Refs.. Rules & the concerns of our game - By Sharon

We are absolutely delighted to introduce our latest blogger, Sharon. Sharon is a very good friend of mary__kaye's who is passionate and knowledgable about NRL, especially the Brisbane Broncos.

 

We hope you all give her a very warm welcome to the site.

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Love them or loathe them, referees are an integral part of any sporting competition. The problem I find is the slipping standard of NRL refereeing in comparison to yesteryear. I've followed rugby league for almost 40 years and although refs have always been scrutinised, they actually had a spine to make calls. You'd never see Barry Gomersall or Eddie Ward look indecisive or almost scared to make a decision. Nor would they be intimidated by home crowds or particular players.  Generally, most penalties were warranted and occasionally human error caused a minor uproar with fans. These days I'm not sure what the referees, or our beloved game for that matter, are made of. More often than not, fans are left talking about refs decisions rather than the brilliant skill, speed and strength shown by supreme rugby league athletes.

 

When two teams are competing, I feel like teams constantly aren't refereed equally and the alleged shoulder charge has become a farce. One team is penalised for holding down in the ruck where the opposing team seems to be able to lie all over players! It also appears specific teams tend to get away with a lot more than most other teams. The perceived bias due to a player or teams reputation is also a huge concern. This is a problem for the whole of league and this is said with no personal club bias on my part.

 

As I tend to watch every game, every round, I find it happens regularly! As with any sport there will always be individual referee interpretations of the rules, however when it appears the referee's are not in the same book as each other, let alone the same page it tends to disillusion fans more than any other aspect of the game. There are some refs who give and receive respect but others are condescending and disrespectful of questions being asked of decisions, which we, as fans, are probably sitting and asking the same. Blow time off and an explanation can be given. This keeps teams and fans satisfied.

 

Another aspect of our game is player welfare and rules allegedly changed with this aspect in mind. The shoulder charge, for example; it is ridiculous to condemn an amazing tackle, nowhere near the oppositions head, because the defensive player didn't wrap his arms around. Of course our game is still the best game, however this small change has sanitised our game beyond player safety into the realm of taking excitement out of our game. The number of good hits (alleged shoulder charges) now resulting in penalties or reports is ludicrous considering there are other areas needing attention when it comes to player welfare. Having a Bachelor of applied science I believe a lot of player injuries are caused due to wrestling and holding techniques, which nearly ALL teams do, added to the considerable time refs take to call a tackle held! NRL needs to look at this before other rash measures which obviously aren't popular or extremely relevant.

One last note,  I believe a huge amount of time wasting and slowing down of the game is due to some teams wrestling the ball carriers onto their backs in every tackle with 2 or 3 defenders adding to the time it takes to rise from the tackle. If it's a case of time wasting, instead of penalties resulting in further time wasting, rules should change to call time off whenever the ball isn't in play! Problem solved and everyone is happy!

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Love,

 

@LadiesWhoLeague

When supporting your team gets difficult (Part II) - By Mary

Hello everyone,

I hope you all enjoyed the post yesterday focusing on Parramatta's ongoing coaching debacle. As I mentioned, this week I'll be doing a serious of posts trying to work out why I have found it a little bit harder to support the Eels this year.

Today I am focusing on management.

I don't like to be clichéd, but there seems to be no more appropriate saying than this to start my post with and no more appropriate man when you think about the lack of success the Eels have had since 1986. Jack Gibson famously said 'winning starts in the front office.' When you consider this, it is no wonder that Parramatta have been struggling in recent seasons.

'Losing is a disease' seems a statement extremely relevant to Parramatta at the moment. Losing is a disease which festers and which absolutely infects every part of a club. Losing puts pressure on management, the coach and the players. If a team loses for long enough it can become ingrained. Members start having second thoughts about continuing support and crowd numbers begin to decline. When crowd numbers begin to decline, revenue suffers. When revenue suffers, the club suffers.

Losing also creates a dangerous and demanding mentality amongst fans, especially when they begin to demand instant results. Whenever a change is made at a club, be it at a coaching, player or management level, fans often demand and often expect instant results and are extremely impatient when it comes to seeing their football field perform on the field. I feel that fan pressure has also had a part to play in the merry-go-round of coaches we have had in the past few years and fan appeasement has certainly been a reason for the merry-go-round of CEO's Parramatta have had in recent years. Directors of a football club need to hold someone accountable when their team isn't performing. At Parramatta, it seems that every group possible has been made accountable except the players (until Ricky's announcement earlier this year).

