lack of personalities and characters in the modern game here

[graveyard johnny]

8 hours ago, latchford albion said:

There used to be a poster on here called Bionic Barrel.  You don't get the characters like him and Bedlam Breakout posting anymore do you Johnny?

i heard they were involved in an ill fated merger similar to  hudds/sheffield eagles - started posting as Bionic Bedlam - their combined powers were all too much for admin and they were cast in to the online abyss by the ones of a higher authority (like in that 1977 superman film) - not sure what happened to them after that though.

luckily its now left to members like me with a 53% plus reputation to keep the forums entertained, informed and educated 

[Listenup94]

I’m pretty sure that players will be more media trained nowadays, there will be plenty of ‘ characters’ behind closed doors but unfortunately the society we live in today doesn’t allow for individual expression especially with social media quick to point out flaws quicker than Jason robinsons sidestep.

[gingerjon]

14 hours ago, graveyard johnny said:

i could go on and on and on and on for hours and hours

No could about it, it seems

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

2 hours ago, graveyard johnny said:

i heard they were involved in an ill fated merger similar to  hudds/sheffield eagles - started posting as Bionic Bedlam - their combined powers were all too much for admin and they were cast in to the online abyss by the ones of a higher authority (like in that 1977 superman film) - not sure what happened to them after that though.

luckily its now left to members like me with a 53% plus reputation to keep the forums entertained, informed and educated 

And it's much appreciated. 

[RigbyLuger]

4 hours ago, Listenup94 said:

I’m pretty sure that players will be more media trained nowadays, there will be plenty of ‘ characters’ behind closed doors but unfortunately the society we live in today doesn’t allow for individual expression especially with social media quick to point out flaws quicker than Jason robinsons sidestep.

You can be a "character" and not be racist/homophobic on social media. They are not mutually exclusive.

[redjonn]

18 hours ago, Hela Wigmen said:

No, it’s not. But we do have many characters from various walks of life, who’ve seen and experienced a number of situations and it would be nice if there was more coverage of players specifically and their experiences. We have Jonny Lomax, for example, a man who nearly died from a head injury while playing rugby league as a teenager, who fought back from that, made it professionally at Saints, then did both knees and has battled back from that, to nail not one, but two positions and is a back-to-back Super League Grand Final winner and going into a World Cup with England. That’s one example of “character”, something you were calling for in your original post, and is the sort of thing that is interesting, inspiring and not the generic “all credit t’boys” type stuff we do get. 

I get what your saying but not so sure that it has a positive influence on youngsters parents trailing a story about someone (Lomax) nearly dying with a major head injury from playing and then suffering two major knee injuries from playing the sport...

just a thought, maybe

[Jim Prendle]

18 hours ago, Hela Wigmen said:

No, it’s not. But we do have many characters from various walks of life, who’ve seen and experienced a number of situations and it would be nice if there was more coverage of players specifically and their experiences. We have Jonny Lomax, for example, a man who nearly died from a head injury while playing rugby league as a teenager, who fought back from that, made it professionally at Saints, then did both knees and has battled back from that, to nail not one, but two positions and is a back-to-back Super League Grand Final winner and going into a World Cup with England. That’s one example of “character”, something you were calling for in your original post, and is the sort of thing that is interesting, inspiring and not the generic “all credit t’boys” type stuff we do get. 

How does having an "interesting" backstory equate to being a character?

Lomax may have a good story behind him but he comes across as dull as ditchwater.

LMS is a character. He often shows his emotions on the pitch, and even though I don't particularly care for him that may be different if he played for my club. 

 

[moorside roughyed]

With regards to characters and personalities I think it's sport in general. We live in a more sterile society than what we used to. Or so it seems to me with people having to watch what they do or say. 

[Hela Wigmen]

58 minutes ago, Jim Prendle said:

How does having an "interesting" backstory equate to being a character?

Lomax may have a good story behind him but he comes across as dull as ditchwater.

LMS is a character. He often shows his emotions on the pitch, and even though I don't particularly care for him that may be different if he played for my club. 

 

Whether they’re “characters” or not, there’s players from various walks of life, who’s experiences are barely scratched upon, where we instead have 15 minutes of rent a clichè pre-game. We wouldn’t know Lomax’s character, or anyone else’s for that matter, as we’re only exposed to the tired “characters” of McDermott and O’Connor. 

[Hela Wigmen]

1 hour ago, redjonn said:

I get what your saying but not so sure that it has a positive influence on youngsters parents trailing a story about someone (Lomax) nearly dying with a major head injury from playing and then suffering two major knee injuries from playing the sport...

just a thought, maybe

Why are we bothered about this? It could happen in any number of other sports. Using it as an excuse is exactly that, an excuse. 

As someone else pointed out, if Lomax was a State of Origin half, the pre-game would be around him, his battles and his successes. We get Terry and Barrie talking rubbish. Lomax was an example, one I’m aware of as a Saints fan. I’m sure there’s players at other clubs with interesting backstories and backgrounds, I wouldn’t really know who or what their stories are because they don’t get publicised like they should do. 

[gingerjon]

4 minutes ago, Hela Wigmen said:

Whether they’re “characters” or not, there’s players from various walks of life, who’s experiences are barely scratched upon, where we instead have 15 minutes of rent a clichè pre-game. We wouldn’t know Lomax’s character, or anyone else’s for that matter, as we’re only exposed to the tired “characters” of McDermott and O’Connor. 

