New North American Competition?

[RugbyFan99]

And Ginger John could start a fight in an empty room.......

[Whippet13]

2 hours ago, langpark said:

"Look like" they are helping? Wouldn't the ideal scenario be for them to actually help them?

Yeah it certainly would, and maybe they will. However, even this token gesture is more than any other NRL or SL club has done to help as far as I am aware, so well done Panthers.

[DlEHARD]

I think it is really important to get more NRL fans interested. And some direct partnerships with the clubs is a great way to start.

[Yakstorm]

Cleveland has definitely been doing a good job at trying to build some awareness within the NRL.  The Panthers partnership is of course the biggest, but they've also been able to get the Cowboys and NRL.com to provide some coverage via social posts and website articles around things like Glen Morrison coming on as coaching director, etc.

[DlEHARD]

Yak, do you think the fact that the NARL is a rebel comp hinders support from the NRL and IRL? 

[Tex Evans Thigh]

On 13/05/2021 at 01:03, Eddie said:

Any idea what’s actually happened? 

A little but probably best not to trot it out on here. Suffice to say, using the pandemic is a bit of cop out. There were also ways around the insurance issue if that were really the case. Some poor choices made over there by the sounds of it. Having one bloke run 6 teams wasn’t a great start!

[Yakstorm]

1 hour ago, Tex Evans Thigh said:

A little but probably best not to trot it out on here. Suffice to say, using the pandemic is a bit of cop out. There were also ways around the insurance issue if that were really the case. Some poor choices made over there by the sounds of it. Having one bloke run 6 teams wasn’t a great start!

Honestly, if they're that short staffed in the West, then this was the best outcome as it would have just blown up at some other stage.

Gives them time to get some more people involved and regroup for 2022.

[DlEHARD]

The Eastside teams still seem to be firing and on track.

[Tex Evans Thigh]

9 hours ago, DlEHARD said:

The Eastside teams still seem to be firing and on track.

Yes we are. It helps that most east teams already existed in some form given the short turn around time from announcement to kick-off. Should be a great competition.

[Gomersall]

 

[langpark]

Exactly one month left until kick off. Does anyone know if all teams have finalised their squads yet? If not, how many spots are still left to fill?

[fighting irish]

9 hours ago, Gomersall said:

 

I really enjoyed this podcast and congratulations to the founders of Chasing Kangaroos.

It has been very interesting to listen to each of these (from the NARL) and I hope these fella's can fulfill their hopes and dreams in the coming months and years.

I really enjoyed Ryan's comments, particularly about his preference for Rugby League as opposed to MLR and also the story he told about his wife/girlfriend going to watch him play a RaRa game and telling him how she much preferred the ''other'' game.

Can anyone really be surprised that he's getting some heat from the local RaRa clubs near him?

They see what he saw and his girlfriend saw, that RL is a far more interesting game to play, to watch and to be involved with and as a consequence, as NARL develops, they (the dark side) will sooner or later, come to see NARL as competition for those resources (players, spectators and sponsors) and begin to employ some of the tactics, they've used against us over here, for over a century. All I'm saying is stand-by.  

I sense, that the potential for RL in North America is huge, because of its innate qualities. Qualities that Mr Burroughs sensed very early on and his wife/girlfriend felt immediately.

The Eton wall game derivative is just no match, for TGG in an unbiased free-market.

When he spoke about his preference for RL, he rekindled the feelings I felt when I first experienced playing RL and then, there was no going back.

I wish them every success. They have acres of space in a broken-field to run at. So come on fella's go for it! 

As an aside, he spoke of the union clubs, who have players who want to play (rugby) but that they cannot accommodate. Either because they just have too many, or the outliers are considered not good enough to play first team wall-ball. This is great news for RL in America.

This was exactly my observation, when we started playing in Wales. We could fill a team (create a club) with the RaRa leftovers. We hoovered/vacuumed/sucked them all up into our club. A lot of them, (more highly motivated by the greater involvement they enjoyed, playing RL) turned out to be far better players than the RaRa ever gave them credit for.

