Things that please me - Part 5

[Chief]

Part 6 is over there:

Things that please me - Part 6

We got upgraded from premium economy to business class on a MEL > LA flight back when V Australia was quite new, so we weren't loyal customers or anything. They didn't even tell us we'd been upgraded, they were just profusely apologising that their pyjama supplier hadn't delivered and we...

www.bigfooty.com

 

[troybe]

Where are you sitting? I thought about going but it's not a great ground to watch rugby at

Ponsford Q34 L4. Its more the experience

 

[Scotland]

Ah yes Melbourne. Rugby heartland.

 

[Gough]

Ah yes Melbourne. Rugby heartland.

A good proportion of the Home Counties are here on their retirement jolly up so it doesn't really matter, it's a bit like the Boks getting a quasi home game in Perth.

 

[the_interloper]

Ah yes Melbourne. Rugby heartland.

A shitload would be flying in for this wherever it is I reckon, I don't follow it but seems like the biggest thing ever to some from the UK.

 

[rocker_oz33]

He'll be sneaking a cheeky ciggy on the way to school before you know it.

And Spicy picture mags.

 

[Scotland]

Lions tours are great. The fact that it's every 12 years (well 4, but rotating SA, Au, NZ) gives it mystique.

Pity we suck so hard at rugby now. Not even getting out of the group stage at the last WC was embarrassing. If you aren't in the top 8 teams of a sport that only a dozen or so countries play seriously you need to have a serious look in the mirror.

Also it pleases me that Nick Champion de Crespigny got a gig in the first lest. If you are born in this country with that name you have to play representative rugby union. Not optional.

 

[cats_09]

A shitload would be flying in for this wherever it is I reckon, I don't follow it but seems like the biggest thing ever to some from the UK.

There's been some crazy numbers thrown around just purely for Melbourne include

• between 30k & 40k having flown out
• 200k+ pub visits around Melbourne this week alone

Total predictions for the tour is a financial impact between $150million & $400million being injected into the local economy

So yeah, while Melbourne may not be the biggest rugby city in Aus this is going to be a pretty good windfall for the city, and for Australia as a whole

 

[Plugger35]

Lions tours are great. The fact that it's every 12 years (well 4, but rotating SA, Au, NZ) gives it mystique.

Pity we suck so hard at rugby now. Not even getting out of the group stage at the last WC was embarrassing. If you aren't in the top 8 teams of a sport that only a dozen or so countries play seriously you need to have a serious look in the mirror.

Also it pleases me that Nick Champion de Crespigny got a gig in the first lest. If you are born in this country with that name you have to play representative rugby union. Not optional.

The Wallabies did better than I thought they would in the first test, they kept the score respectable but never looked like winning.

It's a far cry from previous Lions tours here when the Wallabies were a genuine chance of winning rather than not losing too badly.

 

[Gough]

Campese cost us the series in 1989.

 

[Scotland]

There's been some crazy numbers thrown around just purely for Melbourne include

• between 30k & 40k having flown out
• 200k+ pub visits around Melbourne this week alone

Total predictions for the tour is a financial impact between $150million & $400million being injected into the local economy

So yeah, while Melbourne may not be the biggest rugby city in Aus this is going to be a pretty good windfall for the city, and for Australia as a whole

That's what annoys people. A city that doesn't care enough to have a Super Rugby team doesn't deserve a once in 12 years test.

The tour is huge though. I know one guy from the UK (who does live here now) but is going to all three tests. So that's hotel stays and pub visits across three cities over a couple of weeks. Sports tourism is big business.

 

[cats_09]

That's what annoys people. A city that doesn't care enough to have a Super Rugby team doesn't deserve a once in 12 years test.

The tour is huge though. I know one guy from the UK (who does live here now) but is going to all three tests. So that's hotel stays and pub visits across three cities over a couple of weeks. Sports tourism is big business.

Was Melbourne selected purely due to the capacity of the MCG?

I agree you though that it's weird Melbourne was selected when we don't even have a rugby team - thought Sydney or Brisbane would be more suitable locations but wondering if capacity played a big role in city selection

 

[Plugger35]

Campese cost us the series in 1989.

Yeah I remember that, he tried to run it out from the in goal area, coughed the ball up and gave the Lions a try, summed him up.

 

[Gough]

At least it was a Welshman and not an Englishman that scored, scant consolation I know.

 

[Scotland]

Was Melbourne selected purely due to the capacity of the MCG?

I agree you though that it's weird Melbourne was selected when we don't even have a rugby team - thought Sydney or Brisbane would be more suitable locations but wondering if capacity played a big role in city selection

I would imagine so. Same reason the biggest FIFA WC qualifiers and exhibition games are at the MCG or Accor Stadium. Two biggest venues in the two biggest cities.

Rugby Australia wouldn't dare consider not having tests in Brisbane and Sydney despite Optus Stadium being slightly bigger than Suncorp. The last two tours the Melbourne test was at Marvel.

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

Ponsford Q34 L4. Its more the experience

It will be so fun! I went to the last Lions tour and the crowd was 10/10.

 

[Hamingja]

It is amazing how far the Wallabies have fallen. I couldn't name a single person who plays for them these days. When I was a kid they were all household names, Eales, Gregan, Burke, Mortlock, Latham etc.

