All Star game is fine until someone ends up seeing stars

TChong says:

08:53am | 12/02/11

Agree Seano.
Dave, heres a bit of a tip, if you are so against it all, dont watch.
The players , many with fairly well paying contracts, will be asked to do what they are paid for.
As for the drinking etc- not a good look,but remember, they arent in gaol, or the ADF etc.
Providing they do nothing illegal- give ‘em a break.

Matt B says:

09:41am | 12/02/11

Apart from the apparent need to quote Billy Idol I fully agree Seano. Such a harsh attack from David, yes the all start game is a marketing and money making venture and yes it has little real meaning in the scope of competitive sport.

Though isn’t entertainment one of the primary goals of any sporting event (at least were spectators are concerned).?The All star game gives punters a chance to start their viewing season on a high note. We get to watch top line players combine and play together, warm up the shoulders and play with a freedom that can often not be afforded in more serious fixtures. I don’t see anything farcical or insulting about that.

Granted the real NRL All-star game is State of Origin, and many sporting contest (of any type)pale in comparison with that epic struggle.

Also It’s strange David is bemoaning the drunken extra curricular activities of NRL players. You’d think someone in sports PR would be shouting every box-head a drink post match.

Ernie says:

01:28pm | 12/02/11

Well said. As for your mis-interpretation of the American All-Star games you are WAY off. Check out any past MLB, NHL, NFL or NBA stars stats and you’ll see a column titled ‘All-Star Appearances’ or something similiar. Ask Kobe Bryant how he feels about being voted in as an All-Star for the 13th time? Despite the fact he plays this game only months prior to defending their championship? This game is live into 200 countries and 40 different languages. Are they ‘insulted’? Will league fans watching tonights game be ‘insulted’? I think you meant ‘exited’.

Seano says:

06:13pm | 13/02/11

I thought the Billy Idol quote was funny.

Mal says:

11:00am | 12/02/11

good point Davo and the “footballers” hoard photos of their mates posing nude.  Plus you get a point for missing.  You just wasted two minutes off my life

Jimbo says:

11:17am | 12/02/11

Davo - you might not have noticed that they run with the ball in hand in the gayFL. Ever asked yourself why ALF is only played in a few states in Australia. Let me tell you why - it’s a rubbish game.

Oz Rules says:

11:22am | 12/02/11

I agree Davo—-how anybody can get excited over such a game is beyond me…Skill is something that is not required in rugby!!

Brian B says:

01:09pm | 12/02/11

Davo, unlike you I do not denigrate other sports that people may choose to play or follow.

You may, however, be interested to learn that the term “foot ball”, now “football”, originally referred to a variety of games in medieval Europe which were played on foot by peasants, as opposed to the gentry playing such sports as polo on horseback.

Oh, and if you care to do some checking I think you will find some equally good kicking, (place, drop and punt), in the history of Rugby Union.

Good luck to St. Kilda in the coming season.

gavin says:

01:30am | 13/02/11

game of league starts with foot on ball, therefore FOOTBALL.
there would have been a fatality if malcom blite ever found himself on a league field, he would not last 5 minutes.

Matt B says:

07:58am | 13/02/11

For the record Davo,  I’m from Queensland and I call soccer football, NRL rugby league and RUGBY, rugby. 

Fail to see any merit in your post. This cross-state sledging of sporting codes is boring at best. Of course most league players couldn’t kick a 50-60 goal. I’m fairly sure Ian Thorpe would be rubbish at pole vault, he doesn’t train for it.

Besides, there’s very little difference between codes when it comes to sexual assault allegations and drunken behaviour.

Shane says:

09:42am | 13/02/11

As much as davo from st Kilda is a tool, Jimbo, you are right up there trying to out do him. ‘Gayfl’. Really, that’s supposed to be an insult? Grow up. 
Also not sure about your ramblings on ‘they only play AFL in a few states’. AFL, like rugby, is played across the entire county with varying levels of interest.
Just because someone else is being an idiot, Jimbo, does not mean you should respond in an equally inane manner.