So why am I mentioning this?

If anyone out there, is thinking about setting up a RL club, in an area where there may be a handful of RaRa clubs, you'll have no need to worry about having enough players, because the RaRa always have outliers that would snap your hand off, for the opportunity to play TGG. Add to that, the hundreds of other individual athlete's who would relish our game and you'll have no worries.

So what are you waiting for?

[RugbyFan99]

Waiting to see the massive success in Wales you mention......

[TheReaper]

1 hour ago, fighting irish said:

I really enjoyed this podcast and congratulations to the founders of Chasing Kangaroos.

It has been very interesting to listen to each of these (from the NARL) and I hope these fella's can fulfill their hopes and dreams in the coming months and years.

I really enjoyed Ryan's comments, particularly about his preference for Rugby League as opposed to MLR and also the story he told about his wife/girlfriend going to watch him play a RaRa game and telling him how she much preferred the ''other'' game.

Can anyone really be surprised that he's getting some heat from the local RaRa clubs near him?

They see what he saw and his girlfriend saw, that RL is a far more interesting game to play, to watch and to be involved with and as a consequence, as NARL develops, they (the dark side) will sooner or later, come to see NARL as competition for those resources (players, spectators and sponsors) and begin to employ some of the tactics, they've used against us over here, for over a century. All I'm saying is stand-by.  

I sense, that the potential for RL in North America is huge, because of its innate qualities. Qualities that Mr Burroughs sensed very early on and his wife/girlfriend felt immediately.

The Eton wall game derivative is just no match, for TGG in an unbiased free-market.

When he spoke about his preference for RL, he rekindled the feelings I felt when I first experienced playing RL and then, there was no going back.

I wish them every success. They have acres of space in a broken-field to run at. So come on fella's go for it! 

As an aside, he spoke of the union clubs, who have players who want to play (rugby) but that they cannot accommodate. Either because they just have too many, or the outliers are considered not good enough to play first team wall-ball. This is great news for RL in America.

This was exactly my observation, when we started playing in Wales. We could fill a team (create a club) with the RaRa leftovers. We hoovered/vacuumed/sucked them all up into our club. A lot of them, (more highly motivated by the greater involvement they enjoyed, playing RL) turned out to be far better players than the RaRa ever gave them credit for.

So why am I mentioning this?

If anyone out there, is thinking about setting up a RL club, in an area where there may be a handful of RaRa clubs, you'll have no need to worry about having enough players, because the RaRa always have outliers that would snap your hand off, for the opportunity to play TGG. Add to that, the hundreds of other individual athlete's who would relish our game and you'll have no worries.

So what are you waiting for?

Why does it always have to be that RL is "better" than RU? It's just different.

There will always be people who fit better into a slightly different niche than others. Union vs League, 7's vs 15's. Some football players who don't quite fit any specific position in the NFL find their role in a wider CFL field. In the past some European hockey players couldn't quite cut in the more physical North American game, and some North American players struggled to play a more open and skill-based European style of hockey.

People will find where they fit it, but it doesn't mean any one variation of sport is any better than another. 

 

 

[DoubleD]

2 minutes ago, TheReaper said:

Why does it always have to be that RL is "better" than RU? It's just different.

There will always be people who fit better into a slightly different niche than others. Union vs League, 7's vs 15's. Some football players who don't quite fit any specific position in the NFL find their role in a wider CFL field. In the past some European hockey players couldn't quite cut in the more physical North American game, and some North American players struggled to play a more open and skill-based European style of hockey.

People will find where they fit it, but it doesn't mean any one variation of sport is any better than another. 

 

 

It is better though

[Whippet13]

1 minute ago, DoubleD said:

It is better though

Was just about to type exactly the same thing

[Cumbrian Mackem]

9 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

It is better though

In our opinion yes but more people enjoy union.

[fighting irish]

3 minutes ago, TheReaper said:

Why does it always have to be that RL is "better" than RU? It's just different.

