Raiders Trial V Ninjas
Moderator: GH Moderators
Dolph, you have to copy the whole article over, including the title, then do the word count. It doesn't include the bit you say at the top... people often put a line ofdolphinboy wrote:Your article currently contains 749 wordsOfficial 7's word counter
Does it count the title heading
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to distinguish when they are doing the word count from and to. The title forms part of the article.
I agree that "the official word counter" is over the top (and I don't know what was wrong with people doing it off Microsoft Word - and for some reason, the "official" counter generally gives you about 5-10 words less to work with, don't know why)... but that is what the referees go off... and they do take off points for it, so it is really worth doing.
This is the article I'll use if needed. It is 750 words as stands. Any comments welcome.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Greatest I’ve Ever Seen
“I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest... It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am.†- Muhammad Ali
The age-old question in bars and clubs down the eastern seaboard of Australia, one of the most enduring in rugby league, is: “Who is the greatest you’ve ever seen?†Following the 2005 State of Origin series, Ricky Stuart opened the debate up all over again, when he pronounced that Andrew Johns is the greatest he has ever laid eyes upon.
Johns’ credentials are impressive. He has won two premierships with the Knights, played more than 20 games for NSW and played almost 20 Tests for Australia. He has captained his country. He ruled State of Origin in 2005 as he has never done before. His skills from halfback are legendary – able to control the direction of play through astute passing and pinpoint kicking. Not only that, his career is yet to end. There are chapters still to be written.
But is he the greatest I have ever seen? As a Raiders fan, I wish I could say Mal Meninga is the greatest. Meninga captained the Raiders to three premierships, played 32 State of Origin matches for Queensland and played more Tests (45) and scored more points for Australia than any other. He captained Australia 23 times and made a record four Kangaroo tours. He was a rock in the centres, inspiring confidence in his teammates. But he is not the greatest I have ever seen. That player is Wally Lewis.
I don’t much like Lewis. Like many Australians, I like my sports heroes to be humble, taciturn, to let their talking to be done on the field. None of the Muhammad Ali antics for us. We admire the quietly determined, the courageous, the gritty - the characteristics that led Australian cricket captain, Steve Waugh, to be universally admired. He would be someone you wanted on your side, to be there in the trenches when the going got tough.
Lewis was not that sort of character, yet he was certainly great and you wanted him in your trenches. He was arrogant, someone who would get under the *'s skin. I remember the first time I saw him play - at Lang Park for the Diehards, against my team, the Tigers in the late 1970s. A comment made by NFL player Lawrence Taylor, applies perfectly to Lewis: “He's a cocky sumbitch. That's what makes him such a great player.†He certainly irritated me, and as a young kid, I hurled some abuse in his general direction – only to cop some abuse myself from the woman sitting on the wooden bench in front of us – his mother. I disliked him even more then, but I had to admit one of the main reasons I disliked him was this: he was extremely good.
Over time, I developed much more respect for Wally Lewis. By the time his career was over, he had captained Australia 23 times and played 33 Tests. He had made the State of Origin series his own and possessed it like no other player. He captained Queensland 30 times and time and time again, he seemed to almost single handedly wrest the trophy back over the border. I remember one State of Origin match at the Sydney Football Stadium, when Lewis grasped the ball and match in his own hands, charging over the line in the corner, Gary Jack in his wake. He dominated the game in his time.
Perhaps Andrew Johns will yet convince me he is the greatest I have seen. Like Lewis he is arrogant - and at times appears to be a bad sport - and I don’t much like him. His skills are incredible, but he has yet to dominate in the way that Lewis or Meninga have. But he still has time left, and before he hangs up his boots, his records may yet challenge them. For me, though, it is far too premature to suggest he should join “The Immortals†of the game.
But what is true greatness anyway? Is it for you or me to judge? We love the debating. But as English writer, William Hazlitt said “No man is truly great who is great only in his lifetime. The test of greatness is the page of history.†In the end, neither my opinion, nor yours, will count. Only history will tell who goes down as the greatest player of our time.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Greatest I’ve Ever Seen
“I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest... It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am.†- Muhammad Ali
The age-old question in bars and clubs down the eastern seaboard of Australia, one of the most enduring in rugby league, is: “Who is the greatest you’ve ever seen?†Following the 2005 State of Origin series, Ricky Stuart opened the debate up all over again, when he pronounced that Andrew Johns is the greatest he has ever laid eyes upon.
