Sport Today

by **NJASHT** » Tue, 27 Oct 1998 04:00:00

I know Iam not the biggest fan of SL however
despite the hype from Stevo Iam alone in
thinking that the Grand final was a gigantic
bore.Few players with the exception of
Harris and Robinson showed any invention
is basically a game of one out football.
It appears to me that SL is a game based
on defence which can only lead to more
boring matches.Dare any one agree?.
Steve Ashton-

by **Phil Arundel** » Tue, 27 Oct 1998 04:00:00

Couldn't agree more - most of the SL games I've seen this year, have been
totally dominated by defence. I suppose an SL fan(who -can- see the emperors
new clothes) would argue that thats the way RL should be played. However, I
thought that switching to summer was supposed to stop the old, boring,
defensive ways of playing and introduce innovation, open play and
e***ment. I can think of at least one televised game this season that had
all of this - it was the 1st division GF. OK, so the players aren't fully
professional (for the most part), and they are probably not as skillful,
etc, etc, but, IMO the 1st Div GF knocked the SL GF into a***ed hat in the
entertainment stakes.
(Flame proof undies now in place ;-) )

Quote:

>I know Iam not the biggest fan of SL however
>despite the hype from Stevo Iam alone in
>thinking that the Grand final was a gigantic
>bore.Few players with the exception of
>Harris and Robinson showed any invention
>is basically a game of one out football.
>It appears to me that SL is a game based
>on defence which can only lead to more
>boring matches.Dare any one agree?.
>Steve Ashton-

by **jon_ma..** » Wed, 28 Oct 1998 04:00:00

Quote:

> I can think of at least one televised game this season that had
> all of this - it was the 1st division GF. OK, so the players aren't fully
> professional (for the most part), and they are probably not as skillful,
> etc, etc, but, IMO the 1st Div GF knocked the SL GF into a***ed hat in the
> entertainment stakes.
> (Flame proof undies now in place ;-) )

Quite a few of the old double-header premiership finals at Old Trafford
were the same though - the division 2 game was closer / more exciting than
the division 1 game.

Any thoughts on the size of the crowd ? 43,000 was pretty good (especially
considering the weather), but having Wigan & Leeds as the 2 finalists
obviously helped there.

--jon

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by **Simon Sherbur** » Wed, 28 Oct 1998 04:00:00

Quote:

> I know Iam not the biggest fan of SL however
> despite the hype from Stevo Iam alone in
> thinking that the Grand final was a gigantic
> bore.Few players with the exception of
> Harris and Robinson showed any invention
> is basically a game of one out football.

What would you expect in the rain and wind that blasted Old Trafford.
Leeds had enough trouble holding on to the ball anyway.

Quote:

> It appears to me that SL is a game based
> on defence which can only lead to more
> boring matches.Dare any one agree?.

Should that be disagree instead of agree?

Quote:

> Steve Ashton-

Steve,
Is the defense nature of the game due to the number of Aussie coaches
over here in charge of SL teams. Remember also the game was a final,
any mistake could have been the one that costs the club the title. The
score was tight so there was no need for panic football until the very
end. What did you expect 8 or 9 tries to each side?

Would you become a fan of SL if Featherstone got promoted?
--

Castleford fan just in case you wondered.
All comments are mine alone and are not representative of any company I
work for.

by **Gav Bratta** » Wed, 28 Oct 1998 04:00:00

Quote:

> I know Iam not the biggest fan of SL however
> despite the hype from Stevo Iam alone in
> thinking that the Grand final was a gigantic
> bore.Few players with the exception of
> Harris and Robinson showed any invention
> is basically a game of one out football.
> It appears to me that SL is a game based
> on defence which can only lead to more
> boring matches.Dare any one agree?.
> Steve Ashton-

For years we've been playing catch up football with the Aussies. They're bigger,
faster in speed and thought and more intense. We might play attractive rugby but
when faced with an Aussie style defence we don't have the room to work and
stuggle with the pressure. Finally we get the kind of competition that is giving
our players the level of intensity required and we start knocking it. After a
couple of seasons of full on rugby the players will start to adapt (hopefully!).
They will learn to think quicker, play more astutely and handle the pressure
better. This is the way to go, get the defences sorted out first.

Gav

by **Phil Arundel** » Wed, 28 Oct 1998 04:00:00

<-snip->

Quote:

>Quite a few of the old double-header premiership finals at Old Trafford
>were the same though - the division 2 game was closer / more exciting than
>the division 1 game.

