glebegreyhound
Debutant
- Dec 7, 2013
- 102
- 89
- AFL Club
- Sydney
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I really don't understand NRL jerseys. It seems to me that apart from the Rabbitohs and the Roosters, everyone else just seems to have traditional colours, not traditional designs?
It's just so strange to think that if you asked someone to draw what a Manly or NQ jersey looks like, it'd be different every year. Whereas for 90% of the AFL it never changes. Stronger identities imo.
Those would be horizontal stripes, or hoops.This is not going to be a short reply.
Rabbitohs, Roosters, Dragons, have all had similar or near exact designs to their original or majority worn historical designs (Most wore vertical stripes when they began).
Actually many clubs do have a more extensive history than at first sight. Most clubs may have only joined the First Grade NSWRL Premiership in those years (even though Canberra joined in 1982 and Canterbury in 1935), but many of the <1980 teams had already existed before, and simply been promoted to the top competition (i.e. Cronulla from Cronulla-Caringbah and Penrith). Some earlier clubs may have descended from former rugby union clubs (i.e. South Sydney) or have split from a pre-existing rugby union club, meaning that the clubs do have an often-overlooked history pre-1908.Firstly probably because League fans have more supported their team or their teams colours rather than the design of the uniform itself.
But it is also because for a large majority of NRL teams, they do not have the extensive history that many of the AFL teams do. Apart from the Roosters and Souths who are the original 1908 clubs, Canterbury was started in 1934, Manly and Parramatta in 1947, Cronulla and Penrith in 1967, Canberra in 1981, Brisbane and Newcastle in 1988, New Zealand and North Queensland in 1995, Melbourne in 1997, St George-Illawarra in 1998, Wests Tigers in 1999, and Gold Coast in 2007.
Roosters were predominantly red in their first season, so that's not their original design. They had the union-style stripes for many years before their chevrons. Souths also do not wear their original design, although their 1908 design was only worn in 1908, preceded and succeeded by the familiar 2:1 hoops. Canterbury, similar, wore several designs (most notably the butcher stripes) before settling on the chevrons we recognise today, and in particular in 2016 returning to the truncated version similar to the successes of the 1980's. Further to the above point, Parramatta can be seen as the spiritual successor to foundation club Cumberland, simply inverting their colours of gold with blue to blue with gold. Their current jersey sets are derivatives of their 1980's sets but on a modern template. Penrith ditched their traditional royal blue, like Cronulla who had worn similar pre-first grade, at the direction of the NSWRL who already had too many predominantly blue teams (i.e. Canterbury, Newtown, Parramatta). Newcastle ditched their representative colours of emerald and cinnamon when entering the Winfield Cup for whatever reason. Brisbane are just Brisbane.The vast majority of those that were formed before 1990 have mostly kept their original design (Roosters, Souths), found a design that has remained or only slightly modified (Canterbury) or one that has become iconic for the club (Parramatta, Canterbury, Cronulla, Canberra). Newcastle has experimented and the fans want a certain design (their original 1988 design) but have just not made the change yet. Brisbane fans would also like a return to their original designs or based on that design (which is what their current design is based on). Penrith have always had an identity crisis, this was caused from day one when they had to ditch their traditional blue for the chocolate soldiers designs because Cronulla had been admitted first and had chosen to wear blue.
St. George-Illawarra have two long histories to draw from, with Illawarra's colours and rugby league history stretching much further back than the Steelers of 1982. Wests Tigers, as you'd know, have two foundation clubs who lasted until the end of the 1900's to draw from, they just refused to do so for so long.As for the newer clubs, apart from St George-Illawarra who wear the traditional red V of St George, the rest do not have long enough histories to have a reason to keep one design especially when there is money to be made from producing new designs every 2-3 years (3 for the home, 2 for the alternate, unless you have three {Wests Tigers} and then you can create a new alternate every other year), of course exceptions do exist to this rule, but has mostly related to alternate designs (e.g. St George-Illawarra's "Wolverine" design aka the "c*m stain" which only lasted 1 season after a massive fan backlash).