It's all projection anyway. Kurt Sorenson, to pick a name that's been mentioned, might have been the greatest 'character' of all time but there was nothing on the rugby league coverage of the day to tell you that, nor was it any use for us at the time given that the sport essentially was bankrupt.

[Just Browny]

"Character" seems to mean something different here to my understanding of the word. 

Doesn't a lack of crowds / watching more games on TV have an effect here too? If you are watching a game live you can get wound up something chronic by a Ryan McGoldrick or a Sean Penkywicz (pantomime-villain type players) but hardly notice them on TV.

 

[Hela Wigmen]

6 minutes ago, Just Browny said:

"Character" seems to mean something different here to my understanding of the word. 

Doesn't a lack of crowds / watching more games on TV have an effect here too? If you are watching a game live you can get wound up something chronic by a Ryan McGoldrick or a Sean Penkywicz (pantomime-villain type players) but hardly notice them on TV.

 

Nah, my group chat was exploding on Saturday prior to Tetevano’s red card, he’d already hit a Saints player late after a kick and been third man in on a tackle, too. 

[Listenup94]

3 hours ago, RigbyLuger said:

You can be a "character" and not be racist/homophobic on social media. They are not mutually exclusive.

Not sure how you’ve made the connection between individual expression and racism and homophobia but you have ironically proved my point as to why nobody speaks anymore.

[RigbyLuger]

6 minutes ago, Listenup94 said:

Not sure how you’ve made the connection between individual expression and racism and homophobia but you have ironically proved my point as to why nobody speaks anymore.

Why individual expression be shut down if they're not being offensive then?

[Listenup94]

4 minutes ago, RigbyLuger said:

Why individual expression be shut down if they're not being offensive then?

Because offence is subjective and some people’s characters can be interpreted that way , the media spotlight is on professional sportsman , it’s wise to not express any character at all .

[hindle xiii]

Some of the players mentioned I have never heard of, so any legacy of being a "character" didn't live on. The rest of those suggestions were simply good players. I reckon today's TikTok 7-second attention span generation don't have scope for a "character" in a sport with the level of coverage RL has.

Anyway, what a character that George Flanagan is...

[Barry Badrinath]

tom lineham

[Hela Wigmen]

I still think there’s plenty of players who are either widely disliked or disliked but secretly admired. Jake Connor, Sam Tomkins and James Maloney probably come to mind there, for me. 

As for characters, again, I think there’s loads. That’s characters as in jokers, characters as in hard men, characters as in sublimely talented, characters as in highly educated and intelligent men, characters as in tenacious and tough and other such characters. I don’t think we focus on the players enough, be it on Sky, in Rugby League media or on social media. There’s stories to tell, there’s articles to write, there’s interviews to be written. They’re just not happening though and that’s what needs questioning, not whether we have these characters, because we certainly do.

The loss of air time in the form of Boots & All will have been a part of this. Super League’s Super Men probably hasn’t aired for the best part of ten years. The pre-game stuff before a game now consists of some shots of players getting off buses, a few generic questions to a player and the respective coaches and rent a clichè from the likes of Terry and Barrie. There’s no pre-recorded interviews, there’s little of substance and not a lot of “story telling” and that was evident pre-Covid, too. There’s little to make a big game feel like a big game anymore.

 

[Hela Wigmen]

And Degsy has brung that “character” Anthony Gelling back to Super League. For how long, who knows? He’s due back in court in May, I believe. 

[egm]

Bit of a push from Sky wouldn’t hurt. BT did (probably still do) a weekly rugby tonight show, and their TV deal isn’t dissimilar from ours. Decent way to showcase the players and media personalities surrounding the game.

[RigbyLuger]

There's a few examples of players/staff promoting anti-mask/lockdown and conspiracy theories etc, all are still in work.

Tom Lineham suggested the Prime Minsiter having covid was a publicity stunt, nothing happened.

[latchford albion]

16 minutes ago, RigbyLuger said:

There's a few examples of players/staff promoting anti-mask/lockdown and conspiracy theories etc, all are still in work.

Tom Lineham suggested the Prime Minsiter having covid was a publicity stunt, nothing happened.

What do you think should have happened to Tom Lineham?

As I remember it - and I could be wrong - Lineham never promoted any anti-mask or lockdown views.  I saw a video of him on the official Warrington site talking about his own experience of having covid and how his wife was a nurse.  As for his Johnson comments - he was wrong but given that Johnson is a proven liar who has been gaslighting the public throughout the pandemic, especially with his support of Dominic Cummings, it wouldn't have been outlandish to think it could have been a publicity stunt.

But even if a player is a rampant covid denier and conspiracy theorist, then I think they should be challenged strongly rather than cancelled.

[RigbyLuger]

30 minutes ago, latchford albion said:

What do you think should have happened to Tom Lineham?

His comments came on a show on the Leeds site. If I were his club, I would have been furious and fined him at the least. It's bringing the club and sport into disrepute.

I'm not saying those who have anti-mask/lockdown views should be punished, but their employers should make then realise how important "normality" is to their wages 

[Spidey]

1 hour ago, RigbyLuger said:

His comments came on a show on the Leeds site. If I were his club, I would have been furious and fined him at the least. It's bringing the club and sport into disrepute.

I'm not saying those who have anti-mask/lockdown views should be punished, but their employers should make then realise how important "normality" is to their wages 

Warrington may have dealt with it internally. Sometimes “HR” issues are kept private