I am still unconvinced about this six again rule. It seems some refs are going to use it, some are going to abuse it and some are going to refuse it..... I suppose it will weed out the decent refs from the sh!t ones.

Villi, I have never known anyone to dance to the song "Bobby Brown". If you've never heard it, it's off Frank Zappas 'Sheik Yerbouti' album, well worth a listen..... but you can't dance to it.

No. The cardboard cutout fans were practising social distancing by being 1.5m apart.

Aside from all you naysayers, I think rugby league and the broadcasters have done a marvalleous job. Especially with the game broadcast to as ll over the world and the world having nothing else to do but haveva go at watching it. 

This is by far the single biggest moment in history of the game to promote itself and gain world attention yet to naysayers couldn't see an opportunity if it smacked you in the head.

I just hope we play the game in it's true spirit on Sunday and dont turn away any new fans from the game.

I think our side will have a dig on Sunday and you never know.

I don't think lack of effort will be a problem, lack of talent might be.

My man Tom Armone good for Souths, you could hit him with a nuke and the nuke would come off 2nd best.
However, while he looks like a giant in reserve grade  he seems a bit small in the NRL .

I've said many times we lack quality size, but these new rules bring smaller forwards into the game. I think we could play Lewis at lock especially in the 2nd half, he is an energetic defender. He would need to run more, but it might work.

Many sides might hit the wall this year, jag a few wins annd we are in the hunt.

If we’re lucky we might turn one existing fan away...

It's just a novelty.  In the great tradition of rugby league nothing will be done.  If they can't be a supplier of players to the NRL or England we're not interested.

Marki, I believe the only reason it is watched with interest globally is that there is nothing else happening and they are starved of their sports fix. Just wait until the round ball footy starts up and NRLol will be just a forgotten memory.

I agree with Marki, 100%

There, I said it.

Yes, they did have the opportunity of millions more viewers as I pointed out in my first comment on it, but as I tried to explain, they borked it with canned crowd noise which causes a divide resulting in many instantly switching off. I don't believe for a second the same amount would've switched off if they didn't add canned crowd noise....

Record ratings on Thurs night, I bet they were huge last night too.

I tell you, this has had much less impact than you think. If it were gonna be moaned about anywhere it would be on the cynics #1 platform Twitter, and it's barely been mentioned, nor anywhere else really.

BTW you mentioned HG & Roy the other day.

Well.... when they do those GF's and SOO's "live", they're not at the ground, they're in the studio. So all those crowd noises you hear in the backgound - all canned. All of it.

So you might need someone else.

The style of footy and the brutal willingness of the contests under this new regime is great, any team that doesn't turn up will be flogged mercilessly.

I can already see we will get upsets, all a team has to do is turn up 5% off, and if the underdog grabs momentum and get some luck, they post points and the favourite has expended a lot of energy, and has a long hard road back..   

What is not clear to me is if the momentum can turn in a game, the team that is trailing needs a run  of possession and good execution. But I think we might see even score of a 20-30 point lead at halftime begin reversed in the 2nd half very occasionally..   

Most of the time, the team that establishes early dominance will win the game, that is my impression so far...

I'll admit I have no clue about our actual chances against Manly, the 2 teams that beat us this year are in good form, we had good energy in both games,but poor execution.
Manly are fit, motivated, bigger and more talented than us, I can see why most experts are tipping them...
But I think we might be a chance if we start well...

We will have a good idea after 20 mins, if Manly grabs the early momentum, we will need a miracle to claw it back..
If we can stay in touch and make them use as much energy as we are, IMO they may tire and we might get them right on the bell, or go close. 
I think this style of game may suit Pay it is similar to the football he played, and coaching doesn't need to be overly technical...

But in this style, it is critical that the halves organise the team, that we stand deep in attack, the halves run occasionally, and we throw accurate passes. This area and being dominated in the forwards are my biggest concerns... 

Fake crowd noise isn't permanent or important, I don't even notice it...I can still hear the contact and the chatter from the players... more so than with crowds..

But if it is bugging people, all they need to do is turn it down a bit..

Marki
is the cutout poster of a bulldogs guy with blue paint on his face & a clown type hat & a long goati look like you lol

Rare, but it does happen... :)

I think you underestimate the betting side of things - which is huge and larger market in America.
Even if the game doesnt win over supporters who might want to come to Australia and experience a live NRL game, even if it their traditional sports take over their viewing habits, there is a market of sportbook gamblers in the USA who are itching  to bet on anything they have a remote understanding of. This could be huge bucks. 
It could also be huge for the broadcasters who may just find a small market of interested fans and may show weekly games. 

You have to make a start and what better opportunity to do it now - in the most viewer pleasing way.

To the unsuspecting American, showcasing our sport with a crowd of 6000 at a suburban ground when you expect a modern stadium full of people is not exactly a great seller. Do it now when everyone appreciates you cant have a full stadium and you trick them into thinking this sport has AFL type crowds.