True. Super League and the need to grab new fans to secure their positions in the NRL tended to lead teams to rebrand to non-geographical names such as Bulldogs RLFC or the aborted Rabbitohs rebrand in 2000 with the Opera House-rabbit jersey, dropping the "South Sydney" and standard jersey design to appeal to a wider base. This often brought new "exciting" jerseys such as the Wests Tigers inaugural set, the Bears rip set in 1998, etc.But the other reason so much change has happened was that in the mid 90's the ability to use sublimation technologies on jerseys rather than either dying the material or sewing different layers allowed clubs to experiment with new designs and this then led to all the different and unique designs that have occurred since. Because people didn't really kick up that much of a stink the clubs and manufacturers ran with it and we have the situation that we are in today. However with that being said, many fan groups are now beginning to realise that their clubs identity is important and have begun to push for clubs to revert to designs that are famous to the clubs history.
Newcastle wore the stripes for many successful seasons before adopting the Rams style jersey for their 2001 win, and as far as league designs go it's fairly unique. Penrith will hopefully settle on something soon, but it seems like there is too much politicing or something going on because they've not settled on anything since their teal experiments. Their 50th anniversary has seemingly piqued people's interest in the clubs older designs.This can be seen with Newcastle reverting to their 1997 Grand Final winning vertical stripes (though the fans really want the 1988 design, but Nathan Tinkler who owned the club at the time went with that design so that both the Knights and the Jets in the A-League {which he owned as well} would wear the same designs), Parramatta wearing their designs from the 80's and early 90's, Penrith starting to revert back to the early 90's designs, Brisbane with their 1988 inspired design, Canterbury reverting back to their pre-Super League V, and Manly only keeping the V design for the 3 years after a massive fan backlash after they moved away from the thin stripes which they are now returning to (though the old Eagle and Ball design was received really well).
Auckland Warriors wore the Auckland rugby league colours of blue and white, with red and green to both differentiate them from Canterbury but also for DB Bitter, their main sponsor. They wore blue, white and also green until 2001, at least as an alternate, and shortly after the Super League, Vodafone came on board. When they rebranded as New Zealand, they wore black, white, red and blue (see the 2002 Grand Final), before adopting the black and grey in 2003. Their next change came in 2006 where they adopted a black jersey with grey shoulder outlines, then later in 2009 they adopted CCC's RWC template in black and white, wearing that in their 2011 GF loss. The red came in 2012, which essentially makes the colours of the club those of the Maori sovereignty flag (Tino Rangitiratanga). In my opinion, the Warriors are most recognisable in this colourway and should keep it for the rest of their existence.But other factors have also caused changes. The Warriors changed from their original colours when the Auckland Warriors basically failed and were rebranded the NZ Warriors. This also led to their colours changing to Black and Grey which was done to make the team feel more national. Then the red was added to the colour scheme when Vodafone came on board as a sponsor and from what is said was part of the sponsorship arrangement.
Sad, but true, but also exciting when clubs get them right.But with all that being said, the main reason for clubs changing all the time in the NRL is purely money making, as every time a new design is introduced, fans will go and buy it.
Those would be horizontal stripes, or hoops.
Actually many clubs do have a more extensive history than at first sight. Most clubs may have only joined the First Grade NSWRL Premiership in those years (even though Canberra joined in 1982 and Canterbury in 1935), but many of the <1980 teams had already existed before, and simply been promoted to the top competition (i.e. Cronulla from Cronulla-Caringbah and Penrith). Some earlier clubs may have descended from former rugby union clubs (i.e. South Sydney) or have split from a pre-existing rugby union club, meaning that the clubs do have an often-overlooked history pre-1908.
Roosters were predominantly red in their first season, so that's not their original design. They had the union-style stripes for many years before their chevrons. Souths also do not wear their original design, although their 1908 design was only worn in 1908, preceded and succeeded by the familiar 2:1 hoops. Canterbury, similar, wore several designs (most notably the butcher stripes) before settling on the chevrons we recognise today, and in particular in 2016 returning to the truncated version similar to the successes of the 1980's. Further to the above point, Parramatta can be seen as the spiritual successor to foundation club Cumberland, simply inverting their colours of gold with blue to blue with gold. Their current jersey sets are derivatives of their 1980's sets but on a modern template. Penrith ditched their traditional royal blue, like Cronulla who had worn similar pre-first grade, at the direction of the NSWRL who already had too many predominantly blue teams (i.e. Canterbury, Newtown, Parramatta). Newcastle ditched their representative colours of emerald and cinnamon when entering the Winfield Cup for whatever reason. Brisbane are just Brisbane.
