Serbian Rugby League

[brooza]

For RL to become the third biggest sport I think is really pushing it. Football is the obvious number 1, and then you have handball and water polo, which not only are Serbia very good at, but you've also got strong Croatia and Montenegro teams to fuel the regional rivalry.

To give you some idea of the popularity, Serbia played Montenegro in the water polo European Championship final in front of 18,500 people in Belgrade.

 

 

Basketball is up there as well, although I think this is mostly due to the Partizan/Red Star rivalry than the strength of the domestic league as a whole.

 

One option RL should definitely look at is trying to bring in an established star from another sport to highlight the game - Serbia recently hosted the Futsal European Championship and their federation somehow managed to rope in Novak Djokovic to do promo events. Their reward was a sold-out arena (I think 10-11000 capacity) whenever the Serbs were playing.

Watch this space...

[iangidds]

I am going to Belgrade this weekend, anyone know where I can find a fixture list for games ?

[yanto]

Hows your Serbian? Full fixtures can be downloaded from the website but its all in Serb,

 

Near the bottom ..Календар такмичења 2016 године за сениоре...Download 

 

http://ragbiliga.rs/sdm_downloads/%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80-%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%9A%D0%B0-2016/

 

BUT they show 9/10 of April then 16/17 April so either there are no games this weekend or its a cup weekend ??

[iangidds]

Hows your Serbian? Full fixtures can be downloaded from the website but its all in Serb,

 

Near the bottom ..Календар такмичења 2016 године за сениоре...Download 

 

http://ragbiliga.rs/sdm_downloads/календар-такмичења-2016/

 

BUT they show 9/10 of April then 16/17 April so either there are no games this weekend or its a cup weekend ??

Great ' my girlfriend will translate

[deluded pom?]

Great ' my girlfriend will translate

Is she from Cumbria?

[iangidds]

Is she from Cumbria?

Some where like that

[iangidds]

Hows your Serbian? Full fixtures can be downloaded from the website but its all in Serb,

 

Near the bottom ..Календар такмичења 2016 године за сениоре...Download 

 

http://ragbiliga.rs/sdm_downloads/календар-такмичења-2016/

 

BUT they show 9/10 of April then 16/17 April so either there are no games this weekend or its a cup weekend ??

thanks all sorted , Sunday afternoon watching Partizan!

[iangidds]

Went to the game today and the standard was very poor , cant belive that is the standard as the Dorcol players were training on an adjacent pitch and they looked like pros.

Hearing that American football is getting strong here, lots of teams and leagues for development! We need to be investing if we wish to grow, a small amount of money here would make a dramatic difference.

[TheLegendOfTexEvans]

Serbian Rugby League Cup - Semifinals

Red Star Belgrade - Partizan Belgrade 40:8 (22:0)
New Belgrade - Dorcol 10:28 (6:16)

[TheLegendOfTexEvans]

Latest from Serbia First Division

Red Star 56-10 Niš 
Pazova 16-60 Dorćol

[iangidds]

http://www.rlef.eu.com/news/article/1213/red-star-win-serbian-super

 

A fantastic effort by Red Star. I can't recall Dorcol ever being on the end of such a hiding in a domestic game before.

Im going to the rematch this weekend, anyone fancy hoping on a plane to Belgrade and watching ?

[iangidds]

Just to report that I went to the game yesterday, Red Star came out comfortably on top against Dorcol.

Vocal crowd and a decent game with some very good tries.

[damp squib]

Thanks for the update! Any idea what size the crowd was?

[Fabou]

when is their next international game? sure that if they manage to get into the wordcup, it would be the best way to invest there.

[iangidds]

There was only around 80 people there, the game needs help ; they need a pathway like everyone else.

They have a team from the Uk coming over in two weeks time; in reality each team had 2 or 3 decent standard players the others just made up the numbers really.

They are keen but to get any kind of interest from the elite sportsmen of the region they need money and challenging.

[cetnik]

There was only around 80 people there, the game needs help ; they need a pathway like everyone else.

They have a team from the Uk coming over in two weeks time; in reality each team had 2 or 3 decent standard players the others just made up the numbers really.

They are keen but to get any kind of interest from the elite sportsmen of the region they need money and challenging.

 

 

Spot on to be honest mate.

There's only so far you can go with limited resources.

There is also a clear gap between the top players in Serbia, and everyone else. But, this has to be expected, some of the boys have only been playing for a very short time.

 

It will be interesting to see where we're at in the next 5-10 years. We have worked extremely hard to get juniors playing the game. So, hopefully that will reap some rewards in the future. My only issue is that the coaching is not good enough to help develop these players.

