Some of the spectators are as bad as on-field thugs

Mark says:

08:10am | 24/09/09

Ok I recon these young lads deserve whats coming to them. However, in recent times, we have a group of people on a RL TV program on CH9 who think its a great to see the passion when a fight erupts on the field. They cheer it on and say how great to see the fighting spirt in RL isnt dead.  These drop kick has been drongos fail to remember that kids look up to their sporting heros and guess what, they play it out because thats how the big boys do it.

So dont go blaming the kids when its alright for these mungos to be dickheads.

RT says:

08:36am | 24/09/09

Did Mark Latham really say that? Makes you wonder how he ever got as far as he did. As a world leader he’d have been right up there with Ahmedinejad and Gaddafi. I’ve been watching rugby league for 40 years and it’s never been ‘cleaner’ at the NRL level. I don’t think those u16 kids from Blacktown can use the excuse that ‘the NRL guys do it’.

Kenny B says:

08:40am | 24/09/09

Hey Mark kicking another kid when he’s on the ground? Give me a break, this is all to do with those kids and their parents, it’s nothing short of disgraceful. Stop blaming everyone else, take responsibilty for yourself and your family…none of those kids should be allowed to play again ...ever, and their parents should be banned from junior football.

We’ve all played footy of various codes Mark, and watched the shows on TV, but I doubt too many have behaved like that.

steve says:

08:44am | 24/09/09

Quick
send thisarticle to Tim Hilferty,  he reckons this stuff only happens in soccer.

Tim says:

09:16am | 24/09/09

Mark,
if you think these players were trying to emulate their NRL hereos you are kidding yourself. If these kids weren’t getting into fights on the footy field it would be in the playground after school. It has nothing to do with Rugby League and everything to do with these kids and their parents attitudes. These kids are bullies and should be banned for life along with their parents

bella starkey says:

09:32am | 24/09/09

I was at my kid brother’s union grand final a couple of weeks ago. The way that those boys handle themselves is completely different to young league players. They were playing a team made up very old looking 17 year olds who seemed like they wanted to win by knocking unconscious as many opposition players as possible.

Eventually after the third of my brothers team mates was taken off the field, he lost his temper. He pulled the oppposition player up by his collar. Interestingly though he stopped himself and took himself off the field for five minutes to calm down.

Tensions were very high in the game and with the other side supporters yelling out some very nasty things to the boys a brawl could have easily started. But the boys are taught discipline and to use any aggression to play harder and faster not to let it spill into a fight.

I guess the adage is true. Union is a thugs game played by gentlemen, League is a gentlemen’s game played by thugs.

(BTW my brothers team won, kicked a penalty on the buzzer to win by 1 point. I was ever so proud of the little mites.)

Jolanda says:

09:32am | 24/09/09

It is definately an attitude problem and it stems from the support and protection of the culture of bullying in society, the workplace and our schools.

Steve S says:

10:02am | 24/09/09

This behaviour was just the shot in the arm the AFL require in Western Sydney not least for the fact that it highlighted the proliferation of the Polynesian population involved in rugby league.  This is certainly not intended as a racist comment but just stating the obvious that the size differential between the standard Polynesian youth and the standard Caucasian youth.  There is on average at least 15 kg’s difference and a great deal of the Polynesians have the pace and the bulk.  I will be steering my son towards a game of AFL or soccer.  Whilst there is still a chance of violence and thuggery in these sports, both on and off the field, the chances are reduced as the intense physical confrontation is somewhat diluted as compared to rugby league.

S.L says:

10:43am | 24/09/09

I still find it amusing they refer to Western Sydney as League heartland when there are more registered Soccer players than all other codes combined. A game where a 160cm 45kg kid has as much chance with the ball as a 185cm 90kg opponent. Sure height can be an advantage (the heading skills of socceroo Josh Kennedy for example) but on the ground it’s anybodies game. The islander participation is becoming a huge factor in both rugby codes now but in the game in question the relatively smaller caucasian Lower Blue Mountains team got the gong!