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

It is amazing how far the Wallabies have fallen. I couldn't name a single person who plays for them these days. When I was a kid they were all household names, Eales, Gregan, Burke, Mortlock, Latham etc.

Michael Lynagh.

Now they're a joke. Legit feels like they haven't won a game in 20 years

Pubs packed with soap dodging pom gits. Any excuse for a "Tour"

 

[MP_]

Finally getting a decent drop of rain in our drought stricken community. 8mm so far in 4 hours which doesn’t seem much but is probably the heaviest daily total in over a year.

 

[rocker_oz33]

Finally getting a decent drop of rain in our drought stricken community. 8mm so far in 4 hours which doesn’t seem much but is probably the heaviest daily total in over a year.

That's a positive.

But I don't know or understand if Australia is doing enough for the farmers .
Building water catchment plants and or getting water from the sea/ocean.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

That's a positive.

But I don't know or understand if Australia is doing enough for the farmers .
Building water catchment plants and or getting water from the sea/ocean.

Maybe we should just "Tilt Australia"?

 

[Scotland]

It is amazing how far the Wallabies have fallen. I couldn't name a single person who plays for them these days. When I was a kid they were all household names, Eales, Gregan, Burke, Mortlock, Latham etc.

Eales was captain for 55 tests, Gregan 59. That was the era 1996-2007. Since then 14 players have been captain for 10 tests or fewer. After Michael Hooper finished up (dumped by Eddie Jones) in 2023 with 69 tests as captain there have been 8 captains with no one doing it for more than 15 tests. What a shit show. The All Blacks by comparison have had 4 captains since 2006.

Rugby has fallen apart here on many levels. Super Rugby debacle (3 to 4 to 5 to 4 to 5 and back to 4, RIP Force, welcome back from the dead Force, RIP Rebels, bye South Africa). It's always been a sport with a limited talent pool (private schools and Islanders, that's where 100% of players come from) but at the professional level RA are cooked. The TV rights deal starting next year is worth up to $240m over 5 years which is where they have got back to after initially signing for $100m over 3. Their deal with Fox Sports signed 10 years ago was $285m over 5 years. Could you imagine the reaction if the AFL lost 40% of the TV rights from one deal to the next?

The reality is that 10, 20 years ago rugby was equivalent to footy and league in that playing here was the elite level. These days Super Rugby is more like the A-League/NBL in that the opportunities to play elsewhere are so lucrative. Still a very high standard but you never used to have players in their prime buggering off to play in France or Japan every other year. Much easier to build cohesion when 99% of the best players are split across 3 teams that play each other multiple times a year. RA totally cooked the timing of the Force/Rebels exits too. Like GWS and GC it takes years to see the fruits of your labour in player development etc.

Bit of an unpopular opinion thread thing but I also don't think Australians will get behind a team if it becomes full of Islanders the way they did the Wallabies teams of previous eras. I don't mean players of Pacific Islander background either, the Wallabies weren't just a team of hyphenated private school flogs. I mean specifically players like Daugunu who is Fijian, grew up in Fiji and played for Fiji under 20s. Doesn't have the same feeling of a national side when you are poaching players from other countries like it's a club side. At least try to be subtle about what you are doing and give scholarships to teenagers. Certainly not isolated to rugby (Socceroos convince players based on heritage, Boomers have always had naturalised Americans, athletics we'll give any medal chance a passport) but rugby does sometimes give off a John Elliott Carlton vibe that developing players is too hard so they will just buy them from elsewhere. IMO anyway. But I am salty they let Mark N go to the Roosters in the NRL.

 

[MP_]

That's a positive.

But I don't know or understand if Australia is doing enough for the farmers .
Building water catchment plants and or getting water from the sea/ocean.

In our area water catchment is pointless as it simply doesn’t rain enough / consistently for cropping. Our government has certainly been very slow in reacting to the drought. However I also think it might be time for farmers in marginal cropping areas to maybe think about diversifying their income streams so as to not solely rely n their land for income. Unfortunately for some farming is all they’ve done and know so there probably needs to be some help in getting re skilled. SA has a desalination plant but again producing water is not an issue but farmers need it to fall out the sky as you can’t just plug a hose in and water crops unless you are a bloody cotton farmer.

 

[the_interloper]

Fridays in the office when the two work ****wits aren't in, pub for lunch, **** off early etc, always a good day.

 

[Pistol Night]

In our area water catchment is pointless as it simply doesn’t rain enough / consistently for cropping. Our government has certainly been very slow in reacting to the drought. However I also think it might be time for farmers in marginal cropping areas to maybe think about diversifying their income streams so as to not solely rely n their land for income. Unfortunately for some farming is all they’ve done and know so there probably needs to be some help in getting re skilled. SA has a desalination plant but again producing water is not an issue but farmers need it to fall out the sky as you can’t just plug a hose in and water crops unless you are a bloody cotton farmer.

Clarkson's Farm is a good eye opener to how tough farming is. I know its in England but the same weather issues and lack of government assistance is very similar. Dairy farming is even more razor thin profit margins

 

[MP_]

Clarkson's Farm is a good eye opener to how tough farming is. I know its in England but the same weather issues and lack of government assistance is very similar. Dairy farming is even more razor thin profit margins

My wife was at a sa drought information session the other morning, she mentioned farmers have to pay retail costs for feed, fuel, basically everything full price to run yet they have to sell at wholesale prices or less , it’s simply not fair and something needs to change.