Is it even the same sport?

[graveyard johnny]

yesterday I watched last weekends broncos v bulldogs game on catch up - a crowd of over 40,000 - fantastic coverage from fox sports - end to end non stop action - full of momentum, intensity  and breathtaking skills and action - hardly noticed the bunker and hardly noticed the ref either everything RL  should be 

compare that to the fayre been served up by sky/bbc and the SL - errors - stoppages - penalties - more stoppages -more pedantic penalties - no momentum endless boring dull video ref decisions that see seasons come and seasons go before they decide on the outcome

was hard to compare the NRL  game as even the same sport as SL! - Whats gone wrong with our version?

[RugbyLeagueGeek]

25 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:

yesterday I watched last weekends broncos v bulldogs game on catch up - a crowd of over 40,000 - fantastic coverage from fox sports - end to end non stop action - full of momentum, intensity  and breathtaking skills and action - hardly noticed the bunker and hardly noticed the ref either everything RL  should be 

compare that to the fayre been served up by sky/bbc and the SL - errors - stoppages - penalties - more stoppages -more pedantic penalties - no momentum endless boring dull video ref decisions that see seasons come and seasons go before they decide on the outcome

was hard to compare the NRL  game as even the same sport as SL! - Whats gone wrong with our version?

Lack of money

[graveyard johnny]

Just now, RugbyLeagueGeek said:

Lack of money

lack of money blows the whistle every 2 mins and stops the action?

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, graveyard johnny said:

lack of money blows the whistle every 2 mins and stops the action?

One's the richest, biggest, best club rugby competition in the world. Just enjoy it and stop being so negative about our league. Some of us enjoy both.

[StandOffHalf]

Some of those tries were ridiculously entertaining!

The one-handed pull-in from Kiraz off the second kick and Staggs taking the defender on on the outside after the dummy were sensational pieces of skill.

Some of the best I've seen this term!

Edited July 31 by StandOffHalf

[Pigeon Lofter]

On 31/07/2024 at 17:08, graveyard johnny said:

Whats gone wrong with our version?

Where to begin?

For some reason, the pro game here has evolved into something more akin to a wrestling match, with three or four tacklers overpowering an attacking player, throwing him to the floor, then lying on top so the other tacklers can reform a defensive line. Teams are suffering by losing injured players like never before, some having to stock their team with academy youths or local amateurs, and skill levels are down. It's getting too brutal, many players cannot make it through a season now because their bodies cannot take the punishment that the RFL and referees think is acceptable. Teams struggle to get 17 names on the team sheet, FFS. 

Back in the day, a tackle was called when forward progress was halted, not when someone had the living daylights knocked out of him by five guys throwing him around like a rag doll before the referee eventually called "held". We used to watch a game of rugby, not guys getting beaten up by a mob of opponents.The game was so much faster, play the balls were instant as the marker dropped away and wasn't pushing down on the opponents head which referees turn a blind eye to these days.

Video refs seem to forget that RL is a spectator sport, not a forensic investigation. 

We need more skills and less brutality, too many of our stars are injured and it's the way the game is refereed over here, the emphasis is on battering seven bells out of opponents, and it's no surprise that their bodies cannot cope with the hammering they get week in and week out. So we end up with lower quality players in teams, which isn't attractive to viewers who pay the wages. 

Edited August 1 by Pigeon Lofter
sp.

[Josef K]

Id sooner watch a naff SL match than an all singing all dancing marvellous marvellous Aussie match, those Aussie clubs don’t mean anything to me.

Whereas i have a more of a vested interest in matches oop here. Despite it being inferior as some people say. 

[graveyard johnny]

3 minutes ago, StandOffHalf said:

Some of those tries were ridiculously entertaining!

The one-handed pull-in from Kiraz off the second kick and Staggs taking the defender on on the outside after the dummy were sensational pieces of skill.

Some of the best I've seen this term!

NRL 2024 | Broncos v Bulldogs | Match Highlights (youtube.com)

[Cerulean]

41 minutes ago, Pigeon Lofter said:

Where to begin?

For some reason, the pro game here has evolved into something more akin to a wrestling match, with three or four tacklers overpowering an attacking player, throwing him to the floor, then lying on top so the other tacklers can reform a defensive line. Teams are suffering by losing injured players like never before, some having to stock their team with academy youths or local amateurs, and skill levels are down. It's getting too brutal, many players cannot make it through a season now because their bodies cannot take the punishment that the RFL and referees think is acceptable. Teams struggle to get 17 names on the team sheet, FFS. 

Back in the day, a tackle was called when forward progress was halted, not when someone had the living daylights knocked out of him by five guys throwing him around like a rag doll before the referee eventually called "held". We used to watch a game of rugby, not guys betting beaten up by a mob of opponents.The game was so much faster, play the balls were instant as the marker dropped away and wasn't pushing down on the opponents head which referees turn a blind eye to these days.

Video refs seem to forget that RL is a spectator sport, not a forensic investigation. 

We need more skills and less brutality, too many of our stars are injured and it's the way the game is refereed over here, the emphasis is on battering seven bells out of opponents, and it's no surprise that their bodies cannot cope with the hammering they get week in and week out. So we end up with lower quality players in teams, which isn't attractive to viewers who pay the wages. 