Johns’ credentials are impressive. He has won two premierships with the Knights, played more than 20 games for NSW and played almost 20 Tests for Australia. He has captained his country. He ruled State of Origin in 2005 as he has never done before. His skills from halfback are legendary – able to control the direction of play through astute passing and pinpoint kicking. Not only that, his career is yet to end. There are chapters still to be written.
But is he the greatest I have ever seen? As a Raiders fan, I wish I could say Mal Meninga is the greatest. Meninga captained the Raiders to three premierships, played 32 State of Origin matches for Queensland and played more Tests (45) and scored more points for Australia than any other. He captained Australia 23 times and made a record four Kangaroo tours. He was a rock in the centres, inspiring confidence in his teammates. But he is not the greatest I have ever seen. That player is Wally Lewis.
I don’t much like Lewis. Like many Australians, I like my sports heroes to be humble, taciturn, to let their talking to be done on the field. None of the Muhammad Ali antics for us. We admire the quietly determined, the courageous, the gritty - the characteristics that led Australian cricket captain, Steve Waugh, to be universally admired. He would be someone you wanted on your side, to be there in the trenches when the going got tough.
Lewis was not that sort of character, yet he was certainly great and you wanted him in your trenches. He was arrogant, someone who would get under the *'s skin. I remember the first time I saw him play - at Lang Park for the Diehards, against my team, the Tigers in the late 1970s. A comment made by NFL player Lawrence Taylor, applies perfectly to Lewis: “He's a cocky sumbitch. That's what makes him such a great player.†He certainly irritated me, and as a young kid, I hurled some abuse in his general direction – only to cop some abuse myself from the woman sitting on the wooden bench in front of us – his mother. I disliked him even more then, but I had to admit one of the main reasons I disliked him was this: he was extremely good.
Over time, I developed much more respect for Wally Lewis. By the time his career was over, he had captained Australia 23 times and played 33 Tests. He had made the State of Origin series his own and possessed it like no other player. He captained Queensland 30 times and time and time again, he seemed to almost single handedly wrest the trophy back over the border. I remember one State of Origin match at the Sydney Football Stadium, when Lewis grasped the ball and match in his own hands, charging over the line in the corner, Gary Jack in his wake. He dominated the game in his time.
Perhaps Andrew Johns will yet convince me he is the greatest I have seen. Like Lewis he is arrogant - and at times appears to be a bad sport - and I don’t much like him. His skills are incredible, but he has yet to dominate in the way that Lewis or Meninga have. But he still has time left, and before he hangs up his boots, his records may yet challenge them. For me, though, it is far too premature to suggest he should join “The Immortals†of the game.
But what is true greatness anyway? Is it for you or me to judge? We love the debating. But as English writer, William Hazlitt said “No man is truly great who is great only in his lifetime. The test of greatness is the page of history.†In the end, neither my opinion, nor yours, will count. Only history will tell who goes down as the greatest player of our time.
- Roger Kenworthy
- Laurie Daley
- Posts: 11505
- Joined: January 7, 2005, 10:18 pm
- Favourite Player: Ruben Wiki, J-Lo, Jordan Rapana
- Roger Kenworthy
- Laurie Daley
- Posts: 11505
- Joined: January 7, 2005, 10:18 pm
- Favourite Player: Ruben Wiki, J-Lo, Jordan Rapana
-
- Gary Belcher
- Posts: 6245
- Joined: January 8, 2005, 1:25 pm
- Favourite Player: Jordan Rapana
- Location: Sydney
Well since you're playing do you want to post the line-up, since it doesn't look like I'm honorary captain anymore? I'll do it, I don't mind, just didn't want to step on any toes.Raider_69 wrote:
im writting a dud article too, certainly not my best
IBG, we're gonna have to run with this team:
IBG
Raider_69
Thickos
Greeneyed
Dolphinboy
Edwahu
Raiders Boy
hopefully those two benchies come up trumps and we can sub 2 reggies out for them
This is way too long and a bit of a rant. Draft for comment. Maybe Thickos can cut it back for me?