There will always be people who fit better into a slightly different niche than others. Union vs League, 7's vs 15's. Some football players who don't quite fit any specific position in the NFL find their role in a wider CFL field. In the past some European hockey players couldn't quite cut in the more physical North American game, and some North American players struggled to play a more open and skill-based European style of hockey.

People will find where they fit it, but it doesn't mean any one variation of sport is any better than another. 

 

 

The term ''better'' here is my subjective value judgement. I think RL is better. Not just better than RaRa but every other sport. I agree with you, that it won't appeal to everyone. 

I'm offering encouragement to anyone who is considering setting up a club/team, who may be fearful that the raw material (players) may not be out there. I'm saying that in my experience, they are there.

I'm saying that there are enough people in the world, who will agree with Mr Burroughs and I that Rugby League is the ''best'' game for them, and who will decide to forego other sports and commit to RL if they have the opportunity to play.

Statistically, there are enough in every 10 or 15 square miles of urban population, to get a team going, if you have the will, to do it.

The other point, I was making is this. The resistance (from RaRa) that Ryan Burroughs has already felt, over there, is miniscule by comparison to what we felt here in Wales 40 years ago. So I'm betting they will develop and could do so, very quickly.

[DI Keith Fowler]

Just now, Cumbrian Mackem said:

In our opinion yes but more people enjoy union.

[fighting irish]

19 hours ago, RugbyFan99 said:

Waiting to see the massive success in Wales you mention......

Ah my friend, do I detect a hint of cynicism? I wonder how old you are?

You see, the fact is, the game in Wales is growing, as it is in Newcastle and Coventry and London and Bristol and Cornwall and in a lot of other places around the world. The growth rate may seem slow, but it need not be growing at a constant rate. I think, it will grow exponentially. That means, slow at the beginning, but accelerating as we go along. A successful World Cup, will no doubt give it a nudge.

To witness the ''massive success'' which you seem so sceptical about, you will have to be patient.

We are moving in the right direction, increasing the numbers of participants, year on year, so you will have to wait and see. 

Currently, RaRa has a huge numerical advantage over us. Yet despite vilifying and ostracising innocent RL players for decades and threatening life bans, from RaRa, for playing even amateur Rugby League, we still managed to establish the game (and the WRL) here and now those with the reins are keeping up, the good work.

It's much bigger now, than it was then and indications are that the future of the game looks bright.

What I meant to suggest, was that if the game can be embedded in Wales, it can be embedded anywhere in the world but especially easily in the United States, if the will exists to keep at it.

I'm just encouraging them to press on.

[fighting irish]

18 minutes ago, Cumbrian Mackem said:

In our opinion yes but more people enjoy union.

Wait until all of them, have seen (and ideally had the opportunity to play) RL.

Most of them, haven't yet. When that moment comes, the balance will tip in our favour. 

[RugbyFan99]

Hello FI - I'm 59 and have seen/heard about the massive expansion of the game since I was at college [remember Colin Welland?] and yet it seems to be stuck in the past

I remember that 'many thousands' of kids were playing the game in the south east and that all it needed was a pro team in London to finally crack that market

I remember how the various guises of the RLWC was going to lead to an explosion of participation globally and yet most have been financially challenged

I remember the Crusaders and how this was a great new dawn for the game in Wales - same with Toronto and their free tickets with beer........

Optimism is great but needs to be tempered with some realism - there's always a few folks out there with good social media setting up international competitions [Euro XIII anyone?] but this does nothing to sort out the game's deep seated problems of participation, profile and sliding far behind the NRL. I don't mean to be argumentative with you and I think your optimism and enthusiasm is great but a few blokes in a field in Albania/Spain etc. isn't going to sort the problem. I've been following West Wales, in their various guises, for some years and frankly, any central funding they have had would have been better spent on some development officers and building up amateur clubs.

[langpark]

1 hour ago, fighting irish said:

Ah my friend, do I detect a hint of cynicism? I wonder how old you are?

