The Rocket

Hopefully will end up being a bit like Mark Gasnier and will be able to be lured back after getting the union bug out of his system, Warriors would be good.

Shows the potential of this form of the game, 81 000 thousand senior clubs and 95 000 plus junior clubs, 551 000 participants all up. Touch Football Australia Financial year 2022-2023 Total Participants 551k Total club adults 81.2k, down 2.6% Total club Jnrs 95.7k, up 14.7% Snr teams Qlnd 3,759 NSW 3,572 WA 509 Vic 389 NT 265 Tas 242 ACT 235 SA 225 https://touchfootball.com.au/media/15193/tfa-2023-annual-report.pdf Even in fumbleball strongholds like Tasmania and South Oz there are still over 200 senior Touch Football teams in both states.

True, and those little bags don`t pack themselves.

He asked nervously. Planning a holiday SP, forget it.

Drugs.

We`ve had the world rugby union bosses in Oz the last few days for the union sevens in Perth and trying to drum up some excitement over which city they will choose to host their WC final in 2027, they`ve also been making noise about saving Oz rugby union. I wonder how much the timing of this NRL announcement is a not-so-subtle dig of what they are up against over here, $65m in assets, $200m plus in the bank. Do they really want to throw good money after bad.

I believe the same thing on the NRL website has been a very successful driver of ticket sales. I suppose it is taking advantage of impulse buying instinct, particularly after you have just watched some exhilarating highlights that have whet your appetite and decide you might catch a game this weekend.

Look don`t get me wrong, I`m well aware that there are plenty of other aspects where the game has come a long way, but seeing long-range open field running and broken field play resulting in tries or near tries are really a thing of the past, players are too well drilled in tackling these days, you just don`t see them much anymore, much is the pity. And btw no team is more suffocating than Penrith. But I`ll be watching I can guarantee you that, no matter what time of day it is over here and mightily looking forward to it as well.

It`s a shame that new fans today won`t be seeing the long-range tries like they had in those days. That`s the sort of things that gets people hooked on the sport.

Some really exciting looking sponsors there Yakstorm, a listed Queensland mineral producing company, a French Electrical products wholesaler, a company associated with the American giant Caterpillar. Very solid.

Isn`t it great to see the French Rugby League getting involved with this. Smart bit of forward thinking.

As much as I`d like to believe that, it does sounds a little iffy.

Have faith my friend, we have already seen recently the NRL`s most welcomed and important explicit recognition that the game needs less interference from officials with their rejection of forward pass technology, stating they didn`t want the "flow" to quote Abdo, interrupted. The NRL recognize that fan`s don`t want games being continually stopped by over-zealous officials and I`m assuming the pressure will be on to adopt a similar mentality around the officiating of knock-ons. Implicitly it would be the next logical step. Pray tell what you would have them do, some sort of variety act (and not a contested scrum) before the play resumes. As usual the lack of creativity that beleaguers League comes to the fore. The resumption and proliferation of the short restart has been a welcome act of creativity in itself, I think we are yet to see the full repercussions of its adoption and the opportunities it will create elsewhere as teams get better and better at it. Think how the 40/20 has now forced defending teams to keep the wingers back late in the tackle count allowing for opportunities for overlap plays for teams bold enough to try it. It`s called variety and it`s wonderful and there ain`t enough of it.

Not quite but I`ll take it Irish. Another two reasons that crossed my mind for explaining the NRL`s rule change on this, apart from adding the potential for more material for the highlights reel is that 1) if the defending team fails to regather, the attacking team are immediately back on the attack in the red-zone as they call it, instead of wasting 2 or 3 plays getting there, and 2) this also may be a subtle way of reducing that incidence we have with the long drop-out of where the 115kg behemoth charges back at full tilt at the smallest bloke he can aim up against, or the situation of the defender getting his head in the wrong position (and knocking himself senseless) trying to stop this speeding behemoth. Any opportunity to reduce head-knocks in the game would be welcomed by the NRL.

The NRL obviously think that fans enjoy watching the aerial contest for the ball, and I can understand this, given the attraction of the sight of the ball in flight, the delayed suspense of whether it will go the required 10 metres or not, the spectacular leaping contests for the ball and then of course the mad scramble when the ball hits the deck, which it often does. Then there`s the nice juxtaposition of a team which may have been defending their line furiously, and their fans expecting them to be continuing to do so , are now suddenly and unexpectedly charging up field with the ball in their possession.

Got to admit had a great laugh at this : wigan-warriors-suffer-blow-for-world-club-challenge-87294/ Wigan Warriors have been handed a blow ahead of next month’s World Club Challenge clash against Penrith Panthers after confirmation that Penrith star Jarome Luai will likely be fit for the match. Why not just say " after confirmation that the whole of Penrith`s team will be fit for the match".

Makes perfect sense to me.

As opposed to... think Penrith might put the cleaners through your mob, they`re not happy.

Thought this was more in tune with the "Las Vegas Adventure" thread as opposed to the "Vegas Baby" thread. Broncos confirm promotional partnership with NFL champion - NRL News - Zero Tackle. “Tom Brady and the Broncos – it doesn't get much better that that, and we're excited to be welcoming him to our city," Broncos coach Kevin Walters said in a statement.

Do you think maybe that is all Sky were prepared to relinquish, realising some FTA coverage is bait to attracting more subscribers, namely those FTA viewers who have decided on seeing the FTA stuff, they want to see more.

but you`re not the only one.

Can`t imagine how excited those kids will be to be able to top their weekend off with the double-header. Does it get any better.

@Yakstorm did an update on the Aussie forum, about 27 500 off the top of my head, bit of a slowdown in sales over chrissy and new-years, as was to be expected, hopefully we`ll start to see them climb again now until kick-off in about 8 weeks. I keep hearing repeatedly that Las Vegans are big on walk-up sales on the day, hopefully with the 19 dollar tickets we might get a big crowd of people who just want to experience that amazing stadium at what really is a very reasonable price.

As a child of about 6 or 7 in the early 1970`s I can remember quite clearly my father (a Balmain supporter) telling me about this legendary team that won 11 premierships on the trot and thinking that`s the team for me. I have to admit at that stage my attachment to certain St. George players came more from what as a child I considered the exoticness of their names rather than if they were stand-outs on the field, Barry Beath, Col Rasmussen and Billy Smith, the latter, whom my father did rave about. Having said all that, they were all like gods to me.

I saw V`landys saying the other day if they can crack 40 000 they`ll break even, so I gather if they can pull 55 - 65 000 they`d be making a tidy profit and perhaps enough to fund next year`s event. HST, as we well know as much as that would be wonderful and probably ensure that it is on-going as a stand-alone event it`ll be whether it starts to generate wider interest and other revenue streams that will really count.