Excellent descriptions of some of the primary reasons the game isn't as attractive as it should be, suggesting that no matter what adjustments are made to the league structure and the marketing and promotion, progress is likely to be limited. The visual product is simply not as saleable as it could be.

[Dunbar]

I know this is controversial but hell, I'm just going to say it.

This year I have watched some really good NRL games and some which were not as good.

And.

This year I have watched some really good Super League games and some which were not as good.

But why, for love of all that is holy, why!?

[ELBOWSEYE]

Would NRL be as successful if the soccer had been as popular as in the rest of the world.

I am 63 but I still enjoy watching SL , there is loads of young talent coming through, considering what we are up against in this country, football killing every code, professional union ( no players increasing the player pools from union) a society were weekends are no longer the regular days off for people to enjoy playing and watching sports. History is in the past stop looking back and enjoy the now and if you prefer NRL ,watch it but don't waste your time and energy comparing and moaning.

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, Pigeon Lofter said:

We need more skills and less brutality

That'll please the "game's gone soft" mob, who also claim not to recognise the modern game as "proper" Rugby League.

[sam4731]

Yes we know, the NRL is the best sporting spectacle in the world and SL is a disgrace to humanity. SL champions can only ever win one off matches against NRL teams and would never make it in the competition for the whole season and anyway the NRL dont care about the WCC and if they did, they'd win by 100+ points . SL's best players in the form of England could never compete with the NRL's best on the international stage and their 60-6 win against Samoa didn't count because of jet lag or the team not gelling yet or because Samoa were holding back for the latter stages. We should just scrap the SL and bow down to our NRL overlords who should own and control the whole game and pray that they allow us to hold an NRL reserve grade competition here.

[johnh1]

Well I thought that the Wigan v Warrington and Leigh v Saints games last week were just as good if not better than that.

[graveyard johnny]

15 minutes ago, johnh1 said:

Well I thought that the Wigan v Warrington and Leigh v Saints games last week were just as good if not better than that.

in what way?

[JohnM]

1 hour ago, sam4731 said:

Yes we know, the NRL is the best sporting spectacle in the world and SL is a disgrace to humanity. SL champions can only ever win one off matches against NRL teams and would never make it in the competition for the whole season and anyway the NRL dont care about the WCC and if they did, they'd win by 100+ points . SL's best players in the form of England could never compete with the NRL's best on the international stage and their 60-6 win against Samoa didn't count because of jet lag or the team not gelling yet or because Samoa were holding back for the latter stages. We should just scrap the SL and bow down to our NRL overlords who should own and control the whole game and pray that they allow us to hold an NRL reserve grade competition here.

Gosh, that's worse than any of my irrational outbursts. Eating too much cheese before bed can have that effect, I'm told.

Edited July 31 by JohnM

[ATLANTISMAN]

NRL is fantastic on a different level.

SL top matches are great but on a consistent basis way below.

It is what it is 

[Hopie]

The rules are different so, no?

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 hour ago, johnh1 said:

Well I thought that the Wigan v Warrington and Leigh v Saints games last week were just as good if not better than that.

Have to say that is what I was thinking 

There has been some brilliant SL games recently 

I enjoy both ....we all should 

[daz39]

I wonder if Australian A-League fans compare their league to the Premier League constantly and bemoan the fact that the Premier League is miles better despite it being richer, more popular, has more media attention and always will be?

The NRL is massive and RL is the 2nd most popular sport in Australia, it is 10th in the UK, no comparison at all, we need to get out of this mindset that our game SHOULD be as good as the Australian version.

[Coggo]

Same sport, better players. More athletic, more skilful, more professional. 

[johnh1]

4 hours ago, graveyard johnny said:

in what way?

Skill, speed, brilliant attacking rugby, some outstanding defence, excitement, passion, young up and coming players, older, more experienced players, a bit of biff. What more do you want GJ?

[The Rocket]

2 hours ago, daz39 said:

The NRL is massive and RL is the 2nd most popular sport in Australia

WTF, Rugby League is the most watched television sport in this country by a country mile.

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, Coggo said:

Same sport, better players. More athletic, more skilful, more professional. 

When you are one of the biggest and most prestigious sports in your country (and can afford to pay really good wages) and operate in a level media playing field, talent starts to gravitate towards you. Not just kids joining at junior level and progressing through the ranks, but ambitious young players from other sports.

That's the NRL. It's an absolute miracle we in the UK are as close to them on the field as we are. Because we have virtually none of the above advantages. Even being one of the bigger minority sport doesn't mean a lot when the drop-off from Football at #1 is so drastic to absolutely everything else.

Edited July 31 by Futtocks

[AB90]

7 hours ago, Tre Cool said:

One's the richest, biggest, best club rugby competition in the world. Just enjoy it and stop being so negative about our league. Some of us enjoy both.

‘One of’……..It is ‘the’ richest, biggest, best club rugby competition bar none based of every single possible metric (revenue, TV deals, crowds, sponsorship, eye balls, profile, coverage etc).