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*'s only one sport
I come from a rugby league family. My grandfather played rugby league way back when for Coorporoo in the Brisbane competition. My uncles played rugby league for the team that had its origins in the Coorporoo club – the Easts Tigers. My grandfather and one of my uncles were heavily involved in coaching and managing the Easts juniors – and my uncle coached Easts reserve grade to a Grand Final win.
As a child, I remember regularly going out to Lang Park and Langlands Park on a weekend *'s afternoon with the whole family. Seeing the great hooker, Johnny Lang, and the Morris brothers – Des and Rod - run around in the Tigers colours – the famous gold jersey with two black *'s – is still vivid in the memory.
And today, as far as I’m concerned, there is really only one sport.
Sure, I watch the cricket and the tennis in the summer and I enjoy them. Going to the Sydney Cricket Ground to see Australia play in a New *'s Test; seeing Australia face the old enemy in the Ashes at Lords; and cheering as Michael Bevan scored the winning runs in a famous one day match against the West Indies are amongst my most memorable experiences. I avidly watch the tennis Grand Slams when we have an Aussie to cheer on or when Australia is playing the Davis Cup. But they are summer sports. In winter, to me, rugby league is everything and the only thing.
It was not always so.
Growing up in Brisbane, every Saturday afternoon, Channel 7 would beam in a game that was largely unfamiliar to Queenslanders – Australian Rules. It seemed worth a look – there were big crowds in attendance, and they seemed passionate and excited about what was going on at the ground. The game the Victorians played seemed steeped in tradition, ones that seemed strange but, were also strangely interesting. I could never really work out the technicalities of what was going on, but I would watch to while away a boring afternoon. It was something of a novelty, and it was reflected in the television ratings, where the telecast regularly received “an asterisk†– so few people watched, they couldn’t be recorded. I was never really enthused with the sport. It just seemed full of bad ball handling and little structure. But I was one of the few people who watched it.
When I moved to Canberra in the early 1980s, I was surprised to see how many ovals had the four goal posts at each end. When you picked up the Canberra Times, it was full of stories about the local Australian Rules competition. If anything, it was seen as the leading sport in the ACT. A couple of years later, I went to an Aussie Rules game in Melbourne – the Carlton and the West Coast Eagles at Princes Park. The experience was a vacant one, with much of the action taking place so far away you could not see it. I had suspected it, but this confirmed it: Australian Rules football was a complete waste of my time.
As a youngster, I would also watch the rugby union Test matches on the ABC. My father played union and he always switched them on. I was again taken by the tradition involved – the build up to the game; the national anthem; the rivalry with New Zealand and the haka. But then the match would start. I always watched, but again, it seemed to mostly be a mad scramble at the ball and lots of stoppages and penalties. And Australia always seemed to lose.
I had never seen a rugby union Test live until I moved to live for a time in Paris. The competition that was then called the “Five Nations†regularly drew huge numbers of people from the south of France and from across the channel to the Parc des Princes. They were fun events to attend. All the cafes and brasseries in the streets around Parc des Princes would set up tables outside, selling ham and cheese baguettes and wine or beer. People would stand around eating and drinking until just before the game and then swarm into the 40,000 seat stadium just before the match. The Marseillaise would be sung with a passion by the French crowd and they would chant “Allez les Bleus†or shout “Ole†after the sound of the trumpet. After the match, the French and opposition supporters would stream back out to drink in the surrounding streets, and communicate in the international language of alcohol and laughter, no matter who won. But it was more the “event†than the football that I found so interesting.
I first moved to Canberra in the year that the Canberra Raiders entered what is now the NRL. I watched Canberra turn into a city that became truly enamoured with rugby league, a process completed with the Raiders first magic premiership win in 1989. I revelled in that, but the Raiders’ success was something that all football codes were aspiring to – expansion and national domination, driven by television interests.
