Rugby League really gives me the shits

[WorkingClassRugger]

Come on mate why are you so offended by rugby league. To say people don't like it is quite funny. Please look at the stats first before you say this sort of stuff. I can't wait to see the crowd for the bledisloe tomorrow night for what is supposed to be the biggest game of the year for the wallabies. They are offering half priced tickets already when state of origin got sold out all three games within two weeks

What the hell was the Lions series then? Sorry, mate but the biggest game of the year for the Wallabies has come and gone. If they get anywhere near 80,000 for tomorrow night after the Lions, it will be a good turn out.

 

[GPStyle]

Can i please make it clear as i probably havent so far with my line of argument. I LOVE rugby union it and rugby league are my two favourite sports by a country mile. But i just feel at the moment the rugby league players as individuals are far superior athletes. However, the athleticism and prowess shown by the players involved in the lion tour this year was phenomenal including issy

 

[GPStyle]

What the hell was the Lions series then? Sorry, mate but the biggest game of the year for the Wallabies has come and gone. If they get anywhere near 80,000 for tomorrow night after the Lions, it will be a good turn out.

Sorry apart from this year which was lions test. But i think it would be fair to say that with the two traditiotnally biggest nations new zealand and Aussies should be matching the two states of NSW and QLD in crowd numbers

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Can i please make it clear as i probably havent so far with my line of argument. I LOVE rugby union it and rugby league are my two favourite sports by a country mile. But i just feel at the moment the rugby league players as individuals are far superior athletes. However, the athleticism and prowess shown by the players involved in the lion tour this year was phenomenal including issy

Then surely you'd understand the differences in the way both games are played in regards to skills etc. In League you have more time and space to execute skills. And even then its really only a select few players. Having seen many good League players take up Rugby over the years, many have found that Rugby is a far tougher game to execute the same skills in due to the tighter confines in which to work in.

I also know a few coaches who have coached both and will tell you that in general Rugby players in terms of skills vastly underestimated in comparison to their league counterparts.

As for the crowd tomorrow night. If it isn't a sell out tomorrow night I won't be shocked. The hangover from the Lions will be lingering more so this year than in 2001. The final test capitulation will mean punters will be hesitant to pay out hard earned cash after that performance. If they manage to top 70,000 then that should be considered a good turn out.

 

[terry j]

I don't get it. What are these 'skills' in league that people constantly refer to? Sure there are guys that play who are great athletes and can do things that others cannot, but 'skills'??

A skill is the learned ability to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both

the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well: Carpentry was one of his many skills.
2.
competent excellence in performance; expertness; dexterity: The dancers performed with skill.


So clearly (and this has always been how I understood it) skill is something different to natural flair, you need to hone and increase it.

What skills then are required to play league (other than count to five, and the only person/people that need to do that are the kicker and the person passing to him)??

What skills are needed by the 'forwards' that are a different set than needed by the 'backs'? (apostrophe because I simply don't see any different skills needed, in other words any back can play the forward skills and any forward, if fast enough which as we have seen is not a 'skill', can play the back 'skills')

DO the forwards need to go to the other end of the park and practice scrummaging? Hone their forward skills? Do they need to practice their lineouts? Nah, all they gotta do is put the ball on the ground and roll it back with their foot. Pretty simple childish stuff.

And how many times do we see penalties because they cannot even do THAT right?

Sonny Bill can come in from the centres and pack down as a prop for gods sake. WHAT skills?

All you gotta do in attack is run straight at a bloke, all you gotta do in defence is grab a few mates and three of you tackle him and lay on him. (he ain't gonna pass it you know, just watch and see. yawn)

I admit you DO have to be aware of that crafty tactical minded kicker that throws a curveball and kicks on the fourth, you gotta watch those sly, crafty blokes.

You get a ball kicked downfield to you as the last defender, well you don't have to have field awareness to respond, just catch the thing, get tackled and wait for how ever long needed and just play the ball.

Man, I could go on.

I mean, what skills exactly are we talking about here?

 

[GTPIH]

Sorry apart from this year which was lions test. But i think it would be fair to say that with the two traditiotnally biggest nations new zealand and Aussies should be matching the two states of NSW and QLD in crowd numbers

After the Lions ($300 for an A ticket) I'm not surprised they haven't sold out the Bledisloe. Bledisloe A tickets were $190. I for one have decided to watch at home and drink beer and red wine I already own.

 

[mxyzptlk]

I don't get it. What are these 'skills' in league that people constantly refer to? Sure there are guys that play who are great athletes and can do things that others cannot, but 'skills'?? [...] I mean, what skills exactly are we talking about here?

It seems like skills and athletic ability are used interchangeably in the case of league. You do see some outstanding acts of athleticism at times -- like Mahe Fonua's freak save-to-try against Canberra. So you might hear that being called a great bit of skill, but that wasn't something he trained for (said as much in later interviews).

