TRAINING!!!

[vikings 4 ever]

I just think skills the Aussies have are light years ahead of ourselves and also they seem to harbour desire and commitment to be professional sports people so much better than ourselves.


If you've been to Australia for the recent World Cup, you will perhaps might not think the same, as the papers and tv were running stories about quite a few Brisbane Broncos players, who had been in court on sexual assault charges, after heavy drinking sessions, which are apparently quite the norm over there. In the papers it was saying that if they were going to get drunk and party, they should hire out a room, and do it in private.

Hardly what you would expect from profesional sports people

. I think one of the main reasons Australia are better than us, is that with it being such a big country, they have far more players to choose from, where as if GB/England get a few injuries, we dont have enough good players to bring in to replace the ones injured.

I have always got the impression that Aussie kids are out in the parks all year round playing one sport or another, compare that to Widnes, where the playing fields are almost always empty. I think the climate helps - In England its easy for kids to shut themselves away for months on end and play computer games, yet when we do get the odd good week in the summer, the parks are full of kids.

I'm not exactly how much the attitude affects things but in England we are always hearing about yob culture, hoodies and just general anti-social behaviour by youngsters. Although I don't know if its true, maybe whilst our youngsters are sitting on street corners causing trouble, Aussie youngsters are in the gyms or on the training pitches? Over there is seems ingrained in their culture to be the best and not stop till you get there. That doesn't really happen over here, we are told its wrong to push people, and there should be be winners and losers.

[MA]

I just think skills the Aussies have are light years ahead of ourselves and also they seem to harbour desire and commitment to be professional sports people so much better than ourselves.


If you've been to Australia for the recent World Cup, you will perhaps might not think the same, as the papers and tv were running stories about quite a few Brisbane Broncos players, who had been in court on sexual assault charges, after heavy drinking sessions, which are apparently quite the norm over there. In the papers it was saying that if they were going to get drunk and party, they should hire out a room, and do it in private.

Hardly what you would expect from profesional sports people

. I think one of the main reasons Australia are better than us, is that with it being such a big country, they have far more players to choose from, where as if GB/England get a few injuries, we dont have enough good players to bring in to replace the ones injured.

Yes Australia is Geographically a vast country. When it comes to population which might impact on the number of people who have the potential to play a sport it is not vast at all. The population is about 20 million with 2 million of those on the other side of the country in Western Australia.

As the area is so vast, they do rather well in promoting the game nationally and make our excuses of not being able to spread the game across our (in comparison) tiny island rather feeble.

[farnworth viking]

As the area is so vast, they do rather well in promoting the game nationally and make our excuses of not being able to spread the game across our (in comparison) tiny island rather feeble.
[/quote]

The thing that has helped Australia promote RL is that unlike Britain, there was no competeition from soccer to get fans to watch it. They had Aussie Rules, but that was played mainly in the South, you could perhaps compare that with RL in Britain, which is played mainly in the North, and isn't that popular in other parts of the country. With cricket being played in the summer, the only real competeion was Rugby U****.(i put the stars in, because i didn't want to get baned by the moderators for using bad language!).

So i think Australia have an easier job promoting RL than we do, with soccer being so popular all over this country, and has been since it started.

[neilw]

I have always got the impression that Aussie kids are out in the parks all year round playing one sport or another, compare that to Widnes, where the playing fields are almost always empty. I think the climate helps - In England its easy for kids to shut themselves away for months on end and play computer games, yet when we do get the odd good week in the summer, the parks are full of kids.

I'm not exactly how much the attitude affects things but in England we are always hearing about yob culture, hoodies and just general anti-social behaviour by youngsters. Although I don't know if its true, maybe whilst our youngsters are sitting on street corners causing trouble, Aussie youngsters are in the gyms or on the training pitches? Over there is seems ingrained in their culture to be the best and not stop till you get there. That doesn't really happen over here, we are told its wrong to push people, and there should be be winners and losers.

No true at all they do have issues with youngsters causing trouble in Aus as we do here how ever as you say there climate and culture is different to ours, which all aids the job in getting youngsters interested and playing the great game of RL. Add to that that RL is almost their national sport (footy here) so kids are naturally drawn to that sport rather than another as they do to football here.

