Interesting stuff being written about Clubs poaching players out of their district and our answers/responses with they, Easts, Manly, Melb etc should relocate to do their development.
In that article Mitchy made a comment of commonsense reality. i.e. practicalities. Someone else said something about Blacktown Workers becoming a direct feeder club for Manly.
Yeh you brought a sense of reality Mitchy and it got me thinking about how much ""forward thinking"" is being done about the inevitable consequences of the games development.
I will start by saying Rugby Leaue is a Tribal and Gladitorial Sport .......essentially politically incorrect......but we love it for what it is, health and saftey aspects aside.
Socio economics makes some teams needs, to be recruiting from anywhere.
I too was disgusted with the Manly/ Blacktown Workers ""Association"", not for them recruiting from this area, but setting it up as a development project in such a blatant fashion..
I assume we have junior development boundaries for a reason?
I wonder how Manly would have liked it for Parra to set up a development project out of the Harboard Nippers development district. Getting kids at 5 years of age, boys and Girls, sponsoring their surfing activities and by the way as part of the project we sponsor a touch football comp which the parents can join in as well as the kids.....beach football in the winter!
How many kids get seeded with Parra being, at the least the second team they may follow. Alternatively we have a junior structure that acts as a feeder in the local comp.....I could name the team now as the Freshwater Eels....LOL
Ok, it won't happen but the principal is valid.
Don't forget the reason why Panthers have the biggest catchment is a population spread west.....not unlike Parra had the same setting in the 70's and 80's. Its logical and acceptable that poaching will exist for the obvious reasons. The NRL needs to foster everything it can because the game has become so dangerous, more and more parents will not let their kids play....I don't blame them.
LIke Boxing Rugby league will become a money making source outside of mainstream sport, the NRL needs to maintain a catchment with lots of hybrid activities to make sure the kids are exposed to football (NRL) skils.....it will work as long as we don't stuff up the game like Rugby Union has by creating "stupourfying" rules.
Now TV rights and the need to be entertained will ensure the need for the future, the game is already proving to be the highest rated sport , at least in this Country and Mr Valandy/s has enough vision to go to the US for the ulimate prize of the "gambling dollar".
Don't doubt this objective and the "wowsers"can whinge for ever but the reality of that is as obvious as the reality that started this blog.
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