Australian rules embarked on it aggressively by transplanting South Melbourne to Sydney, establishing “the Bears†in south east Queensland, and teams in their heartland in the south and west of the continent. And then I realised: the Victorian sport was on a quest for cultural domination. They were looking to cut my sport from its position in the minds and lives of everyone in the rugby league heartland. And by the year 2006 they had made many inroads in doing just that. Last year, I visited my family in Brisbane. With the “Brisbane Lions†winning AFL Premierships, I was shocked that my own brother demanded to watch the Lions playing AFL instead of the rugby league telecast.
Rugby union jumped on the bandwagon. They became openly professional, established a “Super 12s†competition and assiduously cultivated provincial and Test union as “a social and corporate event†– reaching a peak with the rugby union World Cup held in Australia. Union has not taken over the ACT as number 1 sport, but with the success of the Brumbies, they have come close. Again they are on a quest for cultural domination.
And now soccer too is seeking to do the same, following the qualification by the Socceroos for the soccer World Cup. I sat back in disbelief as the people of Sydney and Australia went into some sort of frenzy over a team of players who mostly play overseas become the 32nd best in the world. A quest for cultural domination.
Well I for one am not going to have any of it. My reaction is to reject union, rules and soccer and not watch any of it. Rugby league needs to fight back. Us “northerners†have been far too accommodating. At stake is our very way of life and our cultural identity.
For me, there is only one sport and it is rugby league.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
*'s only one sport
I come from a rugby league family. My grandfather played rugby league way back when for Coorporoo in the Brisbane competition. My uncles played rugby league for the team that had its origins in the Coorporoo club – the Easts Tigers. My grandfather and one of my uncles were heavily involved in coaching and managing the Easts juniors – and my uncle coached Easts reserve grade to a Grand Final win.
As a child, I remember regularly going out to Lang Park and Langlands Park on a weekend *'s afternoon with the whole family. Seeing the great hooker, Johnny Lang, and the Morris brothers – Des and Rod - run around in the Tigers colours – the famous gold jersey with two black *'s – is still vivid in the memory.
And today, as far as I’m concerned, there is really only one sport.
Sure, I watch the cricket and the tennis in the summer and I enjoy them. Going to the Sydney Cricket Ground to see Australia play in a New *'s Test; seeing Australia face the old enemy in the Ashes at Lords; and cheering as Michael Bevan scored the winning runs in a famous one day match against the West Indies are amongst my most memorable experiences. I avidly watch the tennis Grand Slams when we have an Aussie to cheer on or when Australia is playing the Davis Cup. But they are summer sports. In winter, to me, rugby league is everything and the only thing.
It was not always so.
Growing up in Brisbane, every Saturday afternoon, Channel 7 would beam in a game that was largely unfamiliar to Queenslanders – Australian Rules. It seemed worth a look – there were big crowds in attendance, and they seemed passionate and excited about what was going on at the ground. The game the Victorians played seemed steeped in tradition, ones that seemed strange but, were also strangely interesting. I could never really work out the technicalities of what was going on, but I would watch to while away a boring afternoon. It was something of a novelty, and it was reflected in the television ratings, where the telecast regularly received “an asterisk†– so few people watched, they couldn’t be recorded. I was never really enthused with the sport. It just seemed full of bad ball handling and little structure. But I was one of the few people who watched it.
When I moved to Canberra in the early 1980s, I was surprised to see how many ovals had the four goal posts at each end. When you picked up the Canberra Times, it was full of stories about the local Australian Rules competition. If anything, it was seen as the leading sport in the ACT. A couple of years later, I went to an Aussie Rules game in Melbourne – the Carlton and the West Coast Eagles at Princes Park. The experience was a vacant one, with much of the action taking place so far away you could not see it. I had suspected it, but this confirmed it: Australian Rules football was a complete waste of my time.
As a youngster, I would also watch the rugby union Test matches on the ABC. My father played union and he always switched them on. I was again taken by the tradition involved – the build up to the game; the national anthem; the rivalry with New Zealand and the haka. But then the match would start. I always watched, but again, it seemed to mostly be a mad scramble at the ball and lots of stoppages and penalties. And Australia always seemed to lose.