The sad thing is even in football (national sport) we cannot do much on the world or even european stage with a population of 60milllion + so what hope do we have with RL as it is a region sports in all but name. Aussies want to player RL were as our kids want to play football this will never change to improve we need to reduce the quota allowance and insist clubs use and develop british qualifying players only then will we have any small hope of getting a trophy on the international stage.

[Bruce Champion]

Although I don't know if its true, maybe whilst our youngsters are sitting on street corners causing trouble, Aussie youngsters are in the gyms or on the training pitches? Over there is seems ingrained in their culture to be the best and not stop till you get there. That doesn't really happen over here, we are told its wrong to push people, and there should be be winners and losers.

I do notice that you say it may not be true, and it's difficult to generalise, but on the whole those interested in rugby at a young age take it very seriously, and rugby actually can stop kids going down the 'yob culture' route.

The arguement about pushing people is to prevent kids from losing interest or confidence.  What if a great kid at 10 years old is playing in a team that gets battered every week and see's that they're bottom of a league?  Big risk in him thinking 'whats the point' and packing in.  Kids play a cup comp at 12 and go into a league at 13's, which I think is spot on.  Kids get competitive before hand, course they do so there's no problems there.

The main problem over here is that Barla have no interest in junior rugby whatsoever, they don't even let junior reps sit in on their meetings anymore, the game won't move forward until this is solved, or junior rugby forms its own association.   

[RB]

. I think one of the main reasons Australia are better than us, is that with it being such a big country, they have far more players to choose from, where as if GB/England get a few injuries, we dont have enough good players to bring in to replace the ones injured.

Its nothing to do with the size of the country.
Their are 60 million people in the UK, 18 million in Australia.
Their are about 12 million in Lancashire @ Yorkshire (or rather the North West plus Yorkshire) and 4 million in Sydney and 1 million in Brisbane. Not sure about the total population of New South Wales and and Quesnsland.
However you are right it is to do with number of people playing the game and the status of the game.
In New South Wales and Queensland RL is king in the English RL heartlands RL is a distant second to Football and in the major cities of the North West Manchester and Liverpool nowhere.
We have the population we just need to get them playing RL.
Certain people are just great sportsmen Bernard Hinalut could have been a great cyclist or great Rugby Player. Ryan Giggs was a good schoolboy RL scrum half but it was a no brainer to take football more seriously.
We need to get them playing RL when they are young.

[Chris B]

I was told by someone working at the Wids when we used to train there that when Kieran Kerr and Bradd Watts came over they were completely unimpressed with the training that was done over here.

Apparantly training was almost always delayed due to players turning up late and when it was eventually carried out it wasn't nearly as intensive as they were used to. I was also told that after training had finished they would often stay back and carry on with some training themselves to try and keep their fitness up. Bear in mind also that they were..reserve graders, I think the term is.

There were also rumours last year about the real reason that Ben Harrison and Andy Braceck were recalled so quickly into their loan period..

Still that was under a different regime (in the first case).
When I was living in Widnes I often saw Steve McCormack driving past the station at about 7.20am on his way to the ground so he at least is /was putting the hours in.

[MA]

As the area is so vast, they do rather well in promoting the game nationally and make our excuses of not being able to spread the game across our (in comparison) tiny island rather feeble.


The thing that has helped Australia promote RL is that unlike Britain, there was no competeition from soccer to get fans to watch it. They had Aussie Rules, but that was played mainly in the South, you could perhaps compare that with RL in Britain, which is played mainly in the North, and isn't that popular in other parts of the country. With cricket being played in the summer, the only real competeion was Rugby U****.(i put the stars in, because i didn't want to get baned by the moderators for using bad language!).

So i think Australia have an easier job promoting RL than we do, with soccer being so popular all over this country, and has been since it started.

You make some valid points but if you look at how well Melbourne Storm have done in comparison to the various guises of London, you can see how much of a fist they have made of things.

