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How has Rugby League changed over the past decade?


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2 hours ago, aj1908 said:

The refs had way more control over games.befire.  players respected them.  Two refs amd the bunker has made the head ref secind guess his actions 

Any game.ive been too everybody loved the biff and the shoulder.charge.

The game is.being run now for soccer moms.whose sons won't play league anyway because.they are scared of tackling 

Wrestling has replaced proper tackling

The game was more than good passing and running.  The gladiator aspect is basically gone now 

I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.

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"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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43 minutes ago, aj1908 said:

how many of those got penalised as shoulder charges lol

No idea, but watching that video I can't agree with your statement that the gladiator aspect is basically gone now.

I loved the sport in the 80's and 90's and there are definitely parts of that era that I miss but this perception that the sport has gone soft  now that some people perpetuate is massively wide of the mark.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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6 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

No idea, but watching that video I can't agree with your statement that the gladiator aspect is basically gone now.

I loved the sport in the 80's and 90's and there are definitely parts of that era that I miss but this perception that the sport has gone soft  now that some people perpetuate is massively wide of the mark.

its still a hard game, but its lost a lot of what made it attractive (in defence).

its also lost a lot in attack too.  its all about getting field position, and kicking for a winger for a try, which is so boring.

i dont think the modern game has a patch on the era from the 90s to around 2005.

imo its the fault of the melbourne storm.  most nrl teams have tried to copy their success even though they dont have the players or coach.  most teams run the same boring block plays.  very few teams are allowed to play what they see on the field

few teams play a good brand of football.  roosters, souths, canberra would be sides that play a better style of game.  the rest are like watching paint dry.  brisbane are another when their kids mature who will change the way the game is played.

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4 hours ago, Dunbar said:

No idea, but watching that video I can't agree with your statement that the gladiator aspect is basically gone now.

I loved the sport in the 80's and 90's and there are definitely parts of that era that I miss but this perception that the sport has gone soft  now that some people perpetuate is massively wide of the mark.

Soft maybe not but boring yes.

Rugby Union the only game in the world were the spectators handle the ball more than the players.

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50 minutes ago, jacksy said:

Soft maybe not but boring yes.

I think part of the problem is over exposure.

It's not uncommon for me to watch 5 or 6 full games during the season... two or three from the Super League and three or four from the NRL. I enjoy most but not all and I have to say I lose attention during the games a bit.

But that is the modern sports consumption.

I loved Rugby League in the 1980's and 90s' and my consumption was a live game at Central Park, maybe a tv game and a 2 hour highlights video from Australia. 

If I watched 5 or 6 live games every week from the 1980's i have a feeling not all of them would have been riveting.  In fact they may have been even more boring that what I watch now.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

"If someone doesn't value evidence, what evidence are you going to provide to prove that they should value it? If someone doesn't value logic, what logical argument could you provide to show the importance of logic?" — Sam Harris

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2 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

I think part of the problem is over exposure.

It's not uncommon for me to watch 5 or 6 full games during the season... two or three from the Super League and three or four from the NRL. I enjoy most but not all and I have to say I lose attention during the games a bit.

But that is the modern sports consumption.

I loved Rugby League in the 1980's and 90s' and my consumption was a live game at Central Park, maybe a tv game and a 2 hour highlights video from Australia. 

If I watched 5 or 6 live games every week from the 1980's i have a feeling not all of them would have been riveting.  In fact they may have been even more boring that what I watch now.

There is a lot of truth in this and I certainly pick and choose games on TV a lot more. Its really not a big deal watching a game now. Its not just Rugby either, I could say the same about Football where I now never concentrate on a game for 90 mins. 

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7 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

I think part of the problem is over exposure.

It's not uncommon for me to watch 5 or 6 full games during the season... two or three from the Super League and three or four from the NRL. I enjoy most but not all and I have to say I lose attention during the games a bit.

But that is the modern sports consumption.

I loved Rugby League in the 1980's and 90s' and my consumption was a live game at Central Park, maybe a tv game and a 2 hour highlights video from Australia. 

If I watched 5 or 6 live games every week from the 1980's i have a feeling not all of them would have been riveting.  In fact they may have been even more boring that what I watch now.

i start watching games and switch off when its just a grinding no mistakes games

ususally just watch the last 20 minutes of games, thats when its decent.

big event games like grand finals always are exciting 

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I watched at least one televised game from each round this year and enjoyed nearly all of them. I remember when Salford took Catalans apart with some expansive rugby and highlight reel tries early in the year and the media/Twitter were falling over themselves in praise. Then in the first playoff game against Wigan that was a war of attrition and percentage rugby there was equal praise. I think we can enjoy both styles of play but do agree that we don't see enough of the former. 