I had never seen a rugby union Test live until I moved to live for a time in Paris. The competition that was then called the “Five Nations†regularly drew huge numbers of people from the south of France and from across the channel to the Parc des Princes. They were fun events to attend. All the cafes and brasseries in the streets around Parc des Princes would set up tables outside, selling ham and cheese baguettes and wine or beer. People would stand around eating and drinking until just before the game and then swarm into the 40,000 seat stadium just before the match. The Marseillaise would be sung with a passion by the French crowd and they would chant “Allez les Bleus†or shout “Ole†after the sound of the trumpet. After the match, the French and opposition supporters would stream back out to drink in the surrounding streets, and communicate in the international language of alcohol and laughter, no matter who won. But it was more the “event†than the football that I found so interesting.
I first moved to Canberra in the year that the Canberra Raiders entered what is now the NRL. I watched Canberra turn into a city that became truly enamoured with rugby league, a process completed with the Raiders first magic premiership win in 1989. I revelled in that, but the Raiders’ success was something that all football codes were aspiring to – expansion and national domination, driven by television interests.
Australian rules embarked on it aggressively by transplanting South Melbourne to Sydney, establishing “the Bears†in south east Queensland, and teams in their heartland in the south and west of the continent. And then I realised: the Victorian sport was on a quest for cultural domination. They were looking to cut my sport from its position in the minds and lives of everyone in the rugby league heartland. And by the year 2006 they had made many inroads in doing just that. Last year, I visited my family in Brisbane. With the “Brisbane Lions†winning AFL Premierships, I was shocked that my own brother demanded to watch the Lions playing AFL instead of the rugby league telecast.
Rugby union jumped on the bandwagon. They became openly professional, established a “Super 12s†competition and assiduously cultivated provincial and Test union as “a social and corporate event†– reaching a peak with the rugby union World Cup held in Australia. Union has not taken over the ACT as number 1 sport, but with the success of the Brumbies, they have come close. Again they are on a quest for cultural domination.
And now soccer too is seeking to do the same, following the qualification by the Socceroos for the soccer World Cup. I sat back in disbelief as the people of Sydney and Australia went into some sort of frenzy over a team of players who mostly play overseas become the 32nd best in the world. A quest for cultural domination.
Well I for one am not going to have any of it. My reaction is to reject union, rules and soccer and not watch any of it. Rugby league needs to fight back. Us “northerners†have been far too accommodating. At stake is our very way of life and our cultural identity.
For me, there is only one sport and it is rugby league.
-
- Gary Belcher
- Posts: 6245
- Joined: January 8, 2005, 1:25 pm
- Favourite Player: Jordan Rapana
- Location: Sydney
I think this is something that needs to be addressed, IMO. I probably shouldn't hijack this thread with it here, but I will anyway.thickos wrote:then again maybe we should all do our own work for the trial?
This is going to come off as sounding really holier-than-thou, so I'll try my best to explain my position as best as possible.
I think this year, at least for me personally anyway, I think we should try and not edit each other's articles anymore. Posting them up for critiquing is fine and I'd love to get feedback, but I don't think the articles should be anyone else's work bar the author... so no edit or re-writing jobs.
Don't take this as a "I'm a great writer as it is, I don't need your help" kind of thing, because the truth is I'm one of the worst technical writers in this team, but if I'm to score a moderate 85 compared to a team edited, magnificently worded 90, I'd rather score the 85 just because I know it's my own work. That may be selfish because it is in one sense it is a team game, but most teams don't do what we did last year.
That's just my honest opinion.
Maybe Skeepe can express a view on this, as I think he was a former ref, but as I understand it, it is usual practice for commentary etc etc to be done, as it is a team game. That is what is done in "locker rooms" at F7s. A suggested edit is just that... a suggestion. In the end, it is up to the author to put in what they want.
You didn't say what you thought of my article, IBG.
You didn't say what you thought of my article, IBG.
