NRL Super League War 2.0?

[Tigerlaird]

What's happening with this rebel league thing that came up on the news recently?

Apparently Storm, Broncos, Panthers, Raiders and Bulldogs are all in on it.

Bennett says rebel league won't happen while V'landys bites back at clubs as NRL's funding feud with players gets even uglier

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-2022-2023-salary-cap-collective-bargaining-agreement-standoff-between-nrl-and-clubs-andrew-abdo-peter-vlandys-draw-penrith-panthers-brian-fletcher-wayne-bennett-dolphins/news-story/ad5a8c811adc2698e8e087bd48d8be64

 

[Colonial]

People still defend that flog Vlandys.

He has run the comp to its worst position since SL.

 

[Tigerlaird]

People still defend that flog Vlandys.

He has run the comp to its worst position since SL.

Reckon this rival league will actually form?

 

[Colonial]

Reckon this rival league will actually form?

No.

But hopefully it’s a way to get rid of that used car salesman Vlandys

 

[Aucklander]

Not going to happen.

 

[Badger17]

Reckon this rival league will actually form?

I honestly kind of wish it was a legitimate chance of happening. If the threat was legitimate it might force some change.

V'landys' tenure has done an insane amount of damage to RL in a very short amount of time, but he doesn't face much major public criticism for it because it's all benefited News Ltd and Nine.

If the AFL are quick on their feet then they could really benefit from the NRL's mismanagement over the last few years. There're a lot of disenchanted RL fans kicking around at the moment whom could be open to an alternative if it was presented in the right way. An AFL team in Canberra for example would be at least as big as the Raiders, if not significantly bigger, from day one if it was launched today, which was an unthinkable prospect as recently as a decade ago.

 

[Tigerlaird]

I honestly kind of wish it was a legitimate chance of happening. If the threat was legitimate it might force some change.

V'landys' tenure has done an insane amount of damage to RL in a very short amount of time, but he doesn't face much major public criticism for it because it's all benefited News Ltd and Nine.

If the AFL are quick on their feet then they could really benefit from the NRL's mismanagement over the last few years. There're a lot of disenchanted RL fans kicking around at the moment whom could be open to an alternative if it was presented in the right way. An AFL team in Canberra for example would be at least as big as the Raiders, if not significantly bigger, from day one if it was launched today, which was an unthinkable prospect as recently as a decade ago.

Me too and I do see the opportunity that the AFL has now, but as a rugby league lover I don't want to see that code fall. I want more rugby league, especially in South Australia.

Canberra Pear what do you reckon - would the Canberra Griffins AFL club be bigger than the Raiders?

 

[moto748]

If the AFL are quick on their feet then they could really benefit from the NRL's mismanagement over the last few years. There're a lot of disenchanted RL fans kicking around at the moment whom could be open to an alternative if it was presented in the right way.

I don't see why. There's nothing wrong with the product. Why are people 'disenchanted'? It's fine to get annoyed about the way the sport is administered, but that's surely not important enough to stop following it?

 

[Aucklander]

I don't see why. There's nothing wrong with the product. Why are people 'disenchanted'? It's fine to get annoyed about the way the sport is administered, but that's surely not important enough to stop following it?

Exactly. For all the times I've been pissed off about a game run to suit a very lopsided agenda, I still follow it, I've just found another game to love to ease my frustrations.

 

[moto748]

Heh! I'm rather the opposite; I'd consider myself a football fan all my life, but these days I'm less and less interested in it. Fom October till February, I'm reliant on the dismal pleasures of the rugby union highlights show. I'm just not interested in scrums and driving mauls. But it's fun spotting the few players (backs, natch) who you think has that bit of something special. Marcus Smith, England RU's No 10, is a prime example, one of the few union halves who might merit the term, 'play-maker'. Would make a great league 7, in other words.

 

[Badger17]

I don't see why. There's nothing wrong with the product. Why are people 'disenchanted'? It's fine to get annoyed about the way the sport is administered, but that's surely not important enough to stop following it?

