unapologetic pedant

Are we permitted to dissent when a moderator intervenes? If so, I disagree with the general thrust of the above rebuke. I don`t think we can understand "The Broadcasting and Business side of the NRL" without reference to AFL. All the facts and figures are mutually benchmarked. On Aussie RL forums, their threads about TV deals, ratings, and coverage are replete with NRL/AFL comparisons. AFL have far higher crowds and memberships. NRL is roughly level on aggregate TV ratings and out-rates AFL on platforms where payment is involved. Delving into these relative measures of popularity can reveal a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of Rugby League on and off the field. In the particular case of DC77, I shan`t be responding any further to him on this topic because he makes no attempt to address any details that don`t fit his preferred narrative.

Both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 French women`s seasons were abandoned after 1 or 2 games. Since their final in June 2019, most of the French players have barely played competitively, and some haven`t played at all beyond a 9s tournament. Given all those extenuating factors, I was anything but disappointed. Plenty to work on, certainly. Longer passing game in particular. But their second-phase offload game was impressive. As was their defence.

You shouldn`t be chasing cattle at that time of night.

Ironically, our blowout obsessive @Sports Prophet stuck with it. And says he enjoyed it. Widest margins were 20-0 and 30-4. I`ll make a note of those for future reference.

Based on what I`ve seen in the NSW and QLD premierships, I`d still predict a score something like Jillaroos 50 England 6. And looking further into the future, what the Aussies have coming through the junior grades is even more alarming from an England point of view. Harder to judge regarding the Kiwi Ferns. Standards in the Auckland comp look to have stalled the last two years due to Covid. Although I suspect most of their squad will be playing in Oz. So I`d probably go with a similar score. Goes without saying that I hope I`m wrong. BTW, the Silver Ferns are the netball team.

Why not? We could all sing-along-a-spizzenergi.

He`s meant to keep to the inside shoulder so he can go through the line. In my view, he should also be permitted to stop, even if it`s in the defensive line. A player who is static shouldn`t be deemed guilty of obstruction. The responsibility should be on defenders to adjust. It is different when a player moves into an opponent off the ball, initiating significant contact. As I said in the previous post, that would be illegal anywhere on the field.

Me too.

In general I agree about the too rigid interpretation of obstruction. In particular, the "running behind your own player" nonsense. However, I wouldn`t call this incident obstruction. A defender was taken out off the ball. The runner initiated the contact. Clearly illegal. If the defender had similarly taken the runner out, it would have been a penalty the other way. The same ruling would apply anywhere on the field.

Error. Quoted wrong post.

The ref allowed too much working on the ground after the tackle was complete. I suspect most members would agree, but when they come on here to complain too many start going on about bloody "wrestling", which is meaningless. If we want to tidy up the ruck, the remedies must relate specifically to the rulebook, and distinguish between before and after completion.

If this is the one a few minutes before half-time, I thought the England defenders didn`t clear the ruck when the French player first regained his feet. We didn`t see a replay, but my impression was good call. Unbelievably Dave Woods said "the ball has been stolen". He hasn`t a clue about the ruck most of the time.

You haven`t paid a blind bit of attention to the argument I made about the regular week-to-week balance between casual viewers on FTA and paying subscribers. There is no point engaging with you.

He was quite keen to stress that the French were "an unknown quantity". Translation - he hadn`t bothered to do any research on them.

The French performance was a significant improvement on last time. M. Lacoste seems committed to growing the women`s game. If they can play a full domestic season, get back in the groove, and keep their best players fit, they should be competitive against the Cook Islands at the WC. And regular fixtures against England (possibly also Wales and Ireland) will help. Overall I was impressed with Andrew Pilkington. Let the game flow, no phantom obstruction calls, and didn`t call upright tackles complete too early, which meant we saw a lot of late offloads, including one from Chantelle for Tara`s try.

Most of the French players have been playing League for years. The last tackle problem could be linked to communication with the ref. And also not every team always thinks a kick is their best option on last tackle. The women`s game in general is more territorial than the men`s.

Quite encouraging from the French. Their passing isn`t great, which limits them, but their defence has been excellent. Far better than the last time the two sides met. The young girl from Marseille looks really good. I reckon there`s been about half a dozen phantom knock-on calls, most by the Touch Judge, including the one from the kick-off where he must have been 30 yards away. The knock-on obsession is a blight on the game generally, but it adversely affects the female game particularly because the handling is less secure. The whole commentary team managed to miss that the significant aspect of the first England try was that it was a sixth tackle running play. How can viewers pick up the tactics of RL listening to this lot?

Conditions look perfect.

The programme just opened with a clip of the England women`s coach saying "It`s a real simple game". Thanks Craig, and BBC. Reliable as ever.

I would have thought that people who only watch their local team on TV are the casuals. Proof of the pudding would be if most Swans/Giants/Lions/Suns games went behind a paywall. How many extra subscriptions would be sold in Sydney and SEQ? I suspect not many. I agree that when everything is factored in, the best conclusion is that aggregate NRL/AFL TV ratings are neck and neck. However, unlike you I still think this is qualitatively weighted in favour of NRL. The higher STB numbers have been matched in the last couple of years by the streaming figures. Which confirms that there are more people willing to pay to watch NRL on a screen than AFL. Plus, NRL misses out on higher ratings in WA and SA by having no local interest in the competition.

Specifically which parts of the post are personal opinion? I agree I am biased (heavily), but the TV ratings are unvarnished fact.

Mais oui!

French girls haven`t played much since 2019, so hard to see anything other than a comfortable England win. Couple of French players have experience in the Queensland premiership. Lauréane Biville at Easts Tigers and Cristina Song-Puche at Burleigh Bears. Promising young player on the interchange, Mailys Borak, who was part of the Marseille XIII Avenir team who won the French under-17s comp in 2019. The ref is Andrew Pilkington. Based in Spain, apparently. Be interesting to see what his attitude to the PTB will be. I don`t hold out much hope that M. Casty will enforce the rules in the men`s game. Incidentally, for those still in anti-NRL mode. There have been a number of features about both France/England games on NRL.com this week.

Once a stereotype is established, it stands as a reliable source of cheap lines. As stereotypes based on gender, race, sexuality, certain nationalities and religions, have become verboten in the mainstream, so unimaginative comedians have looked for alternatives. RL is a trusty expedient because it allows the middle-class to sneer at the working-class with impunity. The Football details are a veneer. Underneath, it`s all about social class. Has Seven in Sydney ever produced NRL content, other than news items?

The fly in the ointment of this claim is that NRL consistently and significantly out-rates AFL on Pay TV and streaming. On FTA TV, it`s the other way round. Which indicates that week-to-week AFL attracts more casual viewers than NRL. Proportionately, more people pay to watch NRL than AFL. AFL have astutely baked Aussie patriotism into depictions of their game. There`s public pressure to support AFL similar to a war effort. And it`s the type of circus spectacle that can be vaguely enjoyed without knowing or thinking too much. You shouldn`t underestimate the effect of RU on RL in NSW and QLD. There has never been an equivalent drag on the popularity of Aussie Rules in their traditional States. When a sport reaches equally into all socio-economic strata, it creates a greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts cultural dominance. Such as with Soccer in England.