General British perception of RL in Oz

[The Rocket]

10 hours ago, nadera78 said:

Think about Melbourne as a comparison, they received tens of millions of dollars more than the other clubs over a 20 year period

I think you are mistaken here ,Melbourne have only ever received the same NRL funding as the other clubs, how much their private owners have put in I don`t know. They may have been a bit lucky because they picked up a lot of quality players at the end of the Super League war ,won a GF and that got the ball rolling. However personally I believe a lot of it comes down to the coach, they got a coach who demands success. People say that there is not enough good players  sometimes I wonder if there are just not enough good coaches.

[unapologetic pedant]

3 hours ago, The Rocket said:

  Jeez,  I thought you were referring to "the silly game" my derogative name for the afl.  A mate of mine once said he only watches union when there is no league on t.v. With regards to London I think you have summed it in one word and that is probably the distinguishing feature in the difference b/w these two teams.(i.e. success ) Is that just a matter of more money though?     

 

A number of posters on Aussie RL forums malign AFL as "Fumbleball". In imitation I have been tempted to use "Aussie Fumbleball" on here but resisted lest people thought I meant the ARU and related fumbly, bumbly absurdities.

[unapologetic pedant]

On 06/07/2020 at 15:04, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Broncos youth system is strong.... Our youth team heat Saints at start of season. All London born and bred

We need SL status to keep them though 

I pay for WatchNRL and Sky.... I like cricket and a bit of the kick and clap so don't mind paying for both. The shows (360 and Matty Johns etc. are fun) 

It might be dispiriting that grass roots strength in the capital never seems to lead to greater popular awareness and bigger crowds for the Broncos.

Nonetheless I do like the sound of a strong youth team "All London born and bred". Just as I love the sound of an RL team called Newham Dockers.

[nadera78]

13 hours ago, The Rocket said:

I think you are mistaken here ,Melbourne have only ever received the same NRL funding as the other clubs, how much their private owners have put in I don`t know. They may have been a bit lucky because they picked up a lot of quality players at the end of the Super League war ,won a GF and that got the ball rolling. However personally I believe a lot of it comes down to the coach, they got a coach who demands success. People say that there is not enough good players  sometimes I wonder if there are just not enough good coaches.

1. As part of the deal for News Ltd to hand over it's 50% share in the NRL, the ARLC agreed to put an additional $26million into the Storm over a 5 year period. So they did get central funding over and above that received by other clubs.

2. Over their 15 year ownership of the Storm, News Ltd are believed to have invested $75million in the club. Seeing as for most of that time News also owned half the NRL, the difference between central funding and private funding is arguable.

[The Rocket]

2 hours ago, nadera78 said:

1. As part of the deal for News Ltd to hand over it's 50% share in the NRL, the ARLC agreed to put an additional $26million into the Storm over a 5 year period. So they did get central funding over and above that received by other clubs.

2. Over their 15 year ownership of the Storm, News Ltd are believed to have invested $75million in the club. Seeing as for most of that time News also owned half the NRL, the difference between central funding and private funding is arguable.

I was unaware of that, it sure seems to have worked out for them though,  I read the other day they were aiming for a 4 to 6 million dollar profit this year, before the virus, but the bloke interviewed said they should get back on track pretty quickly.

[nadera78]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

I was unaware of that, it sure seems to have worked out for them though,  I read the other day they were aiming for a 4 to 6 million dollar profit this year, before the virus, but the bloke interviewed said they should get back on track pretty quickly.

Oh yeah, they've got really good owners and senior management. Having a champion team helps too, of course!

[Pulga]

1 hour ago, The Rocket said:

I was unaware of that, it sure seems to have worked out for them though,  I read the other day they were aiming for a 4 to 6 million dollar profit this year, before the virus, but the bloke interviewed said they should get back on track pretty quickly.

Better money than what the AFL are doing with the GC Suns and GWS.

Both teams get about $25m a year from the AFL and I'm not sure there's been any traction.

[17 stone giant]

21 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Broncos need success. Of course all teams do but particularly outside of heartlands. Melbourne success has made them what they are, to an extent Wolfpack winning almost 100% of the games they have ever played has made the locals flock in

If we could get to some finals over say a five year period and a decent sized stadium I'd be confident we could get attendances up near the SL average 

I think I'm right that London got the name Broncos because of some sort of link up with the Brisbane Broncos. What is the current situation with that? Do Brisbane have any involvement nowadays?

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

3 minutes ago, 17 stone giant said:

I think I'm right that London got the name Broncos because of some sort of link up with the Brisbane Broncos. What is the current situation with that? Do Brisbane have any involvement nowadays?

Originally we were called that due to Brisbane owning in 90s....died a death when Branson came in... Which itself died a death 

[The Rocket]

1 hour ago, nadera78 said:

Oh yeah, they've got really good owners and senior management. Having a champion team helps too, of course!

