Jump to content

The Great Dane

Coach
  • Posts

    1,201
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by The Great Dane

  1. AFL invests heavily in the grassroots everywhere with the exception of places it thinks it has totally tied up and has a low return in pro-talent, i.e. Tasmania and some very small regional parts of SA, WA, and the NT. In the ACT and parts of NSW, and Qld they are seriously to trying to grow into they easily outspend the NRL in the grassroots, they're bringing guns to a knife fight in that regard. Basketball is growing exponentially in the urban centres of Australia, and unlike in the 90s it isn't a fad pushed by Michael Jordan's cult of personality. The NBL is competently run and basketball is eating up market share as a result, but to be honest it's probably effecting cricket more than the football codes currently. Soccer is a toothless tiger in Australia, always has been and probably always will be. Soccer has had the highest participation rates of any of the football codes for as long as the data has been collected, however it's utterly failed to convert that success in the grassroots into support for the local professional competition. Their professional tier is a shambles as well, and it's unlikely that will ever change. It's probably the only code that has historically been run worse than RL.
  2. It's short for septic tank. It's Australian rhyming slang. You should be able to figure it out if you think about it, if you haven't already figured it out. Most people in America won't be bother to google it anymore than most people in Australia are bothered to google Wigan or St. Helens... Not having a go, just being honest. I doubt the NRL even have that in mind. The Penn's have been pushing this on and off for years and it's never been more than talk in the media on a slow news day.
  3. If the NRL was serious about trying something in the US (and I'm not saying that they are or should be), then their best bet would to try and conquer Hawaii first because of it's close connection to Pacific region culturally, it's proximity to Australia compared to the rest of the US, it's total lack of representation in the major leagues in the US, and the slight disconnect it has from the mainstream American culture. If the NRL was serious, and willing to put the time and resources in, then getting a team up and running in Hawaii and building a culture of RL around it would be an achievable goal. Very high risk, time consuming, very expensive, and difficult, but achievable. Any other talk about the US is daydreaming for the time being.
  4. TBF, nobody noticing would have nothing to do the with the suburban clubs, most Seppos wouldn't even understand that the clubs are suburban clubs. It'd be because nobody in the US knows that RL exists, and the NRL doesn't have the means to put it under their eyes.
  5. Yes it is shown in the US. The NRL should leave the PI's and NZ to themselves and worry about it's own backyard. For all intents and purposes RL basically doesn't exist outside of NSW, Qld, and the ACT in Australia (i.e. half the country), and because of mismanagement and neglect it's badly struggling within the ACT, large parts of NSW (particularly south of Sydney) and some parts of Qld. In other words RL isn't in great shape in Australia and the NRL's focus should be on changing that less they watch the goose that lays the golden eggs slowly be stolen by the AFL and other competitors. Frankly the club's willingness to source talent cheaply by poaching it from NZ rugby and the PI's instead of developing it themselves in Australia is a contributing factor to those struggles, but that is a whole other discussion.
  6. Firstly, there's next to no chance that this game gets off the ground. It'd be a very expensive exercise with little hope of a return for the investment, and the broadcasters will be dead against it. Secondly, people keep saying there needs to be a 'plan' or a 'follow up', but having a serious crack at the US/NA market would cost hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars just to build a significant niche audience. The NRL simply doesn't have the resources to attempt such a venture, especially when things are as bad as they are back home. Finally, any talk of the NRL supporting the NARL, USARL, etc in any substantial way is just fantasyland nonsense. It's not within the NRL's preview, they'd get nothing tangible in return for their investment, and the last thing RL needs is another nation that is totally reliant on the NRL subsidising their existence.
  7. To be fair, I'm not sure what can actually be done about that problem. It's my experience having in the past volunteered at local clubs for years (both League, Union, and briefly soccer), that mothers that are worried about such things have no intention of ever letting their kids play contact sports that they deem dangerous. The 'Polynesian kids are too big' thing is just another excuse in a long line of excuses, and even if it could be adequately addressed in a fair manner (which it can't be mind you), it won't make any difference as they'll just move on to another excuse. My time was pre-CTE as well. It must be a nightmare now that CTE is a widely recognised phenomenon.
  8. So it's no concern whatsoever that effectively 0% of NRL players, and only a tiny percent of broader participation numbers, are from Asian ethnicities despite them making up not quite 10% of the population and ever growing? That RL has totally failed to have significant growth within middle class and upper class demographics despite decades of attempts? That with the exception of a tiny pocket in WA and an even smaller one in Melbourne (both of which are mainly made up of expats anyway) RL has utterly failed to grow the sport outside of NSW, Qld, and the ACT despite that representing half of Australia's population? That it's participation rate in the most important sex demographics, boys and men in the full contact version of the game, has been in decline for years, particularly in urban areas? I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get the point; the problem isn't that PI's and Indigenous people are participating (again not that that is anything new) it's that the NRL and RL has totally failed to engage so many other demographics of all kinds, and doesn't seem to be even trying in most cases. At the end of the day being big with 4% of population isn't going to mean much if RL is totally outcompeted in the other 96%, which though obviously being a little hyperbolic isn't totally unreflective of what is happening in most demographics across the country, and that ain't good.