Steve Putnam says:

09:50am | 13/02/11

Jarrod Hayne and Feleti Mateo trained with one of the AFL sides last year. The usual sort of mucking around took place including place kicking the Sherrin from a tee. They out-distanced their AFL rivals by 20 metres.

Seano says:

02:29pm | 13/02/11

Fairly typical of the misplaced arrogance of the AFL and its supporters.

Firstly, if you want to be a purist only Association Football (what we call soccer) can honestly claim ownership of the term football, but how typical of the arrogant AFL clique to claim a title to which they’re not really entitled and then whinge about others using it.

Secondly, there are any number of rugby league and union players who can kick a ball accurately over 50-60 metres. Only someone terminally arrogant or stupid enough to comment on a game they’ve obviously never watched would think that that skill was unqiue.

Thirdly, whilst ignoring prime markets in other areas the AFL have arrogantly dropped a team in western Sydney when the Swans are opperating at a loss. And I can tell you as a teacher that despite the money your silly game is throwing around kids in Greater Western Sydney are still only interested in Rugby and Soccer.

Finally, faced with Greg Inglis (195cm, 120kg) who can run the hundred in 12 seconds your average AFL player would piss themselves.

PS. What’s more exciting, a bloke pulling his socks up and testing the win for three minutes before kicking a long range goal or Greg Inglis busting through three tackles to score a match winner after the bell?  No contest.

Jason says:

09:07pm | 13/02/11

Davo, I like AFL too, but no need to be a w***er. It’s humourous that of the sports you cite - AFL, Soccer, Basketball, Netball and Rugby - only AFL has totally failed to be even noticed internationally. Unless you count your St Kilda players who claim they took nude photos of each other and got lampooned in Taiwan. In any case, it’s still a good sport. In Australia, our culture is to aim to be sports connoisseurs but we’re all embarrassed for you on your total lack of sports knowledge. Maybe give up searching wikipedia for factoids and actually try watching or playing some sport. In the meantime, don’t mention you’re Aussie when you travel. Geez.

Davo from St Kilda says:

11:28am | 12/02/11

Wrong, Mary. The alternative this weekend is the most popular sport in the country and our only national sport - football. Carlton, Richmond and Collingwood are playing tonight and the vast majority of the country’s sporting fans will be watching. Together these three teams have 125,000 paid up members while the total number of members who follow rugby is less than that! People vote with their feet, Mary, and they aren’t walking to a silly game of rugby. They will all be headed to Etihad Stadium.

Seano says:

02:33pm | 13/02/11

NRL has better ratings that AFL (although you get more bums on seats).

As for “our only national sport” bwhahahahahahaha….the arrogance of the AFL not to mention it really is a silly, boring overrated game is why I am many other sports fans have started to blank it completely. A game of Netball has more atheleticism and harder hits than your average game of AFL. And when it’s wet, please..it’s a joke…unless you’re interested in blokes in short shorts wrestling in mud that is.

missy says:

02:42pm | 13/02/11

Yawn Davo, go watch the fumblethon that is the AFL. Why bother commenting on an article on the NRL, haven’t you better things to do? You don’t even know the difference between rugby and rugby league. Yep why don’t you stick to watching the AFL.

Andrew Martin says:

04:30pm | 13/02/11

Davo - a sport that is ignored by the states number 1 and 3 commercial markets, being Sydney and Brisbane.  A sport that has had 150 years to try and convince us that it is worth watching, and still has not managed to pique the interest of the masses.  A sport that was outrated on TV by Iron Chef on SBS in Sydney.  A sport that, despite all your protestations, is still seen by the average bloke north of your border as nothing but a pissweak nancy game that more closely resembles 36 blokes chasing a chook around a paddock.  A sport that we still laugh at when clowns like you try and put lipstick on a pig.  It’s still a pig mate.