In recent weeks, there have been a number of changes at a management level. Bob Bentley has been dismissed. You can read more about that here. Bentley was summarily dismissed following a board meeting on that Saturday. Since then, Peter McEvoy has been installed as interim CEO. Bentley's position is not the only one that has changed. You can read about Ken Edwards resigning from the club here and here. Edwards resignation was certainly a shock.

I could have this post turn into a discussion about these men and their suitability for the job, but the fact that we have had such a merry-go-round of people in crucial positions suggests to me that there is something more than just capability which is leading to such high turn around at a management level.

There seems to be an ongoing and continuing power struggle between any old board and the new board which comes in to replace them. Whenever we have had a new board installed, they come with promises about the positive direction the club will take under them. Unfortunately, all we have seen so far is a continuation of the bickering and in-fighting which has certainly contributed to Parramatta's lack of success over recent seasons. Similar to our issues with coaching, whenever new individuals are bought in, there is always a period of reshuffling and rebuilding as the new person seeks to implement their ideas and their methods as well as separating themselves from the previous regime. By getting rid of Bentley and Edwards, any 'rebuilding' that had happened under them has essentially been demolished, yet again. It means that Parramatta needs to start again and more patience will be required from fans because there is no long term solution in place, instead focusing on immediate results rather than trying to build for the future.

Again, this is problematic - it is frustrating for fans who love the club so much and it is frustrating from fans to hear the same old story, over and over again. Unless the board learns to work together and sort out their differences, this will only plunge the club into greater difficulties - including downing player morale and ensuring that no other player would want to come play for the basket case that is currently my club.

Instead of Parramatta being a Club for someone to control or to exercise control over, we should all be looking to make our club better and stronger. It should not be about which 'ticket' of individuals is better. No one is the enemy. It should be which individuals have the expertise and the love for our club to make it great again. I know very closely members of the Spagnolo camp and also members of the Sharp camp. They are all fantastic leaders, individuals, have great passion for the Club and the ability to help our Club rise to greater heights. However, at the moment, none of this is shining through because it is clearly one faction against the other.

Tomorrow's blog will be on making the members feel loved and appreciated and how the Club isn't really doing this at the moment.

Love,

@LadiesWhoLeague

When supporting your team gets difficult (Part I) - By Mary

Hello everyone,

I started writing this post and then realised how long it would be so to keep you all interested and coming back for more, I am going to do this post in a number of parts. This is obviously part 1.

It will come as no surprise to most of you that I have tremendous love for the teams that I support. While it will be clear to anyone that has been following this blog for a while that I adore the Parramatta Eels but I also cheer for the Sydney Swans.

Over my many years as a Parramatta supporter I have been through times of tremendous sadness, like in 1998 when the Bulldogs came back from 18-2 with 10 minutes to go, to take the remaining Grand Final position from our hands. I watched them in 2001 when we were undoubtedly the best team in the competition, but were pipped by a red hot and Andrew Johns inspired Newcastle team. I watched in 2005 as rookies like Tim and Ben Smith led our side to an inspirational finals run, only to be knocked out by the Cowboys and be denied yet again. I would also lump everything post-2009 as falling into the period of tremendous sadness both on the field and in terms with upheaval and instability.

Despite the heartbreak and the fact that we haven't won a Grand Final since before I was born, the Eels have also brought me tremendous joy. The 2009 Grand Final run is something which instantly comes to mind. The way the team came together, the euphoria in Parramatta during those weeks and the commitment our boys showed, despite losing to an illegal team, is something I hold very dear to my heart.

These preceding paragraphs give an indication as to why this post is very difficult for me to write. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a blog called about when not good enough is simply, not good enough anymore. For anyone that hasn't checked it out, have a read here. This post is a bit of a follow on from that.

I need to admit to all of you out there, that I have found Season 2013 very difficult. If I am completely honest, it would be accurate for me to say that I am beginning to lose interest in my team.

When I have made comments like this in the past, it is often met with the same respone coupled with an accusation that I am a fairweather fan. This I find difficult to take because I absolutely adore my team. I am hugely invested in my club and would certainly call the Eels one of my greatest loves in life. NRL is my passion and I love my team.

So what's going on?

I have always been a fan that firmly believes that a supporter is there for their team in both the good and the bad times. Naturally a team cannot win all the time - teams go through stages of rebuilding and stages where they are unable to perform. This is all part of the highs and lows of being involved in something you have no control over. The difficult times make the good times more memorable and remind you that it is important to cherish your team's successes. I also believe that the tide does always turn and that periods of greatness are often preceded with times of great difficulty.

This doesn't explain why I have found this year so difficult.

Perhaps this is because over the last couple of seasons, Parramatta have done very little to show me that they are moving in a forward direction and anytime a positive decision has been made, it is always undermined by a management decision. This can be split into a number of different areas.

