2024 NRL Round 1: Teams and Game Day

[LimeGreenMachine]

Leniu has been charged by the NRL. Referred straight to the judiciary. Contrary conduct charge with no grading.

Leniu referred straight to judiciary over Mam allegation

Roosters forward Spencer Leniu has been referred to the NRL Judiciary over an alleged racial slur to Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam in Sunday's season opener in Las Vegas. The incident occurred in the 69th minute of the clash, with referee Adam Gee placing Leniu on report after Mam made the allegation against Leniu. Leniu has subsequently been charged with Contrary Conduct.

Read more: https://www.nrl.com/news/2024/01/01/nrl ... d-details/

[NoMan]

I reckon it will be closer to 12 weeks than 4. It shouldn’t matter but making it the main headline out of Vegas isnt going to help him.

[Botman]

I reckon it will be closer to 12 weeks than 4. It shouldn’t matter but making it the main headline out of Vegas isnt going to help him.

Yeah i reckon it'll be in the 8-12 week range.
I think they're going to come down pretty hard on him, and rightly so

But if Montoya only got 4 for the gay slur then maybe not.

[Northern Raider]

I reckon it will be closer to 12 weeks than 4. It shouldn’t matter but making it the main headline out of Vegas isnt going to help him.

Yeah i reckon it'll be in the 8-12 week range.
I think they're going to come down pretty hard on him, and rightly so

But if Montoya only got 4 for the gay slur then maybe not.

Is there a recent precedent for this? If not then this will set one. We'll see how the process pans out although I'm thinking closer to 4 weeks than the 8-12. What the outcome it will certainly be couple with the "education" requirements.

On a related note Latrell might cop a fine for publicly commenting on the matter before the judiciary. Telling the NRL they had to "deal" with it. He's making assumptions of guilt and potentially influencing the outcome.

[The Nickman]

I'm gonna split the difference and say 6 weeks. Feels about right to me.

[LimeGreenMachine]

I think the NRL will go hard
8 to 12 weeks

[BJ]

After the ridiculous Horsburgh shoulder charge ban, the NRL Judiciary need to get the monkey off their back.

I’ll see myself out.

[NoMan]

I reckon it will be closer to 12 weeks than 4. It shouldn’t matter but making it the main headline out of Vegas isnt going to help him.

Yeah i reckon it'll be in the 8-12 week range.
I think they're going to come down pretty hard on him, and rightly so

But if Montoya only got 4 for the gay slur then maybe not.

Is there a recent precedent for this? If not then this will set one. We'll see how the process pans out although I'm thinking closer to 4 weeks than the 8-12. What the outcome it will certainly be couple with the "education" requirements.

On a related note Latrell might cop a fine for publicly commenting on the matter before the judiciary. Telling the NRL they had to "deal" with it. He's making assumptions of guilt and potentially influencing the outcome.

There was Barnett but he was found not guilty. Gallen was found guilty before that and going way back Bryan Fletcher and Barry Ward, but they all just copped fines. Fair to say its a different environment now though.

[kiwi raider]

Agree, Marcello Montoyo got 4 weeks in 2022 for his homophobic sledge on Kyle Feldt "Get up Kyle you ****" which i dont think was said with any real homophobic intentions. Leniu should get at least that, probably more

How does the use of that word, not have homophobic intent?

Hahaha that's a pretty hot take by kiwi!

not condoning it, just saying i reckon Montoya probably used that term frequently around mates etc and just blurted it out, dont think he particularly thought Kyle Feldt was a homosexual, to describe someone as a monkey is a fairly specific , Leniu would have known that was a racist term before he said it.

Do you think he should get more ,less or the same penalty as Montoya?

Used it frequently? That’s not banter. He surely would have known that term is hate speech. They’re equally as bad. The penalty should be the same. At least four weeks for bringing the game into disrepute.

I actually think Leniu's is far worse, what I was meaning earlier is Montoya used a homosexual slur against a straight man , Kyle Feldt was unlikely to be offended by it ,
Where as Leniu made a racial slur to a player of colour, Ezra Mam is well and truly entitled to take offense to that.

[Finchy]

How does the use of that word, not have homophobic intent?

Hahaha that's a pretty hot take by kiwi!

not condoning it, just saying i reckon Montoya probably used that term frequently around mates etc and just blurted it out, dont think he particularly thought Kyle Feldt was a homosexual, to describe someone as a monkey is a fairly specific , Leniu would have known that was a racist term before he said it.

Do you think he should get more ,less or the same penalty as Montoya?

Used it frequently? That’s not banter. He surely would have known that term is hate speech. They’re equally as bad. The penalty should be the same. At least four weeks for bringing the game into disrepute.