Agreed. I suppose the reason that SL is more defensive is that as teams get
better, there is less chance to break through their defence - as many
coaches say, defences win games. I suppose the weather didn't help this
game, either! Interestingly, I persuaded my father (who is a Cas fan !) to
come to some of Fev's games this season, and he thought the 1st division
game was more entertaining than the SL game. I suppose the best way of
describing them is different, and, as time goes on I think they will
diversify more and more. BTW this isn't sour grapes because Fev didn't win
the GF this year - I enjoy watching SL, and will continue to do so, but I
think you probably have to view it from a different perspective - once you
know that you're not going to see a hatful of tries, you can start to
appreciate the defensive qualities of the game. As far as raw e***ment
goes, however, I still prefer the 1st division game. I'm sure many people
will disagree, and, hopefully, as many people will agree!
IMO, the 1st (and 2nd) divisions are good enough to stand on their own as a
competition, and, if we could persuade the fans to realise this and come
back to the game, things would look a lot rosier in the lower divisions.
Having said all that, I still hope Fev win the GF next year and have a crack
at SL!

Quote:

>Any thoughts on the size of the crowd ? 43,000 was pretty good (especially
>considering the weather), but having Wigan & Leeds as the 2 finalists
>obviously helped there.

I think the crowd was very good, considering that AFAIK, each team was
allocated only 10,000 tickets. That means there were 20,000 ish neutrals
there. IMO, this confirms what I have thought all season - the GF system is
a brilliant idea, which probably means it'll be dropped!

Quote:

>--jon

>-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
>http://SportToday.org/; Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own

by **The Hooded Cla** » Wed, 28 Oct 1998 04:00:00

Quote:

>> I know Iam not the biggest fan of SL however
>> despite the hype from Stevo Iam alone in
>> thinking that the Grand final was a gigantic
>> bore.Few players with the exception of
>> Harris and Robinson showed any invention
>> is basically a game of one out football.

>What would you expect in the rain and wind that blasted Old Trafford.
>Leeds had enough trouble holding on to the ball anyway.

>> It appears to me that SL is a game based
>> on defence which can only lead to more
>> boring matches.Dare any one agree?.
>Should that be disagree instead of agree?

>> Steve Ashton-

>Steve,
>Is the defense nature of the game due to the number of Aussie coaches
>over here in charge of SL teams. Remember also the game was a final,
>any mistake could have been the one that costs the club the title. The
>score was tight so there was no need for panic football until the very
>end. What did you expect 8 or 9 tries to each side?

>Would you become a fan of SL if Featherstone got promoted?
>--
>He's from Featherstone where they have a "religious fervour" for the game.

So of course he would.....

by **tad8** » Wed, 28 Oct 1998 04:00:00

Couldn't agree more.
I think a traditional English style attack (ST's Wigan, Cas etc) coupled with a
defense as good as the Aussies will prove to be an irresistable force.

As for the SL being defense orientated, - I don't know what the stats were, but it
seems to me that there were a good few tries scored this season, not noticably less
than normal.

But surely any sport that has defense & attack can be dominated by a team that gets
its defense right. eg Arsenal last season, Man UTD, Blackburn when they won.
Bath when they dominated the RU etc..etc..
IMO this is ok as long as you don't totally concentrate on defense & hope that the
tries will come as & when & not bother to use flair & imagination to get them.

This, to me, is the difference between this Wigan team & the one of a few years ago.

At the moment they only really play as a team when defending & this they do very
well.
In attack, however, they seem to lack the flair at halfback that Gregory,Edwards &
Botica et. al. afforded them in previous years, relying on individual skill & talent
to help them out.
I think they will sorely miss Robbie McCormack's creative ability even though IMO
he's not as good as some of the previous playmakers at Central Park. (Back to
Farrell & Smith I suppose)

Quote:

> > I know Iam not the biggest fan of SL however
> > despite the hype from Stevo Iam alone in
> > thinking that the Grand final was a gigantic
> > bore.Few players with the exception of
> > Harris and Robinson showed any invention
> > is basically a game of one out football.
> > It appears to me that SL is a game based
> > on defence which can only lead to more
> > boring matches.Dare any one agree?.
> > Steve Ashton-

> For years we've been playing catch up football with the Aussies. They're bigger,
> faster in speed and thought and more intense. We might play attractive rugby but
> when faced with an Aussie style defence we don't have the room to work and
> stuggle with the pressure. Finally we get the kind of competition that is giving
> our players the level of intensity required and we start knocking it. After a
> couple of seasons of full on rugby the players will start to adapt (hopefully!).
> They will learn to think quicker, play more astutely and handle the pressure
> better. This is the way to go, get the defences sorted out first.

