Rugby League Literature

[Brett Li]

Can anyone recommend any decent Rugby League books. I have truck loads of tomes on Cricket, but I haven't come acroos any really good league ones. I especially like a good biog, but from someone who can string a sentence together, not the usual ghosted trash....

Any suggestions?

 

[Briedis]

I've only read two league books and they were fairly ordinary. Kind of put me off them to be honest.

How many cricket books are there?!?!

 

[The Hippie]

Got me thinking about the same thing, Briedis. After reading Bretts initial post, I had a look at the books I'd collected over the years and there were reams of cricket and Aussie Rules books, the only league books I had was Sterlo - Story of a Champion, and one on Brett Kenny. Both were the usual ghosted bio's, nothing special unless you were a fan.

There were a couple of those books of the funny stories that happened on the ground or on tour, by a bunch of different players. In A League Of Their Own, they were called. Not really what Brett was looking for, I wouldn't think.

 

[Briedis]

I don't reckon there is the same market for league books as there is for cricket or aussie rules. Not sure why, but most league books come and go out of print pretty quick.

I'm surprised that league clubs don't have club history books. One of my favourite books is "The North Story" which is a complete history of the North Melbourne AFL club and it is a great read. League clubs don't tend to do this for some reason. Manly did have a history published but it was a pretty shoddy book to be honest....

 

[St. Tuttler]

"Moving the Goalposts"- Mark Courntey, Its a tale of a South Sydney fan and one that every true league fan can relate too, I read this book from font to back in one night, its that interesting.

"March of the Saints"- Ian Heads, As far as Rugby League books go, I found this one interesting mainly cos I am a Saints supporter.

 

[bulltige]

The Petition - Ray Gent
Rugby's Class War - David Hinchliffe
The History of Australian Rugby League - Gary Lester

Plus a must read which I still haven't got:
The Forbidden Game - Mike Rylance

I've also got a dozen or so Aussie Rules books, including.
The Devils at Play, a history of the Oakleigh Football Club - Mark Fiddian
The Roar Of The Crowd - Mark Fiddian
The Complete Book of VFL Finals 1988 - Graeme Atkinson
AFL 2001 Official Statistical Yearbook

 

[go_manto]

Originally posted by St. Tuttler
"Moving the Goalposts"- Mark Courntey, Its a tale of a South Sydney fan and one that every true league fan can relate too, I read this book from font to back in one night, its that interesting.

"March of the Saints"- Ian Heads, As far as Rugby League books go, I found this one interesting mainly cos I am a Saints supporter.

"Moving the Goalposts" is good.

George Piggins' recent book (can't remember the name - is it "Pride of the League"?) is also good - I expected a bit of a News Ltd-bash but it was quite objective and forward looking.

 

[Port Adelaide 1870]

Originally posted by Briedis
I don't reckon there is the same market for league books as there is for cricket or aussie rules. Not sure why, but most league books come and go out of print pretty quick.

I'm surprised that league clubs don't have club history books. One of my favourite books is "The North Story" which is a complete history of the North Melbourne AFL club and it is a great read. League clubs don't tend to do this for some reason. Manly did have a history published but it was a pretty shoddy book to be honest....

Briedis,

I am reticent to post on the league site, but I accidentally pushed the league button and scrolled down the page till I hit literature and I thought Hmmm..then I realised I was in the League section, I read on and it is so true your statement. May I post something with some relevance to this thread, that I discussed in the AFL site some time ago and get some feed back from Rugby league people...

I've just come back from Sydney, work/ Hols. and I was so suprised at the lack of history/ tradition and past reverance the rugby league clubs have..to the point of embarrasement.

We went into Cronulla sharks club ( great colours ) theyve swapped their colours to Port Adelaides, however , I askeed reception where their Historical display was, The girl pointed to a case over next to the flashing neon/ lights/ ATM machine area ..and there was this forlorn case with half a dozen items in it
no old records, no, old boots, guernseys etc, just two trophies and some incidental stuff....Surely that couldnt be it I thought, So I went back to the 2 women at reception and an official looking man with them and asked, Er Hum, the Historical display please...

they then directed me down stairs..to the Photos...where I found several photos of the Australian Rugby league side since about 1920 or so, you know none of them straight on angles etc and a wall of photo copied caricatures with none league things in it to....

Must have not found it I thought, back I went up...and asked the threesome again, said al I'd found was some photos of the Australian rugby side...To my surprise, the official Bloke said..You must be AFL followers, (we didnt mention AFL) Listen mate, League aint a religion, we've got better things to be doing on Saturday arvos people here aint interested in that stuff, we do other things on the weekend, this is Sydney, we've got sailing and mountain climbing abseilling and stuff.

I asked but what about this club....He said it was an old Club..I asked when was it established, all three looked at each other and shrugged their shoiulders...One of the receptionists made a phone call whilst the other and the man spoke to me...