 

The game has come so far in such a short space of time. There is huge potential there, however, I feel like some major investment needs to be done to take it any further.

 

I wonder worry too much about the crowds, no money is really spent on marketing and promoting the games, so you will never get any huge crowds.

 

I will be in Serbia on Thursday, looking forward to the state of origin and game vs Lionhearts

[damp squib]

I wonder worry too much about the crowds, no money is really spent on marketing and promoting the games, so you will never get any huge crowds.

 

Yes absolutely, I only asked out of curiosity because iangidds mentioned that they were very vocal. The most important thing is to get people playing!

[brooza]

when is their next international game? sure that if they manage to get into the wordcup, it would be the best way to invest there.

Next match is against Wales on 15/10, but they're at home against Italy on 22/10

[Deranged Drunk Guy]

Hi Guys i'm back again

 

Next game for Serbia is in fact in Spain : against Spain in Valencia. Which will be played on September the 24th. Exciting times, from what i understand through inside sources Tom Opacic from the Brisbane Broncos is CONFIRMED, So to is a fella by the name of Jordan Grant from Wests Tigers very promising youngster. David Andjelic who was in the NRL rookie show will also play in the qualifiers. 

 

Nik Cotric is a possibility young gun from Canberra Raiders.  I'd say Wales just might be a bit worried about Serbia

 

Tom Opacic will be the first NRL player ever to represent the national team of Serbia and hopefully many more to come in the future. 

[Deranged Drunk Guy]

Just to add to my above post - Serbia played the U/21 side and won i believe 68-21 - Home grown players represented Serbia in this practice match which will be the last practice match before the crucial Friendly against Spain in Valencia on September 24th.

 

Serbia hopes to have its full strength squad for that game : so its Aussie born players with a mix of home grown players, which at this stage will number 8 home grown players.    

[Deranged Drunk Guy]

Spot on to be honest mate.

There's only so far you can go with limited resources.

There is also a clear gap between the top players in Serbia, and everyone else. But, this has to be expected, some of the boys have only been playing for a very short time.

 

It will be interesting to see where we're at in the next 5-10 years. We have worked extremely hard to get juniors playing the game. So, hopefully that will reap some rewards in the future. My only issue is that the coaching is not good enough to help develop these players.

 

The game has come so far in such a short space of time. There is huge potential there, however, I feel like some major investment needs to be done to take it any further.

 

I wonder worry too much about the crowds, no money is really spent on marketing and promoting the games, so you will never get any huge crowds.

 

I will be in Serbia on Thursday, looking forward to the state of origin and game vs Lionhearts

 

I think this is the most crucial aspect of growing the game in Serbia. Work with Juniors, promotion through the media to attract young people to the game also.

 

The only ones that can help out in bringing coaches to Serbia to work with youngsters is the ERLF. European Rugby League Federation. 

 

Personally i will be there next year for a prolonged period of time to do some work, unless theirs other passionate people like me willing to do this the ERLF is the only hope. 

[Buderus]

Hi Guys i'm back again

 

Next game for Serbia is in fact in Spain : against Spain in Valencia. Which will be played on September the 24th. Exciting times, from what i understand through inside sources Tom Opacic from the Brisbane Broncos is CONFIRMED, So to is a fella by the name of Jordan Grant from Wests Tigers very promising youngster. David Andjelic who was in the NRL rookie show will also play in the qualifiers. 

 

Nik Cotric is a possibility young gun from Canberra Raiders.  I'd say Wales just might be a bit worried about Serbia

 

Tom Opacic will be the first NRL player ever to represent the national team of Serbia and hopefully many more to come in the future. 

 

 

Brilliant to get Opacic on board. He is a class young player as is Cotric. Really hoping to see Serbia rewarded for there hard work with a World Cup place. Players like Opacic will give them a goos shot against a strong (heritage wise) Italy

[Deranged Drunk Guy]

Serbia's big chance is against Wales, Obviously no one think's Serbia can win the two games but the main aim of the coaching staff is to win one game and end up in the playoff which will take place in Leigh England most likely against Spain or Russia.  

[brooza]

Hi Guys i'm back again

 

Next game for Serbia is in fact in Spain : against Spain in Valencia. Which will be played on September the 24th.

Glad that's been confirmed. Doesn't look like I'll make it across, unfortunately though

[brooza]

Serbia's big chance is against Wales, Obviously no one think's Serbia can win the two games but the main aim of the coaching staff is to win one game and end up in the playoff which will take place in Leigh England most likely against Spain or Russia.  

I'll be at the Wales v Serbia game, and whilst I'm hopeful that Serbia finish top of the group, my more realistic hope is that they face Spain in Leigh