SBW can bring union fans to Super League says Maloney

[Trojan]

2 hours ago, DC77 said:

As someone who followed international RU (I say followed as my interest has waned considerably due to the attritional style that dominates the game), I have never thought “must watch NZ as SBW is playing”, unlike with Jonah Lomu when he played. RU players cannot stand out like they did before, and the same applies to RL players. Only the other day I watched a Martin Offiah video, the eye catching tries he scored here (that made him a star) he would never be afforded the space to do today.

For me, both codes are their own worst enemy. The tighter defences, less space to run, the increase in player bulk, it has made it much harder for individuals to stand out, become stars, and attract people to the game. Offiah in today’s game, not being able to make the runs he made, would not be the name he was when he played. The recent RUWC, not one star name appeared from it. The talent is there, but they are not given the same platform on the field a Jonah Lomu or David Campese was afforded. The last RLWC final between England and Australia, every player on the field was smothered. An 80 minute arm wrestle. The showpiece game, and not one player did anything. They couldn’t, the game doesn’t allow it. To see players doing stuff of note you have to look at a career highlight reel on Youtube. 

SBW is immensely gifted, but I cannot see what he can do in a game that won’t afford him the on field platform to really make a mark. Give him the era Offiah played in then yeah, he would constantly make eye catching plays/runs etc. and be a huge name. 

The hype that he’s been given since joining Toronto does not match the player from RU. The “biggest name in RU”..it wasn’t something that was mentioned while he was in RU, and after thinking about it, it’s quite possible he was, but it wasn’t obvious, and it wasn’t saying much as there is no stand out individual in RU today. The “superstar” label since signing for Toronto is a new one. I get why it’s done, they have to sell him and the game, and to the uninitiated it may work, but once they see him, and how little he is allowed to do, what then? 

Jonah Lomu was a huge draw because he was allowed to rampage through opposition’s turnstile defences, and swat away the regular sized opponents. He stood out a mile, and as a result was a bona fide superstar. Stating the obvious, but making the game harder for that to happen is a bad thing. It’s quite possible SBW could be every bit as talented as Lomu was, but he will never be afforded the same platform to showcase it. It’s also probable SBW was more talented than Offiah, but again, he too won’t be given the same platform to show it.

Jason was more talented than either of them.  And half their size.   Sam Burgess was brave and powerful in RL, and would have proved the same in Union if they'd given him time.  He was certainly the equal of SBW

[Quinskolar]

Wolfpack are advertising in the UK on AtlantisRadio.co.uk  bigging up Sonny Bill and pushing their cannabis oil. Bizarre! 

[Kayakman]

5 hours ago, Quinskolar said:

Wolfpack are advertising in the UK on AtlantisRadio.co.uk  bigging up Sonny Bill and pushing their cannabis oil. Bizarre! 

Welcome to the new SL Quin.

[Man of Kent]

5 hours ago, Quinskolar said:

Wolfpack are advertising in the UK on AtlantisRadio.co.uk  bigging up Sonny Bill and pushing their cannabis oil. Bizarre! 

What, THE AtlantisRadio.co.uk?

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

12 hours ago, The Future is League said:

I would suggest as well that if the London Broncos were still in Super League they would have had to move the TWP game away from the trailfinders stadium to cope with the demand for tickets.

Not too late for a change to the structure. 13 team SL this year? 

[thirteenthman]

13 hours ago, Quinskolar said:

Wolfpack are advertising in the UK on AtlantisRadio.co.uk  bigging up Sonny Bill and pushing their cannabis oil. Bizarre! 

That's a DAB only station playing music from the 1960's. Putting aside the fact that the audience will be miniscule, it's an interesting audience to target (unless the main aim is to push the cannabis oil).

Something our Canadian friends can answer, but has SBW been over to Toronto and been introduced to the Wolfpack fans and the Canadian media yet? I would've expected it to be one of the first things they'd do in the off season, but I've not seen anything about it.

[nmew]

No, SBW hasn't come over to Canada yet, but we're also not expecting to see him until April when they all come over.  The marketing and the hype will really start the week before they play the first Toronto home game.  I'm expecting they'll fly straight from the Catalans game to Toronto in order to prepare and do loads of promotional work.  With so many professional sports teams here in the middle of their season, or gearing up, any promo work now would be lost amongst all the others.  Raptors are playing well, Leafs have had a resurgence with a new coach, a couple of big names have signed with the Jays, and then you've got all the other teams (TFC, Argos, Rock, Arrows, etc.)