Raiders Boy has confirmed he is in for the trial so im demoting myself back down to the bench for this gameIBG wrote:Well since you're playing do you want to post the line-up, since it doesn't look like I'm honorary captain anymore? I'll do it, I don't mind, just didn't want to step on any toes.Raider_69 wrote:
im writting a dud article too, certainly not my best
IBG, we're gonna have to run with this team:
IBG
Raider_69
Thickos
Greeneyed
Dolphinboy
Edwahu
Raiders Boy
hopefully those two benchies come up trumps and we can sub 2 reggies out for them
since GE already on the ball with something, im struggling atm, but will come up with something before too long 8)
Confirmed team:
IBG (c)
Thickos
Greeneyed
Raiders Boy
Dolphinboy
Edwahu
Raider_69
OK, this is the cut down version. It is 750 words including title. I welcome any further comments/suggestions.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There is only one sport
I come from a rugby league family. My uncles played rugby league for the Easts Tigers in the Brisbane competition. My grandfather played for the club back when it was called Coorporoo. When I was a child, my grandfather and uncle were involved in coaching and the whole family would regularly go out to Lang or Langlands Park on a *'s afternoon. Seeing Johnny Lang and the Morris brothers run around in the Tigers colours is still vivid in the memory.
And today, for me there is really only one sport. Sure, I watch the cricket and the tennis, but they are summer sports. In winter, rugby league is everything.
It was not always so. I did give other codes of football a try.
Growing up in Brisbane, every Saturday afternoon, Channel 7 would beam in a game largely unfamiliar to Queenslanders – Australian Rules. It seemed worth a look – there were big crowds, and they seemed passionate about what was going on at the ground. I could never really work out the technicalities, but I'd watch to while away a boring afternoon. Still, I was never really enthused. It just seemed full of bad ball handling and little structure. Eventually, I went to an Aussie Rules game in Melbourne, but the experience was a vacant one, with much of the action taking place so far away you could not see it. I had suspected it, but this confirmed it: Australian Rules was a waste of time.
As a youngster, I would also watch the rugby union Test matches on the ABC. I was taken by the tradition involved – the national anthem, the rivalry with New Zealand and the haka. But then the match would start. I watched, but it seemed to mostly be a mad scramble at the ball and lots of stoppages and penalties.
When I lived in Paris, I attended “Five Nations†matches - which regularly drew huge numbers of people from the south of France and across the channel to the Parc des Princes. All the brasseries in the streets around the stadium would set up tables outside, selling baguettes and beer. People would stand around drinking, until just before the game and then swarm into the 40,000 seat stadium. The Marseillaise would be sung with a passion by the crowd and they would chant “Allez les Bleusâ€. It was an experience, but it was more the “event†than the football that was interesting.
I first moved to Canberra in the year that the Canberra Raiders entered what is now the NRL. I watched Canberra turn into a city that became enamoured with rugby league, a process completed with the Raiders' magic premiership win in 1989. As a Raiders fan, I revelled in that, but league's expansionist success that year was something to which all football codes were aspiring.
Australian rules embarked on expansion aggressively - as well as admitting teams from the south and west to a national competition, they transplanted teams in Sydney and Brisbane. Call me a slow learner, but eventually I realised: the Victorians were on a serious quest for cultural domination. They were looking to cut my sport from its position in the minds and lives of everyone in the rugby league heartland. And by the year 2006 they had made many inroads in doing just that. Last year, I visited my family in Brisbane. One night I was shocked that my own brother demanded to watch the so called "Brisbane Lions" playing AFL instead of the rugby league.
Rugby union too jumped on the bandwagon. They became overtly professional, established a “Super 12s†competition and assiduously cultivated union as “a social and corporate eventâ€. Union has not taken over the ACT as number 1 sport, but with the Bumbies, they have at times come close. Again they are openly on a quest for cultural domination and to undercut my sport and my team.
And now soccer too is seeking to do the same.
Well, as Peter Finch's fictional character, Howard Beale, said in the classic film Network: "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" I am rejecting union, rules and soccer and will not watch them. Us “northerners†have been far too accommodating. It's time for rugby league to fight back. At stake is our culture and the heritage of our childhoods.
