Australia's National Sport

[Simon]

why did u quote me as saying them when it was kyle??

 

[social]

for the last time, league us not dying, its expanding...
afl will enjoy a smaller slice of the pie in 15 years with the emergence of football as a major code in australia, but all in all all the sports will hold the same standings as what they have now in 2020...

League is not expanding, it is contracting.

It is a game played by some of the world's best athletes, the majority of whom are neanderthals, and administered by past players. That is the problem.

AND I LOVE LEAGUE.

 

[vic_orthdox]

why did u quote me as saying them when it was kyle??

just a silly mistake. my apologies.

 

[Mister Wright]

why did u quote me as saying them when it was kyle??

He (I hope I'm assuming correctly) didn't think I was capable of such a sensible statement.

 

[Mister Wright]

that's probably why i rate johns higher. what your capable of (especially in the big games, or in clutch situations) is probably the most important part of a champion in my eyes, which is probably why i rate lara over tendulkar, and think gary ablett was the greatest AFL player ever....and maybe because i barrack for geelong

I'd rather have a player in my team like Lockyer who can give me 80 minutes of solid football and will do the job himself rather than relying on the forwards giving him extra space. Johns may be able to pull the odd gift out of the bag, but it is all to infrequent, and really when the forwards don't dominate he goes into his shell, whereas in the same situation Lockyer grabs the ball and does the hard work.

 

[vic_orthdox]

true. but look, i dont get to see enough league in melbourne to make as good a judgement as you. but it was joey who caught my eye enough to make me stay up late and watch games that he was involved with, and therefore blossomed the passion, which is still not all that great, that i have for league.

at least, unlike most melbournians, i don't call it "rugby".

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

The national game is AFL, without question. Cricket is an undeniable part of Australian culture and the most popular summer sport, but frankly it doesn't have the level of general public interest to be the national game.

 

[Son Of Coco]

No. It hurt me bad, but after Langer's abilities declined I admitted that Johns was the best player in the game. I doubt you would ever find a N.S.W. supporter ever admitting that a Qld player was the best in the world. However, the time Lockyer has spent at fullback now allows him to be one step ahead of everyone else in the game, he can read the game a lot better than any other player. He might not have the long kicking game tha Johns has, but his short kicking game is far superior. Johns is an awesome defender, but Lockyer, if not matching him in that department, is not far behind him. Lockyer just seems to have tha extra zing and forsight that Johns doesn't have. Johns may be the more 'freakish' player but Lockyer is the more solid and more dependable more often.

I'll be the first NSW supporter to admit as much then if it turns out that way at the end of ths season....as I said, personally I don't believe the comparison can be made until they both play this season, as I think John's was the best player in the world when he got injured. Lockyer only stepped up to the five eighth role while Johns was away from the game.

 

[Son Of Coco]

yeh, but even then clubs are limited to how much their players or their immediate family can be paid by a third party thats linked to the club...
the clubs are watched very closely and theres no chance of getting away with even a minor breach, Brisbane are one of 12 clubs who have been fined in the last 3 years for breaching the cap this way, so i doubt any money problems they may have are linked with over payment...

Fair enough then.

 

[Son Of Coco]

I'd rather have a player in my team like Lockyer who can give me 80 minutes of solid football and will do the job himself rather than relying on the forwards giving him extra space. Johns may be able to pull the odd gift out of the bag, but it is all to infrequent, and really when the forwards don't dominate he goes into his shell, whereas in the same situation Lockyer grabs the ball and does the hard work.

Having watched Lockyer in some State of Origin games in the past I'd have to disagree. When the forwards aren't working he (as with other halves/backs) all but disappears....he might pull something out of the bag against lesser teams in the premiership, but against top quality defence where his forwards are struggling to give him space he's the same as the rest.

There's countless times when either one of us can provide examples of when either player has done something great on their own though with room to work in though....

 

[Triple Crown]

I do believe that Rugby League is withering on the vine.

Far from expanding, they are simply trying to reclaim lost ground with the new Gold Coast club, with the old Gold Coast club shutting down back in 1998.

The Western Reds club in WA shut down, as did the Adelaide Rams. And the NRL missed a golden opportunity to start up in the Central Coast. Now Soccer & Union are moving in on that territory big time. By the time that the NRL get their act together with the Central Coast, the opportunity will have probably been missed.

How do the League scandals affect junior player numbers? Who has a major say in deciding what sport little Johnny plays? Mum. Mum used to be a girl. Mums don't like it when girls get gang raped and molested, (whether allegations are true or not). And whether true or not, League players are notorious for shoddy behaviour, way back to when Julian O'Neil used to urinate under restaurant tables 'cause he couldn't be bothered getting out of his seat, & he used to smear **** on motel walls. Same thing with the NSW Origin team & the obscene phone call scandal.

