General Rugby League Discussion

[Exe Gesis]

 

[Exe Gesis]

Rockingham Sharks (WA) hit over 400 jnr registered players this year.

 

[Exe Gesis]

This game was actually 1964, and the first televisdd game was actually in 1961 on ABC, Balmain vs Norths. In those days, they only televised the second half.

Anyway, even in 1964, Rex Mossop struggles with memory and general points. For instance, calls Bob McCarthy, Bill, constantly, even after correcting hinself.

 

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[Exe Gesis]

Two hour doco on the history of the BRL

 

[Exe Gesis]

Days after the player pay war erupted, the NRL has been engulfed in more funding dramas, as QRL boss Ben Ikin fired up after a $4m expansion plans collapsed.

Ben Ikin has launched a stinging attack on the NRL and chief executive Andrew Abdo after plans to expand Queensland’s top competition crumbled in a $4 million funding fiasco compared to political pork barrelling.

On the back of the player pay war exploding into a media boycott this week, the NRL has been engulfed by another drama that has escalated tensions with the Queensland Rugby League.

This masthead can reveal the ARL Commission rejected a proposal from the QRL to expand the Hostplus Cup to 17 teams next year following a request from the Gold Coast Titans and North Queensland Cowboys to field their own reserve grade teams.

The NRL claimed the QRL was seeking an additional $4.2 million in funding – on top of its annual $20 million grant – to expand the competition.

New QRL chief Ikin blasted the funding rejection and accused Abdo of trying to place the Titans and Cowboys in NSW’s top competition

We worked in good faith with the NRL to cost-up a hybrid solution that would allow the Titans and Cowboys to have second-tier teams in the Hostplus Cup from next year,” Ikin said.

“It came with two conditions. There would be extra funding for our state league clubs and competition logistics, and the new competition structure would proceed as a two-year trial.

“The ARLC rejected our proposal, which ironically the NRL helped design, but not before Andrew Abdo contacted the NSWRL and tried to convince them to let the Titans and Cowboys play their second-tier teams in the NSW Cup.

“That deeply offended the QRL, and rugby league people on the Gold Coast and in north Queensland should feel just as disappointed.

“Think about that – the NRL CEO working behind the back of the QRL to get two Queensland clubs to participate in a NSW competition.”

The NRL issues the QRL a grant of about $20 million-a-year, which covers everything from grassroots junior footy to State of Origin match payments for the Maroons.

The QRL was seeking further funding to increase club grants and cover the costs of an expanded Hostplus Cup featuring NRL teams – but that will not be happening.

After outlining plans to launch their own reserves, the Titans have been left red-faced by Hostplus Cup heavyweights Burleigh Bears signing an affiliate agreement with the Brisbane Broncos.

The Titans have now lost their relationship with one of Queensland’s premier clubs and pathways and won’t field a dedicated reserve grade team next year, leaving them with just the Tweed Heads Seagulls as a feeder club.

Abdo said the NRL was not in a position to fund an expanded Queensland competition as it continues to assess pathways.

“We’ve been working on a national view for development of pathways, including the second-tier competitions,” he said.

“It’s important the Commission takes a broader view on development. We have the rest of the country, New Zealand and the Pacific as well.

“We’re working with our members on what the right development model is for them and many are seeking a vertically integrated model.

“The QRL provided us a proposal on June 13 with a deadline of June 30 saying they will accommodate two extra teams if the Commission invests another $4.2 million into the Queensland Cup competition. We were given two weeks to respond, with a number of restrictive conditions and a significant funding increase.

“We are very supportive of clubs choosing the right model for development and are prepared to invest in making that happen.

“We are not yet in a position to consider an investment of the size proposed in an ultimatum style proposal in a two-week period.”

When asked about Ikin’s allegation that the NRL attempted to place the Titans and Cowboys in the NSW Cup, Abdo said: “I am having regular conversations with the QRL, NSWRL and all 17 NRL clubs about options and what their plans are.

“Have I had conversations with the QRL and NSWRL about second tier competitions and their view on expansion and clubs? Absolutely.”

The Hostplus Cup will remain a 15-team competition next year and Ikin urged the NRL and ARLC chairman Peter V’landys to invest in Queensland’s rich pathways – instead of trying to crush them.

“In the case of the Burleigh Bears, they saw the direction the Titans were heading and decided to link with an NRL club that believes in the role state league clubs play in the development pathway in Queensland,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it seems that Andrew Abdo continues to push for some version of national reserve grade, which is just another way to pork barrel NRL clubs by giving them more money and greater control of the supply chain.

“The QRL will fight with everything we’ve got to protect our statewide competitions and clubs, and we’ll stand against any decision that negatively impacts on our rugby league communities across Queensland.

