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fighting irish

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Posts posted by fighting irish

  1. 12 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

    I’ve done fine in life but I don’t attribute it to higher intellect 

    I can't remember Harry, (or me) attributing their success to higher intellect.

    It's more a function of hard work, single minded dedication to a particular goal, yes a certain amount of luck but hedged by a readiness to use their own money to take risks with and a willingness to iterate (change) when and if things are not working and a dogged determination not to accept defeat.

    These are hallmarks of high self esteem, rather than high intellect.

    There are countless examples of so called ''intellectuals'' who achieve very little.

    Many, many find a safe haven in politics, (and committee's) where they can freely spend (other peoples) money while sheltered from the harsh realities of the market place. There they can build the facade of pseudo-self esteem (ego) with which to impress their gullible ''followers''. 

    Anyway, it's up to you mate but remember, It's one of the seven deadly sins?

    • Thanks 1
  2. 12 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

    I think when people talk about success in business what they forget is it really boils down to risk-taking rather than individual ‘brightness’.

    This is often forgotten in the aftermath.

    Thats why personally I’m less impressed with it than say somebody who has achieved a difficult accreditation with a professional body as a measure of intellect.

    My goodness, that smacks of envy mate. 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  3. 1 hour ago, Dave T said:

    I'm not sure i follow that things have gone badly wrong.

    Well, Salford springs to mind Dave.

    There's also some disquiet, correct me if I'm wrong, about the ''Re-imagining of Rugby League'' (oh and let's not forget the revelation, that we're paying IMG nearly half a million pounds a year, when it was originally touted as a profit share scheme).

    Yes we have a new grading system but...... is that it? What's next, on the agenda?

    What's the plan for years 4, 5, 6 and on....? 

    They (IMG) are invisible and so are the RFL board. 

    Is that enough?

    Don't you think the owners and we, are justified in asking these questions, after living in an information vacuum for the last few years? 

    • Like 2
  4. On 21/03/2025 at 08:29, Just Browny said:

    I think he's right, rich men do get to decide the direction of the entire sport just because they put cash into a specific club. The evidence is there in the situation we are discussing.

    The fact that is the case is probably the reason RL is what it is, a fine sport that has never realised its potential and whose entire history is characterised by chopping and changing for the sake of it and hare-brained ideas like the Stobart deal and the Middle Eights that you cringe about when you reflect back on them.

    Don't you think, this explains, at least in part, the games lacklustre history? 

    To me, the people who run the pro game are so consumed by trying to make their club (and the SL) work, they have no time, energy or resources to make any significant contribution to the development of the game.  I suspect (I think we know, come on, admit it) that they hardly even think about League One in their daily musings, let alone the vast (wilting) grass roots below.

    The best analogy I can think of, is expecting Billy Smarts Circus, to run the sport of gymnastics. Ha ha, some hope!

    All Billy's concerned about is making sure his trapeze artists teach their own kids how to swing and ensuring they can fill the tent.

    If you ask me, ''the game'', the sport of Rugby League, needs a governing body, (which is what BARLA should have been) with the main (nay only) goal of developing the game across the country for amateur/open players.

    Let create a governing body for Rugby League focused on what's really important, and let the circus take care of itself.   

    • Like 3
  5. 1 hour ago, Dave T said:

    Club owners deserve their input, they are a key stakeholder. However, very often they are blokes who did well in other areas and spend money on the team they support.

    Usually they aren't qualified in running the sport and creating the strategies etc. We see time and again the horrendous decisions and states that many owners get their clubs into. 

    I thought we'd had a bit of a clean sweep of jobs for the boys, we had a modern progressive board that had some experts rather than people who have money and just happen to be RL fans.

    Sure there is plenty of talent in the sport, but we really shouldn't blindly seal-clap people just because they have money.

    I agree with you here Dave, the club owners are not best qualified to run the sport.

    By the same token, isn't it reasonable to expect our modern progressive board, that had some experts to actually intervene when things go badly wrong?

    To speak up, to show their faces, to take control, to ''steer the ship''?

    I interpret the raft of resignations as a tacit admission that they have been remiss.

    They haven't got stuck in and defended their performance over the last year or so, they've just thrown the towel in and withdrawn.

    If Derek et al are living in this vacuum then it's to be expected that they would call for change, surely?  

    • Like 2
  6. 41 minutes ago, Father Gascoigne said:

    Rugby league is a working-class sport in Australia. These are not the folks that typically take two-year sojourns to foreign lands. Your experience aligns perfectly with logic. 

    Even assuming that wasn't an issue, the other problem with relying on Australians is that it's very easy to live anywhere in the world today and still follow the NRL closely. There's no reason to start following a new club unless you're completely wedded to the live gameday experience.

    This chimes in with my experience.

    My wife and I met an Australian mother and (adult) daughter, travelling in (Europe) Swansea and we began chatting. They were from Sydney and I mentioned I'd been there and was a big Rugby League fan.

    They were speechless!

