I have followed RL for 60 odd years, have never supported any club/team than the eels, same as family members, uncles and godfather. Had one game of RU, but after responding to an opposition niggler who gave me a good upper cut on the first two scrums, I was on the lookout in the next scrum, sure nuff as the ref called for the ball to be fed, I saw the oppositions props arm start to come up, & for once in my life I was quicker and got him a better one than he got me, result I was sent off & my dad asked what happened, when I told he he congratulated me, following week I got a trip to the Royal Easter Show.I never played League but loved going & watching it at Cumberland Oval, it was an awesome place watch RL especially the eels.
Why I write this blog it was a result of reflecting on the changes in RL since my boyhood days to an old fart of 73.6 years old, and how those days compares/d to the game these days. The old days of unlimited tackles usually meant the strong teams controlled the game but some refs would penalise teams just to give the opposition teams a chance in the game, only way they got the ball. From my memory, there were a lot of hard forwards that never gave an inch in their plays, tough and uncompromising yet more often than not were also concerned when a player from either team was injured. At these games there were St Johns ambulance staff who came on to help and make calls on an injury. The only replacements came by means of a reserve or 3rd grage player who had completed the first half of their earlier game, 2 were allowed & if more injuries were had, then the team played a man short.
There were some great speedsters, out on the wings, also some centres as well, some forwards like Dick Thornett had a good turn of speed and could beat many opposition players and score a try as a result. RL as such was tough, and often seemingly uncompromising, many people did not like the old BASH & BARGE concept of RL, whilst in the eyes of the elite that was never part of the opposing code RU, the gentlemens game, or the game played in heaven, also commonly called Running Wrestling, mostly as a result of their scrummaging for the ball in the rucks. Both games had their elements of brutality but on reflection it was nowhere near what we have seen in the game of RL as it goes forward. The toughest, roughest & dirtiest teams were the poms when they came out & when we went there for tests, these matches were full of dirty and very much foul/illegal plays, the poms though were clever and had perfected the ability of all but murdering our timid Oz players, who were very much always under the scrutiny of the local refs, ours were a bit better towards them but, often and some not.
Advancing to todays RL games, & the days of the professional footballer, as against the old days of a bit of coin to play but to earn a living out of it was not possible, no player was full time and all generally had full paid jobs and trained a couple of hours one or two nights a week, & sometimes on a Saturday morning, if playing on Sunday/Monday public holidays. So how many years has it been now since the game has become professional, that is all the NRL teams/squads are full time jobs, how many days a week do they train? and then there is the game, how much does the average, and of cause the star get when he signs a contract, and then the commission to his agent. But how long has it been that we have dedicated businesses that are exclusives in the player manager dept? IIRC, in those older days & even at the time of the great Jack Gibson & previous to him in Norm Provan at the eels, they were the ones who looked after the players, except when it came to contracts and the head of the clubs football club was the one responsible for the signing of players and coaching staff.
Comparing RL back in my early days, and I was out of it for something like18 years when working in the bush, & supporting the local team, which was country football and no match for the Sydney teams. Coming back to Sydney in 2000, was not hard to see the extent of the way the game had changed, but was the change/s making the game better??? Its a point and question that I ask myself at times and find it hard to actually say that it is better. In saying that, there is little or no doubt the game is faster, perhaps because its a full time job for players while they are able to play and do so with an ability to stay in the game long enough to earn some decent coin. But, that does not answer the question of the game being better, ok! yes its faster, tougher, harder, and more brutal in many ways as the game has continued in this fashion, as a result I wonder at times when I see the announced retirement of players still young forced out of the game owing to injury, or worse they are not up to NRL standards that continues to surge in the area the faster, tougher. harder & brutalness that its ascended into.
Over this past year/s I have watched the game of RL come to a point where, its all but anything & everything goes and all is good just to win. Most who will read this post will vehemently disagree with me but its just my thoughts and no ones elses. With the so called Covid year, the length of the season was shortened, the ref numbers were reduced back to the old single ref control, the game also became faster with the clock and 1-6 again depending on the refs call, it reminded me of the old bash and barge days when a single team could control the whole game by not having to give the ball away, unless a knock, or penalty to the opposition team. The old game rarely had more than a one on one tackle, sometimes 2 man tackles were seen, but the single man tackles worked because all players knew how to tackle and do so properly by bringing the attacking player down.
Since the return to Sydney, especially since then, I have watched how the game has gone with the multi tackled player, much of which reminds of those old pom test matches where any and everything goes,, how close has the game gone to the point of the opposition being a target to be put out of the match and as a consequence the game and perhaps, life or into a rehab hospital where they may spend the rest of their lifes? In fact I have seen clips of players on crutches, then walking ever so slowly as they try and get back to life and their family, not RL.