“We’ve got clubs, competitions and pathways that run from PNG all the way down the eastern seaboard into the Tweed that create more opportunity for more people in more places.

“We get unbelievable backing from the Queensland Premiers’ office, all the way through to local businesses across the state, who invest upwards of ten million dollars to support the work our state league clubs do in their communities.

“My advice to Andrew Abdo on our competition is – don’t mess with it, invest in it.”

 

[Exe Gesis]

Panthers want to relocate to Las Vegas for a cohple of years while their new stadium is being built

Panthers Club Statement: Las Vegas

Contrary to media reports, Penrith Panthers sees the NRL’s initiative to take premiership matches to Las Vegas as a great opportunity to grow rugby league on an international stage.

www.penrithpanthers.com.au

 

[Exe Gesis]

Crowd at the Jets today!

 

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[Cleavy]

Report: Seven plots State of Origin rights | TV Tonight

Speculation Seven is hoping to launch a joint bid for Origin with Foxtel.

tvtonight.com.au

imagine the awful commentators Ch7 would find...

 

[Exe Gesis]

No one giving it a chance....and i dont think theres even been any media talk of it, let alone rumors of a bid....but....a second Melbourne team as 18 makes a lot of sense.

Got rivalries in Sydney and Brisbane now, so a Melbourne rivalry would surely be desirable. Plus the whole big market thing that everyone talks about for-against Perth etc, well Melbourne is a huge market.

Melbourne-2 and NZ-2 would be ideal asap. So one spot left for Perth perhaps.

Yes/No?

 

[Aucklander]

Simply, no.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Exclusive: 'He accuses us of being racist' - NRL star slams 'absolutely disrespectful' V'landys

One of the game's leading Pacific voices has taken aim at the ARLC boss over racism accusations.

www.theroar.com.au

 

[Exe Gesis]

 

[Aucklander]

Wally Lewis diagnosed with early stages of CTE.

 

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How rugby league could stop China’s march in the Pacific

A sport played predominantly on the Australian eastern seaboard could hold the key to Canberra’s foreign policy in the region, and help keep China at bay in the Pacific.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Exe Gesis]

 

[Exe Gesis]

No game in the world showcases an array of kicking more than Rugby League. Not even AFL. AFL has progressively homegenized into mainly the drop punt 99.99% of the time.

Rugby League sees an equal amount of...

Drop kicks, place kicks, torpedo punts, flat punts, checksides, snap kicks, drop punts, bombs, stab passes, snap kicks, grubbers (end over end as well as dirty grubbers and checkside grubbers), kicks off the ground once even twice, and whatever else.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Very good interview ....

 

[Exe Gesis]

Why are chevrons so popularly used in rugby league jerseys?

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Strangely enough it’s quite difficult to get some solid facts, rather than just assertions, on what you’d think was a very basic subject; how and when did the Rugby League V-stripe first evolve?
I have correspondence from the noted Australian historian of Rugby League (and football in general) Sean Fagan, in which he suggests that the RL chevron or V-stripe may have its origins in the often broad and brightly coloured V neck of cricket sweaters. The V-stripe seems to have become popular in League during the 1920s in Australia when the style represented not only a point of difference with the Union clubs, but was cheaper to make than the more conventional hooped jerseys. It also looked good, seeming to emphasise a player’s physique. During World War II most Sydney clubs took up the V style and it became the distinctive feature of League club colours.

In the 19th century UK the colours of club teams were influenced by the style of school colours that were used for not just football but for sports like rowing, and the colourful blazers and caps of the cricketers. These club jerseys were often in bright and unusual combinations of stripes or quarters, although plain colours were also common. But it wasn’t until the 1880s that vertical stripes became popular in Association Football (soccer), as the growing popularity of football codes in general allowed for economies of scale and more diversity in jersey production.
Interestingly and probably for these same reasons, for a few years around 1900 several Association Football clubs in England adopted the V-neck style (Birmingham, Glossop, Clapton etc). And it caught on among the northern professional Rugby clubs who were moving towards the name Rugby League, in line with the burgeoning professional game in Australia. It seems to make sense that there would be an influence either way that encouraged the popularity of the V-style in Australia too.

So it’s not clear whether the main influence was from cricket, Association Football, UK League, something else, or most likely a combination of many things. I’d be interested to learn more

 

[Geelong_Bisons_#36]

Valentine Holmes joins a prestigious long list of sports stars photographed with "white powder". It's important to remember to use lots of talc if you are struggling with chaffing

 

[Exe Gesis]

 

[moto748]

Valentine Holmes joins a prestigious long list of sports stars photographed with "white powder". It's important to remember to use lots of talc if you are struggling with chaffing

So did anything come of this? Any charges?

 

[Billy87]

So did anything come of this? Any charges?

I game ban and $20,000 fine I believe


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