How ‘bout them Reds, eh?

Kika says:

02:49pm | 03/07/11

Union a bit too confusing for you? League is easier to follow hey. Stop, start, stop start oh wait! a bomb! Someone actually caught it… a try! Amazing!

Ando says:

02:24pm | 04/07/11

What a childish reply to a reasonable post

Kika says:

02:44pm | 03/07/11

Over my dead body. NRL is trash and is dying a slow death. Looking forward to seeing it dead and buried.

jf says:

02:50pm | 03/07/11

Seano says:01:19pm | 03/07/11

“The Reds can have the super XV if the Mighty NSW Blues can have the State of Origin. Seems fair.”

Deal.

“I hope Quade Cooper ends up in the NRL at some stage.”

He’s a private school boy (a religious school at that). I wouldn’t want you to compromise your principals just for a game. Thanks though. We’ll keep him.

Seano says:

05:07pm | 03/07/11

@jf - I suspect much of the talk about Cooper coming to the NRL is from his agent who is just doing his job with a contract coming up.

That said he’s a real talent but not sure if his defence would be good enough for the NRL.

@Kika - luckily for you this blog’s quota for idiotic comments is infinite.

Just for your education:
NRL Crowds up for the umpteenth season in a row.
NRL TV ratings up for the umpteenth season in a row.
NRL memberships through the roof as the legaue has finally got it act together and have started prompting them.
NRL about to get a bucket load of cash for TV rights.

The NRL is not going anywhere, thanks for playing.

Jezza says:

06:27pm | 03/07/11

@ Seano - NRL memberships through the roof? Only 142,000 in 2010 compared to 614,000 for AFL. Crowds? 3.4 million for 2010 versus 6.5 million for AFL. TV ratings? Still way behind the AFL. TV rights? $91 million per year for NRL, $250 million per year for AFL. Keep dreaming, chump…

Seano says:

07:27pm | 03/07/11

@Jezza

How stupid do you have to be to get from my comment that the NRL is not dead to an attack on the AFL?

FYI the NRL beats the AFL in TV ratings in may areas…the Swans get beat by repeats of Iron Chef in Sydney; NRL memberships have only been promoted over the last couple of seasons… the Knights have picked up 12K members in one season and the NRL hasn’t even negotiated their new TV rights deal yet so you’re comparing apples and oranges….

Jezza says:

09:07pm | 03/07/11

@ Seano - you are wrong. The AFL trumps the NRL in TV ratings by a long way. Fact. As for the ratings in Sydney, who cares? That city has always been deemed unimportant by the AFL due to the fact that the people there have never really supported any sport (you get bigger sporting crowds in Adelaide).

So the Knights picked up 12,000 members in one season. Wow… I’m so jealous. The lowest supported club in the AFL has 22,000 members, while teams like Collingwood, Carlton, Geelong, Essendon, Hawthorn, West Coast Eagles, St Kilda, Adelaide and Fremantle each have more than 40,000 members. Even the Gold Coast, in its first season, with 15,000 members has more fans than the most supported NRL club Brisbane (12,000).

As for the TV rights deal, I’ll spare you the embarrassment of the $1.25 BILLION deal the AFL just signed. Let’s go back to the last rights deal. The NRL’s last 6 year deal was worth $500 million ($83 million per year), while the AFL’s second last 5 year deal was worth $780 million (156 million per year, almost DOUBLE the NRL deal).

Keep dreaming, chump…

Jezza says:

09:21pm | 03/07/11

@ Seano - want more bad news? The salary cap in NRL is only $4.3 million, while it is $8.5 million in the AFL.

Players earn more playing real footy.

Jezza says:

10:18pm | 03/07/11

@ Seano - it only gets worse for you. The AFL is the third most attended professional sports competition in the world. IN THE WORLD. In the national media, the AFL is mentioned over 320,000 times per year compared to only 160,000 for the NRL. See http://www.convictcreations.com/football/battlestats.html

Do you get it now, chump?

Seano says:

10:34pm | 03/07/11

Why do AFL supporters like you insist on being lowlifes as well?

Yes I understand that your over rated game is also over paid. It is also at saturation point.

You say Sydney doesn’t matter and yet you fail to realise that the AFL are dumping are large chunk of their cash into a sinkhole known as the GWS Giants. The S stands for Sydney incase you’re struggling.

In the meantime the NRL is not only alive and kicking but it’s expanding every year and unlike the AFL it has plenty of potential new markets both here and OS.

Seano says:

10:41pm | 03/07/11

“The AFL is the third most attended professional sports competition in the world. IN THE WORLD.”