[aj1908]

whats interesting is how many new fans the wolfpack have already attracted.  theres a post on their facebook page asking fans where their favourite place is to sit at the lamport, and so many people say their first game of rugby was the wolfpack.

the vibe is just so positive amongst the fanbase

loads of young people too.

and apparently there is a tiny vip section at the ground too.

[Cameron Highlander]

2 hours ago, nmew said:

No, SBW hasn't come over to Canada yet, but we're also not expecting to see him until April when they all come over.  The marketing and the hype will really start the week before they play the first Toronto home game.  I'm expecting they'll fly straight from the Catalans game to Toronto in order to prepare and do loads of promotional work.  With so many professional sports teams here in the middle of their season, or gearing up, any promo work now would be lost amongst all the others.  Raptors and playing well, Leafs have had a resurgence with a new coach, a couple of big names have signed with the Jays, and then you've got all the other teams (TFC, Argos, Rock, Arrows, etc.)

Welcome Nicholas.   You've finally made it to these forums.   See you in April if not before.  CH (Allan Carswell).

[Cameron Highlander]

Just now, Cameron Highlander said:

Welcome Nicholas.   You've finally made it to these forums.   See you in April if not before.  CH (Allan Carswell).

P.S. you've got some major battles ahead.....hope you have the time for them. TONS and TONS of Wolfpack wind-up merchants on here.  But John Drake, CKN and the other forum administrators do a great job of policing them.

[Quinskolar]

4 hours ago, thirteenthman said:

That's a DAB only station playing music from the 1960's. Putting aside the fact that the audience will be miniscule, it's an interesting audience to target (unless the main aim is to push the cannabis oil).

Something our Canadian friends can answer, but has SBW been over to Toronto and been introduced to the Wolfpack fans and the Canadian media yet? I would've expected it to be one of the first things they'd do in the off season, but I've not seen anything about it.

I suspect that they are not allowed to advertise Cannabis oil on terrestrial radio/TV  in the UK and this is how they are doing it. 

[RP London]

35 minutes ago, Cameron Highlander said:

Welcome Nicholas.   You've finally made it to these forums.   See you in April if not before.  CH (Allan Carswell).

Optech Allan Carswell?? 

 

[Eddie]

1 hour ago, Cameron Highlander said:

P.S. you've got some major battles ahead.....hope you have the time for them. TONS and TONS of Wolfpack wind-up merchants on here.  But John Drake, CKN and the other forum administrators do a great job of policing them.

There are a few Luddites but to be fair the vast majority of us are supportive of TWP. 

[aj1908]

17 minutes ago, Eddie said:

There are a few Luddites but to be fair the vast majority of us are supportive of TWP. 

Luddites ? Or leigh-ites?

[thirteenthman]

6 hours ago, nmew said:

No, SBW hasn't come over to Canada yet, but we're also not expecting to see him until April when they all come over.  The marketing and the hype will really start the week before they play the first Toronto home game.  I'm expecting they'll fly straight from the Catalans game to Toronto in order to prepare and do loads of promotional work.  With so many professional sports teams here in the middle of their season, or gearing up, any promo work now would be lost amongst all the others.  Raptors and playing well, Leafs have had a resurgence with a new coach, a couple of big names have signed with the Jays, and then you've got all the other teams (TFC, Argos, Rock, Arrows, etc.)

Fair enough, it's just I thought they would've took him over to do some pre season promo work and meets the fans, given the Wolfpacks season is due to start in a few weeks time. 

[Kayakman]

3 minutes ago, thirteenthman said:

Fair enough, it's just I thought they would've took him over to do some pre season promo work and meets the fans, given the Wolfpacks season is due to start in a few weeks time. 

All things have their time.

[thirteenthman]

3 hours ago, Quinskolar said:

I suspect that they are not allowed to advertise Cannabis oil on terrestrial radio/TV  in the UK and this is how they are doing it. 

If Atlantis broadcast on DAB they have to have a Digital Sound Programme Licence from Ofcom and so have to abide by Ofcom regulations - if it was a web only operation there would be no regulations to abide by. 

[Bartholemew Smythe]

9 hours ago, aj1908 said:

Luddites ? Or leigh-ites?

Are you another incarnation of Jean Capdouze/Steph Curry from another site? At least you got  a response from a sad individual who salivates like a fly around a Workington ######.

As for Nicholas Mew, who is a welcome and frequent poster on the Leyth Banter page, as he will no doubt testify himself.

[Cameron Highlander]

12 hours ago, RP London said:

Optech Allan Carswell?? 

 

No....afraid not.

[nmew]

20 hours ago, Cameron Highlander said:

P.S. you've got some major battles ahead.....hope you have the time for them. TONS and TONS of Wolfpack wind-up merchants on here.  But John Drake, CKN and the other forum administrators do a great job of policing them.