St. George-Illawarra have two long histories to draw from, with Illawarra's colours and rugby league history stretching much further back than the Steelers of 1982. Wests Tigers, as you'd know, have two foundation clubs who lasted until the end of the 1900's to draw from, they just refused to do so for so long.
True. Super League and the need to grab new fans to secure their positions in the NRL tended to lead teams to rebrand to non-geographical names such as Bulldogs RLFC or the aborted Rabbitohs rebrand in 2000 with the Opera House-rabbit jersey, dropping the "South Sydney" and standard jersey design to appeal to a wider base. This often brought new "exciting" jerseys such as the Wests Tigers inaugural set, the Bears rip set in 1998, etc.
Newcastle wore the stripes for many successful seasons before adopting the Rams style jersey for their 2001 win, and as far as league designs go it's fairly unique. Penrith will hopefully settle on something soon, but it seems like there is too much politicing or something going on because they've not settled on anything since their teal experiments. Their 50th anniversary has seemingly piqued people's interest in the clubs older designs.
Auckland Warriors wore the Auckland rugby league colours of blue and white, with red and green to both differentiate them from Canterbury but also for DB Bitter, their main sponsor. They wore blue, white and also green until 2001, at least as an alternate, and shortly after the Super League, Vodafone came on board. When they rebranded as New Zealand, they wore black, white, red and blue (see the 2002 Grand Final), before adopting the black and grey in 2003. Their next change came in 2006 where they adopted a black jersey with grey shoulder outlines, then later in 2009 they adopted CCC's RWC template in black and white, wearing that in their 2011 GF loss. The red came in 2012, which essentially makes the colours of the club those of the Maori sovereignty flag (Tino Rangitiratanga). In my opinion, the Warriors are most recognisable in this colourway and should keep it for the rest of their existence.
Yeah, I know, serves me right for not double checking my post.
You cannot ignore the connection that identities had to past RU clubs. Let's look at the facts:The pre 1908 teams are no connection to their Rugby Union counterparts, nor actually any team that had played before as the game of Rugby League was only born in the country in 1907/08. All teams that were formed for the 1908 season were brand new and as such their histories begin there as they wanted zero connection to the Rugby Union clubs that they were breaking away from. This also mostly applies to the majority of clubs that have been added since. The teams that began playing in the NSWRL were not completely promoted, but rather given what we now call a franchise and formed a team around this. So even though some clubs may consider having a longer history, in reality they were formed in the year that they joined or the year prior.
That is true, however Canterbury, and the Roosters do commonly wear those early strips as heritage/alternate jerseys. Newcastle wear blue, red and white as they were the representative colours of the district (Red jersey, white shorts, blue socks)
Fair point, and correct. That said, when the club previously claimed "200 years of history", it was both correct and wrong, but history nonetheless.That is why St George-Illawarra still wear the Red V (also because Stgeorge hold the majority of that merger), and have worn a variant of the Illawarra jersey as an alternate. The Wests Tigers want to represent themselves as a new club rather than two former clubs that were forced to merge, and as such have tried in recent years to move away from the looks of the past teams. They will continue to recognise the history of the two former clubs, but look wise will not revert to old designs (even as heritage jerseys moving forward).
Successful era for the Panthers and also a heritage choice for the Knights is good, but also takes away designs that can no longer be used as throwbacks. To your point above, it'd be nice to see teams moving forward but still occasionally looking back.That is true with Newcastle, but the original design is the clear favourite with the fans. Plus with the introduction of the current design under the Tinkler era it has been soured. Penrith, if the rumours are true will be going back to the Licorice All-Sorts next year, which will be a very popular choice with the fans.
No doubt it's pure coincidence, but the fact is that the red does have a precedent of being a tertiary colour for New Zealanders, as evidenced by their recent flag referendum. To be fair to your point, all their jerseys until 2003 had a red flash on the collar at least, for both DB Bitter and Vodafone, upon further review. Whether this is the case now is debatable as between 2003 and 2012, all Vodafone sponsored years, there was only black and grey/white.The link between the Warriors colours and the Maori flag I believe is pure coincidence. I am nearly certain it was to do with the Vodafone sponsorship as the red is the same as the logo of Vodafone.
You cannot ignore the connection that identities had to past RU clubs. Let's look at the facts:
(the red was added during the rebrand to West Harbour but is absent at junior "Wests" level.
1902 South Sydney Rugby Union
Need I continue?
Fair point, and correct. That said, when the club previously claimed "200 years of history", it was both correct and wrong, but history nonetheless.