Carl Palmer says:

10:47am | 24/09/09

To Steve S says: 10:02am | 24/09/09
I have to agree with you Steve S. Last year I went to see my neighbour’s son who is not that big or tall play a game of RL.  He was playing in the U15’s and I was taken aback at the number “Islanders” who he was lining up against. These “kids” are big units and I was genuinely concerned for the wellbeing of his son. With the lack of rain the ground was rock solid and I couldn’t help but wonder that someone would get hurt even if one of those big kids accidentally fell on someone. If one of those kids legitimately tacked me and I am 100kgs, I’m sure I come out second best. 

Been an AFL supporter, I convinced my neighbour’s son to have a go at ALF this season and whilst there were a few big guys that played the game the potential for injury was less. Actually it was probably the other way around because one of the skills RL kids bring into AFL is their ability to tackle. Sure they have to catch them in the first place, but when they do, they tackle even the big guys very well.

I have noticed the increasing emergence of these Islanders into the NRL, whether this is a good thing for RL as a whole I don’t know but it will be interesting to see if the RL administrators do anything about it.

DG says:

11:04am | 24/09/09

In my 20 odd years playing, coaching and refereeing sports, I’ve noticed that the players who end up swinging a punch or kicking someone who’s down are the sort of individuals that would behave that way whichever code they played. It is not the code, but the individual’s lack of self control that causes the problem.

Some people never learn that self control that makes you hold back when the chemicals in your brain are screaming “Go on, hit ‘im” - of course it is something that you should have learned long before you get to the under 16’s (I dare say it should be learned before you are 10), but some kids grow up without anyone telling them its wrong - these are the same kids that bully others in the play ground, get into fights at pubs/clubs in their late teens and generally make a pest of themselves right up until the day they are put in a pine box.

Disciplining the players is the only option, but I doubt very much that it will fix the problem. The guy involved will still run the risk of spending the rest of his days being a thorn in the side of society unless he learns some self control.

Perhaps by taking him off the sporting field it will avoid situations where he gets fired up, but the reality is that one day someone is going to annoy him (whether it’s queue lumping at a supermarket, road rage, a disagreement with his partner) and he’s going to let fly -self control is the only thing that can prevent that happening.

The trouble is that you never know for sure if a person has learned self-control until they exercise it, nor know their breaking point until they have reached it.

Let’s not blame the code but instead impose a little bit of personal responsibility on the trouble makers. Now if a particular sport attracts these trouble makers one has to ask why, but to blame the code ignores the fact that it is the player that decides how they will behave, and if they are incapable of controlling their behaviour they should be detained at the pleasure of Her Majesty.

Chris says:

11:41am | 24/09/09

For Mark Latham to once suggest that it was part “of the Australian way” for parents to yell abuse at the referees is an absolute farce. What has happened to accepting the decisions the officials hand down? And furthermore, at an under 16’s game, surely Latham’s comments can be considered ludicrous. This is what is hindering Australian sports from growing. If the kids see their parents acting in such a way, how can we expect they dont follow suit and convert verbal abuse into physical abuse? I believe its time for parents to start leading by example, rather than influencing their children into becoming savage beasts in the field of play. Behaviour like such cannot be tolerated and, in an attempt to rectify the issue, we must visit the root of the problem…the parents. Players need to learn what type of behaviour is and is not, accepted by the officials.

James says:

01:06pm | 24/09/09

Bella Starkey, I think you’ve got your football “codes” mixed up.

The English public school saying is a follows:

“Rugby Football is a thugs’ game played by gentlemen, Association Football (aka soccer) is a gentlemans’ game played by thugs.”

Both sports originate in the English public schools, but only one broke away and became a game played by the “working classes”.  The other remained amateur and steadfastly corinthian until the 1990s - officially at least.

Rugby League is a working-class northern English breakaway from Union. Its players originally wanted similar pay and conditions to footballers (soccer players) but the RFU told them to go jump, so they formed their own code. It’s less complicated and more free-flowing than Union but, as seen above, it does attract the worst kind of common thugs and scumbags. I don’t think the word “gentleman” has ever been associated with Rugby League !.

Davo says:

01:39pm | 24/09/09

Further proof that thugby as a supposed game is an embarrassing disgrace. What parent in their right mind would want their child to play this vicious game? To think that TV commentators actually get excited when punches are thrown just shows how backward those are who follow this ‘sport’. It’s no wonder that 7 million people attended AFL games this year while a mere 3 million watched rugby. Fans vote with their feet, people.

