WSYD The winners from the 'Battle of Brookvale' is the AFL

[finders]

Yeah the NRL have come out and criticised it publicly and handed out suspensions and fines to keep all the wowsers and mums happy but privately they will be stoked at all the interest and publicity it has generated.

Everyone has been talking about the game and that brawl, even in AFL states, and a final or grand final between Manly and the Storm will be even bigger now. I don't see the problem with a good old fashioned brawl like that every now and again providing there are no king hits, headbutts or other dirty acts. The crowd loves it and it really ramps up the atmosphere.

Spoken by a true thugby lover! Its 2011 not 1951 and those tactics dont go down well with the mainstream anymore.

 

[Sebastian Balboa]

[YOUTUBE]xLiR4faNtAI[/YOUTUBE]
Some more typicaly thugby league rubbish from that well known league club Hawthorn

Wait, what?

Nice to see another league thread on the main board though Seems you could be concerned about the success of this million dollar investment when you are reading this much into these sort of incidents. It wasnt a great look, which is why the players will be suspended for a long time, particularly when it ended up 5 on 1, but it's such a rarity these days it's of no huge concern.

(I wonder how many fights break out in junior/senior australian football every weekend?)

First NRL thread I've seen on the main board in quite a while. We don't think about you guys as much as you think we do. Sorry.

 

[Plugger35]

Spoken by a true thugby lover! Its 2011 not 1951 and those tactics dont go down well with the mainstream anymore.

I would have thought the mainstream supporters still love that sort of stuff. It is the minority of wowsers and do gooders that object to it but unfortunately they are the ones that make the most noise and who the likes of the NRL and AFL are now pandering to by turning the games into netball.

I don't condone thuggish acts of violence on field but the odd brawl and dust up is always going to happen in competitive contact sports like AFL and Rugby League. It's not tactics, it's just part and parcel of playing those types of sports.

The people that denounce it are usually the ones that have never played those types of sports or just aren't genuine fans of those sports to begin with. If you don't like that stuff there are plenty of nice, friendly non-contact sports around that people can play or watch.

 

[rhinowce]

I would have thought the mainstream supporters still love that sort of stuff. It is the minority of wowsers and do gooders that object to it but unfortunately they are the ones that make the most noise and who the likes of the NRL and AFL are now pandering to by turning the games into netball.

I don't condone thuggish acts of violence on field but the odd brawl and dust up is always going to happen in competitive contact sports like AFL and Rugby League. It's not tactics, it's just part and parcel of playing those types of sports.

The people that denounce it are usually the ones that have never played those types of sports or just aren't genuine fans of those sports to begin with. If you don't like that stuff there are plenty of nice, friendly non-contact sports around that people can play or watch.

Whats your take on Brett Stewart flying in with a king hit?? lucky for him and blair it didnt connect otherwise this whole situation would of been looked at in another light.

For B Stewart to only get one week for that is a disgrace by the NRL.

 

[Ant_]

Whats your take on Brett Stewart flying in with a king hit?? lucky for him and blair it didnt connect otherwise this whole situation would of been looked at in another light.

For B Stewart to only get one week for that is a disgrace by the NRL.

I'm not quite up to speed with the NRL rules but 1x1 is ok? So the 4 Manly guys that jumped in on the Storm player should get suspended correct?

 

[Plugger35]

Whats your take on Brett Stewart flying in with a king hit?? lucky for him and blair it didnt connect otherwise this whole situation would of been looked at in another light.

For B Stewart to only get one week for that is a disgrace by the NRL.

Yeah like I said I don't condone king hits and other thug acts, players that do that should have the book thrown at them, but just a normal brawl with a bit of push and shove and the odd punch thrown isn't as bad as some people make out. Usually no one gets hurt and it allows the players to let off a bit of steam whilst getting the crowd involved too, I don't really see the problem with it other than it upsets the 'won't someone think of the children' set.

 

[rhinowce]

I'm not quite up to speed with the NRL rules but 1x1 is ok? So the 4 Manly guys that jumped in on the Storm player should get suspended correct?

1v1 is normally handled by sending both players off or too the sinbin and thats usually the end of it, punching on again on the way off after being sent off not so sure haha..

Im pretty sure the third man in gets either sin bined or sent also, they usually view that worse than the initial incident, so how flying kinghit man only got a week has me stuffed..

 

[Paul Kersey]

Just shows you how much of a scum outfit Manly is. Like to see Brett Stewart get carried off the field again ala the gf when we put those dogs to the sword.

 

[AllSport]

Two words can refute the thought this incident can sway NRL fans to AFL. BARRY HALL. Did the Barry Hall king hit on Brett Staker turn all AFL fans in Sydney to NRL, no it didn't every code has there fair share of fights and brawls but the core audience tends to stay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5qVLJEOTpo
To refresh your memories. So to the OP to think the Brookvale brawl could change hearts and mind, then what did the Barry Hall kinghit did to AFL in Sydney?