If you want memorabilia we have a shop round the corner, with stuff, said he.. Listen mate all we want is your money, were in busines for your money ...I was in total disbelief, the lady got off the phone and said 1967 !! that when the club was formed,the bloke said thats why we've never won a premiership ?
I thought we were an old club, any way I dont care ,I only work here...One of the two front reception ladies said Last year we won that end of season thingy..You know when you come first after all your games... I said..The minor premiership ?..all three in unison said..thats the one!!!!!!

Andrew Ettinghausen is prevelant all over the club, it has nothing to do with his skill or achievements...only with how much merchandise he can sell, it is so pathetically obvious, blatant that it made me feel sad, the staff tell you as well..all we want is your money, before I left to Check out St. George ( cause they just had to be better .. The Man said to me It aint a religion mate cant you tell by our crowds you guys have nothing better to do ( he was actually trying to patronise me )..I left a little sadder..

Saint George....several photos 3 or 4 paintings of former players ( badly painted ) a shield and lots and lots of neon, sparkling lights ATMs and poker machines....reception werent sure when St. George began..I left sadder still...

PA1870

 

[Port Adelaide 1870]

A case in point is the South Adelaide Football Club, South of Adelaide in brand new facilities...albeit miniscule compared to Leagues clubs and a result of the AFL taking control of the football follower in Adelaide from the SANFL, but still case in point.

The SAFC est 1876.

Their clubrooms are covered in photos, cabinets, cerificates, trophies, colours,ephemera of all the history of the club.
South Adelaide arent the most successful club in the SANFL, but they sure as heck are proud of what they have achieved, and what the history of the club means to it...
Now, all SANFL clubs are like this..So are AFL clubs ( older clubs ) i.e with History.
I found league virtually devoid of all these things that are part of your life and fathers and Grandfathers etc..

Their is nothing ( so it seems ) that ties the past with the future in League, be it literature, folklore, pride in the traditions and history of the relevant clubs.....


why ?

PA1870

 

[MoffOnTou]

PA, u made a post on this a couple of months ago and got well and truly caught out.

Lets not go down this path again. League has history and a fair amount of literature

Moffo.

 

[Port Adelaide 1870]

Originally posted by MoffOnTou
PA, u made a post on this a couple of months ago and got well and truly caught out.

Lets not go down this path again. League has history and a fair amount of literature

Moffo.

No Moff, thats the sad thing, I didnt set this up so as to be "Caught Out " , it wasnt a "go" at you personally, nor a "Go " at Rugby league...It was simply an observation, albeit from a Football historian perspective.

The post that I started a few months ago, was not addressed , it merely was a soapbox for those that thought Rugby league honour was being offended, to simply refute what were sound observations on my part.

All I have done here is relist that post, more or less in response to this thread...as I said previously, that I had more or less stumbled upon.

It is perhaps the one in very few if not 2 or 3 posts I may have made on the league board.

I have however found this part of big Footy enlightening now that I have looked through some of the posts.....

Thanks for your interest Moffo

Kindest regards

PA1870

 

[Port Adelaide 1870]

Originally posted by MoffOnTou
PA, u made a post on this a couple of months ago and got well and truly caught out.

Lets not go down this path again. League has history and a fair amount of literature

Moffo.

And just as an aside, If you look at the thread starter and initial respondants, that actually make the remarks you should be responding to..they are Briedis and Bret Li ? I took the time to address them, perhaps your response would be good form also.

regards

PA1870

 

[MoffOnTou]

Fair Point PA, i just took issue with your comments a few months ago when it was clear that you only 'sampled' the market in relation to rugby league memorabilia in Sydney. As a few pointed out, the St George Leagues club is full of memorabilia from their famous run in the 50s and 60s.

Re: Literature, well i took the issue further and took a look in the uni library. In the past 10 years, it is fair to say that the league literature has dried up, or at least the quality stuff. Everyone second league player has produced a biography, which in most cases are nothing more then a self-indulgent look at their life. However, if you flick back pre90s, there are heaps of league books out there. It wouldn't be the same where u are (im assuming Adelaide), but up here, i think you would find a fair amount of books to keep you interested. In comparision to AFL, i can't really do that, as im not up on the literature that AFL has put out.

We must remember though, books are only one part of 'Memorabilia'. To be brutally honest, the SL war forever tarnished the history books in RL, and it almost scrubbed out the linkages between the game in 2002 and its glorious past

Moffo.

 

[Port Adelaide 1870]

Originally posted by MoffOnTou
. To be brutally honest, the SL war forever tarnished the history books in RL, and it almost scrubbed out the linkages between the game in 2002 and its glorious past

Moffo.

Correct me if Im wrong, werent the super league records and ARL/NRL records, both recognised as equal ?

PA1870

 

[MoffOnTou]

Basically, RL has existed under 4 structures

NSWRL
ARL
SL
NRL

'Officially', they are all recognised under the one banner. Unofficially, a lot of people refuse to recognise the 1997 year and the involvement of SL. Most people would say that Newcastle won the 'RL premiership' in 1997, when in fact, Brisbane won the SL comp, that was the equivalent of the ARL competition.

