Go Tiges!

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

My Wife taught one of the Richmond stars at grades 7-10 a few years back.
She said he never did any homework as he used to say he didn't need to as he was going to be an AFL star.

Prescient eh?

Go Leicester City Football Club !! (soccer to you lot)! Carn the foxes!

[LewisM]

Sorry. I find AFL uninteresting/slow to watch.

I am not into spectator sport anyway.

[cybereye (Mario)]

Originally Posted by danielsun

Oh Boy.. Here we go.....
The game of Rugby can only dream of of getting the sort of crowds that AFL get.

OK, which Rugby are you taking about as there are two - Union or League? I have often wondered why such a sports mad state like Victoria doesn't seem to realise that Rugby is different from Rugby League!

I've played both and there is a big difference. But it doesn't really matter about the code as I'm getting back on thread which was "GO THE TIGES!" (Wests Tigers in my case).

Cheers,
Mario

[JB80 (Jarrod)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

surely there are other Tigers fans in Belgium?

It's possible, even probable but we don't really mingle a great deal so don't come across many people.

The main issue is the time difference, most games are on too early so it's not feasible to go to a pub to watch it and apart from night games it's too early to watch online if I can find it, hopefully one of the dodgy streams will hold out for tonights/todays match.
I do watch a weekly hour highlights show in French though.

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by cybereye

OK, which Rugby are you taking about as there are two - Union or League? I have often wondered why such a sports mad state like Victoria doesn't seem to realise that Rugby is different from Rugby League!

I've played both and there is a big difference. But it doesn't really matter about the code as I'm getting back on thread which was "GO THE TIGES!" (Wests Tigers in my case).

Cheers,
Mario

Big difference? MAJOR difference more like it. I played Rugby UNION for 15 years, and it is EXHILARATING. Tried League, and found it less so. The pure physicality of Rugby makes it the sport to me, not the technical BS that goes with it all, of which I think Union has the least. Soccer is fun, but not for an uncoordinated buffoon like myself (yes, I played left prop / forward in Rugby for all those years, because I am big, slow, and built like a brick dunny). Couldn't run up the field to save my life, but don't get me in a ruck, maul or scrum - ya won't like it - we pushed back EVERY team we ever played against in primary school, secondary and Uni

Thinking of taking it up again seeing I have become TOO out of shape. Uni has a club, time to join up. Wife wanted me to do Karate, but I know I'd just manage to disembowel myself somehow

[cybereye (Mario)]

Daniel, Daniel, Daniel....

I was going to let your thoughts pass by with my previous post but I thought I should point out some of your misconceptions regarding the games of Rugby League and Rugby Union....

Originally Posted by danielsun

Oh Boy.. Here we go.....
The game of Rugby can only dream of of getting the sort of crowds that AFL get. A standard AFL home and away match of even the lower teams will pull more than what a rugby grand final ever will.

This one's easy... the crowd for the 2012 NRL Grand Final was 82,976 while the average GWS crowd for 2012 was 15,903. There goes that argument - however this was not the biggest League/Union crowd at Sydney's Olympic stadium. That was a Rugby Union Bledisloe Cup game - that's an international game played by two different countries (Australia and New Zealand) who play the same rules in their local comps - which had a crowd of 109,874. The largest AFL crowd was the 1970 Grand Final which had a crowd of 121,696. However there were standing room areas available at the MCG while it was seating only at the NRL GF and the 2000 Bledisloe Cup.

As for the skill.. well in rugby there is no skill needed! You just have to be big, run and throw the ball backwards and get your head ripped off by what you guys call a tackle!! Thats all!! Where is the action????

Some of the greatest players in both Rugby League and Union have been on the smaller side. An icon of Rugby League is Clive Churchill who played during the 50's and was 5'9" high and weighed 76kg. Perhaps the greatest player ever to play both codes, Dally Messenger, was 5'8" and weighed 79kg. Tommy Raudonikis - 5'7", 73kg. But what about current players? Try Matt Bowen - 5'9", 84kg. Matt Utai who plays for Wests Tigers is only 5'6" tall. So you don't need to be big to play Rugby League...