Just what I needed - more places to talk about rugby league and more people to debate with! It will be so much fun to repeat everything another million times.

[Lowdesert]

On 08/01/2020 at 15:06, Boomer Bang Wool said:

This may be true but how many league fans have started watching union after league players went to play union? 

Is it a significant number?  

[Lowdesert]

On 08/01/2020 at 16:50, DC77 said:

As someone who followed international RU (I say followed as my interest has waned considerably due to the attritional style that dominates the game), I have never thought “must watch NZ as SBW is playing”, unlike with Jonah Lomu when he played. RU players cannot stand out like they did before, and the same applies to RL players. Only the other day I watched a Martin Offiah video, the eye catching tries he scored here (that made him a star) he would never be afforded the space to do today.

For me, both codes are their own worst enemy. The tighter defences, less space to run, the increase in player bulk, it has made it much harder for individuals to stand out, become stars, and attract people to the game. Offiah in today’s game, not being able to make the runs he made, would not be the name he was when he played. The recent RUWC, not one star name appeared from it. The talent is there, but they are not given the same platform on the field a Jonah Lomu or David Campese was afforded. The last RLWC final between England and Australia, every player on the field was smothered. An 80 minute arm wrestle. The showpiece game, and not one player did anything. They couldn’t, the game doesn’t allow it. To see players doing stuff of note you have to look at a career highlight reel on Youtube. 

SBW is immensely gifted, but I cannot see what he can do in a game that won’t afford him the on field platform to really make a mark. Give him the era Offiah played in then yeah, he would constantly make eye catching plays/runs etc. and be a huge name. 

The hype that he’s been given since joining Toronto does not match the player from RU. The “biggest name in RU”..it wasn’t something that was mentioned while he was in RU, and after thinking about it, it’s quite possible he was, but it wasn’t obvious, and it wasn’t saying much as there is no stand out individual in RU today. The “superstar” label since signing for Toronto is a new one. I get why it’s done, they have to sell him and the game, and to the uninitiated it may work, but once they see him, and how little he is allowed to do, what then? 

Jonah Lomu was a huge draw because he was allowed to rampage through opposition’s turnstile defences, and swat away the regular sized opponents. He stood out a mile, and as a result was a bona fide superstar. Stating the obvious, but making the game harder for that to happen is a bad thing. It’s quite possible SBW could be every bit as talented as Lomu was, but he will never be afforded the same platform to showcase it. It’s also probable SBW was more talented than Offiah, but again, he too won’t be given the same platform to show it.

Lomu might have stood out due the fact he played for probably the best team and they gave him opportunity with the ball.  Barring him, who stood out in the All Blacks team?  Genuine question as the word ‘team’ made them stand out as a whole imo.  Some Welsh players ‘stood out’ before him, in another era.  I can’t think of any more.

I would say it as I’m an RL fan, who played representative ru at school, but players who stand out in RL is far more common probably being that there are less players on the pitch which creates space and the rules are different.  Having said that, what games of ru I’ve seen have been far more open now than they’ve been for years.

Again in my opinion, SBW will have his work cut out making any impression barring the last third of the pitch.  RL has moved on a pace since he played and TWP aren’t littered with strong players either.  I would like Toronto to do well but signing him, other than for commercial purposes, is a backward step.  

 

 

[CiderWire]

Why the fixation with bringing union fans over? The signing of Burgess by Barrrrrth didn't regularly cause traffic jams on the M5 Southbound I'm sure. They have their game, we have ours - some folks enjoy both, that's just the way things are and the signing of one high profile player will not break the paradigm.

[Lowdesert]

9 minutes ago, CiderWire said:

Why the fixation with bringing union fans over? The signing of Burgess by Barrrrrth didn't regularly cause traffic jams on the M5 Southbound I'm sure. They have their game, we have ours - some folks enjoy both, that's just the way things are and the signing of one high profile player will not break the paradigm.

Commercially, I can see the benefits.  SBW age is a big factor.  

Burgess situation was something different.  From what I’ve read, the fans liked him but obviously not the establishment or some vociferous ex ru players in the media.  But from a playing point of view, age, fitness and skills were right up there.  If we just chose those 3, they would be essentials for a big money outlay.

Some great players have excelled in both codes and would’ve done the same swapping to the other code at the right time in their careers.  It’s going to be interesting to see though.  Certainly brings a presence with him and will create interest with the hype, but for meTWP do not have the forwards to get them out of trouble or make headway up the pitch.

[GUBRATS]

Sonny Bill spotted at a driving range in Leigh today