I actually think Leniu's is far worse, what I was meaning earlier is Montoya used a homosexual slur against a straight man , Kyle Feldt was unlikely to be offended by it ,
Where as Leniu made a racial slur to a player of colour, Ezra Mam is well and truly entitled to take offense to that.

I know what you mean kiwi, and I agree. If he’d called a white guy a monkey it wouldn’t have any real sting because there’s no racial connotation. Just like the Montoya sledge would have been worse if it was targeted at a gay player. But because they don’t exist (at least not publicly) then it’s perceptively less offensive saying it to a straight player.

I still remember Mitchell Moses used the same slur against Luke Bateman many years ago and Bateman started getting a heap of support from the LGBTQI+ community. He had to tell everyone he wasn’t in fact gay.

[bonehead]

how many weeks does Walsh get? if hors got 3 then Walsh gets 4

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[Finchy]

how many weeks does Walsh get? if hors got 3 then Walsh gets 4

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Zero. Just a fine. That’s the NRL for you

[greeneyed]

How does the use of that word, not have homophobic intent?

Hahaha that's a pretty hot take by kiwi!

not condoning it, just saying i reckon Montoya probably used that term frequently around mates etc and just blurted it out, dont think he particularly thought Kyle Feldt was a homosexual, to describe someone as a monkey is a fairly specific , Leniu would have known that was a racist term before he said it.

Do you think he should get more ,less or the same penalty as Montoya?

Used it frequently? That’s not banter. He surely would have known that term is hate speech. They’re equally as bad. The penalty should be the same. At least four weeks for bringing the game into disrepute.

I actually think Leniu's is far worse, what I was meaning earlier is Montoya used a homosexual slur against a straight man , Kyle Feldt was unlikely to be offended by it ,
Where as Leniu made a racial slur to a player of colour, Ezra Mam is well and truly entitled to take offense to that.

I think you’re missing something there. It doesn’t matter if he thinks he’s using it to degrade a person he thinks he is straight. He doesn’t know that for a start. Even if not, the fact he’s using the term is inherently homophobic. It’s a term of hate used to degrade gay people. He found the word that is the worst insult he could think of to throw at someone. It’s offensive in every context.

For the same reason, using certain swear words that are offensive to women are never OK.

[greeneyed]

Las Vegas double header delivers all-time Fox League TV ratings winner

The Las Vegas double header delivered all-time record ratings for Fox League, trumping free-to-air broadcaster Channel 9.

Manly’s 36-24 win over South Sydney pulled in a remarkable 838,000 viewers on TV screens and on Fox Sports’ streaming service Kayo. Then Fox League had 786,000 people tune into the Roosters and Broncos clash compared to Channel 9’s 784,000 viewers on Sunday night.

Read more: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport ... bdf87a7b5d

[Northern Raider]

Impressive numbers given the early Sunday time slot.

[greeneyed]

Impressive numbers given the early Sunday time slot.

1.5 million on a Sunday afternoon is incredible.

[Botman]

Wonder what the ratings in US were.

[greeneyed]

Wonder what the ratings in US were.

It appears they are released on a weekly basis, not overnight. Though presumably, the networks have the overnights.

[Botman]

Wonder what the ratings in US were.

It appears they are released on a weekly basis, not overnight. Though presumably, the networks have the overnights.

Im gonna trust you to look after this one for me and get those numbers when they come... hit me with the quote so i get the notification
Thanks Skipper!

[gangrenous]

Hahaha that's a pretty hot take by kiwi!

not condoning it, just saying i reckon Montoya probably used that term frequently around mates etc and just blurted it out, dont think he particularly thought Kyle Feldt was a homosexual, to describe someone as a monkey is a fairly specific , Leniu would have known that was a racist term before he said it.

Do you think he should get more ,less or the same penalty as Montoya?

Used it frequently? That’s not banter. He surely would have known that term is hate speech. They’re equally as bad. The penalty should be the same. At least four weeks for bringing the game into disrepute.

I actually think Leniu's is far worse, what I was meaning earlier is Montoya used a homosexual slur against a straight man , Kyle Feldt was unlikely to be offended by it ,
Where as Leniu made a racial slur to a player of colour, Ezra Mam is well and truly entitled to take offense to that.

I think you’re missing something there. It doesn’t matter if he thinks he’s using it to degrade a person he thinks he is straight. He doesn’t know that for a start. Even if not, the fact he’s using the term is inherently homophobic. It’s a term of hate used to degrade gay people. He found the word that is the worst insult he could think of to throw at someone. It’s offensive in every context.

For the same reason, using certain swear words that are offensive to women are never OK.

I don’t think he’s missing anything. He’s raising a point I personally agree with, which is that the intent matters.