    The old lady was very quiet and struggled to disguise her flared nostrils and contorted upper lip. Her expression was akin to someone who'd just stepped in dog poo. They virtually denied any knowledge of the game. 

    The conversation didn't go far after that. 

    • Haha 5
  7. 20 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

    That's a good question. I'll slightly fudge it by saying that the obsession with reintroducing open P&R would screw up any long term thinking.

    But I'd like a "Big RL Event" - not necessarily an On The Road game but let's assume that's our best offer - in Newcastle, London and Cardiff as a minimum every year. That leaves three. I'd use one of those as a loss leader in Cumbria to keep the county engaged. So two free radicals. Possibly Birmingham, Bristol and a French/Catalan city on a slightly crooked rotation?

    I like this suggestion best of all those proposed so far. 

  8. 36 minutes ago, londonbronco said:

     

    Dolphins Buying into London Broncos. Really - or could they???  Let’s clear up some of the nonsense floating around. Despite all the chatter, there’s zero confirmation that the NRL’s Dolphins have bought a stake in the London Broncos. But that doesn’t mean nothing is going on. Recent reports say Leeds Rhinos’ CEO Gary Hetherington is about to step into a new role with the Broncos as executive chairman. This move could potentially tie into an arrangement involving the Dolphins, aimed at giving the sport a boost in London, but that’s a far cry from the Dolphins owning the club.  Let’s keep things in perspective here: The Broncos are still a work in progress, and some connections to the NRL are definitely in play but don’t buy into the clickbait that says the Dolphins are taking over. The reality is, we’re talking about partnerships, not a full-blown acquisition. Keep your eyes on the ball and what Matt Adamson will propose for the northern hemisphere game!!

    you speak with an air of authority, how do you know?

  9. 12 hours ago, THE RED ROOSTER said:

    As of 07:25 am here in Sydney there is no news whatsoever on the "agreement" between the Dolphins and London Broncos. That is nit to say there will not ge an announcement but it may well stop short of outright ownership.

    As for fantasy RL name changes  London Dolphins risks confusion with the best supported American Football club in the UK ,- Miami Dolphins. IIRC this was an issue when Redcliffe joined the NRL which is partly why they are The Dolphins and not Redcliffe Dolphins.

    London Ravens is the name of a former British Ametican Football side that dominated rated the sport this side of the pond in thr 1980's.This side to my knowledge is now defunct so presumably no copyright issues.

    As for taking someone else's name and becominh Wimbledon RL we have been there with Harlequins RL, or Harlequins Rugby Lessons as they were infamously described at a fans forum.

    And to you the term "bike" when it comes to any Women' s team is distinctly misogynistic so.my so I am surprised that the lurking trolls have not picked up on this so consider the finger wagged at you....

    I agree that the term is misogynistic. It was a joke. Admittedly a pretty poor one. 

    • Like 1
  10. 1 hour ago, SixSet said:

    Seahorses!🤣

    Don't think it would matter too much if the Broncos tag went west. If funding and support necessitates a rebranding then rebrand that Bronco!

    Makes perfect sense for Denver ( just about in the west of the US) to choose "a wild or half-tamed horse of the western US" as their mascot/brand.
    But London? At least Brisbane has got the alliteration.
    Yes, we've seen more dolphins in the Thames than broncos or mustangs but we've seen even more Boris bikes!
    As for zoning in on where they are based in this vast capital, if they remain at Plough Lane they could become the Merton Marauders or the Merton Magicians ( actually, maybe not that one - ripe for all sorts of teasing).
    Merton Magpies? (could yield a black & white kit?)
    Mastiffs...Mavericks...Meteors ...Metropolitans...Mighty Dons...
    Stuff it. Move to a new stadium less than half a mile from AFC Wimbledon's home and become the Wandsworth Warriors!

    Such encouraging news though. Makes sense of what Mike Eccles hinted at a while back. Here's hoping...

    Why not just call them ''The Dons''?

    Perhaps they could call the ladies team ''The Bikes''? 🙃

  11. I'd like to see them buying into London, not just the club but taking on the development of the whole game there.

    We've learned time and time again that just putting a pro club in a ''new'' area without an enormous amateur pyramid beneath it, is a folly.

    If the pyramid base doesn't exist, then you have to build it or face the inevitable demise of the venture, in the medium to long term. 

    I'd like to see them really taking the bull by the horns here and comprehensively developing London from the bottom upwards. 

    • Like 5
  12. 36 minutes ago, whatmichaelsays said:

    I think scrapping the video referee entirely is a backwards step - it has a purpose and it has a role to play.

    I think the process needs to be faster, I do think that the referees have a tendency to look at too many angles, the sponsors graphic is far too long and I'd personally bin the Captain's Challenge. 

    But I do also think that the creep of technology has been a response to a fan culture towards referees that needs to change. Match officials are nowhere as bad as many people would like to argue, they are generally very good and they all want to do the best job possible. If we as fans aren't prepared to accept and acknowledge that, then sports will respond by increasing the scope and remit of technology - and we end up in a vicious cycle. 

