as young as 6.

I’ll wait and see.... some members of the NSW police are known for going in swinging while screaming “stop resisting!” The police station closest to that incident had an appalling reputation when I was younger.

A great profit and shows the benefits of intelligent investment outside the business of rugby league. https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/raiders-boot-property-goal-with-56m-bunnings-sale-20201211-p56msb National Rugby League side the Canberra Raiders has almost doubled its money on a Bunnings warehouse investment after selling it to Home Consortium's newly floated Daily Needs REIT for $56 million. The sports club paid $29.55 million in 2011 for the newly built large-format retail property in Sydney's Seven Hills as part of plans to expand its asset base and create new income streams. Property records show it was acquired through a subsidiary of the club's controlling entity, Queanbeyan United Rugby League Football Inc. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Raiders also invested in two office buildings in Brisbane around the same time it bought the Bunnings. It is currently developing apartments, terrace houses and a new training venue as part of an $80 million project at Northbourne Oval in Canberra.

Westfield has done ok in its expansion from western Sydney. But I agree with you, some businesses succeed and some don’t. That’s been obvious throughout history.

That’s a different organisation in a different field. Even UK organisations fail in business in the UK.

I view it as a type of "crumple zone"... the bigger the defensive line, the more gang tackles there are, the smaller the crumple zone and the greater the risk of accumulating some form of brain damage over the long term. With less gang tackles and more room to move the tackled player is more likely to stop over a slightly longer distance after contact ... with the potential legal issues surrounding early onset dementia I'm almost certain this will be on thing they'll look at to see if it actually makes a difference..

We don't get Coronation Street in Australia. I did see it in the UK though and I was amazed at how many men in England watch soaps. I've never in my life known a man in Australia who watches soaps. It's an interesting cultural difference..

Running into a 15 man defensive line repeatedly surely increases the number of sudden stops and gang tackles compared to a sparser defensive line.

we'll know the answer to that next year..

For a big increase in unpredictability and mobility, they’d have to drop down to 11 or 12 players on the field. I would not be surprised at all if this happens. Union is facing big legal issues with the concussion saga and I expect them to cut the number of players faster than we could ever expect in the next few years, so we may as well stay ahead of them.

I think this will occur every few games. If you’re winding down to half time with only a few seconds left, why not go for 2 points?

Another prime example of V’landys not being held to tradition and his willingness to simply make wholesale changes to improve the product. He’d totally change it back too if it failed, probably mid season. If he ever had control of SL, I can only imagine the chaos that would be created amongst those who are determined to run SL like a snake that eats its own tail.

Fortunately you guys in the UK can watch the rules tested in competition and make your own decision after seeing how they play out in real life.

The end of every first half could get interesting with this rule.. 20m out with 10 seconds until halftime... what do you choose to do? Attempt to score a try or pass it way back to a gun kicker?

This will be interesting. If a trainer asks for play to be stopped the injured player must be either interchanged or taken off the field for a period of two minutes of elapsed game time before he is permitted to resume his place on the field.

That looks similar to US handball. It’s very different the Australian schoolyard handball though..

Very sad news. Thoughts are with his loved ones. Goodness, time is racing by and getting faster.. ...... Not even for a moment do things stand still - witness color in the trees. Seiju - 1776

I’m sure V’landys and co are acutely aware the UK marketplace is very different.

NRL sports management has no doubt moved on significantly since the mid 90s so I’m not sure the comparison with a Brisbane club team in the mid-90s buying the London team is comparable. I’d love to know what unrealised potential V’landys and his troops see in SL. I suspect there’s a lot of low hanging fruit in terms of centralising and consolidating parts of the business that are now done by individual SL clubs. The NRL has also invested significantly in the digital side of the business. They may see a lot of unrealised potential in that space for SL.. I suspect they’ll also be able to sell a more comprehensive TV rights product internationally if they control both competitions. Additionally, if the NRL do plan to start their own digital channel and break free at some point from the FTA channels, it’d be great to have every SL game and every NRL game available to broadcast.

$320 million down to $300 million with playing groups remaining at 30 is a great outcome considering the circumstances.

Well this is interesting. V’landys vs the sometimes boneheaded provincial stubbornness of SL. The NRL must see a lot of unrealised potential to dare meddling in SL. Even issues as mundane as having all matches televised causes chaos in SL when this is generally one of the most fundamental features of modern sports. Currently it’s effectively impossible to properly follow a SL team if you don’t live close to the stadium.

I’m sure we’ll eventually have strict limits on both how many games a person can play each year and how many contact training sessions they have per season. This will be in addition to changes to game rules and match day risk management.

I’ve often thought that clubs guaranteeing game time have huge potential. While it’s not ideal for every club (or for every team in a club) there is a place for it. Lots of kids just want to keep busy with their mates and aren’t interested in developing into pro players. Their parents want them to keep busy too. Guaranteed game time is great for these people and keeps them coming back year after year for the community involvement.