Higher intelligence....rugby???!! really???!!

Intelligence? I'm not sure how I argue this one... maybe I should consider these players... Dr. George Peponis, Dr. Nathan Gibbs (so smart that he's the Sydney Swans' doctor as well!), Fr. John Cootes - these are just from memory... Having played Rugby Union, I can tell you that you need a Ph.D to understand the rules. They have a rule for any and every eventuality and even some more to cover anything else! I'm not a big fan of referees but have to admire the Union ones!!

In AFL There is action and excitement every minute. Great marks, great goals, tackles and takes skill to hand pass the ball ( not throw it! ) and kick the ball properly and also have to be able to kick and hand pass both feet and hands.

Should you ever get a chance, try "passing" the ball. You'll find it's a lot more accurate when done properly than either "throwing" or "hand passing" it. And nothing can change a game so quickly as a perfectly executed flick-pass. How about I send you a copy of the 2005 Grand Final when Benji Marshall flick-passed the ball to Pat Richards leaving Matty Bowen clutching at fresh air. I'd like to see someone do that on an Aussie Rules ground... In fact here's a link to the pass in question

You must be the complete athlete to play AFL.

Hence the excessive money paid to Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau to switch codes.

I laugh when I see rugby players try to kick the ball, absolutely clueless!

Rugby League: Johnny Peard, Mal Meninga, Eric Simms, Keith Barnes, Hazim El-Masri...
Rugby Union: Morne Steyne, Matt Giteau, Johnny Wilkinson, Dan Carter...

Also the fact that AFL is clearly taking over your beloved rugby states is also great to see and also pulling more crowds than your own game is even better.

751,000 people watched last year's NRL Grand Final on TV in Melbourne. 740,000 watched the AFL Grand Final on TV in Sydney. Which code is taking over which?!

Rugby is dying a slow death and being such a skilless game of thuggery, the sooner the better.

Is this the best spot to mention Barry Hall?

Well this is sure to get the thread locked now but hey... you guys started it.: lol:

At least we can agree on all matters astronomical!!

Cheers,
Mario

[cristian abarca]

Were not ninth after tonight hope it lasts

Cristian

[danielsun]

Mario, Mario, Mario...

Sorry for the late reply but I just finished watching a thrilling and exciting game of Aussie rules with great marks and great goals and just great skill all round with a thrilling finish seeing the real Tigers (that is Richmond) winning by 17 points.

Mario's Quote:
This one's easy... the crowd for the 2012 NRL Grand Final was 82,976 while the average GWS crowd for 2012 was 15,903. There goes that argument - however this was not the biggest League/Union crowd at Sydney's Olympic stadium. That was a Rugby Union Bledisloe Cup game - that's an international game played by two different countries (Australia and New Zealand) who play the same rules in their local comps - which had a crowd of 109,874. The largest AFL crowd was the 1970 Grand Final which had a crowd of 121,696. However there were standing room areas available at the MCG while it was seating only at the NRL GF and the 2000 Bledisloe Cup................................ ................................... ................................... ................................... ................................... ...........................

First of all I didn't say bottom teams but the lower teams pull more of a crowd but without doing too much research, last weeks attendance between Carlton and Richmond round 1 pulled 80,971 people and neither of these teams made the top eight last year so maybe I was 1000 off. That still makes a pathetic turn out for a NRL grand final.
Also keep in mind that you compared your international codes best attendance up against what was just a local Melbourne suburban game and the good ol VFL 1970 grand final still come out on top by 11,822.
So you can go back to dreaming about NRL pulling any sort of decent crowd.