    Hear hear! 

  13. I found myself shouting at the screen last night during the Hull v Leigh game. This video referee is so intrusive, so inept and so long winded it deserves to be scrapped.

    Intrusive, because it kills the flow of the game and happens almost every time a try is scored and a decision may be questioned.

    It's inept because the quality of the video replays is rubbish, the pictures are fuzzy making it impossible to see details. There are not enough frames to slow the play down enough, so when the camera operator inches the frames forward, it usually involved great leaps in the movement of the ball or the players arms etc. so you can't compare accurately (for example) when the ball touches down and when the ball carriers (try scorers) feet hit the ground in touch. - Hopeless.

    Oh, also, given it always seems that the cameraman's view is obscured by the touch judge, or another player why are we using corner flags? One of the incidents last night was obscured by the corner flag (post). Can't we play without them? Why do we need them? 

    Here's another gripe. The whole thing is much too long winded.  I can't understand why the video ref, has to view the incident from multiple angles when, as others have mentioned, the decision is obvious from the first view. This is pure time wasting and very annoying for the fans.

    Finally my last bugbear, perhaps my biggest, is that when the referee has announced audibly, ''I've made my decision'', the screen goes to a meaningless, 1970's style graphic, reminiscent of Hughie Green's opportunity knocks clap-o-meter, with an awful redundant red, amber, green dial and pointer, informing us that the ''decision (is) pending'' 3 blo  ody times!!!

    The decision is not pending at that stage, it's already been made for god's sake! 

    The whole thing is outdated, mickey mouse, cringeworthy, sh...te.

    Contrast this with the NRL coverage in Las Vegas where once the decision was made (by the ref) it was instantaneously flashed up on the screen, and the game restarted.

    Come on Sky, have a heart. 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  14. 19 minutes ago, Worzel said:

    Yet another example here of the RFL bending the rules to save Salford. They're now allowed slack on the £1.2m cap, hence the squad selected today. I'm fine with this, the RFL is being pragmatic, but if I hear another set of Salford fans chanting "f### the RFL" after all of this then I won't be able to help myself.

     

    Fine assurances Worz' but when? 

  15. 1 hour ago, Worzel said:

    Yeah lived there for 4 years a decade ago, brilliant place to live and great times at the Brookie Oval… here’s me and the lad off to watch us lose the Grand Final to the Roosters!

    I was preparing him for his future life as an ever-disappointed Hull KR fan 🤣🤣🤣

    IMG_5596.jpeg

    I visited the place twice, in the early eighties, to compete in Surf Lifesaving competition.

    As a result I spent most of my time on Freshwater and South Curly beaches and up and down the NSW coast as far North as Newcastle and Swansea Belmont beach and down to Woolongong & Kiama in the South.

    I'll never forget the ferry ride across the harbour in the moonlight. Great place to live.

    The club invited us to Brookvale, to watch them (Manly Warringah) train which was a real eye-opener.

    It's fair to say (admit) I also spent a lot of time in the Harbord pub (then known as the Pink Palace). for a ''cook it yourself'' T-bone steak. It was the base for the Valley United JRLFC and I spent a lot of time with their lads.

    Most notable Graeme (Zombie) Knox. Did you ever come across ''The Zom''? 

    • Like 2
  16. 15 minutes ago, Worzel said:

    Are they thinking of dropping the flankers to reduce the number of players in the defensive line opening the game up for more ball handling, and simplifying the rules around the ruck and other breakdowns so they're easier to understand for spectators?  🤣🤣🤣

    i don't really know Worz' but they sound like good ideas to me. Ha ha ha.

    I have a feeling the business/entrepreneurial yanks will have little loyalty to the old (eton-wall-game) boys network, especially when they can't get  the spectators in and they're losing money.

    They'll also be more open to change just by dint of their entrepreneurial bent.

    You'll know exactlly what I mean. The ''If it's not working change it'' mentality.

    Well having seen our Vegas presentation it wouldn't surprise me if they would be inclined to make wholesale changes towards our game if they had an invitation from Peter.

    I mean why change at a snails pace when you can see where that direction of travel ends up. 

    • Like 1
  17. 28 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

    "The 371,000 average viewers on FOX was up 86% on FOX’s previous rugby telecast performance of 200k viewers for the Major League Rugby Championship. With WatchNRL streaming these number increase even further."

    86% higher than a Major League Rugby Championship match on the same channel. Mental, how long have they been running that comp there.

    .NRL 2025: FOX, United States, viewers, Allegiant Stadium; Vegas venture paying off with huge viewership in US, Australia, NZ | NRL.com

     

     

    I read recently that the MLR are struggling to make money.

    As a consequence they are considering changing the rules to improve the products appeal. Ha ha ha.

    Well bugg..r me!

    After our showing in Vegas, I think Vlandys should approach them and encourage them to consider switching to RL rules and combining with the USARL, with the carrot of entry into our 2030 World cup. 

    • Like 8
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