Coaches

Where to even begin on the merry-go-round that has been Parramatta's coaching history over the last couple of years. Basically, ever since we lost Brian Smith, coaching is an area where Parramatta have struggled. However, it has really since been 2009 that Parramatta have been unable to find any sort of stability at a coaching level.

In 2009 Daniel Anderson led Parramatta to a Grand Final. For those of you that remember, the ad lib style of football we played was exciting. It had me salivating and wanting more each and every week. Daniel Anderson utilised the attacking prowess we had in our team and we saw the results in 2009, making it to the Grand Final on what was a magic display of football.

Then came 2010 which was a disaster. A lot of people blamed Daniel Anderson for a number of poor recruitment decisions that we made that year. It is truly debatable whether these decisions were all Daniel Anderson's decision or whether there were higher powers at play (for example, there was much speculation that Parramatta were looking to sign Quade Cooper that year). Regardless, Daniel Anderson led Parramatta to a Grand Final in 2009 and should have at least been given the dignity of seeing out another year on his contract. Instead, he was removed halfway through Season 2010.

At this point, despite my disappointment, I picked myself up and dusted myself off. I told people that I was upset about the way Daniel Anderson was treated but that I supported the club, not individuals and that I would support whoever was appointed as the new coach.

Enter Stephen Kearney.

The one and a half years that we had Stephen Kearney as a coach were dramatically different. In season 2011, I would argue that Parramatta were very unlucky. If you look back to our results that year, you will see a huge number of losses. However, most of these losses were by small margins and often in the last 10 minutes of the game, often in shattering circumstances. That year I truly felt that we were a team that were turning up to compete for almost the complete 80 minutes and that Stephen Kearney was turning us into what would be a competitive side.

This was before the utter disaster that was season 2012. The Parramatta that I had believed would continue on from the year before, with a much stronger squad, was no longer there. We were lazy, undisciplined and performed poorly for the year - seeing us win the wooden spoon at the end of the year.

Midway through the year we lost Stephen Kearney and our second coach in a very short period of time.

We now have Ricky Stuart as coach and my question is now, if the current results continue, how long before Ricky feels his position is under pressure? Will his head be on the chopping block similar to our past coaches? I hope not and it's not because I have tremendous faith in Ricky as a coach, but more because Parramatta need stability.

Whenever a new coach is brought into a club, a process of rebuilding starts. Coaches have different team plans, different ideas about what the squad should look like and different ideas about what sort of footy the team should play. By sacking coach after coach, this has meant Parramatta has had no consistency in playing structure or in team composition and boy does it show. We cannot affort to sack another coach now. We have already set a dangerous precedent in that coaches are sacked when the team is not performing. If we sack another coach, who in their right mind would want to come coach Parramatta.

The coaching saga has contributed to my disappointment with the club because we are not moving forward. We are not rebuilding. Instead we start to build the foundations and then tear it down. No coach since Michael Hagan has really been given the opportunity and the time to see what they can do. Hopefully this changes though and Ricky is given a chance to show what he can do.

As I said at the beginning, this is part 1 on what will be a series of Parramatta related posts this week and why I feel like I am losing interest in them a little bit this year.

Until tomorrow's post!

Love,

@LadiesWhoLeague

Chris Sandow & the Sideline Sledgers - By Hayley

Today I went to Centrebet Stadium to watch Wenty play against Windsor. As you all know, Chris Sandow has been dropped to Wenty for the last few weeks. His first game for Wentworthville was good but not outstanding as you would expect from a marquee player.

Today I was interested to see how Chrissy went after the week he's had in the media. The first 15mins he was outstanding, he had a hand in numerous tries & it was the Chrissy we've missed so much. After 13 mins Wenty were winning 16-0, Chris seemed to be enjoying his football again but then something happened & he went back into his shell.

I'm not sure exactly what happened but I've put it down to one of 2 things. Once Windsor started getting possession Wenty seemed to do a very good impression of Windsor in the first 13mins. Windsor were running straight through them & before we knew it, it was 16-16. I'm not sure if Chrissy lost confidence because of this but he just didn't seem to be getting his hands on the ball enough considering whenever he touched the ball in the first 13mins it seemed to lead to a try. He was still barking orders to the forwards, he just wasn't demanding the ball as much.