Mario's QUOTE:
Some of the greatest players in both Rugby League and Union have been on the smaller side. An icon of Rugby League is Clive Churchill who played during the 50's and was 5'9" high and weighed 76kg. Perhaps the greatest player ever to play both codes, Dally Messenger, was 5'8" and weighed 79kg. Tommy Raudonikis - 5'7", 73kg. But what about current players? Try Matt Bowen - 5'9", 84kg. Matt Utai who plays for Wests Tigers is only 5'6" tall. So you don't need to be big to play RugbyLeague........................ ................................... ................................... ................................... ................................... .......................

Well maybe you got me there. Not big, Just thick.

Quote:
My higher intelligence comment was referring to what Barry wrote on the post above me.

Mario's Quote:
Should you ever get a chance, try "passing" the ball. You'll find it's a lot more accurate when done properly than either "throwing" or "hand passing" it. And nothing can change a game so quickly as a perfectly executed flick-pass. How about I send you a copy of the 2005 Grand Final when Benji Marshall flick-passed the ball to Pat Richards leaving Matty Bowen clutching at fresh air. I'd like to see someone do that on an Aussie Rules ground... In fact here's a link to the pass in
question........................... ................................... .............................

I lived in Brisbane for 5 years and tried playing enough to see that there is no skill required.

As far as Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau go you have shot yourself in the foot with that one.
Karmichael Hunt is still trying to grasp the skills needed to get involved in the game and Israel Folau has is a classic fail and the perfect example of just how a rugby player cannot simply walk into AFL without the skills and think they can nail it.
It's obvious that the AFL only tried a radical promotional stunt to woo even more rugby fans to AFL.

Mario's Quote:
751,000 people watched last year's NRL Grand Final on TV in Melbourne. 740,000 watched the AFL Grand Final on TV in Sydney. Which code is taking over which?!

Don't know where you got those figures from but do you really believe tv rating figures? Because nobody asked me what I was watching on grand final day.

You can mention Barry hall if you like. It just goes to show how tough AFL footballers are too.

Here is a link you may want to read.
http://www.fool.com.au/2013/03/26/af...bove-the-rest/
AFL is the greatest and most popular game of all!!!

Mario's Quote:
At least we can agree on all matters astronomical!!
................................... ................................... ...................
Now That I can agree with.

Cheers Daniel.

[cybereye (Mario)]

Originally Posted by LewisM

Thinking of taking it up again seeing I have become TOO out of shape. Uni has a club, time to join up. Wife wanted me to do Karate, but I know I'd just manage to disembowel myself somehow

Lewis, I don't know if you qualify age wise or if they have teams up on the Sunshine Coast but Over 35's/Veterans/Golden Oldies is a fantastic way to keep playing! I played up until my cataract operations stopped me standing out on the wing waiting, waiting, waiting.... I must admit that stepping around a big Samoan/Kiwi/Fijian on the way to the try-line was EXHILIRATING!!! Here's a link to one of the two teams (there's another story there...) I played for - I'm player 81...

Originally Posted by danielsun

Mario, Mario, Mario...

Mario's Quote:
At least we can agree on all matters astronomical!!
................................... ................................... ...................
Now That I can agree with.

Cheers Daniel.

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by danielsun

Mario, Mario, Mario...
My higher intelligence comment was referring to what Barry wrote on the post above me.

Cheers Daniel.

I was not refering to the intelligence of the players. It was a cheeky gibe at the crowd intelligence in understanding the rules of a complex game.. Just like American football that is only a medium for the advertisers to tout their products! to the most sucseptible markets.

In any case this thread is now more about the ancient Sydney/Melbourne rivalry than the cheer for Richmond that it started out as.

Incidently when I am in Melbourne I follow North Melbourne and the reason for this is that while travelling to Melbourne in 1972, Richmond was a tops and Norths weren't even also rans. I listened to the game and Norths thrashed Richmond. I have followed Norths ever since.

