My point was in respect of coaching in SL. While you mentioned them, we only saw Barrett over here for a season, and his last game was 10 years ago. Andrew Johns retired in 2007. Cronk and Thurston are both recently retired. They've all gone from the game.
100% Warrior wrote:The decline is through years of RFL mismanagement not the creativity.
Quote:That’s as alive and well as it was in the era you’re harping on about.
If you watched the CC documentary on BBC yesterday you’d see the poor defensive structures teams had. It wasn’t hard to create something that looked for all the world unbelievable when you have bus sized holes and a dog leg defensive line.
Which era have I harped on about? All I've stated is it is my opinion that the standard of SL has plummeted in the last 20 years, it's no where near the entertaining game it used to be. SL cannot keep what little talent there is draining away to the NRL and RU, and were only getting to see third rate, players with baggage or looking for a pension top up coming the other way. Tomkins was only released back to SL from NZ Warriors because his pace had gone after injury, and he's still one of the best English/GB full backs we have, but no where near the player he was.
We've gone too far on the defensive mindset with stifling wrestlemania tactics (evolved in Australia) being the be all and end all. Then there's so many players with ball in hand not knowing what to do with it, other than drive it forward.
As I stated before, if you're happy with the standard of players and game I haven't got a problem with that, as people can like or dislike whatever they want.
MorePlaymakersNeeded wrote:My point was in respect of coaching in SL. While you mentioned them, we only saw Barrett over here for a season, and his last game was 10 years ago. Andrew Johns retired in 2007. Cronk and Thurston are both recently retired. They've all gone from the game.
so your saying RL has been boring for 1 season as Cronk played last year? You didnt you said there arent skillful players as its been coached out of them and you never mentioned SL....plus we saw Trent for 2 seasons, keep up.
MorePlaymakersNeeded wrote:IMO, the standard of RL has been plummeting for the past 20 years. The game is a pale shadow of itself, with so very little creativity left in it. Athletes they may be, but the skill factor and excitement our product had has long gone. Which (pre Covid19) had led us to a state where the next Sky deal was very likely to less than the current one. Who knows what our next TV deals going to look like now. Like I said before, a semi pro SL isn't that far fetched as things stand today.
MorePlaymakersNeeded wrote:Which era have I harped on about? All I've stated is it is my opinion that the standard of SL has plummeted in the last 20 years, it's no where near the entertaining game it used to be. SL cannot keep what little talent there is draining away to the NRL and RU, and were only getting to see third rate, players with baggage or looking for a pension top up coming the other way. Tomkins was only released back to SL from NZ Warriors because his pace had gone after injury, and he's still one of the best English/GB full backs we have, but no where near the player he was.
We've gone too far on the defensive mindset with stifling wrestlemania tactics (evolved in Australia) being the be all and end all. Then there's so many players with ball in hand not knowing what to do with it, other than drive it forward.
As I stated before, if you're happy with the standard of players and game I haven't got a problem with that, as people can like or dislike whatever they want.
MorePlaymakersNeeded wrote:I'm not insinuating anything, as I clearly gave my opinion that the standard of creativity in SL as a sport and individually, has plummeted over the past 20 years. Hardly a ridiculous opinion given the decline in punters through the terraces and the issues to come with the next Sky deal.
The RFL can hardly be blamed for the way the game is no longer the attraction it was in the past. The lack of top players at their peak from down under and other countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), the rival code of Rugby Union, especially from South Wales, the constant changing of rules and a national media who today are only interested in the national sports of Cricket, Football and Rugby Union and Horse Racing. Even Womens teams in the three field sports I have stated now get more media attention than our men's game.
There still be might be creative players in the game, but they are now less in number than in the past and it is hardly surprising when the game is not as big as it was in the schools and in some traditional Rugby League towns, no longer even taught in the schools with youngsters now more interested in a X Box and Smart Phone than playing outside with a bat or ball.
I don't think the skill and creativity has declined necessarily. Players are more skillful than they've ever been. However, the the amount of time and space available has decreased, especially post the 2009 world cup when 'the wrestle' became an integral part of the game. How we reduce the wrestling and speed up the ruck is one of the biggest challenges facing the game in both hemispheres.
King Monkey wrote:Maybe a spell in prison would do Graham good.
We were really poor in 2008 but Tony Smith just couldn't get the team to work. Some very strong players mainly from Leeds and Saints but they just didn't gel. Paul Sykes got a game too so not the best quality
In 2009 we went quite close, I think 6 points in it with 15 mins left but then Australia scored 4 tries. With an Aussie ref and some immortal players in their absolute prime - Slater, Inglis, Hayne, Lockyer, Thurston, Smith, Civoniceva, Gallen - it would've taken an incredible team to beat them and we still had players like Peter Fox, Chris Bridge, Eorl Crabtree in there. I don't think it was just because we couldn't wrestle.
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