Another factor that could have come into it was the crowd & my main reason for writing this post. The Penrith fans would have to be the worst fans in terms of sledging, I have never seen any other supporters like it. The way they behaved this afternoon was appalling. I'm not sure how having a gambling addiction makes you a grub but apparently it does. There were 2 guys in particular who should be ashamed of themselves. You always have fans sledging players on the other team but these guys took things way too far & launched a personal attack on Chris Sandow. Because there were not many people at the stadium, you could clearly hear what they were yelling out & I have no doubt Chris would have been able to hear them on the field. I'm not sure whether this affected his performance as the timing seems consistent with when they started launching their attack on him.

Chris ended up injuring his hamstring & after trying hard to continue on, he succumbed to the injury & left the field. The weasly 18 year old then started calling Chris a fat sh#t & bagging him out for being dropped. Someone finally snapped back & put the weasly kid back in his place. After going bright red in the face, you never heard from him again.

In true Chrissy form, he laughed it all off once he was sitting on the bench. These guys were nothing but attention seekers who thought they were hilarious. They are nothing more than cowards.

I'm all for a bit of banter between fans but this one guy in particular took things to the next level. Everyone could hear him & he thought he was the coolest kid in the place. Trolling online is something society is working on to try & stop. What this kid was doing is just as bad & should not be accepted. Just because these guys are getting paid big money to do what they love, it doesn't mean they should have to put up with personal attacks from the sidelines. It's not ok.

I do have to say, it's not all Penrith fans that are bad, there are some that can attend a game of football & bahve like a normal person should.

Chris still ended up having a good game, he just wasn't as outstanding as he was in the first 13mins. Whatever the cause, I just hope Chris continues to work hard to get back into first grade. I know I miss the old Chris Sandow & would love to see him carving up in first grade again & getting his life on track. I just hope the public will leave him alone & allow him to do so.

Wenty ended up winning 46-42 in a close but high scoring game.

Love,

@LadiesWhoLeague

@LadiesWhoLeague get a bit cheeky! - By Mary

In perhaps the cheekiest story to come out of State of Origin or even NRL this year, State of Origin Streaker Wati Holmwood yesterday pleaded guilty in Sydney's Burwood Local Council to one count of entering a playing field without authorisation and one count of wilful and obscene exposure in or near a public place. All things considering, it was probably a wise for Holmwood to plead guilty, considering he had nation wide coverage as well as over 80,000 spectators witness his performance. It seems that there was no lack of evidence that the deed had been done.

I am sure that you all remember the display (especially the Blues fans out there who were hoping for New South Wales to get one more set of six). In the final minutes of State of Origin Game III, Holmwood jumped the fence (still fully clothed), then got rid of his clothes and made a very quick dash down field - completely interrupting play in only his running shoes. This absolutely sealed the victory for Queensland, making it the 8th series win in a row for them (always next year Blues fans).  

Sentencing is due to take place later this month on August 29. We'll be keeping an eye on this story to see what happens next and for those of you who love Rugby Union, keep your eyes peeled (or perhaps firmly shut)... Holmwood has indicated that a code change is not out of the question, especially since he has indicated that he would really like to streak at an All Blacks test.

What I find most interesting about this story, is that even though sentencing is yet to come, Holmwood has already been punished with a ban at both ANZ Stadium and at all NRL matches. For me, this punishment raises serious questions about enforceability and specifically, how security and ticketing officials are meant to be able to spot Holmwood at an NRL game in a crowd of thousands. At the turnstiles of NRL games, fans flock through the gates and when seated, individuals can become lost in a sea of team colours.

The difficulty in playing 'where's Wati' at NRL games was highlighted even further when you consider that when he was arrested at Game III, it took police until they took him to the station to recognise him as a seriel offender. Further, Holmwood was called 'largely unrecognisable' as he fronted court earlier this week wearing sunglasses and fully dressed.

If banning someone from a Stadium is not a solution, then the next step is considering what is. If the ultimate goal is to prevent streaking, then I don't think a fine would work either. Holmwood is a serial offender, already having a national audience during the 2011 Finals Series in a game involving the Wests Tigers and New Zealand Warriors and also, because of my comment earlier that he is considering a code change.

So while we might all have a bit of a laugh, is there a way to prevent streakers?

Would love your thoughts!

Love,

@LadiesWhoLeague

Do we really have an even competition? - By Mary

I must truly say a big thank you to my friends at @TheRoarSports and in particular, @Vic_Arious who inspired me to write this post this morning. What started me thinking was @Vic_Arious's post on whether it is ever acceptable for an NRL team to lose by 50. Check it out here.

When we look back at Season 2013, there have been some absolutely sensational shallackings and it began in Round 1 with the Eels beating the Warriors 40-10 and the Knights beating the Tigers 42-10. Such victories have not been isolated. In particular, the Roosters have managed to destroy 5 opposition teams with margins of 36 and above. The Rabbitohs had a massive win over the Tigers in Round 10, winning 54-10 and most recently, last round the Storm bulldozed the Raiders, 68-4.