Don't even bother responding to idiotic comments like that...

Regarding the "debate" about which code is better, obviously, yes, it is subjective.  But surely nobody can dispute that RL is the simpler, and easier one to understand. 

[Cumbrian Mackem]

1 hour ago, fighting irish said:

Wait until all of them, have seen (and ideally had the opportunity to play) RL.

Most of them, haven't yet. When that moment comes, the balance will tip in our favour. 

I like your optimism marra and I hope your right.

[fighting irish]

10 hours ago, RugbyFan99 said:

Hello FI - I'm 59 and have seen/heard about the massive expansion of the game since I was at college [remember Colin Welland?] and yet it seems to be stuck in the past

I remember that 'many thousands' of kids were playing the game in the south east and that all it needed was a pro team in London to finally crack that market

I remember how the various guises of the RLWC was going to lead to an explosion of participation globally and yet most have been financially challenged

I remember the Crusaders and how this was a great new dawn for the game in Wales - same with Toronto and their free tickets with beer........

Optimism is great but needs to be tempered with some realism - there's always a few folks out there with good social media setting up international competitions [Euro XIII anyone?] but this does nothing to sort out the game's deep seated problems of participation, profile and sliding far behind the NRL. I don't mean to be argumentative with you and I think your optimism and enthusiasm is great but a few blokes in a field in Albania/Spain etc. isn't going to sort the problem. I've been following West Wales, in their various guises, for some years and frankly, any central funding they have had would have been better spent on some development officers and building up amateur clubs.

I am optimistic, no doubt. I'd argue though that my optimism, is based on my experience and my confidence in the inherent quality of the game.

Having made some progress, in establishing a club and a league and a governing body in Wales, I know that it can be done, even in the most unwelcoming and hostile environment.

If you were to ask me, why the game hasn't ''exploded'' in Britain, I would probably raise some of the reasons you claim above and add in, over 100 years of ''establishment'' prejudice, which often stifled the growth of the amateur game (I experienced plenty of that, first hand, face to face in Wales).

However, if you were to ask me what ''our'' biggest mistake has been in the last 40 years, I'd respond by saying that ''we'' have relied on the RFL to do it for us.

Almost every start up, you have mentioned has been achieved by private individuals and in almost every case, without the intervention, participation or any material support from the governing body. This is proof positive that private individuals can make progress without any ''help'' from the RFL. 

Now, let me take issue with your comments about the Euro XIII and a few blokes running around a field in Albania. I have no doubt that if not for the pandemic, the Euro XIII would have gone ahead in spite of the complete lack of support from the IRL or European equivalent.

Let me come at this, from the ''left field'', think of this?

I'd like you to consider, the complete collapse of the RFL (for a minute). Worst case scenario, it's gone.

Well I'd wager, the developments in Canada, USA, Jamaica, Brazil (South America), Europe (Spain, the Balkans, etc), Russia, Turkey, Africa (including South Africa), the Pacific etc. etc. etc. will continue anyway and probably unabated. After all, they got where they are today without our ''help''.

My point really, is this. Just because we in Britain, (a lot of RL fans) think the game is poor fare, of limited appeal and with hardly any potential for growth it doesn't mean that the rest of the world agree with ''us''. If you can't offer material support, for your local club, then I'd stop worrying about it and I'd certainly advise you to stop expecting the RFL to ''grow the game'', because they ain't gonna do it. They are struggling to fill the circus tent every week. 

These start ups have been spontaneous, and sprung up, all over the globe, started by people like me, who really believe in the game and I believe they will continue, whether the game keeps on being played in England or dies off.

So we can either be in it, or not, its up to us, but the game will go on whether we are part of the family or not.

So our continued involvement (in the grand scheme of things) is really irrelevant and will become more and more irrelevant as the game spreads across the globe.

My fondest wish, however, is that the amateur games local league administrators, amateur clubs (and pro clubs) will acknowledge that TGG really is great and it can be grown and then get stuck in and make it happen in the area, where they live.