Successful era for the Panthers and also a heritage choice for the Knights is good, but also takes away designs that can no longer be used as throwbacks. To your point above, it'd be nice to see teams moving forward but still occasionally looking back.
No doubt it's pure coincidence, but the fact is that the red does have a precedent of being a tertiary colour for New Zealanders, as evidenced by their recent flag referendum. To be fair to your point, all their jerseys until 2003 had a red flash on the collar at least, for both DB Bitter and Vodafone, upon further review. Whether this is the case now is debatable as between 2003 and 2012, all Vodafone sponsored years, there was only black and grey/white.
Ive never once heard that before and would go one step further and say it's utter rubbish. Coincidence or not the use of red is to do with Vodafone being the sponsor and nothing else. The hue of red used is even known at Warriors HQ as Vodafone red...The red came in 2012, which essentially makes the colours of the club those of the Maori sovereignty flag (Tino Rangitiratanga).
Something I saw on the facebooks...
View attachment 293336
The kit pays tribute to Lansdowne Road.So its inspired by an erect penis?
A road famous for eggplants.The kit pays tribute to Lansdowne Road.
I'm not claiming any connection to the Maori's necessarily, just saying that there is precedent for the use of red in NZ iconography and sport. Another explanation could have been to do with the club playing home games around the rest of the country? I believe they play home games in Waikato and Christchurch, who also have red in their sporting colours (I think Waikato do at least).Ive never once heard that before and would go one step further and say it's utter rubbish. Coincidence or not the use of red is to do with Vodafone being the sponsor and nothing else. The hue of red used is even known at Warriors HQ as Vodafone red...
Now for the red debacle. The Warriors released a 'red' kit in the early 2000's to eliminate clashes. This tied in well with the Vodafone sponsorship and became a staple colour of the club. It was a smart move from both sides. It even was featured as a heritage kit.Wikipedia said:The new team was to be called the Auckland Warriors and run by the Auckland Rugby League organisation. The original colours selected were blue, white, red and green. Blue and white are recognised as the colours of Auckland, while red and green were the colours of the Warriors' original sponsor, DB Bitter. The original logo was designed by Francis Allan, of Colenso.
I've seen them pop up on Ebay from time to time.Just wondering if anyone knew where I could get my hands on a Gold Coast Giants jersey (the silver and black ones)? Have looked everywhere but no-one sells them so I'm figuring they must not make them for whatever reason (legal, etc).
Completely forgot about this, not a bad kit either TBH but very early 2000's Puma.This is what wikipedia has to say on the club colours.
Now for the red debacle. The Warriors released a 'red' kit in the early 2000's to eliminate clashes. This tied in well with the Vodafone sponsorship and became a staple colour of the club. It was a smart move from both sides. It even was featured as a heritage kit.
Please just stop. Red is a nod to Vodafone. Not the Tino Rangatiratanga flag, Canterbury, Waikato, the shepherds warning as a gesture to NZs large agriculture industry, the blood spilt in the NZ Wars or the red eyes Kiwis get with the above average cannabis inhalation.I'm not claiming any connection to the Maori's necessarily, just saying that there is precedent for the use of red in NZ iconography and sport. Another explanation could have been to do with the club playing home games around the rest of the country? I believe they play home games in Waikato and Christchurch, who also have red in their sporting colours (I think Waikato do at least).
Was only used for one year in 2000. The following year they would bring out the black home jersey and use the 2000 home jersey as the 2001-2002 away jersey.This is what wikipedia has to say on the club colours.
Now for the red debacle. The Warriors released a 'red' kit in the early 2000's to eliminate clashes. This tied in well with the Vodafone sponsorship and became a staple colour of the club. It was a smart move from both sides. It even was featured as a heritage kit.
*projectile vomits*Not official and certainly not guaranteed to be anything close, but info given to me from a source, as well as a backpack in a junior members kit has me believing that the Wests Tigers 2017 home jersey may look something like this:
*projectile vomits*
Whaaa?*projectile vomits*
That looks great! Aren't there supposed to be more sponsors than that, though?Not official and certainly not guaranteed to be anything close, but info given to me from a source, as well as a backpack in a junior members kit has me believing that the Wests Tigers 2017 home jersey may look something like this:
That looks great! Aren't there supposed to be more sponsors than that, though?
That orange though... makes me sick seeing it.And that is because?