This past weekend, I have watched the two finals matches, and have not sat past around the 50th minute of both owing to the way that the great game of RL has descended into what it is today. So far the only thing I have not seen is the old coat hanger, where the heads of the opposition players were almost akin to gilotines swinging. How many tackles have been with less than 3-5 players coming in, most though were with 3, with a few 2's, & 4's but what was also seen was another person coming in as a pusher, but at a height that the tackled player is pretty much held up and force marched backwards. The worst part though is the element in that the player being tackled often was forced back metres and their own team mates had to come in and stop the push, yet the ref helf back the whistle.
I must be wrong as I was still under the belief/understanding that when a players forward progress was stopped/held up then the tackle was complete and the ref was to call held, and the play the ball took place. How come so many off side players are in front a kicker and surround the ball taker or take him out from also being offside, also more frequently then not is not penalised.
I am in the last throws of believing that the game of RL as I loved does no longer exist, as it is being destroyed by its own rules that are causing an implosion. That implosion also is being revealed more and more when I read of ex players who have had head injuries and now have serious health issues. I love the game and its hardness, but what I am seeing is a game that could very well self destruct if it continues in its current direction.
Next weekend, is this years GF, I am not sure whether or not I will be watching, also if I do, for how long. The last two matches especially the one on Saturday really has me in doubt as far as whether I will watch the GF or worse still stop following the game.
Replies
I'm glad you smacked that guy in the scrum Col. It would be interesting to see what rule changes you believe would be good for the game. While your thinking on that, watch this movie which you may or may not have seen. It's the first ever movie made about Rugby League and stars Richard Harris. Harris for nominated for The Academy Award for this performance. Apart from Russell Crowe, this is the closest that RL has come to Hollywood
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ydlk5
PT, is it possible to copy to a DVD? would be much better to watch on the TV than on computer screen.
Great movie I saw it years ago
A great read Col. I have been following Parra since the early 70's, and saw many games at Cumberland with my Dad I did follow Penrith for one year due to peer pressure from a school mate who followed Penrith. I remember going to Cumberland one day to see Parra vs Penrith when my Dad was following Parra. Parra were leading well at halftime this day, and I yelled out at the top of my voice that I thought Penrith would win. A guy in front of us said" ok, put you're money where your mouth is, I will have a $10 bet with you,", which was a lot of money back then. My Dad told him in no uncertain terms that there would be no bet. You guessed it, Penrith got up.
Col, I don't think the game is as entertaining as it was back when I first started watching. To me, the game is too robotic. 5 plays up, then kick the ball. I feel there was much more flair back in the 70's and 80's. Also, back then, players had full time jobs, they would train Tuesday night and Thursday night and then play on the weekend. When I first started watching, there was a match of the day at the Sydney Cricket Ground and all other games were played on Sundays. I feel tje players these days have too much time on their hands and that is why they get into trouble. Still love my footy and tje eels though
For me and I'm not nearly as old as you blokes but league peaked in the 90s
I agree offside, the game was at its best in the 90's early 2000's before wrestling ruined it.
All sports evolve Colin, it's the nature of the beast. Your grandad probably said they same thing about the game in the 20's compared to the game you loved in the 60's, and your grandkids will be saying the same thing in the 2050's that you're saying now.
I don't know if it is evolving Brett. The game is faster, but I don't think the skill level is a good. How often do you see a chip and chase try like the one Mitch scored earlier this year? Not often. The game is faster, but not as entertaing to watch. There seems to be too much emphasis on D these days, and all the talk these days is gang tackling, Crusher tackles, cannonball tackles etc. With the exception of Reed, who does it a bit, tackles around the bootlaces are few and far between. It is all about stopping the ball carrier from getting the ball away, which is fine, but it has created a monster imo, and leads to more penalties. As the old saying goes, you can't run without legs.
Agree. Would rather watch a good old fashioned game than the current rubbish by videos, refs and ridiculous rules. It is certainly not the game that I grew up watching. Heck, even Origin has become almost boring in comparison to the passionate years.
If it's changing it's evolving, that's kind of the definition. As for skill level, I disagree, when you look at some of the skills that the modern player can do it's astounding. Just the way wingers can finish in the corners now is incredible. The sheer variety of kicking skills that the modern players can produce is incredible.
I do agree that the low one on one tackle is a rarity these days, but not because players can't make them, but because the game doesn't reward them enough.
I love the modern game as much as I loved the previous generations of the game.