Tim says:

02:02pm | 24/09/09

No Davo,
they vote with their TV watching, in which NRL beat the AFL all year.
Everyone knows there’s nothing better to do in Melbourne than watch 36 “men” prance around in tight shorts trying to chase a ball.

Moi says:

02:32pm | 24/09/09

Yeah Davo, get your hand off it. If fans vote with their feet, why are NRL crowds are up 5% and TV ratings in Sydney up 15%? This proves there’s no place for a second AFL team in Sydney too, especially with Swans crowds at their lowest in eight years.

Both codes have also had their fair share of on and off field incidents too, as have other codes, but to ask why parents let their kids play the game is just plain ignorant. The problem isn’t with the code, these issues start at home.

Joel says:

02:54pm | 24/09/09

I definitely agree with Moi.
These incidents are happening across all codes and they most likely originate from home life. In junior AFL games, there’s been suspected hammer attacks by kids. It’s happening across all codes, across the country. The violence in rugby league isn’t the issue, violence in Australia is the real issue.

Henry says:

03:02pm | 24/09/09

It good to see an Rugby League judiciary, be it a junior Association, take strong disciplinary action against on-field violence. I am a AFL fan and pardon my bias against Rugby League but for some years I have watched NRL fracars escalate into fully-fledged assaults against one another. Even worse, these incidences continue to happen because players are not facing adequate suspensions. It seems that NRL players can get away with a lot more ‘mischief’ than AFL players. Not surprisingly, these junior players have forgot that the rugby pitch is an extension of society. A little of argy bargy is all well and good when you can shake hands at the end of the match with opponents. But when king-hits and kicking defenceless players on the ground is part of on-field conflict, a line needs to be drawn. Competing on an enclosed arena with referees and spectators does not give players a licence to mimic the sort of violence that the Australian public has been in uproar over for the past year. Until NRL tribunals crack down on their players’ abhorrent clenched-fisted warfare, children playing the game will grow to accept such behaviour as part of the spirit of NRL. If these kids weren’t met with 20 and five year bans for their conduct, they would most certainly grow up to represent the same scum that trawl our streets at night in search of senseless violence.

belted says:

03:06pm | 24/09/09

Having grown up playing Rugby League in glorious Bankstown I can attest to the often brutal nature of the sport. I love rugby league and have played, coached and supported for many many years. However, in that area, with certain ethnic groups league above the age of about 14 was seen as a legal way to go out and belt people. They played hard and aggressive, and with the confrontational nature of the game blowups inevitably occurred. The most memorable one involving a club being kicked out of the competition for a season or two after they threatened and chased the officials who had to barricade themselves in the change rooms until police arrived.

Overzealous parents can be attributed as a factor in the younger age groups, but by age 16 surely some personal responsibility has to come into it?

In saying that, I never went looking for fights on the field, but could easily tell when one was headed my way. This has stuck with me in life and I’ve not had any problems avoiding altercations anywhere from Bankstown, to Kings Cross and as far as New York. But I also learnt to help out my mates in sticky situations on the field and have had friendships grow from those days that will last my entire life.

Who knows what the answer is to the violence we see in junior sport. Size groupings rather than age groups has been brought up, but this takes out a major part of the game, sneeky halves/backs being able to outmaneuver bigger slower forwards. The only solution I can see is one of higher supervision and bigger penalties for offenders. It requires money and involvement from the NRL/ARL at all venues, with extra attention for the trouble areas.

No matter how it is looked at, something needs to be done, the more rugby league is in the headlines for the wrong reasons, the less bargaining power it will have in sponsorship dollars and the upcoming tv rights deal.

Jazz says:

03:07pm | 24/09/09

NRL or ALF codes are insignificant. Sure these are individuals acting foolishly and they do not necessarily represent the whole sporting culture. And yes it would be naive to claim thug-like behavior only happens on the field. I think, however, that far to much brute behavior is completely acceptable if your an athlete. As possibly the only person in Australia who has no interest in sporting events I see the game only from an outsiders perspective. All I see is the misogynistic sex scandals, violence and the drunken fans in punch-ons on the train. Can we really expect more from a bunch of blokes who get fame and fortune for tackling each-other? If the ‘Aussie way’ is promoting borderline child-abusing vicarious-living parents to produce future generations of meat head egotists; then I think Australian’s need to reconsider the sports mad culture. How about a focus on other achievements in art and culture, or producing a legitimate film industry? Does one have to be a robotic brute to get any recognition around here? The Aussie way needs a makeover. Oi Oi Oi.