Sometimes I think it isn`t a lack of good players it is a lack of good coaches. When I look at teams like Melbourne and particularly Manly ,I see teams who have a sprinkling of stars and quite a few journey men or novices. But they have coaches who maximise their potential. This makes me think the NRL should have some serious set up for existing coachs and up and coming coaches. Imagine the wealth of knowledge out amongst retired great coaches the Warren Ryans, Roy Masters, Malcolm Reilly`s , Brian Smith`s, David Waites and when blokes like Bennet and Bellamy retire involve them. I am talking  some sort of academy , serious courses not one hour lectures.

[The Rocket]

18 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

A number of posters on Aussie RL forums malign AFL as "Fumbleball". In imitation I have been tempted to use "Aussie Fumbleball" on here but resisted lest people thought I meant the ARU and related fumbly, bumbly absurdities.

I`m not as nice as you Pedant , I go straight for the jugular and call it the "silly game" thereby writing the whole thing off, not just the fumbly part, what`s with that punching the ball rot just pass the thing like most normal people.

[Copa]

19 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

A number of posters on Aussie RL forums malign AFL as "Fumbleball". In imitation I have been tempted to use "Aussie Fumbleball" on here but resisted lest people thought I meant the ARU and related fumbly, bumbly absurdities.

Stick to “fumbleball” for AFL.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

20 hours ago, unapologetic pedant said:

It might be dispiriting that grass roots strength in the capital never seems to lead to greater popular awareness and bigger crowds for the Broncos.

Nonetheless I do like the sound of a strong youth team "All London born and bred". Just as I love the sound of an RL team called Newham Dockers.

I think the future is bright and we will back in SL withing 3/4 years

[Wirral Warrior]

On ‎06‎/‎07‎/‎2020 at 15:36, Sports Prophet said:

The 2003 RUWC in Aus was far bigger than any RLWC hosted in Aus. 

Should the 2023 RUWC be held in Aus, it would still be bigger than any historical Aus RLWC, despite the calamity the ARU finds itself in.

Agreed about the RLWC in Aus. I went to 3 games in 2017 . The profile was embarassingly low as were the attendances. Not a patch on the the RLWC in Eng in 2013.

[Oldbear]

On 06/07/2020 at 07:36, Sports Prophet said:

The 2003 RUWC in Aus was far bigger than any RLWC hosted in Aus. 

Should the 2023 RUWC be held in Aus, it would still be bigger than any historical Aus RLWC, despite the calamity the ARU finds itself in.

But doesn’t the RUWC focus heavily on selling packages to visiting fans? Obviously this is helped by the wealthier demographic that follows RU being much more able to travel and buy packages, for example for the last RU World Cup in Japan it was estimated that several thousand Canadians bought packages (I know about a dozen from Vancouver, and I have to say all are in the $250,000 a year salary range), and of course RU just has so many more countries to sell packages to, whereas in RL we only really have fans in England, Oz and NZ. If the 2023 RUWC was held in Australia, how many actual Aussies would attend (for games not involving Australia), and how many overseas visitors?

[Tommygilf]

1 hour ago, Oldbear said:

But doesn’t the RUWC focus heavily on selling packages to visiting fans? Obviously this is helped by the wealthier demographic that follows RU being much more able to travel and buy packages, for example for the last RU World Cup in Japan it was estimated that several thousand Canadians bought packages (I know about a dozen from Vancouver, and I have to say all are in the $250,000 a year salary range), and of course RU just has so many more countries to sell packages to, whereas in RL we only really have fans in England, Oz and NZ. If the 2023 RUWC was held in Australia, how many actual Aussies would attend (for games not involving Australia), and how many overseas visitors?

I don't think they expect visiting fans in huge numbers to be honest - at least not to base a huge amount of finances on them or focussing on them.

The home nations, France, Oz, NZ and SA are the main "foreign support" at any world cup - which doesn't include a significant amount of the countries taking part. They also benefit from as you say a fairly wealthy diaspora as well.

[Oldbear]

11 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

I don't think they expect visiting fans in huge numbers to be honest - at least not to base a huge amount of finances on them or focussing on them.

The home nations, France, Oz, NZ and SA are the main "foreign support" at any world cup - which doesn't include a significant amount of the countries taking part. They also benefit from as you say a fairly wealthy diaspora as well.

That’s still 8, plus it was reported that several thousand Canadians also travelled, so 9. If we had 9 nations with sizeable support instead of relying on the home nation to make or break a World Cup, then we would have similar looking attendances, also maybe then we would be taken a little more seriously and would attract a more diverse portfolio of sponsors.

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

21 hours ago, Wirral Warrior said:

Agreed about the RLWC in Aus. I went to 3 games in 2017 . The profile was embarassingly low as were the attendances. Not a patch on the the RLWC in Eng in 2013.