You don't hear of George Gregan or Brett Emerton doing that stuff. Mum is more likely to let little Johnny play Union or Soccer because she doesn't want her sweet little son turning into an *******. This will see junior numbers fall, especially as more opportunity grows to make a good living professionally in Union - formerly amateur, & Soccer - formerly broke.

AFL suffers because its not a good TV sport, and bacause as soon as it rains the game turns into a farce. It will decline as Soccer grows. Soccer is already huge in WA & SA.

The wild card that everyone also forgets is that Rugby Union is nationally played in private schools. Even in AFL strongholds like Vic, WA & SA. Its just that in the past there was no career path to follow if you played Rugby in Victoria. Soon, you'll see all those potential Rugby players in AFL states stay with Rugby because they can finally make a career out of it, instead of switching to AFL if they show any athletic talent.

Also, Australians LOVE playing for Australia. The only footy codes that have real international staure are Union & Soccer. This hurts AFL & League. And League could have real problems if Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Super League in the UK, tries to merge it with Union in Europe, as has been suggested. Then Aust would have only the Kiwis & PNG to play and that would be like a nail in the coffin.

 

[steds]

And League could have real problems if Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Super League in the UK, tries to merge it with Union in Europe, as has been suggested.

That will never happen. I've never heard it suggested, either

 

[Langeveldt]

England has clearly defined Football as its national sport.. In SA and NZ rugby is king ..

Hard to tell with Australia, because their public seem so enthusiastic for loads of sports..

 

[bugssy]

i think that you ask different people and you will get different answers, living in nsw ad yes tehre is a sydney grade afl comp but there is no way that its bigger than the sydney grade cricket comp or the sydney grade union comp......... each to there own i think if you ask me what our national sport is i would definately say its out of cricket and rugby union, but not every one will agree. i have played in the sydney grade comp for years and its massive, if you dont play in it you wouldnt understand, but i dont think there is a right and wrong answer.

its just every one has there own special opinion. but i must say i have never watched an afl game in my life and i probably never will..............

 

[BoyBrumby]

Also, Australians LOVE playing for Australia. The only footy codes that have real international staure are Union & Soccer. This hurts AFL & League. And League could have real problems if Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Super League in the UK, tries to merge it with Union in Europe, as has been suggested. Then Aust would have only the Kiwis & PNG to play and that would be like a nail in the coffin.

I know there probably isn't any real international Aussie Rules games, but when I occasionally used to watch it when it was on Channel 4 over here I seem recall there being an Irish Aussie Rules team. Unless I imagined it they'd beaten Australia too. Is this true?

I guess Gaelic Football is probably the most similar code to AFL &, with it still being amateur, some players come to play AFL to make a living from sport.

 

[vic_orthdox]

australia and ireland play a hybrid game as a series of two at the end of each afl season (not sure whether it is before or after the irish season) as gaelic and australian rules have a number of similarities, or so we're told.

 

[BoyBrumby]

australia and ireland play a hybrid game as a series of two at the end of each afl season (not sure whether it is before or after the irish season) as gaelic and australian rules have a number of similarities, or so we're told.

Gotcha.

I think the Micks & the Jocks do something similar with Hurling & Shinty.

 

[Langeveldt]

I guess the regional thing comes into play massively.. Here, cricket draws the biggest crowds and is played by more people than other sports.. Football would be the case in the vast majority of other areas..
Dare I say race plays a massive part as well.. The national sport is whatever you want it to be I guess..

 

[Triple Crown]

The Aussie Rules/Gaelic Football hybrid game can hardly be called a substantial international calendar for the AFL.

BTW, Gaelic Football as a sport is SOOOOO much better & entertaining than Aussie Rules. No surprise that the Irish Lads have been whipping the AFL guys lately.

Regarding Ruperts plan to merge Super League UK with Rugby. It may have not been a story in the UK but it got a bit of press here, and the overall plan was seen as the drivinh reason that News Limited sought to control League worldwide and is now a major financial backer of Union. The long term plan was for Union to swallow League.

League's a great game but too predictable.

Union's a great game but there are too many players on the park and cowardly violence such as stomping, raking & eye gouging goes unpunished. Address these 2 issues & Union will rival Soccer as the dominant footy code worldwide.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Union's a great game but there are too many players on the park and cowardly violence such as stomping, raking & eye gouging goes unpunished. Address these 2 issues & Union will rival Soccer as the dominant footy code worldwide.

Yeah, reduce the teams to, say 13-a-side, do away with rucks & mauls and.....hang on.....