Bwhahahahahahaa…

Jezza says:

11:41pm | 03/07/11

@ Seano - Hey chump, do you have anything to add to the debate that isn’t ignorant garbage? Let’s face facts. AFL beats NRL in EVERY statistical category you care to mention. Crowd numbers, team membership numbers, average player salary, TV viewers, TV rights.

As for your stupid, childish response to the fact that AFL is the third most attended professional sport IN THE WORLD, this speaks volumes about your ability (or lack thereof) to debate issues rationally. What’s your response going to be next, chump?

BTW, have you EVER been to a game of rugby where the crowd was over 80,000? Didn’t think so…

Jezza says:

11:52pm | 03/07/11

@ Seano - the AFL isn’t dumping “a large chunk of their cash” into the second Sydney team. It’s actually a small, manageable amount. Mere millions. An amount you NRL people can only dream of.

Also, the NRL is NOT expanding every year. In fact, it is going backwards, due mostly to its (few) supporters who would rather watch the game on TV than financially support their club.

Sure, you have plenty of new markets, but that’s because you have such a tiny footprint in the national landscape. The only way is up for such a poorly supported game laughingly called football.

Jezza says:

12:19am | 04/07/11

@ Seano - I’m new to this site but already I’ve noticed that you are seriously deluded. Answer me one question. Which sport is the most popular football code in Australia? Is it AFL or NRL? I think we both know the answer…

Jezza says:

12:33am | 04/07/11

@ Seano - I did a bit of research and I discovered that the ‘Sea Eagles’ (what the hell is a sea eagle?) have only 3,000 members. Is that for real? You get that many fans at a training session in the pre-season in the AFL. Why is the NRL so unpopular in its home territory? Even the Swans have 26,000 members.

I guess most Sydney people have finally woken up to the fact that their silly little rugby game is no match for real footy.

jf says:

07:56am | 04/07/11

Seano says: 05:07pm | 03/07/11
“@jf - I suspect much of the talk about Cooper coming to the NRL is from his agent who is just doing his job with a contract coming up.

That said he’s a real talent but not sure if his defence would be good enough for the NRL.”

I’m sure you’re right about the first but not sure about the second.

His defence is certainly the weakest part of his game but I’m sure that the leagies could place him for counter-attack whilst defending just as the Reds do and as the Broncos do with Lockyer.

WTF is wrong with everyone that there is so much vitriol about a footy game.

I love rugby, probably because that’s what I played from the age of ten for nearly thirty years.

I had a passing interesting in league because I’m from Brisbane and because it’s a tough, athletic game. In my opinion Rugby is better because it is more complex, more subtle and faster moving. Chess v checkers.

I never liked AFL much but moved to Melbourne and couldn’t escape it. It is a wonderfully athletic, fast moving game and the players are tougher than I ever thought.

There is room for all games (plus soccer, plus whatever). They all have their redeeming features.

And for you AFL supporters, rugby is rugby, rugby league isn’t. Please don’t f-k that up again.

Seano says:

08:00am | 04/07/11

First off genius, there was no debate here. No one was having a go at your inferior sport before you got all defensive. Just how weak are you that you would have such a panic attack over someone pointing out that the NRL is alive and thriving?

“Also, the NRL is NOT expanding every year. In fact, it is going backwards, due mostly to its (few) supporters who would rather watch the game on TV than financially support their club.”

Secondly it’s been pointed out to you already that NRL crowds are up year in and year out. 17,000 people went to the game in Wollongong on Sunday despite it being a cracker of a day, the State of Origin stars being out and the game being televised on free to air.

So sorry I’m not interested in “debating” tools who ignore facts that don’t suit their rants.

Seano says:

08:38am | 04/07/11

@jf - if you watch the origin on Wed or a Broncos game you’ll see that it’s a bit of a myth that they hide Lockyer in defence. I think that myth stems from the fact that coaches have been running their big forwards at star halves on the other team as much to tire them out and hopefully blunt their offense as to find a defensive weakness.

Michael says:

08:59am | 04/07/11

ooh, Jezza, did someone touch a nerve there? sounds like you’ve got quite the hard-on for those pooncy ‘men’ who prance around the oval field trying to cuddle each other while still trying to maintain some hint of tough guy bravado

seeing as the article was about Rugby Union (not to be confused with Rugby League), and seeing as you make the point about memberships, and tv viewer numbers, blah blah blah, being important to you, and being the proof of AFL’s supposed dominance….why dont you answer a few questions for me?

how many countries is AFL played in? when is the AFL World Cup? does anyone outside of Melbourne know who scott pendlebury is?

you try to make the point that AFL is the most watched in Australia and therefore the best…..but then you say to Seano that you dont care that it isn’t watched in Sydney (or any other state for that matter)

ill let you in on a little secret…..no-one else cares that AFL is the most watched in Melbourne…..it isnt played anywhere else in the world…..it has a tiny following worldwide, tiny membership numbers worldwide

similarly to how you dont care that AFL isnt played in Sydney, the rest of the world doesn’t care that AFL is played in Melbourne

it is an irrelevant sport in the scheme of things with a relatively VERY small, and VERY localised fan base

(oh, and yes i have been to several Rugby Union games with a crowd of more than 100,000)

cheers

jf says:

09:29am | 04/07/11

Seano says:08:38am | 04/07/11

“@jf - if you watch the origin on Wed or a Broncos game you’ll see that it’s a bit of a myth that they hide Lockyer in defence.”