They have 3 relatively successful teams hundreds of miles away from Sydney in Queensland. Why have they succeeded and London haven't? I don't have the answers to that really but they must have had everybody from players all the way up to the NRL governing bodies pulling in the same direction most of the time or a lot more than our own.

Adelaide Rams didn't fare so well (possibly down to location I'm not too sure) but at least the NRL haven't tried to keep flogging a dead horse by doing everything and more (than they really should) to keep them afloat. From what I can see, they are building the grass roots up in the part of the country quite well.

In a nutshell, takeaway populations and locations the Australian's are obviously doing many things so much better than we are.

[Glynn]

You make some valid points but if you look at how well Melbourne Storm have done in comparison to the various guises of London, you can see how much of a fist they have made of things.

They have 3 relatively successful teams hundreds of miles away from Sydney in Queensland. Why have they succeeded and London haven't? I don't have the answers to that really but they must have had everybody from players all the way up to the NRL governing bodies pulling in the same direction most of the time or a lot more than our own.

Adelaide Rams didn't fare so well (possibly down to location I'm not too sure) but at least the NRL haven't tried to keep flogging a dead horse by doing everything and more (than they really should) to keep them afloat. From what I can see, they are building the grass roots up in the part of the country quite well.

In a nutshell, takeaway populations and locations the Australian's are obviously doing many things so much better than we are.

melbourne storm get most of there players from feeder clubs in queensland.

and as for the 3 teams in queensland, rl in queensland is just as big if not bigger than in nsw now.

[John]

I have always got the impression that Aussie kids are out in the parks all year round playing one sport or another, compare that to Widnes, where the playing fields are almost always empty. I think the climate helps - In England its easy for kids to shut themselves away for months on end and play computer games, yet when we do get the odd good week in the summer, the parks are full of kids.

I'm not exactly how much the attitude affects things but in England we are always hearing about yob culture, hoodies and just general anti-social behaviour by youngsters. Although I don't know if its true, maybe whilst our youngsters are sitting on street corners causing trouble, Aussie youngsters are in the gyms or on the training pitches? Over there is seems ingrained in their culture to be the best and not stop till you get there. That doesn't really happen over here, we are told its wrong to push people, and there should be be winners and losers.

Having had some limited experience of their culture I would say Aussies live for sport to the detriment of other things. You just have to see the lunchtime joggers going over that damned bridge to see it. Australia has a young persons culture but considering its resources is economically a disaster.  Qualifications and salaries are very low. Hence I think why many youngsters who don't fit in too well backpack and many come to live in Europe. Also I think you will find that RU has now overtaken RL out there and soccer is making big inroads.

[MA]

melbourne storm get most of there players from feeder clubs in queensland.

and as for the 3 teams in queensland, rl in queensland is just as big if not bigger than in nsw now.

That's a hell of a long way for Melbourne to tie up with feeder clubs.

If RL in queensland is now bigger than in NSW, what have they been doing to achieve this? They don't really have football like us to contend with but they have so many international sports that they compete in at such a high level and so Rugby League in OZ does have a lot of competition.

Football may not be as popular in Oz as it is here but they are doing a really good job in developing it e.g. they beat England last year didn't they and they competed really well in the last FIFA world cup.

What I'm trying to say is, the Aussies IMO have impeded RL in England with their influx which isn't their fault but in fact our own. However, to embarrass us like they did last month must mean they are doing plenty right and we should be trying to emulate them, learn from them and follow them.

[Sandgroper]

Certainly whatever is said about their slowing the game down etc they illustated quitewell that they can play faster and with more skill than we can at present.

My experience in Oz is a bit long in the tooth now but one of the worst things that can happen to an Aussie sportsman, whatever the sport, is that his coach discards him and crticises his attidude.

I had a lad working for me whoi was State freestyle champion at 21 yrs of age.  He left every party , with his fiancee, at 9.30pm because his coach said that he had to be of the streets by 10.00!!!  That's dedication.

[vikinggriff]

main difference to me is that the attitude here seems to be once you sign pro forms you have made it, and generally they stop trying to improve themselves. the aussies seem to have the opinion that getting good enough to wear th green and gold is where you can say you have actually made it