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Rugby League 2017

Started by doppelkorn, January 11, 2017, 03:00:12 PM

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doppelkorn

Why wait?

What have you been doing in the off-season? I've been learning about Australian RL by watching a good set of documentaries called That's Rugby League on YouTube. I've also been sad about Chris Sandow, then proud that he's already been fined for fighting in Australia, and then sorry that no NRL club has signed him yet.

Bradford. That's bad isn't it?

In the pub this weekend an Irish man said to me that rugby league is a dead sport. Not even dying. Dead.

I hope to get to some London games this year, anyway. Here's to a great season everyone!

Question: why did shoulder pads in RL seem to peak in size/usage around 1990?

dr beat

I've been mostly playing Rugby League Live on the Xbox, which has made me appreciate in much more detail how the game works.  I've also been concerned about the loss of Kevin Brown, and I think we need to make a signing to replace him - another experienced half-back - even if its only short-term cover while our first-choice pairing of Mellor and Gilmore gel.

QuoteIn the pub this weekend an Irish man said to me that rugby league is a dead sport. Not even dying. Dead.

I don't want to go too far with Irish fella's quote other than to say its one of those things I've heard get trotted out every now and then, without it really meaning anything.  I think its important that the World Cup this year is a success though.

As for Bradford, yes its a sad state of affairs, and I hope for them to survive, but it seems to have been the culmination of various factors.  Consistent mismanagement, but also other issues as well.  I've been reading the lengthy thread on TotalRL and the finger is being pointed in numerous directions.

Looking forward to seeing how Toronto get on.

doppelkorn

I might be one of the only people who feels really uneasy about Toronto. It just smacks me as somehow wrong. It's something they'd do in one of those tinpot sports leagues drawn up by "sports management" people, like the XFL or one of those mad 20/20 competitions.

It's clear that they (the RFL?) want to see Toronto as a Super League team ASAP, but when has expansion into non-heartland territories ever worked before? Even London (Broncos) is a relative failure (not that signs aren't positive there now), and I bet there's more RL fans living in London than in Castleford.

I hope it works, but I've seen too many over-optimistic punts in sports administration recently to be too excited :( 

mikeyg27

I'd describe myself as skeptical rather than uneasy, but yes, there's a lot about Toronto that can go wrong. Really they should be hot-shotted into Super League but the RFL have basically decided that's never happening again so they're going to have to play semi-pro teams for a couple of years at least. I just can't get over the massive travelling distances. Everything seems to indicate that Toronto have planned as well as they could have, but even then that might not be enough.

doppelkorn

Here's an academic paper on The State of the GameTM, and a BBC article summarising it. The conclusion seems to be that despite the Bad Things, Things are actually Good.

First off though, have Toronto really sold 10k season tickets?! They've apparently signed the biggest RL sponsorship deal in the northern hemisphere without naming who that sponsor is. I just have a terrible feeling that this is all built on sand and in ten years we'll all be going, "how the fuck did the RFL ever think that an expansion team thousands of miles away in a country that doesn't really know what RL is would be a good idea?"

dr beat

QuoteThey've apparently signed the biggest RL sponsorship deal in the northern hemisphere without naming who that sponsor is.

Air Transat were unveiled as the main shirt sponsors just the other day.  I've not seen any details regarding the exact terms of the deal, but on the surface at least that strikes me as a very good sponsor, particularly for League One.  Air Transat fly from Manchester and I wonder if they've done a deal for transporting teams/fans across the Atlantic?


doppelkorn

I literally just read about that on my lunch break! I sound like I wan them to fail, when I really don't.

mikeyg27

Woohoo! Super League is definitely better than the NRL!

I was more impressed with Warrington's win, TBH. Wigan definitely got the benefit of the doubt from the ref today. Neither NRL side looked especially arsed, but then that hasn't really stopped them the last two years. Cronulla were completely devoid of any attacking threat.

Deanjam



Just brilliant. Honour of Super League recovered this weekend.

Gulftastic

Well done, Wigan.


I suppose.

doppelkorn

Quote from: doppelkorn on January 11, 2017, 03:00:12 PM
Question: why did shoulder pads in RL seem to peak in size/usage around 1990?

Anyone?! Anyone at all?!?!?!