Its a really weird amd upsetting thi g for me

Why does the RL loving east coast get more excited about international union than league? 

Is it simply the unpredictability factor? 

[Click]

2 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Its a really weird amd upsetting thi g for me

Why does the RL loving east coast get more excited about international union than league? 

Is it simply the unpredictability factor? 

It's not like those RL lovers on the east coast come out for regular RL - From what I can tell, they're more than happy watching on TV in big numbers rather than at the ground. Other than for the big events

[The Rocket]

22 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Its a really weird amd upsetting thi g for me

Why does the RL loving east coast get more excited about international union than league? 

Is it simply the unpredictability factor? 

It`s just not true. Union internationals have been forced to play at places like Newcastle to try and drum up a crowd and even that hasn`t worked. As far as the Bledisloe Cup goes,  it is an absolute shadow of itself . 20 years ago 90 000+ at Olympic Stadium, all singing f...... Waltzing Matilda `til your eyes bled,  now lucky to get 40 000. 

If the bloody Kiwis(League) played with the same emotion that they put into the Haka and provided some decent competition the crowds would come back. Actually played with the same passion as the Tongans.

[Damien]

4 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

It`s just not true. Union internationals have been forced to play at places like Newcastle to try and drum up a crowd and even that hasn`t worked. As far as the Bledisloe Cup goes,  it is an absolute shadow of itself . 20 years ago 90 000+ at Olympic Stadium, all singing f...... Waltzing Matilda `til your eyes bled,  now lucky to get 40 000. 

If the bloody Kiwis(League) played with the same emotion that they put into the Haka and provided some decent competition the crowds would come back. Actually played with the same passion as the Tongans.

And a fair proportion of the crowd are Kiwis at those Bledisloe games too.

[The Rocket]

1 minute ago, Damien said:

And a fair proportion of the crowd are Kiwis at those Bledisloe games too.

I will tell you something really funny, when all that Waltzing Matilda stuff started the ARU used to go on and on about how patriotic and how all of OZ was behind the Wobblies anyway the whole thing got out hand and the stupid bastards wouldn`t stop singing it as the game went on and all gold scarf wearing `yachting set` started to get the proverbials and the ARU had to put a plea out to please stop "you are ruining other peoples enjoyment of the game". When all the hype surrounding Union going professional was around in the late 90`s and how it was going to take over League even then  I was saying that once the hype died down that it wasn`t going to last because they hadn`t addressed all the problems in their game that League had.

[Sports Prophet]

On 15/07/2020 at 01:25, Oldbear said:

But doesn’t the RUWC focus heavily on selling packages to visiting fans? Obviously this is helped by the wealthier demographic that follows RU being much more able to travel and buy packages, for example for the last RU World Cup in Japan it was estimated that several thousand Canadians bought packages (I know about a dozen from Vancouver, and I have to say all are in the $250,000 a year salary range), and of course RU just has so many more countries to sell packages to, whereas in RL we only really have fans in England, Oz and NZ. If the 2023 RUWC was held in Australia, how many actual Aussies would attend (for games not involving Australia), and how many overseas visitors?

It is true that there is a greater travelling support of those from competing nations, however, those numbers are a very large minority of overall attendancees.

[Dunbar]

On 05/07/2020 at 10:43, Allora said:

Ryan Hall FAIL

Just checking.  Now that Blake Ferguson has gone 10 games this year without getting a try, you will be calling for him to be dropped I assume?

After all, a wingers job is scoring tries and hard work with the ball is simply not enough.

[Allora]

On 23/07/2020 at 22:57, Dunbar said:

Just checking.  Now that Blake Ferguson has gone 10 games this year without getting a try, you will be calling for him to be dropped I assume?

After all, a wingers job is scoring tries and hard work with the ball is simply not enough.

Different style of player, different team and style of play for that team.

I think Ferguson does a great job for Parramatta and although he has not scored this year his contribution in attack and defense has been outstanding.

He fits into the team and plays his role where defending sides are apprehensive when he gets the ball because he can change a game and has done that often in recent times.

Ryan Hall regardless of his injuries was once called the "Worlds best Winger or WBW" that in itself is a mouthful and a bit of an  embarrassing nickname IMO.

Do you agree that the Roosters bought him to be a run on player with his record as the "WBW" and his try scoring feats on his resume?

The fact he can not regularly get a start at the Roosters is failure in my opinion.

Ryan Hall represented Great Britain last year.

Hall is 32, the Morris boys are 33 and last represented Australia six years ago in 2014.

You can cherry pick a player at my Club if you want to make a point but not many fans of the game would take Hall over Ferguson to be in their team today IMO.

I very much doubt the Roosters will renew Halls contract unlike what they have done last week with the Morris boys.

Are you his Agent?