Bruce says:

04:13pm | 24/09/09

No problems throwing the “book” at these cowards and dummies who obviously wanted to “win the fight”. I would like to know what the COACH and managers instructions were during the game. I doubt if any of the blacktown dimwit players could think as a team, most probably not having a brain amongst them, who instructed them to behave this way??

Michael says:

10:41pm | 24/09/09

Why exactly should I be tolerant of these violent ethnic groups?

I’ve got nice big scar in the back of my head, thanks to a fella who looked just like these ferals, the cat I gave my uncles family was used as a football by an under 17s league side mostly made up of ethnics like these, it died with its head stomped in while it lay in the gutter. You probably think I’m a racist, but all my life i’ve found my self on the receiving end of these thugs, who are the real racists in this country?

Davo from St Kilda says:

12:20am | 25/09/09

@Tim, the AFL kills NRL in TV ratings. That is why it earns almost DOUBLE in TV rights than rugby. Why would the networks pay so much more money for AFL if it rated lower than rugby? Doesn’t make sense, does it? Everything in AFL is bigger than rugby - crowds, TV audiences, player salaries, total club membership (AFL -538,000, NRL - 100,000) . The only thing rugby excels in is the thuggish behaviour of the no-necks who play the game

Gav says:

12:55am | 25/09/09

the root of the problem IS the western suburbs of sydney. Dreadful schools, transport and police. Crime at all levels is out of control and respect for authority does not exist. It realy is the wild west, an absolute jungle and Blacktown (perfect name for the hell hole it is) is ground zero.
Forget about not letting your kids play RL, I would not let them grow up out there. This sort of thuggery happens daily at train stations, the malls, schools or any where else where teens gather in the wild west.

Tim says:

09:00am | 25/09/09

Obviously your not too bright Davo,
The AFL get more money for their TV rights because they signed the contract at the height of the economic boom, whilst the NRL didn’t. As well as this Kerry Packer bid up the AFL price to stop the other channels getting the rights cheaply.
Guess what, when the AFL sign their next contract (in two years i think), they will be getting significantly less and there is no Kerry Packer this time to bump up the price.
One of the reasons the AFL is trying to fasttrack its new teams is so it can offer the TV channels an extra game each weekend.
But you sit in Melbourne and believe whatever the AFL tell you if it makes you feel better.

Tim2 says:

10:06am | 25/09/09

Davo, if you had any awareness, you would know that ‘rugby’ is used to describe rugby union, not rugby league. Every dimwitted Victorian I have ever met makes this mistake and it gets on my nerves. You can’t just group similar looking sports together, imagine how annoyed you would be if someone kept referring to the AFL as ‘ballet’.
Victorians are strange people and AFL is a pointless sport.

Davo from St Kilda says:

03:20pm | 25/09/09

@Tim you’re so ignorant it’s embarrassing. The reason why the AFL get more money for their TV rights is because football is watched by more Australians than rugby. FACT. Both the AFL and the NRL signed TV contracts in 2005, so get your facts straight before you start making ill-informed comments about the economy. Let’s be honest. Aussie Rules has ALWAYS been more popular than rugby. Whenever I see rugby on TV, all I see is empty stadiums. You must be so embarrassed by the fact that more than half a million people are members of AFL clubs while a tiny 100,000 bother to sign up for the NRL. People vote with their feet, Tim, or Tim2.

Tim2 says:

10:10am | 28/09/09

Davo, you are a fool. It’s really lame when people play the numbers game when comparing quality. Rugby league is a niche sport, played on the east coast of Australia. AFL is a nationwide sport. Of course there are more AFL fans in Australia. But, by your reckoning, Britney Spears is the best musician in the world, because she sells more singles…she’s the most popular, so therefore the best. You dimwit. But if you’re going to argue that point, then why is AFL only played in Australia? Rugby union and league are both way more popular than AFL world wide, so kiss my arse.

Bruno says:

06:45pm | 01/10/09

It’s still 30-15 Davo’s way.
Can AFL people like ‘Rugby’ and can Rugby fans like AFL?
From living in a place where both codes are played it seems to be more one way than the other.