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On 23/02/2021 at 02:56, The Rocket said:

Try more like 70 years old and now reduced to 5 stable(?) clubs. Something is not working.

I had high hopes for Lebanon and I`m pretty sure they had an 8 -10 team comp about 10 -15 years ago, now nothing. I`ve only read about Italy, but I recall from these pages something similar about 50 years ago, now ditto.

Come on, don't state "facts" that are flat out wrong, it seriously takes 30 seconds of research (wikipedia gives a fair summary) to see how wrong this is.  Yes, there was a brief existence in the 50s, then everything stopped in the early 60s.

The blokes who got things going again in 2003 did not benefit one iota from that brief existence in the 50s.  What do you think? They got all the blokes that were playing back then (in their 70s by that stage) and picked up right where they left off?  Of course not, so they had to start again from ZERO.  That is NOT 70 years of history at all, don't try and twist things.

Italy, even more so.  The Kangaroo played two one-off exhibition games there, a few days apart in 1960 on their way home from England.  Then nothing happened there again until early 2000s.  Hardly a 50-year history.

The open age scene in Serbia doesn't seem to have grown a lot in the past decade, it's true.  But it seems youth level has, which is great.  There are four U18 teams and three U16s, none of which existed a decade ago.  So perhaps their strategy is do keep adding younger and younger age levels to each club, who knows?  Also, quantity may not have boomed in recent years, but you could argue that quality has.  Red Star played in a Challenge Cup, they have two players (Nikolic and Calic) recently playing Elite 1 and another 4-5 that play/played at Elite 2 level.  These are great successes in my opinion.  But of course, 2 players in Elite 1, is not going to put a dent on the international scene.  Once there are 17 or more playing at that level, yes things will start changing.  Again, takes time, but they seem to be slowly going in that direction.

Another thing about Serbia, it's quite a small country, 7 million and also one of the poorer ones in Europe.  Also despite being small, they are a very sporty nation and arguably punching above their weight when it comes to population.  Soccer, Basketball, water polo and tennis are all very popular there.  And when parents are looking to enroll their kid in a sport and give him the best chance of a bright future, where do you think they are going to look?  They are looking at the millions that Djokovic and the NBA players are earning.  Rugby League is not in the equation let me tell you.  I am not saying that is the right way for a parent to think, but it happens.  Asking a parent to enroll their kid in an unknown sport, that offers no future prospects and for them to get battered, is not the most enticing thing they will hear.  It is a very hard sell.

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23 hours ago, thebrewxi said:

I'm not so sure. Or in fact sure at all, how many teams are in the Serbian League (I'm certainly not 50% sure even). There's Red Kangaroos too (albeit they are a junior Red Start team I think)

So, I'm still massively confused about about it and have been for a while TBH. I only thought there were 4 teams in the first division. I've just read on some Facebook post the owner of Red Start saying there are 8 teams. But I just can't find any detailed info.

 They did have the Red Kangaroos as their reserve team for a while, which was a nice idea, I am not sure if they still have them.  I think outside the main 4-5 teams, no other team can really commit to joining the league.  The standard of matches, plus frequency is probably too much for them.  That's why if you have 9 teams, it might look good on paper to have a 9-team league, but in practical terms, might actually be best to have 3 tiers of 3 teams in each.  To avoid the thumpings and getting teams of similar standard playing against each other more often. 

3 hours ago, Deranged Drunk Guy said:

I think from our end , what we can do as fans is buy a few jerseys to help the clubs out. 

Ive suggested in the past to start a go fund me page directed at raising money to hire some more coaches to spread the game in schoools . 

They already took steps along these lines.  Red Star has a patreon page, with currently 44 members.  They have stated their goal is to reach 200 members and if/when they do, they will employ two part-time junior coaches in Belgrade, which would be a great boost for them:  https://www.patreon.com/RedStarRL

Red Star a few years ago, had a goal of reaching League One, so they started recruiting a few semi-pro players and were flogging any team they played.  This probably harmed RL in Serbia slightly.  They have since ditched the League One idea and are more concentrating on building the local league.  They also stated recently that money that they make from these initiatives will be spread across all clubs in Serbia, which is also a great way to go.

 

 

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7 hours ago, langpark said:

Come on, don't state "facts" that are flat out wrong, it seriously takes 30 seconds of research (wikipedia gives a fair summary) to see how wrong this is.  Yes, there was a brief existence in the 50s, then everything stopped in the early 60s.

Sorry mate I had no idea about that Communist ban thing with League in Serbia, I had just seen one clubs loge that said since 1953, my apologies.

7 hours ago, langpark said:

Italy, even more so.  The Kangaroo played two one-off exhibition games there, a few days apart in 1960 on their way home from England.  Then nothing happened there again until early 2000s.  Hardly a 50-year history

I think you`ve misinterpreted what I wrote with Italy, as I said I don`t know the exact facts but I recall reading that there was high hopes for Italy once and that now there is basically nothing.

Your last two paragraphs are very informative and the bit about juniors gives me a lot more optimism.