Still not managed to catch up on the games. Had to listen to Wigan's in the car. My brother in law was at the Wire game though. He said town was really busy with people watching the game in oubs. I hope keV Brown is the difference for us[nb]lol[/nb] this year and stays injury free.

doppelkorn

I swear half my posts in these threads are me saying "I've not seen the game yet." every Monday.

mikeyg27

Quote from: doppelkorn on February 20, 2017, 08:19:09 AM
Anyone?! Anyone at all?!?!?!

I can't explain the peak, but I think the decline was due to a) research seeming to suggest they didn't really help prevent against anything other than superficial injury (personal anecdotal evidence: I got some pads when I was 17 and the first time I wore them I dislocated my shoulder) and b) the increased prevalence of skin-tight shirts probably made them a hassle to wear / put on. These days you're more likely to see that sort of male sports-bra thing that holds the heart rate monitor in place.

doppelkorn

RIP pads.

I watched a bit of a French union game on Saturday, and I was surprised to see someone still wearing grippy fingerless gloves.


mikeyg27

Ah yes, one of the great Rugby fads of the early 2000s. I still miss the 8-panel ball, which was a curious puzzle: an absolute dream to pass, but an absolute nightmare to catch (especially in wet weather). I've never used one the new Rhino balls but I'm STEEDEN4LIFE.

Old Thrashbarg

Pretty frustrating game to watch last night as a Hull fan. The defence was generally top notch (and brutal, especially from Taylor), but the amount of stupid penalties was ridiculous. And the lack of control when in possession was disappointing. Combine that with some very dodgy, whistle-happy decisions both ways from the ref and the Catalans side showing very similar flaws to Hull and it didn't make for a great game to watch.

Tonight's game, however, was enormous fun. Slightly questionable defending from both sides, but that didn't take away from the spectacle.

mikeyg27

Did anyone else catch any of the Siddal-Toronto game on BBC online? Proper old-school game. It was basically impossible to tell the teams apart due to all the mud. Even the camera lens needed a wipe-down at one point.

doppelkorn

I only just checked Twitter to see a load of chat about it.

What time was KO?

Deanjam

Quote from: mikeyg27 on February 25, 2017, 04:16:38 PM
Did anyone else catch any of the Siddal-Toronto game on BBC online? Proper old-school game. It was basically impossible to tell the teams apart due to all the mud. Even the camera lens needed a wipe-down at one point.

My dad's just been telling me about it. Said they wanted to give cameraman man of match.

Gulftastic

Cracking stuff. I love the beeb for showing these games.

Last night Leeds got out of jail. Neither team was particularly good, and the winning try had a blatant forward pass in it, but hey ho.

Cas will slaughter us on Thursday. I reckon Hardaker will get a hat-trick.


mikeyg27

To be fair this mostly feels more like Cas are amazing rather than Leeds are shit. The sheer number of their sets that start near Castleford's try line and end up near their opponents' try line is absolutely terrifying.

Gulftastic

No, Leeds were shit. Cas were excellent. They looked like a team that had been coached. I'm so fucking sick of McDermott and his bullshit.

Our biggest ever Super League defeat.

mikeyg27

Yeah, I changed my mind about Leeds in the 2nd half. They're definitely not top-4 material right now.

doppelkorn

I still don't get why they let Jordan Lilly go out to Bradford...

doppelkorn

I might go back to pretending I don't support any Super League team now...

mikeyg27

I went to see that there Toronto team make their league debut against Skolars. The Wolfpack ended up running away with it 76-0. I have three observations:

1) it will be a miracle if Toronto don't get promoted. I hope they decide to develop some more Canadian players because they will definitely have the leeway to do so in most games.
2) When Toronto get home games on flat tracks against semi-pro sides who have only flown in a couple of days before and are probably still jet-lagged, those games are going to have the potential to be historically embarrassing.
3) this looks like the 2nd year in a row that League 1 has been ruined because an overpowered expansion team 'have to work their way from the bottom'. FFS, just put 'em in the Championship.

dr beat

Unexpected point in France last night.  I'll take that.

Gulftastic

I thought Widnes were excellent value. 14-0 down, didn't panic, played to the conditions superbly. In the end, you outscored the Dragons 3-2 on tries, and were unlucky not to get both points.