  9. It's a bit of a double edged sword though isn't it. I mean it's great that people of diverse backgrounds are getting involved (which isn't anything new BTW), but on some level it's also concerning that roughly 4% of the Australian population (3% Indigenous and 1% Pacific Islander) are so disproportionately represented in the NRL and general participation statistics. That fact has to say something about RL being totally outcompeted in many demographics (both ethnic and class), and utterly failing to appeal to other larger demographics, and will inevitably have unforeseeable impacts on the sport in the long term. A few things are for sure though, the NRL needs to stop skimping on grassroot funding, particularly in the bush, "affiliated states", and smaller cities outside of Sydney and Brisbane, it needs to create strong incentives in the salary cap for developing local juniors, and it needs to learn to identify demographic changes within cities and regions and learn to adapt to them more quickly (which to be fair it's been much better at than most other sports in Australia). It also needs to watch what the AFL is doing in the grassroots and actively fightback. The AFL actively targeting tactically important markets and totally outgunning the local RL institutions until they dominate the local grassroots without any resistance from the NRL needs to stop.
  10. That may not be feasible considering the times. The NZRL doing something for themselves for once wouldn't be a bad thing either...
  11. None of them should go to Sydney or Brisbane. Spread the love around now, worry about overhyped derbies later. Unfortunately this is the NRL so I fully expect at least one or two to go to Sydney, and another to the Dolphins. In an ideal world independent bids would be seriously considered as well, but that's almost certainly not going to happen under the current administration either.
  12. Not Canberra's fault that tickets were massively overpriced and there was precisely zero marketing for the event locally. 90% of the population had no clue when the games were actually on, and most of the other 10% were turned off when they realised they'd have to sell a kidney to get a seat worth having. The only good decision made as pertains to the 2017 RLWC and Canberra was to base France here (large diaspora for Aus, French speaking school, etc). Aside from that they made every mistake that you possibly could.
  13. If the other teams had the depth in a position like the Raiders do in the front row then they’d do it as well. They might not realise it now, but at the point that those guys are in their careers it’s a win-win for them as well. Even if they don’t cement at spot at the Raiders they’ll be a known quantity, with a good record, and lots of NRL experience that they probably wouldn’t have got under other circumstances. In other words, even if they don’t land a permanent spot at the Raiders they are being set up to land a spot somewhere else.
  14. I wouldn't. Ricky will keep cycling him and the others like Guler, Lui, and Horsburgh through giving them game time and keeping them match fit, but he won't really commit to one of them really cementing a starting spot until Soliola retires or some of the other guys move on. The pack's more flexible that way, and it's easier to replace guys that are injured or suspended.
  15. Going to the Roosters would be the biggest mistake of his NRL career. They'd chew him up and spit him out as soon as the next best thing comes along. If he truly wants out of the Broncos and he's smart then he'd try to get in with a team like the Knights, up and coming team, good culture, and don't have a brutal, dodgy, corporate attitude like the Roosters. The Knights and other teams like them, would be patient with him and nurture his game as he builds into a better player, the Roosters would be looking to replace him with the next best player that comes cheaper as soon as they sign him.
  16. Burleigh already have beaten their first grade side, and if given the opportunity they could beat a few of the other teams in the lower half of the NRL as well! Many of the other better teams in the Qld cup and NSW cup could beat weaker NRL teams as well if given the chance, because in reality there isn't that much of a difference in standard between your top Q and NSW cup teams and your bottom of the table NRL sides. And just because I say they could beat somebody doesn't mean that they'd necessarily be convincing in doing so, or that they'd necessarily have a better win-loss ratio over their opponent. Let's put it this way, if Burleigh can beat the Titans, then they'd probably finish somewhere between 7th and 10th in your average year of Super League, but they'd definitely "shock" a few of the stronger SL clubs along the way.
  17. I agree that many of the NSW cup sides wouldn't be out of place in the SL either. With the exceptions of Ipswich, CQ, and the Hunters, all the Qld cup sides are reserves for NRL sides as well, so maybe stop talking about things that you know nothing about.
  18. The best thing for them would be to run teams in the Mal Meniga cup and Hasting Deering Colts for a few years to build up some players before launching the Qld Cup side. That'd probably be financially restrictive though. To be honest I can't really see where the money's going to come from to support the club at all. I can't imagine that there's a great deal of sponsorship money on offer for RL in New Caledonia, and I doubt that sponsors from Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, etc, will be too interested in supporting the team unless it's based in their country, not initially at least. Relying on grants from the Australian Government to support the club is just a really bad idea, but who knows, maybe the French government have some sort of grant scheme that they could apply for. They're probably going to be pretty reliant on money coming from Australia and maybe France initially, so it'll be interesting to see where the money comes from.
  19. They really wouldn't what? You're either delusional or totally ignorant on this subject.
  20. Yep, and if given the opportunity they could do in a bunch of other NRL teams as well. They aren't the only team that is capable of that as well.
  21. The top Qld cup teams could beat many of the NRL teams on their day, so suggesting that they would be competitive in the SL shouldn't be taken as an insult.
  22. I don't know if the Qld cup is stronger than the Super League, but it's a lot closer to SL than people here are making out. Most of the top half of the Qld cup wouldn't look out of place in the SL. The only club that they'd really struggle with is St. Helens, but that's true of rest of the SL clubs as well.
  23. It's an interesting idea, a bit like the Wolfpack in that it's come from left field. Whether it'll work or not completely depends on how much backing they can get to support it, and I can't see where the money will come from. I also think that it'd be best for them if they started at a lower level and built their way up like the Silktails were doing in NSW, but that would be harder to do in Queensland. Good luck to them though.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.