My original post really was more about how can we foster these green shoots when we don`t have a lot of money to spend on international development. I see Trent Robinson in the last couple of days has got involved in the French set-up, this is more the sort of thing that I was hoping for.

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18 minutes ago, The Rocket said:

Sorry mate I had no idea about that Communist ban thing with League in Serbia, I had just seen one clubs loge that said since 1953, my apologies.

I think you`ve misinterpreted what I wrote with Italy, as I said I don`t know the exact facts but I recall reading that there was high hopes for Italy once and that now there is basically nothing.

Your last two paragraphs are very informative and the bit about juniors gives me a lot more optimism.

My original post really was more about how can we foster these green shoots when we don`t have a lot of money to spend on international development. I see Trent Robinson in the last couple of days has got involved in the French set-up, this is more the sort of thing that I was hoping for.

Yes, given the upcoming World Cup, I think it's a great appointment. 

Phil Economidis was living in Serbia until the pandemic forced him home.  A real shame, he was coaching Red Star and I think helping out with some other teams as well, including the national team.  I am not sure if he will ever go back now, he is getting on in age too.

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On 24/02/2021 at 23:39, langpark said:

Come on, don't state "facts" that are flat out wrong, it seriously takes 30 seconds of research (wikipedia gives a fair summary) to see how wrong this is.  Yes, there was a brief existence in the 50s, then everything stopped in the early 60s.

The blokes who got things going again in 2003 did not benefit one iota from that brief existence in the 50s.  What do you think? They got all the blokes that were playing back then (in their 70s by that stage) and picked up right where they left off?  Of course not, so they had to start again from ZERO.  That is NOT 70 years of history at all, don't try and twist things.

Italy, even more so.  The Kangaroo played two one-off exhibition games there, a few days apart in 1960 on their way home from England.  Then nothing happened there again until early 2000s.  Hardly a 50-year history.

The open age scene in Serbia doesn't seem to have grown a lot in the past decade, it's true.  But it seems youth level has, which is great.  There are four U18 teams and three U16s, none of which existed a decade ago.  So perhaps their strategy is do keep adding younger and younger age levels to each club, who knows?  Also, quantity may not have boomed in recent years, but you could argue that quality has.  Red Star played in a Challenge Cup, they have two players (Nikolic and Calic) recently playing Elite 1 and another 4-5 that play/played at Elite 2 level.  These are great successes in my opinion.  But of course, 2 players in Elite 1, is not going to put a dent on the international scene.  Once there are 17 or more playing at that level, yes things will start changing.  Again, takes time, but they seem to be slowly going in that direction.

Another thing about Serbia, it's quite a small country, 7 million and also one of the poorer ones in Europe.  Also despite being small, they are a very sporty nation and arguably punching above their weight when it comes to population.  Soccer, Basketball, water polo and tennis are all very popular there.  And when parents are looking to enroll their kid in a sport and give him the best chance of a bright future, where do you think they are going to look?  They are looking at the millions that Djokovic and the NBA players are earning.  Rugby League is not in the equation let me tell you.  I am not saying that is the right way for a parent to think, but it happens.  Asking a parent to enroll their kid in an unknown sport, that offers no future prospects and for them to get battered, is not the most enticing thing they will hear.  It is a very hard sell.

Spot on Lang Park , fellas who re-ignited RL in Srbija , had no momentum from the 50's to carry into 2003. 

Remarkable the progress they have made in what has been not even a full 18 years yet. 

Lets try keep this thread alive and carry on showing interest in RL in Srbija . 

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3 hours ago, Deranged Drunk Guy said:

Spot on Lang Park , fellas who re-ignited RL in Srbija , had no momentum from the 50's to carry into 2003. 

Remarkable the progress they have made in what has been not even a full 18 years yet. 

Lets try keep this thread alive and carry on showing interest in RL in Srbija . 

Well I think their season starts again in a couple of weeks, so once again they will be one of the few leagues in Europe running. 

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7 hours ago, langpark said:

Well I think their season starts again in a couple of weeks, so once again they will be one of the few leagues in Europe running. 

But I think streamed behind a paywall this year which is a shame... for me that is, not serbian league. 

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14 hours ago, thebrewxi said:

But I think streamed behind a paywall this year which is a shame... for me that is, not serbian league. 

Sydney start-up streaming service’s stunning $20m coup snares UEFA Champions League rights (smh.com.au)

This is the same mob who stream Serbian Rugby League, and seem to be building themselves a nice stable of sports offerings. UEFA Champions League being billed as the most watched club football tournament in the world.

For many who are predicting a shake-out of the sports streaming industry, hopefully Serbian League have positioned themselves to be on one of the carriers that may emerge from a shake-out in a good position. I wonder how long the deal they signed with Sports Flick is for.

 

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Sports Flick’s UEFA coup a tale of suburban heroes (smh.com.au)

It just keeps on getting more interesting.

The company behind Flick Sports is called DCA Enterprises which has several shareholders one of which, who holds 5%, is Perth based footy nut Colin Kleyweg. Kleyweg is the owner of the Western Australian branch of the Red Star Belgrade Rugby League Pty Ltd. He is also the chief commercial officer of Flick Sports.