In @Vic_Arious's piece, he considers whether it is ever appropriate for a team to lose by 50 and he argues that excuses like 'we didn't show up' and 'they just got a roll-on early' will not cut it. I agree. Professional sportsman are paid well and while I do not expect my team to win every week, I expect them to come out and do the basics right. A 68-4 wallapoing suggests that a team really isn't doing the basics right.

However, I'm going to come at the question from a different angle and look at it from a salary cap perspective (as you all know by know, the salary cap is one of my favourite topice).

As you all know, the NRL salary cap is a hard cap and for 2012 was $4.4 million for the 25 highest paid players at each club. Each club can exercise its discretion in determining how much each player is paid as long as total payments are below $4.4 million. As well as this $4.4 million, each club can spend an additional $350 000 on players outside the top 25 who play in the NRL competition.

The salary cap aims to spread playing talent so the wealthier clubs cannot outbid the poorer ones to acquire all the best players and to prevent clubs needing to overspend dramatically to attract quality talent. It basically seeks to even the playing field. For me, the question then becomes is the salary cap achieving its aim of creating an even competition in the face of victories by teams like the Roosters, Rabbitohs and Storm by significant margins?

We can look at this from a number of perspectives. Let's take a look at the Finals series over the last few years.

A ‘level playing field’ is a fundamental aim of the salary cap. However, when considering the results of the regular season and the Final Series it is debatable as to whether the salary cap has achieved this goal. The results illustrate that from 1979-89, ten years prior to the salary cap’s introduction, the Premiership was shared amongst five clubs. In the ten years following the salary cap’s introduction, this increased to seven teams. This is only a superficial analysis and fails to take into account the increase in teams during this period, which might account for the higher pool of clubs experiencing Premiership success.

However, the biggest issue I think and the one which is undermining the salary cap's ability to even the playing field is the increasing trend of private ownership and its impact on third party deals which are directly made to players by companies. This is because the salary cap does not impose any restrictions on the amount a player can earn through such means as long as he is not using club logos or names but being used as themselves. With owners commanding significant financial standing emerging, like Nathan Tinkler at the Newcastle Knights, their ability to exercise corporate clout toward their playing group, increases significantly. A prime example is the Thoroughbreds, a group of businessmen in Brisbane who assist the Broncos to be competitive. Brisbane has been reported as paying its players $5.15 million in total in 2011, well above the salary cap, largely through third party deals. It is arguable as to whether a Sydney club could generate such support as they are competing amongst each other for the corporate dollar, whereas Brisbane is a one-team town. These trends raise questions about the ability of the salary cap to achieve its goals.
 
This all suggests that there are some clubs, particularly those that are privately owned, that have greater capacity to use the salary cap and its exclusions to their advantage.

There has been much talk about salary cap reform this year. I think the NRL really needs to consider its justification for the cap. If it really is to 'create an even playing field', I would suggest that results are increasingly showing that this is not the case. If however, it is simply to ensure the financial survival of clubs, then the NRL needs to be up front about this.

I would love your thoughts.

Love,

@LadiesWhoLeague

Some Rooster Love - By Mary

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend of football more than all the Parramatta fans out there have.

As I have flagged before, while I am first and foremost a Parramatta fan, I also class myself as an NRL appreciator. I have soft spots for many teams, but in particular the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters.

Today's blog is a little bit of a shout out to the Roosters who, following their 42-6 belting of Penrith on Friday night find themselves at the top of the NRL competition table. To this I say bravo.

The Roosters have been an absolute joy to watch this year and when you look at some of the statistics, it only further enforces how dominant they have been.

Consider this:

• the Roosters have managed to keep five teams to nil this season and with a few more rounds of the regular season to go, I have a feeling this number will increase; and
• following on from this, the Roosters have conceded the least amount of points by any team this season and it is almost at a record breaking low.

At the start of the season, many argued that the Roosters were a one-man show, following the impressive and dominant performances of Sonny Bill Williams. However, the Roosters have managed to win two out of two games without Sonny Bill Williams with remarkable score lines. We can compare this to the Bunnies who have not been as successful without Greg Inglis.

I am fairly confident that the top 4 has almost definitely been decided for season 2013. There have been four dominant and stand out teams from very early in the season and it is no surprise to see the Sydney Roosters, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the Manly Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm leading the way to the finals series for this year.

Come September, I am very much looking forward to cheering the Roosters on. I am hopeful that their dominant displays can continue.

Love,

@LadiesWhoLeague