I do think we look back at the 80s/90s with some rose tinted specs though - I remember some horror games from that time.

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1 hour ago, LR23 said:

I watched at least one televised game from each round this year and enjoyed nearly all of them. I remember when Salford took Catalans apart with some expansive rugby and highlight reel tries early in the year and the media/Twitter were falling over themselves in praise. Then in the first playoff game against Wigan that was a war of attrition and percentage rugby there was equal praise. I think we can enjoy both styles of play but do agree that we don't see enough of the former. 

I do think we look back at the 80s/90s with some rose tinted specs though - I remember some horror games from that time.

This. 

Between Saints, Wigan and Salford at different times of the year, we had some silky stuff to watch in Super League. Some games aren’t always great, fast flowing stuff. It’s just natural.

I think there’s definitely some nostalgia clouding people’s views. 

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1 hour ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

This. 

Between Saints, Wigan and Salford at different times of the year, we had some silky stuff to watch in Super League. Some games aren’t always great, fast flowing stuff. It’s just natural.

I think there’s definitely some nostalgia clouding people’s views. 

You could be right, OC, but - let's face it - nostalgia's not what it used to be!

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I would probably take a lot of thought to go through everything that has changed in the last 10 years. In terms of structure, it has almost been a wasted decade. We started with licensing, went to middle 8's and now back to what we had in the 2000's. Feels as though we could have done more without pointless squabbles over structure.

The order of rugby league has shifted. Bradford for one have played in all three professional leagues. That would have been unthinkable in 2010. That combined with a professional side in Toronto emerging from nothing over the last decade was beyond the realms of fantasy.

There seems to be slow progress with the international game, especially in the southern hemisphere with the emergence of Tonga and increased strength of Fiji, Samoa and PNG. A disappointment in the stagnation of the northern hemisphere international game. RLWC 2013 was a glorious success but it was frustrating that we failed to capitalise. Positively, RLWC 2021 gives us another huge opportunity.

The style of the sport has been up and down. The 'wrestle' which started in the late 00's has become more entrenched. The increased amount of gamesmanship (or cheating), such as faking injuries and throwing the ball at prone tacklers to win a penalty has been a significant blight. But moves to remove the corner flag from play in try scoring situations, the shot clock and attempts to counter the above negatives have been good.

It's disappointing that we haven't had a new name on the Super League trophy this decade, especially when Warrington, Huddersfield and Castleford have had their best opportunities in decades. In that way, we haven't changed at all.

The landscape at the end of the decade feels less certain with the TV deal due to expire and Sky Sports' monopoly under threat by BT and Amazon, no doubt to be joined by Netflix and Facebook before too long.

But on the whole, whilst there has been change, this decade has provided some glorious memories, here are some of mine:

  •  Internationals returning to Wembley (and sadly, leaving again)
  •  Huddersfield winning the League Leaders' Shield in 2013
  • The 2013 World Cup, especially Fiji's match in Rochdale, New Zealand vs Samoa, Scotland vs Italy in Workington, USA vs Cooks Islands in Bristol and England vs New Zealand semi final.
  •  (From a personal view more than a game-wide view), Saints becoming champions again in 2014
  • New Zealand winning the 2014 Four Nations
  •  The final day battle for the League Leaders' Shield in 2015 and Leeds' eventual 2015 treble - a special achievement
  •  The 2016 Million Pound Game - eye rubbing, breathtaking, heartbreaking madness
  •  Tonga and the pacific islands charge in the 2017 World Cup (combined with their repeated shows of unity off the field)
  •  Catalans winning the 2018 Challenge Cup and being met at the airport by fans in the early hours of the next morning
  •  London's promotion back to Super League in 2018
  •  The emergence of Toronto Wolfpack
  •  The rise from the near-death of York City Knights
  •  The development of PDRL, LRDL and the women's Super League
  •  Newcastle Thunder's ambition and leading the growth of the sport in the north east and the Magic Weekend going to Newcastle
  •  Super League at the Nou Camp
  •  The 2019 Super League relegation battle, especially the four-way showdown on the final day
  •  Salford's charge to the 2019 Grand Final, especially seeing the awestruck reaction of fans young and old as they realised that they had done it
  • Tonga defeating Australia in 2019

There's loads I've probably missed too!

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