Thanks for the laugh, you keep cheering those points you get for missing and we up here will keep ignoring your game both on the box and at the turnstiles, whilst we focus on games that actually involve skill and international appeal.  Nobody up here even knew there was a chicken chase on last night, we were too busy watching the All-Stars game.  GWS will be your codes Vietnam, just wait and see.

Simonious says:

11:17am | 12/02/11

Exactly AFR. David says these games mean nothing. But David i will give you a tip. They mean we get to watch a game and to most fans thats good enough for us.

L. says:

01:31pm | 12/02/11

I seriously doubt a “couple of million” will be watching it on TV when TV’s highest rated shows draw 700 hundred thousand or so.

Robz says:

08:32pm | 13/02/11

A full stadium?  Really?  There were less people at this year’s game than there were at last year’s.  I went last year and came away fairly unimpressed with the standard of the game and chose not to go this year - I went to the Broncos trial match instead, as that quite frankly means more to me

The concept itself has both good and flawed aspects.  I would prefer that it is not all focussed on the Indigenous side. They spend the week doing clinics etc for disadvantaged indigenous youth, which is fantastic; but why can’t they also do clinics for disadvantaged non-indigenous youth?  Don’t they also need role models and opportunities?

And to be fair the teams should both be selected along the same lines. If the NRL All Stars can only have one representative from each club, why not have the same deal for the Indigenous All Stars?  Each NRL club has at least 1 indigenous player, so this could be done.  Alternatively let the NRL All Stars team be a true NRL All Stars without the limitation of the one player per club situation - same as the Indigenous team.

As an exhibition match it’s not a bad way to start a season; but we need to not get too carried away and remember that it is just that - an exhibition match and nothing more.

marley says:

12:42pm | 12/02/11

The whole point of apartheid was that whites never had to compete with blacks.

BK says:

02:25pm | 13/02/11

It depends on which team wins. When the non-aboriginal team won, it challenged the stereotype of aboriginal people being tougher and better at sports.

Simonious says:

09:13am | 13/02/11

As someone pointed out above Apartheid was about blacks not competing with white in sport. It was segregated. If you find the all stars concept so offensive you might be surprised to know that i was the brainchild of an indigenous player not a white guy. I think you slander the indigenous communites with your comment “indigenous communities are so oppressed that they will take any exposure handed to them”. And last but not least dont you think that game last night didnt “bring people together”  their were apologies and a minutes silence for the stolen generation. All in all it was a celebration of indigenous contribution to Australia but you wouldnt know because you didnt watch it did you.

Steve Putnam says:

09:36am | 13/02/11

How is this exhibition game ‘embarrassing in every regard’? How is the Indigenous All-Stars concept an example of 21st Century Apartheid as you and others are claiming? Would not the same then apply to a troupe of Aboriginal musicians or dancers?
Let me say at the outset that I can’t claim any neutrality here, having had All Stars manager Sol Bellear as a good mate for 25 years, but I make the following points:
When the blackfellers won the first game last year it was confirmation of what a lot of us had long suspected; namely that a team comprised of players with an indigenous heritage could compete with the best. 
It gives an opportunity for young players to mix with established stars, and for mentoring to take place, which is something rugby league players of all backgrounds could do with.
It raises a large sum of money for worthwhile causes.
It has the potential to evolve into a concept similar to The Barbarians matches in rugby union which have provided so many great spectacles over the years.
And lastly it gives us, as Australians, an opportunity to celebrate diversity within our unity which is the hallmark of any great society.

marley says:

01:27pm | 13/02/11

@21c Apartheid - so you figure that only in “racist Australia” would you have sports matches segregated on ethnicity.  I guess you’d have real problems with the North American Indigenous Games, then,  and with the forthcoming World Indigenous Games, scheduled to be held next year in Canada.

Seano says:

02:00pm | 13/02/11

There were a number of different ethnicities on display in both teams.