Flick Sports securing of the digital rights to the UEFA championship "has left industry giant Optus scrambling for a marque event to anchor the telco streaming platform".

This is every sporting clubs dream, to be in at the ground level with an exciting new company that appears to have a great future. This can be the best type of off-field revenue you can get, you know how it can go with these start-ups one day you haven`t heard of them, next day they can be valued in the billions.

I was reading recently of the afl`s not-so-successful investments in a tech start up.

Great news for Kleyweg and hopefully that means great news for  Red Star Belgrade. 

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This all seems a bit strange to me. They mention a $60 million deal, yet their website still looks pretty low-budget. Also, no mention anywhere on their site of the Champions League. Doesn't add up. 

But for SMH to report it, you would have to assume it is legit. 

 

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Fantastic to see the sport in Serbia coming along well. I firmly believe the game has a future in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and Serbia offer real hope for the emergence of non-heritage focussed national teams.

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39 minutes ago, thebrewxi said:

£6.99 to watch. Is anyone actually going to pay that for a sub NCL standard game? I hope this brings some finance into the Serbian game, but I cant see how the pricing works. 

I hope I am wrong, but I think they will be lucky to get a dozen viewers.  It is hard to get neutrals excited about games like this.

I think they would have been much better off using the old "covid tactic" than many sporting clubs are doing right now.  It goes something like this:  Hi fans, please help us!  Since fans are still not allowed to attend matches, we are struggling and lost our main revenue stream.  Please support us by buying a virtual ticket and enjoy our live stream... etc.

I believe that would have gotten a much better response.  Charge a fiver or less and I believe many more would suddenly feel different about handing over their money, whether they even end up watching the match or not.

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2 hours ago, langpark said:

And red star blaming the ref :-). I have nothing against red star, but I always want partizan to win whenever I watch, just because they are the underdog. So hoping that doesn't cloud my judgement, but whenever I've watched in the past its always seemed the dubious calls have most definitely gone red stars way. 

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2 hours ago, thebrewxi said:

And red star blaming the ref :-). I have nothing against red star, but I always want partizan to win whenever I watch, just because they are the underdog. So hoping that doesn't cloud my judgement, but whenever I've watched in the past its always seemed the dubious calls have most definitely gone red stars way. 

Who blamed the ref?  The coach?  Hard to imagine them pinning a 20-point loss on the ref.

I always support an underdog, but Partizan haven't made it easy for me over the last few years.  There's a real thuggy element about them (youtube: Partizan vs Lokomotive sofia fight - if you want just one example).  But I haven't seen much of them lately, and I see their results are improving, so I hope that is a sign that their discipline has improved as well. 

Either way, it's great to see it's competitive.  It would be great if a 3rd and even 4th team could emerge as a genuine contender in the coming seasons too.

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Partizan’s jerseys are always a disappointment, which is a shame as their football team’s shirts are usually top class. Red Star’s are nice though, it’s a shame Partizan can’t do something simpler, along those lines. 

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5 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Partizan’s jerseys are always a disappointment, which is a shame as their football team’s shirts are usually top class. Red Star’s are nice though, it’s a shame Partizan can’t do something simpler, along those lines. 

Agreed, it seems they have been experimenting quite a bit over the last few seasons, I don't really like their recent designs.  They should have just stuck to the old black & white hoops design, you can't go wrong with that.

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11 hours ago, Eddie said:

Partizan’s jerseys are always a disappointment, which is a shame as their football team’s shirts are usually top class. Red Star’s are nice though, it’s a shame Partizan can’t do something simpler, along those lines. 

I bought 11 jerseys from the red star shop last week , to add to my RL jerseys collection. 

I requested from Colin Kleyweg that the other clubs such as Partizan , Dorcol Tigers , RNIS , create a shop so jersey enthusiast like me can add those clubs to our collection. 

I will have a word to Colin and see if he can get a hold of the Partizan side and request a jersey that is more appealing to the eye. 

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2 hours ago, Deranged Drunk Guy said:

I bought 11 jerseys from the red star shop last week , to add to my RL jerseys collection. 

I requested from Colin Kleyweg that the other clubs such as Partizan , Dorcol Tigers , RNIS , create a shop so jersey enthusiast like me can add those clubs to our collection. 

I will have a word to Colin and see if he can get a hold of the Partizan side and request a jersey that is more appealing to the eye. 

It would be great if there was a shop for all Serbian RL jerseys. I wouldn’t ask Partisan to change theirs though, it’s up to them what shirt they wear, and loads of people will think it’s great. 

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On 09/03/2021 at 17:50, Eddie said:

It would be great if there was a shop for all Serbian RL jerseys. I wouldn’t ask Partisan to change theirs though, it’s up to them what shirt they wear, and loads of people will think it’s great. 

Eddie , i will float that idea with Colin and the Dorcol TIgers board.

I think there should be , i am a collector of RL jerseys and would love to add a few from these clubs.

My team are the Dorcol Tigers. 

The names of Partizan and Red Star i cant stand ( due to their communist founding's ) 

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