If somebody lazily chooses a term without intent to hurt or abuse that’s a different scenario to someone being deliberately and intentionally abusive.

Not saying that makes it okay, nor that it shouldn’t be punished. Just that I think it’s possible to use the same words with deliberate intent and have them be worse. Also that education being a big part of the solution when it’s come from carelessness or ignorance is more apt.

[greeneyed]

I do agree Mr Montoya could have been ignorant about the impact of his words. The implications of what he said. I do agree that might require some education. More education is possibly better than bans and punishments. But football players really don’t have much excuse, as there’s plenty of education on offer to them. And we know there’s a lot of open hostility to minority groups among football players too. Regardless of education.

[Northern Raider]

Wonder what the ratings in US were.

I'm guessing not that great. Most people would have been in bed when the games were played. First game started at 10:30 pm Eastern Time which accounts for almost 50% of the population.

[Seiffert82]

Just heard some audio of the Leniu incident and although you dont hear him say anything, you do hear multiple players respond to it
Not great bob!

Any idea what he (allegedly) said?

Also, kinda bizarre for a non-white person to be racially abusing another non-white person

Yeah, I think the history of genocide shows that most atrocities happen between people with the same colour skin, or from similar cultural backgrounds. Dozens of horrific examples across Africa, Asia and Europe.

We just live in an environment where it's primarily seen as a white skinned vs other people issue. Racism is rife everywhere.

[President Clinton]

Spencer Leniu thinks he is one tough ****.

What an absolute knob. I hope he gets 12 weeks.

[greeneyed]

Wonder what the ratings in US were.

It appears they are released on a weekly basis, not overnight. Though presumably, the networks have the overnights.

Im gonna trust you to look after this one for me and get those numbers when they come... hit me with the quote so i get the notification
Thanks Skipper!

Disappointing numbers. But have to start somewhere.

[Botman]

Yeah that’s a little disappointing but we’ve got to start somewhere

It’ll be interesting to track that number year to year

[The Nickman]

I think those number are disappointing, however we need to start somewhere.

[Northern Raider]

Just heard some audio of the Leniu incident and although you dont hear him say anything, you do hear multiple players respond to it
Not great bob!

Any idea what he (allegedly) said?

Also, kinda bizarre for a non-white person to be racially abusing another non-white person

Yeah, I think the history of genocide shows that most atrocities happen between people with the same colour skin, or from similar cultural backgrounds. Dozens of horrific examples across Africa, Asia and Europe.

We just live in an environment where it's primarily seen as a white skinned vs other people issue. Racism is rife everywhere.

Racism is a very broad term that unfortunately in recent times has been truncated to purely a "white vs black" scenario in a lot of minds. That's the era of Social Media over simplifying complex subjects. Only have to look at the history (both ancient and recent) of places like Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, the Americas etc to quickly learn that it is far broader issue than skin colour.

[Northern Raider]

Wonder what the ratings in US were.

It appears they are released on a weekly basis, not overnight. Though presumably, the networks have the overnights.

Im gonna trust you to look after this one for me and get those numbers when they come... hit me with the quote so i get the notification
Thanks Skipper!

Disappointing numbers. But have to start somewhere.

Pretty ordinary to have almost as many people at the stadium as watching on TV. Even with the dodgy time slot. Out of 300 million people with access to TV you reckon there's enough looking for something to watch at midnight to have better numbers.

[-TW-]

FS1 is cable, so it's only available to 75 million or so.

SMH article says it's equivalent to some MLS games on FS1

First year, grain of salt tbh. If after 3 years they're pulling the same numbers can say it's a fail.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

[Northern Raider]

FS1 is cable, so it's only available to 75 million or so.

SMH article says it's equivalent to some MLS games on FS1

First year, grain of salt tbh. If after 3 years they're pulling the same numbers can say it's a fail.

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

Interesting. 75 mill is still 3x the population of Australia. Would have hoped for more than what tuned in

[gangrenous]

Doesn’t seem surprising. How many people watch League in Melbourne after stacks of success and 20 odd years?

It’s extremely hard to crack a parochial market that barely knows the rest of the world exists

[Botman]

We just gotta keep plugging away.
Keep the event, keep building it up... get that tv deal in place where we get a game on FS1 a week... and build a small but niche community and try and grow it from there.

It's worth a 5-10 year investment for the potential upside. If we get to 2034 and we havent gotten any traction, you can move and say we tried, but we absolutely have to see it through the early difficulties.

[gangrenous]

This is why you’ll never be CEO botman.

I’d pay Taylor Swift to act out a love triangle with Cleary and Fowler. Bam - audience up 1000% in a year.

Then all three endorse me for president. Whaddya know nek minit it’s gangers28 ruling the free world.

[The Nickman]

Sounds like the start of another fascist government to me.