That's how you sell the game.

We dont exactly have State of Origin or GF crowds every week.

The only thing better for the sport right now is if we had the Rugby League world cup on in July.

Can you imagine the fanfair and ratings of having USA, Russia, Canada, Greece, Lebanon, England, NZ, AUS, France and all the Pacific nations in what may probably be the only international tournament this year? 

Make it happen Vman. 

Of course it would've been record ratings due to the lack of sport for so many weeks. It's not because millions of people thought canned crowd noise was a good idea.
And yes the canned crowd noise was discussed on ABC TV news, pointing out a divide amongst viewers, probably covered elsewhere too, I just haven't watched much TV lately but it was in the first sports segment I saw.

Roy & HG were funny indeed, but it was decades ago I heard them do a couple of grand finals. No idea who does radio commentary these days. Maybe I'll try it, maybe I'll just give it a miss. Depends on the day & it'll only be for a few weeks anyway until the crowds are allowed back in. 

I agree, NFL is a different game and hard core NFL fans might lose interest in NRL once the NFL starts up again..
However, a portion of our season corresponds to their off season, Americans are sports mad, and NRL might appeal to some..
Even appealing to 2-3% of American hard core sports fans is possibly enough for a US channel to want on going broadcast rights and pay a fair chunk of money.

Obviously they are not going to stop playing NFL and all play RL, no one is going to watch NRL when the Superbowl is on, but 2 weeks after the Superbowl with no NFL being played, a US sport channel has a slot they need to fill and the US sports fan wants something to watch while having a beer with his mates.

The thing is BN, if traditional fans like you switch off, it's not that bad as you'll be back on as soon as live crowds return and things get back to normal. 

But if you're looking to promote the game further, you take your chance and accept that whilst you'll turn a small number of traditional fans away, you'll pick up a whole lot of new ones. They might only be bandwagon fans or may not even be fans at all, but it will help your bottom line and these times some business are doing whatever they can to stay financially viable. 

Personally i dont think it's an issue that will harm the game.

No. 
I was the one in the Roosters jersey!

* ducks for cover * 

It's not about being a traditionalist, it's about being realistic & factual. I also think HD's idea for background soundtracks would've won more international people over than insulting their intelligence with fake noise. But I do agree, it wont make much difference even if they lost millions of international viewers. Also the nationwide TV rights are already locked in, so it wont make any difference there whether people give up on the NRL or not over this thing or any other thing they might not approve of.
But as I tried to explain, the history of canned laughter costs viewers not wins them over.

That’s a poor argument... if they calling it off live tv with a live crowd it’s still an authentic crowd noise...
why are the people don’t mind the fake crowd so keen on bashing those that don’t???... We aint bashing the people that do, but the ‘innovation’ itself...
i was listening to the radio last night a few times and I must the TV is doing a better job of it than  radio so far. both 2GB and MMMs fake noise was overbearing...

The simple question is does it add value??? Does it . The simple answer is no... 
While it has its detractors and it’s ‘meh’era O haven’t heard anyone come out and say “oh wow that made the footy heaps better than 9 weeks ago...

My lawyers Dib, Dibber, and Dibbest willl  be in touch with.both of you...

It’s a bit like clubs that have played fake chants over the loud speaker during a game during the years... and I don’t know anyone that likes that... will we get “Newcastle, Newcastle, Newcastle” in today’s efforts to be nominated for the Oscar best score, and special effects???.,,

If true...
Who the fvck do ASADA think they are trying to contact Xerris family for information and investigating criminal links re distribution???...  Surely that’s the cops job...

We're in trouble now HD. :)

Fake crowd noise aside, I remember seeing an interview with a comedy producer & they were asked to explain the canned laughter during outdoor scenes (when the main character was riding a motorcycle through a clothesline, getting a pair of undies stuck on their face, falling off the motorcycle & whatever else). Surprisingly the response was actually reasonable considering there wasn't an outdoor crowd during filming of those scenes. What they did was simply film it, then edit it, then once complete they showed the whole show from beginning to end to a studio audience which they recorded laughing & edited in the laughter as is from start to finish. Fair enough I suppose. It's better than someone pressing buttons on a computer to add canned laughter #10 or #12 out of however many telling you when to laugh etc.

Eyes up JMK...
Run Lachie run...
Get angry Dylan...
Sniff around the ruck DWZ...
Let them play ball Deano!!!...
Im picking Cogger to be our best on the day... And for mine he is the best foil for Foran of all option available...

It OK the only lawyer he can actually afford to pay is Dribbler... COVID-19 restrictions will keep him out of court...

That's a relief. We'll only have to expect one envelope turning up with Villi's avatar on the stamp instead of three. :)

Yep I recon the stars are going to align for Cogger, he has trained hard, and I've said he is rubbish..

As "Jnr Mock" I'm the "Mock" you have when the real "Mock" is too busy mocking other players in our team...