 

[vjknight]

hey plug, good to see you out of the bay

the problem that stupid game faces with incidents like this is NOT the reaction from established fans. they love it, and reminds them of years gone by. but as is pointed out in sydney media often these days, its the winning of the hearts & minds of young parents who look for a team activity for their kids.

some look for an activity just for some outdoor fun on weekends, making friends etc. some look for an activity where their son can maybe make decent coin from one day (sports oriented kid who doesnt do well at school - theres plenty of them). but above all, they want their son to be safe and not smashed by some over zealous bruiser who takes aim at other kids every chance he gets. and this is GWS target audience - parents fearful of little johnnie being wacked by a kid well developed for his age, as is common for kids of middle eastern & islander backgrounds - under 12's already shaving & standing 5'6" and 80kg. little johnnie is just that - little - lucky to be 5' tall and 50kg wringing wet.

hence these parents make a choice to send johnnie to auskick with all its friendly atmosphere and giveaways, and into a sport with plenty of tv exposure and role models and a game where the remotist hint of thuggery is dealt with severely. some of us dont like what is deemed thuggery by the MRP, but its what we are stuck with, in a bid to lure those who barley know the game.

and as the AFL say, lets visit this whole saga in 20 years to see who is right.

 

[baja]

From the fallout of the 'Battle of Brookvale' last Friday night, a clear winner has emerged.

And that winner is the AFL.

The brawl at Brookvale between the Manly Sea Eagles & the Melbourne Storm is just what the AFL needs to get people to turn to the new AFL side in 2012, the Greater Western Sydney Giants, as well as the Sydney Swans.

Parents of prospective rugby league players wouldn't have liked what they saw last Friday night and might consider asking their sons to take up AFL instead.

The brawl at Brookvale has set rugby league back 20 years. And while publicly the AFL wouldn't like what they saw, privately they reckon it could be the best thing to happen to AFL in NSW since the Swans 2005 premiership.

Yet NRL crowds have been in decline since they started getting tougher on these sort of things 20 years ago, go figure...

 

[Bomber Bears]

The NRL's biggest problem is that it doesnt want to spread Nationally, and it doesnt want to acknowledge women as fans. their "lets keep things the way it is" policy is what is going to lose them the war. the fight is just an example of it....

See this is why you shouldnt comment on a sport you dont actually follow, it just makes you look stupid when you make rubbish comments like this.

Oh, and a fairly advanced expansion bid for Perth going as well, which sort of goes against your other comment

 

[Krazynoongah]

if i wanted to see fighting id pay $45 an watch pros fight not fat cavemen

 

[jerry springer]

Best game for years they reckon.
Not far from me and all the neighbours here loved it....best game they've seen for years.
Reminder of the old Manly Wests games, full crowds, silvertails v fibro's, Rocks Messup commentating, the heyday of RL.

Never a bad thing for the game...except to the wowsers, soccer mums and wannabe dad of the year types.

In truth the winner was the NRL.

this.best game ive seen in years

 

[ScoobySnacks]

Nothing raises the intensity of a game like someone getting steamrolled and a bit of argy bargy. Definitely was good for the NRL in general. I'd like to see more of the physicality brought back into our game

 

[Snig Master]

Lets not kid ourselves. Our sanitised version of AFL could do with a bit of this stuff. Make it exciting again. Passionate.......
I think I heard a leaguie make a point on radio on the weekend - RL is never going to attract every kid mainly due to the confrontational nature of the sport. Some kids by design just aren't cut out for it. The events at Brookvale won't hurt one little bit.

 

[Larry the Liquidator]

Just shows you how much of a scum outfit Manly is. Like to see Brett Stewart get carried off the field again ala the gf when we put those dogs to the sword.

Turn it up. What about all the grapple tackles the Storm players used to make?

 

[Simple Jack]

I was watching the game anyway, and now I'm going to go out of my way to watch the next one when I otherwise mightn't have.

It was night to see a bit of physicality, even if it was over the top. Shows the players actually care.

The disgraceful thing is that the treatment of the 'foreign' team will be different from the 'heartland' team.

 

[Krazynoongah]

but still [YOUTUBE]XuMukG3sMH4[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Paul Kersey]

Turn it up. What about all the grapple tackles the Storm players used to make?

You don't know what you're on about, wouldn't expect you to though as you don't watch league.

 

[Ron The Bear]

The AFL abolishes time-on in 2012, your team's in front by a couple of goals with five minutes to play, the obvious thing to do is start a fight. Or at least a melee.

 

[calyam]

The AFL abolishes time-on in 2012, your team's in front by a couple of goals with five minutes to play, the obvious thing to do is start a fight. Or at least a melee.

Don't the umpires just restart play when there's a melee? I'm not sure I'd like my team fighting while the ball is flying down the other end for an easy goal.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Don't the umpires just restart play when there's a melee? I'm not sure I'd like my team fighting while the ball is flying down the other end for an easy goal.

But they'd miss all the reports for jumper punches! And it'd be tough to bounce the ball if it started in the centre after a goal.

 

[nko11]

Yet NRL crowds have been in decline since they started getting tougher on these sort of things 20 years ago, go figure...

20 years ago (1991) the NRL averaged 12408. This year the NRL average is 16021. Thats not a decline.

 

[.Shotties.]

This year the NRL average is 16021.

You tell 'em, son!