I’m sure you are right. You’ll note that I didn’t say that they hide Lockyer in defence, because I don’t think that tey do. But they do position him differently when defending by placing him in a more attacking role in defence. My wording was quite deliberate. I’ve seen Lockyer tackle and there’s no doubt he can. However, you don’t want your best attacking player in defensive positions when they could be positioned for counter-attack and you certainly don’t want to place them in the way of some lunatic piggy.

Go the mighty Maroons. How many will that be Seano?

Seano says:

10:14am | 04/07/11

“but they do position him differently when defending by placing him in a more attacking role in defence. “

Absolutely that’s just common sense. The big difference between halves in union and league as far as I can see is that they have to make more tackles in league so Coopers defence will be a question over him going to league.

“How many will that be Seano?”

After Wednesday? 1 in a row to the blues.

Go the Mighty Blues!

jf says:

10:44am | 04/07/11

Seano says:10:14am | 04/07/11

“Go the Mighty Blues! “

I agree re. defence but still reckon he’d measure up. I was at a function a couple of years ago where Wally Lewis was telling a story about Mark Ella asking him if he thought he’d go ok if he changed to League. Ella’s defence was ordinary and he knew it and wanted to know if The King thought he would measure up in League. The King said “Mark, you’d kill it”.

You can get 3.3 for the Maroons/Reds double. Free money Seano. Get on it. Head over heart.

Seano says:

11:59am | 04/07/11

Surely the Blues/Reds are paying better?

Phil says:

01:32pm | 04/07/11

I will get smashed for this but dont care about the state of origin. Unfortunately for me I am on a plane to the US and cant watch the game live. My daughters were quite startled with my loud chants and screams whilst watching the game.
Cooper is a freak. Worth every penny. He and Genia were great so was Rod Davies.
Queensland showed last year promise with the razzle dazzle that the Brumbies used to play, with great structure this year from Link, they are a force. Who would have thought they would have been smashed by NSW early in the season finish on top of the ladder and make the final.
Very impressed. Yes I went for NSW in the two encounters between the teams, but as they say I go for Australia and whoever is playing New Zealand. (Well if its a South Africa New Zealand game you want a draw in extra time with several injuries.
The fact that Cooper appears to have snagged M/s Rice is also impressive. She is a star also. What a couple.
Go the Reds.

jf says:

01:40pm | 04/07/11

Seano says:11:59am | 04/07/11

“Surely the Blues/Reds are paying better? “

Yep. For a good reason.

Surely says:

02:29pm | 04/07/11

Jezza,
Take a breath, you sound a little mental.

Seano says:

04:25pm | 04/07/11

Well that’s what real gamblers do, they look for value propositions where the odds don’t match the chance of winning. Picking the right ones is how professional gamblers make their profit.

I’m off to the tab….

jf says:

06:08pm | 04/07/11

Seano says:04:25pm | 04/07/11

“Well that’s what real gamblers do, they look for value propositions where the odds don’t match the chance of winning.”

Well I guess that wouldn’t be considered a “good reason” then would it.

Good luck at the tab Seano. Get your bets on now before Bob Brown bans that as well.

jf says:

03:43pm | 03/07/11

Anyone that is still disparaging Quade Cooper simply doesn’t get understand the game.

Wiser heads than mine saw glimpses of his potential whilst he was still a school boy. They backed him during the early years whilst he was behaving like a knucklehead (personally, I don’t want to have a beer with any man who acted like a saint through their late teens and early twenties) and have produced a player who will be one of the game’s greats.

The Crusaders are a formidable team and may well beat the Reds. Cooper may even have a bad night. However, they (and he) have been sublime this year. They have played attacking, exciting rugby and have produced the results.

The Reds in a tight one, say 6. McCaw to be yellow carded (finally).

Spart says:

04:22pm | 03/07/11

No…I understand the game alright.

Cooper and SBW have injected some interesting energy into the game, but Cooper will take the money in NRL, where his attacking will make him a star, and his failings with his strategic thinking and defense will be better hidden.

