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I hate to say this but if we, as a business group, look at the big picture you can see where this is going. The eastern states will dump us, build up the cash, drop the NRC after the wrath of the public subsides and introduce a Western Sydney and Islander / Fiji Super Rugby Teams by 2020. Everything is close flying time, centred around population and business growth (2nd Sydney Airport) and Fiji will be supported by IRB and ESRU (Formerly ARU) and the SHUTE Shield will be the premier club rugby as per NZ ITM Cup.
Tell me if I am wrong?
Reckon that's pretty spot on SlowLock 😰
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
"Pressure had been applied" so they "opted to fall in line"
What kind of fuckery is that? Might as well get rid of the ARU altogether and just hand the keys to the pressure bearers, presumably NZ and SA.
P.S. I know the fall in line bit was a quote attributed to Fox but it applies equally to the invertebrates at the ARU.
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
In regards to "pressure being applied" I just read a piece from Andrew Webster who talked with Mr John O'neill about what is happening. They tried to implement the NZ model to make us even across the board and the powerhouse we should be and they (ARU board) approved it. But the bottom feeders from the east coast (Qld, NSW and somehow Vic) whinged so much they (the board) had to backflip on the decision.
I wonder what the IRB will say when they find that the "global game" has disappeared in the waste lands of Western Australia!
May the FORCE be with you!
The more I think about this, the more I am angered at whoever is running the game in the NSW and Queensland heartlands. Victoria is growing, WA is growing exponentially and the Brumbies are still the most professional talent identifiers in the country.
From NSW and Qld, all I hear over and over again is how the game is shrinking in heartland state schools, less kids are playing, junior clubs are losing players, kids have no pathways, soccer is establishing programmes within the curricula, AFL is funding more new clubs for kids to come along and have a kick, union players switch to league simply because there is more of a pathway or because league scouts are more numerous and active. The whole thing is a mess. This shrinking of the game is the real reason for the lack of quality players coming through at the top-level over the last decade. It has nothing to do with the expansion areas or spreading too thin, it sounds like baloney. And the argument that too many players are overseas doesn't really wash either, this is the country that won two world cups before anybody else did, our player stocks are not a bloody pittance for crying out loud. We should be able to cover the exodus, simply because of our inherent production line that won us those two world cups, for that to be shrinking and producing automaton journeymen lies firmly at the feet of the two foundation State unions and the ARU.
Back in the 80's and 90's soccer was a niche game, with a large contingent of players who were migrants or the children of migrants who came from soccer-mad countries. Lots of Yugoslavs, Italians, Greeks etc were the face of the game, showing that the game hadn't really caught on in the greater mainstream as yet (with the exception of Perth, of course). That has now changed. Now it is rugby, on the other hand, which has gone the opposite direction. We now see the same situation developing that soccer once had, it has shifted out of the mainstream and become niche, with a large contingent of talent at the top-level coming from ethno-cultural groups who have come from rugby-playing countries. Considering that these groups have small numbers overall, it makes you wonder just how much the game has shrunk in the mainstream culture. (Or how many players are leaving the sport in NSW and Queensland?)
And who's fault is this? This is not a rhetorical question either. Are the ARU, NSWRU, QRU, SRU, schools unions, junior unions, directly responsible? Who's heads need to roll here? What upheaval needs to be made? What structures need to be changed? Where are we going to get our future Ella brothers from, if the likes of Matraville High are playing soccer and RL?
Last edited by chibi; 18-04-17 at 18:47.
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
Chibi - I reckon the professional era has a lot to do with where we are now. It's turned sport into just another business whose primary reason for being is to make money for someone else. Money, money, money. Everywhere you look the answer usually comes down to money. The overseas drain being a classic example of that.
The actual game, those who play it, those who watch it, those who do hours and hours of work to support it at grassroots level, and the ones who GENUINELY love it come a very, very distant second.
That's the really sad thing in all this - the biggest loser is the game itself
Proudly Western Australian; Proudly supporting Western Australian rugby
World Rugby had so many countries on the cusp of development in the last 50 years and let them flounder, they won't care a stuff. Their only concern is a game of oneupmanship with FIFA to see who can get the USA, China and convert Brazil.
Meanwhile, over the last five decades, how many countries have been knocking on the door of the top tier, received no support and faded away?
Canada, Chile, Croatia, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Namibia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay...
Last edited by chibi; 17-04-17 at 01:36.
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
Know several ppl in both production & broadcasting within Fox including several on air talent.
Also confirms why News Ltd where first to declare WF to be axed before any ARU announcement, also why Rbrls have been told they are safe and Brumbies never on the block.
Remeber what News did to the Reds - same reasons they are keen to see Force out as it makes them (saves them) more money.
It's the broadcasting fees that pay for Super rugby in Australia.
Last edited by LMSC; 18-04-17 at 13:34.