And for me, there is and will always be only one sport - rugby league.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There is only one sport
I come from a rugby league family. My uncles played rugby league for the Easts Tigers in the Brisbane competition. My grandfather played for the club back when it was called Coorporoo. When I was a child, my grandfather and uncle were involved in coaching and the whole family would regularly go out to Lang or Langlands Park on a *'s afternoon. Seeing Johnny Lang and the Morris brothers run around in the Tigers colours is still vivid in the memory.
And today, for me there is really only one sport. Sure, I watch the cricket and the tennis, but they are summer sports. In winter, rugby league is everything.
It was not always so. I did give other codes of football a try.
Growing up in Brisbane, every Saturday afternoon, Channel 7 would beam in a game largely unfamiliar to Queenslanders – Australian Rules. It seemed worth a look – there were big crowds, and they seemed passionate about what was going on at the ground. I could never really work out the technicalities, but I'd watch to while away a boring afternoon. Still, I was never really enthused. It just seemed full of bad ball handling and little structure. Eventually, I went to an Aussie Rules game in Melbourne, but the experience was a vacant one, with much of the action taking place so far away you could not see it. I had suspected it, but this confirmed it: Australian Rules was a waste of time.
As a youngster, I would also watch the rugby union Test matches on the ABC. I was taken by the tradition involved – the national anthem, the rivalry with New Zealand and the haka. But then the match would start. I watched, but it seemed to mostly be a mad scramble at the ball and lots of stoppages and penalties.
When I lived in Paris, I attended “Five Nations†matches - which regularly drew huge numbers of people from the south of France and across the channel to the Parc des Princes. All the brasseries in the streets around the stadium would set up tables outside, selling baguettes and beer. People would stand around drinking, until just before the game and then swarm into the 40,000 seat stadium. The Marseillaise would be sung with a passion by the crowd and they would chant “Allez les Bleusâ€. It was an experience, but it was more the “event†than the football that was interesting.
I first moved to Canberra in the year that the Canberra Raiders entered what is now the NRL. I watched Canberra turn into a city that became enamoured with rugby league, a process completed with the Raiders' magic premiership win in 1989. As a Raiders fan, I revelled in that, but league's expansionist success that year was something to which all football codes were aspiring.
Australian rules embarked on expansion aggressively - as well as admitting teams from the south and west to a national competition, they transplanted teams in Sydney and Brisbane. Call me a slow learner, but eventually I realised: the Victorians were on a serious quest for cultural domination. They were looking to cut my sport from its position in the minds and lives of everyone in the rugby league heartland. And by the year 2006 they had made many inroads in doing just that. Last year, I visited my family in Brisbane. One night I was shocked that my own brother demanded to watch the so called "Brisbane Lions" playing AFL instead of the rugby league.
Rugby union too jumped on the bandwagon. They became overtly professional, established a “Super 12s†competition and assiduously cultivated union as “a social and corporate eventâ€. Union has not taken over the ACT as number 1 sport, but with the Bumbies, they have at times come close. Again they are openly on a quest for cultural domination and to undercut my sport and my team.
And now soccer too is seeking to do the same.
Well, as Peter Finch's fictional character, Howard Beale, said in the classic film Network: "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" I am rejecting union, rules and soccer and will not watch them. Us “northerners†have been far too accommodating. It's time for rugby league to fight back. At stake is our culture and the heritage of our childhoods.
And for me, there is and will always be only one sport - rugby league.
Last edited by greeneyed on January 12, 2006, 7:07 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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- Brett Mullins
- Posts: 1901
- Joined: January 7, 2005, 2:21 pm
- Contact:
The PQO (PQ Opinions)
After viewing the Raiders team to take on the ever impressive Chuck Norris Texas Death Ninjas I had mixed emoticons. What if we lose to these guys, they're crap!
Last year was a "successful" year for the Minor Premiers, the Canberra Raiders. I could say Minor Premiers or Grand Finalists, either way you look at it, the premiership was not won. However they did hype this up by celebrating the year, which ultimately ended in a loss, obviously.
This I believe is the problem with the side, there is no unity and they celebrate crushing losses. Each to their own I suppose. Further proof when a few key players ventured into the unknown world of the Kman Klan Krows with sensible promises, a realistic goal and hearts of gold.