> Gav

by **NJASHT** » Wed, 28 Oct 1998 04:00:00

Re-Grand final It should have been the
emporers new clothes
Who wants to watch 'Aussie style'football.
These comments still don't hide the fact that
the final was as boring as a Rugby Union
match or a nil nil football match.My mum
and Dad both League supporters even
turned over to Casualty.If this sort of defence
game is to be the norm we can forget expansion(Good) and even worry about
retaining our existing support.
Digressing a little I would have attended the
match but for the fact that my money would
have gone to an organisation that disregards
equal chances for all
Regards
Steve Ashton

by **Gordon L** » Wed, 28 Oct 1998 04:00:00

Quote:

>Who wants to watch 'Aussie style'football.
>These comments still don't hide the fact that
>the final was as boring as a Rugby Union
>match or a nil nil football match.

The words "total crap" spring to mind. What do you want? Non existent
tackling like you get in the lower divisions. (The 1st Division Grand
Final was a great game but showed what is missing in the game at that
level). Low scoring, good quality defences is what the game is about
not basketball scorelines. In the end the weather played a big part
in keeping the defences on top but it did not detract from a
thoroughly enjoyable game.

Quote:

>Digressing a little I would have attended the
>match but for the fact that my money would
>have gone to an organisation that disregards
>equal chances for all

Do you mean the Leeds Rhinos, which kindly helped SLE out with some
additional credit card facilities!

Gordon

by **Wigan/London And** » Wed, 28 Oct 1998 04:00:00

For God's sake, a game that was played in terrible conditions and your
whinging about the end of the world as we know it because it was a tight
game (surprise, surprise...the whole season depended on it, therefore nobody
wanted to make a mistake). Lets get a grip on reality please.

Andy.

Quote:

>Re-Grand final It should have been the
>emporers new clothes
>Who wants to watch 'Aussie style'football.
>These comments still don't hide the fact that
>the final was as boring as a Rugby Union
>match or a nil nil football match.My mum
>and Dad both League supporters even
>turned over to Casualty.If this sort of defence
>game is to be the norm we can forget expansion(Good) and even worry about
>retaining our existing support.
>Digressing a little I would have attended the
>match but for the fact that my money would
>have gone to an organisation that disregards
>equal chances for all
>Regards
>Steve Ashton

by **Gordon L** » Wed, 28 Oct 1998 04:00:00

On Wed, 28 Oct 1998 21:21:00 -0000, "Lloyd Barkham"

Quote:

>Sorry, am I missing something here? Please explain.

Regarding:

>>>Digressing a little I would have attended the
>>>match but for the fact that my money would
>>>have gone to an organisation that disregards
>>>equal chances for all

>>Do you mean the Leeds Rhinos, which kindly helped SLE out with some
>>additional credit card facilities!

A letter from SLE accompanying the tickets said that don't be
surprised if credit/debit card payments are made to Leeds Rhinos which
has kindly offered its services to assist with the prompt processing
of payments!

Another super arrangement for an organisation that does not appear to
have any terms of reference. Does anyone know when SLE's year end and
one would hope final accounts are due?

Gordon

by **stev** » Thu, 29 Oct 1998 04:00:00

With your latest comments you actually revealed your hand

Quote:

>Re-Grand final It should have been the
>emporers new clothes
>Who wants to watch 'Aussie style'football.

You don't like Aussie Style football

Quote:

>These comments still don't hide the fact that
>the final was as boring as a Rugby Union

You don't like Union

Quote:

>match or a nil nil football match.My mum

You don't like low scoring football games

Quote:

>and Dad both League supporters even
>turned over to Casualty.If this sort of defence
>game is to be the norm we can forget expansion(Good) and even worry about

You don't like expansion

Quote:

>retaining our existing support.
>Digressing a little I would have attended the
>match but for the fact that my money would
>have gone to an organisation that disregards
>equal chances for all

You don't like the organisations that run SL

Quote:

>Regards
>Steve Ashton

Lets face it Steve you don't have an open mind, you like what you know
and you know what you like.

--
steve

by **Gav Bratta** » Thu, 29 Oct 1998 04:00:00

Steve, if you were to read the above two articals again you may notice that both
myself and tad87 are suggesting 'Aussie style defence' coupled with 'traditional
English style attack'. Not 'Aussie style' football.

Gav

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