Re: 21 man squad to face Catalans Saturday. : Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:10 pm  

moto748 wrote:

Rubbish! You don't make a lick of sense. The NRL has never had better viewing figures, it is booming, the game is awash with money in Oz. So you can't use accusations of sanitising the game being damaging there. The truth is, those who 'like the biff' are mostly sad old men (my age, I hasten t add) who are not the sport's future. Much like those who pine for winter rugby. From football to rugby union, even ice-hockey, the trend in all sports as been to cut the thuggery out. And quite right too. Sports need to be TV- and family-friendly.

I wonder if those people watching 'big hits' on YouTube have any real interest in the sport, or ever attend matches.

How's it rubbish? You point to one thing and ignore the rest?

I've watched the NRL coverage this week on the Australian Fox network and every commercial break is pumping the Tim Tszyu fight that's coming up. It's almost like there's a coloration between the two demographics...

Is boxing not seeing a boom btw? Are the fights now not a must see/attend event? People pay for Sky & then pay extra to watch a fight. Has the UFC not exploded over the last 2 decades with guys like McGregor now being recognisable to even the regular Joe on the street? What's family friendly about it too? I guess they are all sad old men. Or maybe those sports are now the ones for working class people who are looked down upon by others?

I'm a big RU fan and the sport has never been worse btw. The England Vs Ireland game yesterday was ruined after 80 secs. It's a TMO's wet dream with anything and everything being reviewed and penalised.

Re: 21 man squad to face Catalans Saturday. : Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:39 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

How's it rubbish? You point to one thing and ignore the rest?

I've watched the NRL coverage this week on the Australian Fox network and every commercial break is pumping the Tim Tszyu fight that's coming up. It's almost like there's a coloration between the two demographics...

Is boxing not seeing a boom btw? Are the fights now not a must see/attend event? People pay for Sky & then pay extra to watch a fight. Has the UFC not exploded over the last 2 decades with guys like McGregor now being recognisable to even the regular Joe on the street? What's family friendly about it too? I guess they are all sad old men. Or maybe those sports are now the ones for working class people who are looked down upon by others?

I'm a big RU fan and the sport has never been worse btw. The England Vs Ireland game yesterday was ruined after 80 secs. It's a TMO's wet dream with anything and everything being reviewed and penalised.

I'm not interested in boxing (although obviously many are), but because it's popular, that doesn't mean thuggishness should be encouraged in other sports.

But I agree about England/Ireland. They dish out cards like confetti there. And the yellow cards for deliberate knock-ons (and sometimes with the added bonus of a penalty try) seems wildly disproportionate.

Re: 21 man squad to face Catalans Saturday. : Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:53 pm  

moto748 wrote:

I'm not interested in boxing (although obviously many are), but because it's popular, that doesn't mean thuggishness should be encouraged in other sports.

But I agree about England/Ireland. They dish out cards like confetti there. And the yellow cards for deliberate knock-ons (and sometimes with the added bonus of a penalty try) seems wildly disproportionate.

I think we're just on the opposite sides of arguments (there's nothing wrong with that btw). For me, I see RL trying to follow RU and Football and being a sanitised sport that appeals to a family demo. I'd rather go down a boxing or even darts route that goes after men and doesn't feel ashamed by that.

Re: 21 man squad to face Catalans Saturday. : Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:58 pm  

I’m all for banning them for punching but I do think there needs to be a system that allows for each case to be judged on its merits. By that I mean somebody like Ellis should not get the same as a man who runs in and punches from behind. Last night was a poor reaction by Ellis but it was to a poor challenge and there lad threw back as well.

I think we can all deal with it being 3 or 4 games but not 8. To me 8 would be a bit of a joke. It’s a poor reaction but it’s a reaction all the same, it’s not just somebody throwing punches for the sake of it and being a thug.

Re: 21 man squad to face Catalans Saturday. : Sun Mar 13, 2022 1:09 pm  

Whilst we are on, or around this topic, it's the double standards & hypocrisy that irritates me more than anything. There was a perfect example of both in last night's game.

Dudson lead with a forearm to Zak's throat last night and nothing was said or done by the ref. Likewise, nothing was said by the idiots on Sky who just talked about Wigan's mistakes instead.

Flip the incident around and ask yourself what would have happened If that was Zak, as the tackler, who'd hit Dudson in exactly the same spot. What's the difference? Likewise from a hypocrisy POV, the guys on Sky would have at least talked about it.

We (as a sport) are all either all in on this, or not. If contact above the neck = dangerous, then it doesn't matter which way that goes.

Re: 21 man squad to face Catalans Saturday. : Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:42 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

Whilst we are on, or around this topic, it's the double standards & hypocrisy that irritates me more than anything. There was a perfect example of both in last night's game.

Dudson lead with a forearm to Zak's throat last night and nothing was said or done by the ref. Likewise, nothing was said by the idiots on Sky who just talked about Wigan's mistakes instead.

Flip the incident around and ask yourself what would have happened? If that was Zak, as the tackler, had hit Dudson in exactly the same spot, it would have been a pen. What's the difference? Likewise from a hypocrisy POV, the guys on Sky would have at least talked about it.

We (as a sport) are all either all in on this, or not. If contact above the neck = dangerous, then it doesn't matter which way that goes.

Good point about Zak he did cop one in the throat,I did expect a penalty at least poss a sin bin. Will see what the powers that be say.

Re: 21 man squad to face Catalans Saturday. : Mon Mar 14, 2022 2:58 pm  

NickyKiss wrote:

I’m all for banning them for punching but I do think there needs to be a system that allows for each case to be judged on its merits. By that I mean somebody like Ellis should not get the same as a man who runs in and punches from behind. Last night was a poor reaction by Ellis but it was to a poor challenge and there lad threw back as well.

I think we can all deal with it being 3 or 4 games but not 8. To me 8 would be a bit of a joke. It’s a poor reaction but it’s a reaction all the same, it’s not just somebody throwing punches for the sake of it and being a thug.

Agreed. The long-term bans should be reserved for serious foul play, like cheap shots, stamping on players or punching players on the ground.

Re: 21 man squad to face Catalans Saturday. : Mon Mar 14, 2022 4:07 pm  

moto748 wrote:

Agreed. The long-term bans should be reserved for serious foul play, like cheap shots, stamping on players or punching players on the ground.

He looks to be up for 5 to 8 games. Looking at the disciplinary site the fact he aims at the head is bad news though, so it could be top end. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a player throw a body punch but if they have enough brains to lose their head, whilst thinking on their feet, they better go for a body shot or maybe the old dead arm punch (or even better just do the Bateman grapple).