Very few has changed in the camp, except the team name and further additions to an impressive squad.
The team for the trial against the Raiders is...
PQ
Les Amber
Undertaker Mike
TiTTieS
Parra Eels
Bench
Raider Crusader
Edabomb
http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showt ... p?t=129413
With the name of the side it is my PQO that the Raiders will have to be happy with 2nd place again.
For them, that will be something to celebrate.
After viewing the Raiders team to take on the ever impressive Chuck Norris Texas Death Ninjas I had mixed emoticons. What if we lose to these guys, they're crap!
Last year was a "successful" year for the Minor Premiers, the Canberra Raiders. I could say Minor Premiers or Grand Finalists, either way you look at it, the premiership was not won. However they did hype this up by celebrating the year, which ultimately ended in a loss, obviously.
This I believe is the problem with the side, there is no unity and they celebrate crushing losses. Each to their own I suppose. Further proof when a few key players ventured into the unknown world of the Kman Klan Krows with sensible promises, a realistic goal and hearts of gold.
Very few has changed in the camp, except the team name and further additions to an impressive squad.
The team for the trial against the Raiders is...
PQ
Les Amber
Undertaker Mike
TiTTieS
Parra Eels
Bench
Raider Crusader
Edabomb
http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/showt ... p?t=129413
With the name of the side it is my PQO that the Raiders will have to be happy with 2nd place again.
For them, that will be something to celebrate.
2006: Celebrating 25 years since Bay56 jumped ship from South Sydney to Canberra Raiders
- Roger Kenworthy
- Laurie Daley
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- Favourite Player: Ruben Wiki, J-Lo, Jordan Rapana
- Roger Kenworthy
- Laurie Daley
- Posts: 11505
- Joined: January 7, 2005, 10:18 pm
- Favourite Player: Ruben Wiki, J-Lo, Jordan Rapana
- Raider Azz
- Jason Croker
- Posts: 4715
- Joined: January 7, 2005, 10:22 pm
i agree with IBG on the edit issue
grammar and punctuation is fair game but i think we should try and stray away from mass editing of each others actual wording. I personally will sometimes ask for an opinion on a paragraph or something, but outside that i think we should keep it to punctuation and grammar
grammar and punctuation is fair game but i think we should try and stray away from mass editing of each others actual wording. I personally will sometimes ask for an opinion on a paragraph or something, but outside that i think we should keep it to punctuation and grammar
yea sorry Dolph, my fault mate, tis all good, its only a trial so im not to concerned about it or the fulltime score
- basically you've gotta wait till the team is named to post your article (even in round games this doesnt get punished generally)
- non game related posts are spose to be kept till after fulltime, generally all thats posted before fulltime is the teams, followed by the game posts and if needed substitutions.
- the article are ment to be 750 words or less including title, they run off the offical word counter on the F7's website. http://f7s.leagueunlimited.com/wordcount.asp
and past that its pretty straight forward. It seems like a lot just for a fun online comp but after a few articles it just becomes 2nd nature.
- basically you've gotta wait till the team is named to post your article (even in round games this doesnt get punished generally)
- non game related posts are spose to be kept till after fulltime, generally all thats posted before fulltime is the teams, followed by the game posts and if needed substitutions.
- the article are ment to be 750 words or less including title, they run off the offical word counter on the F7's website. http://f7s.leagueunlimited.com/wordcount.asp
and past that its pretty straight forward. It seems like a lot just for a fun online comp but after a few articles it just becomes 2nd nature.
I personally don't see anything wrong with suggested edits. It is a team game and we should be able to help eachother. I will certainly do grammar and punctation checks for all the articles I can (my job has meant I have done a lot of proofreading for publications where those sorts of mistakes just can't be allowed through)... and I'll offer other comments as well. I would love people to offer the same on my articles.
In any case, we know that punctuation and grammar and spelling errors cost us points, so at the least any well functioning team should get these things completely ironed out before articles are posted, IMO.
In any case, we know that punctuation and grammar and spelling errors cost us points, so at the least any well functioning team should get these things completely ironed out before articles are posted, IMO.