But thats not the point. The point was, the damage that it did to the reputation of the game. The history of the game was torn apart, as clubs folded and moulded into JV's. Thats why I say that the linkage between the past and the present was almost shattered by the SL war.

On the bright side, 3 foundation clubs from 1908 still exist (Sydney Roosters, Souths and Newcastle). Whether people choose to recognise newer clubs such as St-Geo Illawarra is a personal decision, although a lot of diehards will still call the club saints and say that they were born in 1921. Similar to Fitzroy and Brissy joining, i think it would be fair to say that there are disputes over their history as well.

Moffo.

 

[Port Adelaide 1870]

isnt Newcastle a brand new club ? ( sheesh Im ignorant on this stuff)

I thought they appeared in the 1980's or 90's ?


I feel sorry for the Bears and Newtown..Newtown was the first club I ever heard of in NSW after Western Suburbs of course...

Who were they and why dont they exist anymore ?

that would have been hard to take..

Is their a local league in Sydney..not amatuer, but one below the NRL..like the VFA/L in Melbourne.

PA1870

 

[MoffOnTou]

Newcastle in their current form have been around since 1988. However, they were a foundation club and played in the first couple of seasons (ie: 1908-1909). They voluntarily chose to leave the Sydney comp and start up their own domestic competition in Newcastle, that still runs to this day.

Newtown was the first ever rugby league club in Australia, being established in 1907. They left the comp in controversial circumstances in the early 80s after the NSWRL wanted to cull Sydney clubs that wern't performing. Wests were lucky to survive that cut, and played on until the merger with Balmain at the end of 1999. They don't exist now (in the NRL), mainly because they don't have the money and struggled for supporters. The Sydney marked was just to saturated, much like the AFL at the moment, where St Kilda,Kangaroos and Bulldogs struggle for numbers.

They still exist in 1st Division (The Reggies). The 1st Division comp still has all the old teams such as Balmain, Wests, Newtown etc etc. This is pretty much a Sydney based comp, that will be re-designed again next year (called the sponsors cup i believe).

Under this, Sydney has another domestic comp called the Metropolitan Cup. It includes local Sydney teams that exist independently of the NRL clubs. Here, you will find clubs such as Kellyville, Wentworthville, Cabramatta and Ryde-Eastwood.

Cheers,
Moffo.

 

[GH_]

Originally posted by MoffOnTou
The Sydney marked was just to saturated, much like the AFL at the moment, where St Kilda,Kangaroos and Bulldogs struggle for numbers.

By your definition of struggling for numbers, every single league club, sydney market or not is on the ropes

 

[Port Adelaide 1870]

Originally posted by MoffOnTou
Newcastle in their current form have been around since 1988. However, they were a foundation club and played in the first couple of seasons (ie: 1908-1909). They voluntarily chose to leave the Sydney comp and start up their own domestic competition in Newcastle, that still runs to this day.

Newtown was the first ever rugby league club in Australia, being established in 1907. They left the comp in controversial circumstances in the early 80s after the NSWRL wanted to cull Sydney clubs that wern't performing. Wests were lucky to survive that cut, and played on until the merger with Balmain at the end of 1999. They don't exist now (in the NRL), mainly because they don't have the money and struggled for supporters. The Sydney marked was just to saturated, much like the AFL at the moment, where St Kilda,Kangaroos and Bulldogs struggle for numbers.

They still exist in 1st Division (The Reggies). The 1st Division comp still has all the old teams such as Balmain, Wests, Newtown etc etc. This is pretty much a Sydney based comp, that will be re-designed again next year (called the sponsors cup i believe).

Under this, Sydney has another domestic comp called the Metropolitan Cup. It includes local Sydney teams that exist independently of the NRL clubs. Here, you will find clubs such as Kellyville, Wentworthville, Cabramatta and Ryde-Eastwood.

Cheers,
Moffo.

thanks Moffo

PA1870

 

[BSA]

sad but true GH

The whol League shebang floats on poker machine revenues from the clubs.

The football operations bleed cash in bucketloads.

Not surprsing really - go to a League game and watch millions and millions of dollars in player salaries run around in front of 9000 people and you quickly realise things are just not adding up out there ...

 

[MoffOnTou]

GH, its all relative. The strugglers in AFL are the aforementioned clubs. RL has never had huge average crowds, the numbers around 10,000 have been there for a long time. League teams have survived on this.

Sport is pretty much a business these days. And most Sydney clubs will always be flush with funds. Love them or hate them, the Penrith and Canterbury leagues clubs just entered into 1 billion worth of upgrades. In overall terms, these clubs combined would have more money than the AFL.

It may well be sad. But its a commercial reality. I wish RL got crowds that were comparable to AFL. But hey, its not happening.

Moffo.

 

[Ms.Storm]

Moff and DH

And it probably won't ever happen ever, because its just the way the culture is in Sydney.......something Victorians fail to understand or accept.

If its wasn't for the large afl crowds, the afl competition would become very modified and perhaps may even wither away....that's why its so protected by the media....because one feeds the other.

The afl supporters love their teams, to the extent that for most its their total reason to exist (you may laugh and this, but its quite true and scary )