I'll give league this much, in terms of skills (and I'm by no means an expert in this, nor even a league fan -- I'm just fascinated by the phenomenon of league, but sweet jesus can it be dull -- frantically, repetitively dull):

• They can offload pretty well.
• They can run some decent lines when they're within 15 meters of the try line.
• Some of the passing can be quick and clean, but that really depends. From what I've seen, the Warriors tend to pass more than other teams, but it's rare to see a chain of passes as a rule instead of the exception.
• Some of the goal kickers have dead-eye aim.
• Some are not bad at accurately kicking the ball into the try zone for a teammate to snag.
• There's the grappling involved in the tackle, which can take some skill (leverage, pressure, balance, etc.). But this isn't wrestling, and the concentration on arm bars, chicken wings, single legs, etc. while trying to tackle and get the ball doesn't necessarily make for good wrestling or good tackling.

Those aren't skills that are necessarily lacking in rugby. A huge difference is with no requirement to back off 10 meters in rugby after a tackle, arguably those athletes have to be moreskilled to make a play work because they're not given space and time to make it happen.

But you're right -- I don't know what the forwards need to do besides bash the ball up the field, and try to keep it in play if they can. No scrum technique is necessary and lineouts aren't a factor. There isn't really a breakdown with an actual contest for the ball on the floor, so being able to jackal the ball, ruck, or clean out aren't really required. Being able to fall in a favorable direction and flop around seems pretty necessary, through.

So you'd think that tackling would be the main skill beyond running, passing and off-loading, but that's disappearing art as well. I just watched a little bit of the Warriors v. Penrith, and the Warriors let in a couple tries and allowed some line breaks simply because they couldn't tackle one-on-one; they arm-tackled, went too high, and aimed for the ball before actually hitting the carrier -- and inevitably fell off the tackle. It was facepalm stuff, because players who are that strong and that athletic should be able to pull off a basic skill that I'm watching happen every 7 seconds in the Otago-Bay of Plenty match.

But at least they're finding new ways of bringing the biff back -- let the crowd do it.

 

[Pfitzy]

Tackling and defending aren't mutual ... In League with the overly structured defensive lines there are no reasons why they shouldn't be better defensively. But they aren't.

Hallelujah. Testify brother!

Good to see someone understands the difference.


-------------------------------
I hate autocorrect ...

 

[Aussie D]

I thought it was funny the commentary the past week blaming the absence of shoulder charges and punching for the Souths bloke grabbing his opponents nuts.

 

[mxyzptlk]

I thought it was funny the commentary the past week blaming the absence of shoulder charges and punching for the Souths bloke grabbing his opponents nuts.

Nah -- Paul Gallen was grabbing squirrels back when punching the opposition and decapitation via shoulder was legal. He was an OG (Original Gripper).

In the South African quadrangular, a Samoan player also did that to Adriaan Strauss. Strauss looked like he was about to rampage through the city and climb the nearest sky scraper to fight off planes. He was raging.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Hallelujah. Testify brother!

Good to see someone understands the difference.


-------------------------------
I hate autocorrect .

I've always thought that is was fairly evident distinction between the two.

 

[Pfitzy]

I had to explain it very carefully to a league fan once. Then twice. With examples

-------------------------------------------
I hate autocorrect ...

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Did they get it then, or did you simply give up at that stage and move on to more productive endeavours Pfitzy?

 

[Pfitzy]

It comes off my community service.

 

[Pfitzy]

But at least they're finding new ways of bringing the biff back -- let the crowd do it.

That article by Gould is fucking priceless - I especially liked this bit:





Can you believe we have junior league coaches storming into our offices with video evidence demanding action be taken because a referee missed a knock-on or shouldn't have awarded a try?


Shit Gus - maybe they're just following your example from the commentary box: "How can this happen at this level of rugby league?" is an argument anyone coaching the game can use.

What a prize fucking numpty.

 

[GPStyle]

Just to show the quality of Rugby within this country. You have to look no further than our national side who can't get close to the all blacks every time they verse them. 11 years in a row!!!

 

[It is what it is]

Just to show the quality of Rugby within this country. You have to look no further than our national side who can't get close to the all blacks every time they verse them. 11 years in a row!!!

Are you on the right thread or the wrong planet?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

IIWII, Caution - Don't feed the trolls.

 

[Pfitzy]

who can't get close to the all blacks every time they verse them.

Oh fuck seriously?

The word is "oppose". Not "verse". I'm public school educated and even I know that.

 

[terry j]

Just to show the quality of Rugby within this country. You have to look no further than our national side who can't get close to the all blacks every time they verse them. 11 years in a row!!!

oh well, fair cop about a team that is NOT the best in the world having trouble beating a team that IS the best in the world.

To me, that kinda sounds well, logical ya know? Pity tho about the times (few admittedly) when we actually did beat them, but kinda put's your dumbarse illogical statements into some sort of perspective.

Still not sure what you are trying to say (have you got an english translation for us?) but in any case, and I think you completely missed it, what does that then say about that borefest called league?

As gut wrenching as it is to not win the bled for years, sure beats using a meat tenderiser on Mr Happy which is what you have to do to take away the pain of watching league.