SBW will be a star in his own right, and will split his time equally between the Chiefs and boxing.

Tim says:

09:40pm | 03/07/11

@ JF,

‘Anyone that is still disparaging Quade Cooper simply doesn’t get understand the game. ‘

Laughable remark sorry. Cooper’s defence is poor. Robbie Deans said it in the press after last years loss at Twickenham. McKenzie hides Cooper at fullback too. But I guess they just don’t understand the game?.

Now apologise to Spart for being condescending and apologise to yourself for being ....

Seano says:

09:43pm | 03/07/11

Spart, how can you understand the game and seriously think that a player with weak defence can be hidden in League?

There are fewer players on the field in league, fewer stoppages and the forwards are typically aerobically fitter. Which is why League players have always been better defenders. You can’t hide a half who can’t defend in League and teams that try to put weak defending halves on the wing in defence typically lose.

Despite the quality of his attack and kicking game Jamie Soward had to learn to defend to hold a first grade spot down and Luke Walsh was told if he wanted to stay in first grade he had to learn to tackle.

There’s no hiding a weak defender in league.

jf says:

08:06am | 04/07/11

Tim says: 09:40pm | 03/07/11
“@ JF,”

“Cooper’s defence is poor.”

Did you see this season Tim? Have you ever even played the game? Higgonbotham missed more tackles (number and percentage) than Cooper.

Cooper’s defence is certainly the weakest part of his game but when you bring an attacking game like his and can be used like he can in counter-attack then it doesn’t much matter.

“Robbie Deans said it in the press after last years loss at Twickenham.”

Did Deans say it was weak? Are you really using as a source for your criticism of Cooper a man who thinks highly enough of him to select him ahead of Giteau, Barnes etc…

“Now apologise to Spart for being condescending”

So no, I won’t apologise to Spart. He found room to criticise the key player in a team that finished first in the toughest rugby competition in the world. I’m sure he has broader shoulders than that.

First of all for Anyone still criticising Cooper hasn’t a clue and is almost certainly an armchair expert, possibly a woman. Add to that that you cry “say sorry” in an argument about rugby Tim and I am 100% certain you’ve never played a contact sport in your life Tim.

jf says:

09:31am | 10/07/11

Hello Tim, Spart, hello, hello.

No matter how much the Crusaders loosies illegally disrupted Genia and Samo in clearing ball from the scrums, no matter how often the crusaders wondered offside at the rucks to flop all over the Reds’ side, no matter how often Richie entered illegally from the side, the Reds prevailed.

A great game between two great games. There can now be no doubt which is the best provincial rugby team in the world: the Mighty Reds. At last.

The only thing better than a Reds win? A Wallabies clean sweep of the Bledisloe, Nelson Mandela trophy and the Tri-Nations trophy and finally the RWC (old Bill itself).

That was the Reds against the All Blacks last night. Imagine what will happen when Pocock, Elsom, Ashley-Cooper, Giteau, Alexander, Moore, Sharp, Mitchell, O’Connor and others combine to form the Wallabies.

jf says:

10:08am | 10/07/11

Oh and not to forget Cliffy Palu and Kurtley Beale.

With Cooper, Beale and O’Connor (the three best attacking backs in the world) plus Digby all standing in a backline, I’m betting not to many of Dan Carter’s kicks wont’ find touch.

Doesn’t matter. With Sharp and Horwill in the lineout it’s only delaying the inevitable.

Kassandra says:

04:52pm | 04/07/11

OK OK you won this time around. Grats. But don’t call us Mexicans, we are not south of the river where they play that odd game of Irish touch footy using a little pointy ball instead of a round one.
It’s gonna feel weird but I’ll have to barrack for the Reds in the finals.

Michael says:

10:33am | 04/07/11

Rugby still has it’s origins in the U.K. or it’s heart, whichever. Many other sports have lost their souls/‘heart and sold out to “show me the money” type mentality it’s all about the individuals in “codes” where the moral decline is evident.

Don’t resist the truth just because you are invested emotionally in one “code” or another, look at the decay individualism and money have visited upon your chosen “sport”

Even that story about the virtual footy or whatever it was last week showed that individuals are where the focus is/has moving/moved to, not the “code” or the teams.

Surely says:

02:44pm | 04/07/11

Smaller player pool , less teams ,lower profiles, less news worthy.

Tim says:

09:45pm | 03/07/11

I do. Why?

Jezza says:

11:17pm | 03/07/11

Yes tim, why?

Michael says:

09:01am | 04/07/11

it is the game they play in heaven, after all

why is that surprising to you?

Tim says:

02:42pm | 04/07/11

Gregan and Larkham were both from Canberra.
How did Queensland then underpin the Brumbies success?