The Rocket

We do that automatically to the newbies on the Aussie forum no matter what you post, just to let you know the ground rules. It`s a bit like getting your head dunked in the toilets on your first week in high school. I was lucky, I avoided that rite of passage because I had a good-looking sister in year 9.

You`ve never struck me as someone short of an opinion.

Sorry took so long to get back to you, but the game in question was Leigh vs. Salford. You probably noticed I specifically avoided saying which game was replayed on Foxtel/Kayo, mostly because I was trying to avoid the inevitable wisecracks that choice of game would have engendered, when it wasn`t so much which game was broadcast but rather that a Super League game was replayed at all. Still an interesting and odd choice given that neither would be particularly well known in Oz, unlike say a Wigan or a Catalans might be.

Mate when I moved to Sydney when I was 18 the first game I went to was at Penrith. The weather forecast said potential showers so I made the mistake of taking an umbrella (like a gentleman does), boy what a mistake, heckled all afternoon for having it. Mate, not many gentlemen out Panthers way.

Is that the usual situation, put a game on FTA and the SKY numbers get hammered, notwithstanding the SKY numbers didn`t include Arena or Mix (would that be many more). Interesting to note though, that all up here and in your country the game totalled around the 700 - 800k mark. Nothing to be sneezed at. I noted that the Hull KR vs. Wigan game averaged 306 000, peaking at 495 000, that seems very strong. One other thing, I noticed that a first round Super League game full replay was available on my Foxtel/Kayo subscription this week, haven`t seen that before.

It is, and much to the chagrin of the P.N.G. Hunters, who play in the Queensland HOSTPLUS Cup, the Sepik Pride have pinched two of their players as well with a similar sign on fee, which roughly equates to about $20 000 Oz. Great to see a bit of decent money coming into the P.N.G. Digicel Cup.

Don`t know about you, but I usually close the door when I`m on the dunny.

In `The Australian` today ; "St Helens chief executive Mike Rush is an outstanding rugby league administrator who has built Saints into a Super League powerhouse with four straight titles. St Helens are not just a great footy side on the field. They have a fantastic culture and a ‘no sweet and lovely person’ policy. They have done school visits and coaching clinics since arriving in Sydney. It was not their responsibility but the players were keen to get out into the community." I mean they`re doing school visits and clinics, mental.

I think the NSW gov`t sponsored it. There was a NSW Gov`t Logo in the centre of the field. V`Landy`s has threatened he will take these games interstate if the Gov`t doesn`t start stumping up cash to help host them here. With about 1000 + English fans travelling for the game, that`s probably ~$ 5m straight into the local economy just for starters. I bet Panthers Leagues club did a roaring trade after the game as well, and I`m pretty sure the locals would have made them feel welcome even after the loss. And I`m serious. Yes and when we get our 18th team how about both Super League Grand Finalists or even the Super League Grand Final winner and the CC winner make the trip. I don`t think there`s any question it adds something exotic (if that`s a good word for anything British ) to the tournament. With nearly 400 000 viewers on Fox (STB & streaming) I think Fox would be pretty stoked. My son and I streamed it on his laptop in a hotel in Coffs Harbour, we were riding Saint Helen`s all the way. Great game, great result.

Crikey, I`ll just settle for goosebumps !!

Yes good solid clip but I thought the music could have been a bit catchier maybe stirring. BTW, I think I saw the tiniest of knock-ons in that try at the 1.30 minute mark.

Well, they`re saying now that there was 500 at the St. George vs. St. Helens game with the St. Helens` coach adding: “We know there a lot more coming for next week as well, which really excites us, and it just shows how much this team and the club mean to the people of the town. “We will do all we can to make it a successful trip for them, but we can’t thank them enough for their support.”

Very good.

Lasted about two minutes myself.

Reports over here said that 400 St. Helens` fans have come over to cheer them on.

I`ve been to many, many NRL games spanning 40 years and although I often hear the criticism from English fans that the NRL is soulless I have to say that I`ve always found there is generally a pretty good family and friendly vibe at the game. Christ once at Kogarah when St. George crashed over in the far corner to win the game (we only knew they had scored because the crowd went up in that corner) I found myself jumping up and down on my seat in the mutual embrace of this huge Lebanese dude who was seated next to me, much to the amusement of my girlfriend who was seated on my other side. we all laughed, I mean League, bringing people together.

I can never understand how anyone can actually pinpoint the date or place they were conceived, christ how often were they doing it, once a month, my kids could have conceived on any number of days in any number of places.

It`s an interesting question because often the way we view ourselves is a lot different to the way society considers people of a certain age should behave. It would appear that perhaps you view 30 as being too old for the situation that Wighton got himself into. But I`d reiterate that super fit young men, hormones, celebrity status and probably a blood system full of sugar (from their bourbon and cokes) and alcohol make these situations a little different from the rest of us.

That seems to be what actually happened according to reports in today`s papers. And let`s face it these are two young men who would be in absolute top physical condition after a tough pre-season, jumping out of their skins who have been practising tackling, being tackled and wrestling in readiness to play probably the most physically demanding sport in the world, fill them up with alcohol and we wonder why they get into a wrestle with their mates. Not great but not a hanging offence. BTW bumped into big Trell with his family down by the Manning River one evening last week during my evening bike ride, that is one big powerful unit and friendly to boot.

It`s certainly exciting to see a new team in the competition and already the sparks are flying between them and the Broncos with shots being fired almost weekly, it`s going to be a real grudge match. And what with their off-field assets they are going to be one of the wealthiest clubs in the NRL and it seems like a new sponsor is being announced every other week, I believe they`ve passed the $10m sponsorship mark already. There seems to be a lot of folk in and around Brisbane who are looking for a team to back that isn`t the Broncos. It seems a lot of pundits are expecting the Dolphins to finish somewhere between 9 -12 this year and that would be satisfactory but I don`t think that anyone doubts that they will be a regular top 8 team given their resources.

Stop making sense.

Might I make a suggestion, with the proviso that I haven`t read the post/s referred to, perhaps he (Oxford) means if the NRL was a union competition that would make the Super League the premier Rugby League competition in the world. Just a thought.

Quite incredible and great to have clubs in such a strong financial position: CHOOK’S NEW COOP IS A DIFFERENT CLASS The Roosters unveiled their $10 million Centre of Excellence on Tuesday night, rightfully naming it after long-standing chairman Nick Politis. He had some zingers in his speech, too. First, Politis mentioned how James Packer was on the board when he joined in 1993 but “we won’t talk about him too much because he crossed the line”. Packer is now part-owner of South Sydney. He also pointed out how the club has a whopping $150 million of assets on its books, which is far more than the NRL. After sending his apologies for not attending, Andrew Abdo mysteriously arrived an hour late for the function.

Thanks, very interesting. I suppose given the pretty ordinary time that it airs it is always going to be a struggle to attract viewers, so why bother wasting money promoting it. 40k+ though for certain games is not to be sneezed at and does suggest a solid base given the lack of promotion. I know we get NFL here starting around 10 a.m. although it is generally on Mondays, which certainly does make it a lot easier for the casual viewer to tune in, which of course makes it a lot easier to start to take an interest in that competition. I remember it being discussed on here last year (or the year before) that when daylights savings finishes over here and starts in your part of the world a midday game in England/France could be beamed live into the east coast of Oz at around 8 p.m. That`s something I`d be very keen to see.

Unrelated but thought I`d ask anyway, do you think there has been an uptick in demand for NRL games on Sky, because I noticed they were showing the complete pre-season of the NRL, both Women`s and Men`s All-Stars match and of course the WCC. Certainly having an English side involved in our pre-season will help.