That's just it, a lot of people detest the product at the moment.

The six again rule has turned the NRL from one of the tightest competitions on the planet to one of the most predictable messes of a sport in existence. In the space of 4 years we've gone from any team being able to beat any other on their day, to 7 or 8 games a week having easily predictable outcomes, and the rules becoming a glorified game of Russian roulette, where the referee is put in a position where it's literally impossible for them to enforce the rules consistently within a single game, let alone across the whole competition.

The lack of consistency in the enforcement of the rules leads to frustration within the fanbase, and the predictable nature of contests makes them less interesting, as a result people whose teams are on the wrong side of that more often than not get annoyed, then they just become apathetic.

The real kicker is that the six again rule has totally failed to reduce the impact of what it was introduced as a measure to prevent. It was introduced as a measure to reduce the impact of wrestling in the ruck, but if anything, has lead to an increase in the amount of wrestling, especially in the red zone. Instead of admitting it failed and changing back, PVL, whom seems to be ruled by his ego, doubled down and was forced to introduce a whole bunch of new rules and interpretations to attempt to fix the myriad of problems that the 6 again rule created, most of which create their own myriad problems in turn, which makes the sport even more of a mess because the rules, or the way they're being interpreted, are regularly changed throughout the season.

PVL pretty much unilaterally forced the introduction of those changes, so it's not unreasonable for people to blame him for them.

On top of all that, he has a reputation for putting Sydney first that is well deserved, and his definition of 'the fans' that he's always going on about seems to only refer to boomers from Sydney and parts of Brisbane as well. If you're not in that demographic then he, and the NRL by extension, don't care about you, your opinion, and what is likely to get/keep you involved in the sport. As a result all his decisions are disenfranchising younger supporters, whom simply open a new window and start watching the UFC, NBA, EPL, etc, instead.

Those are the people that the AFL could be capitalising on if they went about it the right way.

 

[Falconista]

That's just it, a lot of people detest the product at the moment.

The six again rule has turned the NRL from one of the tightest competitions on the planet to one of the most predictable messes of a sport in existence. In the space of 4 years we've gone from any team being able to beat any other on their day, to 7 or 8 games a week having easily predictable outcomes, and the rules becoming a glorified game of Russian roulette, where the referee is put in a position where it's literally impossible for them to enforce the rules consistently within a single game, let alone across the whole competition.

The lack of consistency in the enforcement of the rules leads to frustration within the fanbase, and the predictable nature of contests makes them less interesting, as a result people whose teams are on the wrong side of that more often than not get annoyed, then they just become apathetic.

The real kicker is that the six again rule has totally failed to reduce the impact of what it was introduced as a measure to prevent. It was introduced as a measure to reduce the impact of wrestling in the ruck, but if anything, has lead to an increase in the amount of wrestling, especially in the red zone. Instead of admitting it failed and changing back, PVL, whom seems to be ruled by his ego, doubled down and was forced to introduce a whole bunch of new rules and interpretations to attempt to fix the myriad of problems that the 6 again rule created, most of which create their own myriad problems in turn, which makes the sport even more of a mess because the rules, or the way they're being interpreted, are regularly changed throughout the season.

PVL pretty much unilaterally forced the introduction of those changes, so it's not unreasonable for people to blame him for them.

On top of all that, he has a reputation for putting Sydney first that is well deserved, and his definition of 'the fans' that he's always going on about seems to only refer to boomers from Sydney and parts of Brisbane as well. If you're not in that demographic then he, and the NRL by extension, don't care about you, your opinion, and what is likely to get/keep you involved in the sport. As a result all his decisions are disenfranchising younger supporters, whom simply open a new window and start watching the UFC, NBA, EPL, etc, instead.

Those are the people that the AFL could be capitalising on if they went about it the right way.

Would also argue the shambolic way some of the clubs have been run has exacerbated the disparity. Tigers, Bulldogs, Warriors and Dragons I'm looking at you most strongly.