Barry

[swannies1983 (Dan)]

lol....another win for the Tigers only increases the false hope for their fans

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Must have been another year Barry.
Richnond won both games against North Melb that season. The Roos only won one game the entire season. Of course in 74 the Tiges and Roos played off the Grand Final! Which the Mighty Tiges won.
Also, just to be clear, calling North Melbourne "Norths" instantly tags you as a non Victorian . They are either North, the Roos, the Kanga or the Shinboners.
My dad (he's from Sydney) calles them Norths (and he used to call the Swans "Souths") and it still grates when he does it.

Oh and the Tiges are now in the 8!!

Go TIGES!!!!

Malcolm

[JB80 (Jarrod)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Of course in 74 the Tiges and Roos played off the Grand Final! Which the Mighty Tiges won.

I have never known a time when the Tiges have won a GF, Ok I would of been 3 monthsish old the last time we won one so that counts, right?

After such a dry spell hope doesn't come into it anymore, false or real. Still winning is always nice. :p

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Must have been another year Barry.
Richnond won both games against North Melb that season. The Roos only won one game the entire season. Of course in 74 the Tiges and Roos played off the Grand Final! Which the Mighty Tiges won.
Also, just to be clear, calling North Melbourne "Norths" instantly tags you as a non Victorian . They are either North, the Roos, the Kanga or the Shinboners.
My dad (he's from Sydney) calles them Norths (and he used to call the Swans "Souths") and it still grates when he does it.

Oh and the Tiges are now in the 8!!

Go TIGES!!!!

Malcolm

I am not sure of the year. I was in my HG (1972) Holden and it was prior to 1975 and it would have been at the beginning of the season. Lets face it that game was 40 years ago and I knew very little about the VFL system in those days being a follower of the real Tigers from Sydney. In those days the primary reference to teams was their location not the names that they go by now and the following was still largely territorial. Richmond were refered to as the Tigers (their striped jerseys) but I never heard North Melbourne called anything else.

Barry

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Oh and the Tiges are now in the 8!!

With another 8 games to go in this round there's a fair chance that won't last long.

[Matt Wastell (Matt)]

League has more complex rules than AFL - smoke on

Originally Posted by Barrykgerdes

This one should surely get the thread closed.

Subject: crowds

Rugby union and Rugby league: although the anamosity between the codes is greater than their disdain for AFL/VFL they are very similar games

The rugby codes have quite complex rules compared to AFL and as such really only appeal to people of higher intelligence who can actually understand the finer points. Whereas the simpler AFL does not require anywhere near as high intelligence to follow. There are far fewer of us with the higher intelligence to understand rugby and most of us would rather spend our time studying the stars through a telescope. Consequently AFL has greater crowd appeal!

Barry

[Jen]

Woohoooo go the TIGES we were actually on top of the ladder Friday night after beating the saints = happy Jen



http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=nsZEB...%3DnsZEBvXiifo

Yep I'm a tigers girl

[Jen]

[Jen]

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by Barrykgerdes

I am not sure of the year. I was in my HG (1972) Holden and it was prior to 1975 and it would have been at the beginning of the season. Lets face it that game was 40 years ago and I knew very little about the VFL system in those days being a follower of the real Tigers from Sydney. In those days the primary reference to teams was their location not the names that they go by now and the following was still largely territorial. Richmond were refered to as the Tigers (their striped jerseys) but I never heard North Melbourne called anything else.

Barry

In Vic, it is and was far more common to refer to teams by their nicknames than in the northern states, North adopted the Kangaroos tag in the mid '50s after their then president thought that the traditional Shinboners" nickname a bit unsavoury.
The history of club nicknames is quite interesting. Hawthorn in the '20s were actually called the Mayblooms, but later adopred the Hawks as it was felt it was a bit more manly. Essendon were know back before the first war as either the "Same Old" (from a line in a club song that referred to "the same old Essendon) or (and this reflects the culture of those times) the "Bloodstained Ni**ers ".

Malcolm