I like how this has become an AFL vs. NRL thread. Personally, I would take Rugby Union any day of the week... and im from Nth Queensland.
Oh no you didn't! You didn't just bring Union into a AFL v NRL thread? Personally I like em all in one way or another.
Haha you know I personally don't disagree with you that much. It's just I think it's a tad better than AFL.
Funny thing about this thread is the fact that the nations participation numbers for the 4 sports (soccer league union and aussie rules) was re-leased yesterday in Tasmanian media, not sure about the rest of Australia. It was in the Sunday Advocate. It looked like this, (Could be a few thousand off in each as I havent gone for an exact number) Aussie Rules- 550,000 League - 150,000 Union - 140,000 Soccer - 350,000 Soccer dominates at the younger level, then completely falls off the map in the older generations. Where I'm from all boys play soccer at primary school at some stage because there's no organised Aussie Rules leagues for juniors, you have to go through Auskick and that's not very popular. When you hit grade 7 (highschool) you're allowed to play footy and that's when most kids give up soccer. I remember going to a highschool of nearlly 900 people and we only had 3 soccer teams. 7/8 boys 9/10 boys 9/10 girls compared to 10 cricket teams and 5 footy teams + a girls footy team. Even field hockey was more popular. Every 4 years though, during the world cup people start playing soccer for about 2 weeks, as soon as it's over it all stops and you don't play soccer until the next world cup. Anyway, I'm in no way knocking any of the sports as I enjoy them all. Just hope this doesn't start more pointless bickering. Cheers.
I'd like to know where those stats came from. The official statistics http://www.ausport.gov.au/scorsresearch/erass2004.asp http://www.ausport.gov.au/scorsresearch/ERASS2004/ERASS2004_table10.pdf Aussie Rules- 450,800 League - 172,200 Union - 144,700 Soccer (Outdoor)- 659,400 I know there was one survey where soccer only included registered players in weekend competitions and Aussie Rules included players that participated in the schools program, as well as registered weekend players. Swimming, tennis, cycling, running and golf all are much larger As for leaving at high school http://www.sportingpulse.com.au/ass...or Rugby League@1127@@@@@@11@@7@&action=COMPS http://www.shirefootball.com/ssfixtures.asp?Round=1&Age=15&Grade=&Club= The above are the fixtures that are played by Soccer and RL on any weekend. There is less than half as many League matches as Soccer in any age group and when it reaches all age, there is no comparison and that leaves out senoirs. The number of teams is very area dependent. The Bill Turner Cup, under 15 competition is the largest school sporting event.
Utter crap. The Brisbane Lions & Sydney Swans are very well supported in both your wanker states. Gold Coast and a 2nd Sydney side over the next decade will only further grow the game.
Depnds what 'rough' means. As far as injuries go: more so knees/ankles and above all else ACL's then AFL is pretty bloody 'rough'. It its 300 pounds morons running into each other then rugby is a tougher sport. If you want to be 6 foot 2, 90kg, run 100m in 10.5sec, get smashed for 2 hours - running 20kilometers.. and still have the balls to run backwarks into a pack where a Jono Brown or Richardson is going to clean you up with your eyes never off the ball, after you hit someone on the chest 65 meters away from you with a odd shaped ball.. then AFL is the sport with courage. Rugby is good if you enjoy big blokes sticking fingers in each others asses. AFL is just brillant.
Australian football is a trully wunderbar sport. i find that people who are fans of the AFL give other sports a chance whereas NRL folk just disrespect and treat every other sport like its junk. i believe if a rugby person went to an AFL game at a PACKED stadium (something they will never understand) and see all the individual tussels, they would actually appreciate it for the skillfull, awesome spectacle it is. i went to a dragons v broncos 'blockbuster' at suncorp last year (full capacity too! first for everything) and i found it lacklustre, and any action is sooo far away, and i found it a very, very 1 dimensional sport live. it looks better on tv. 52,000 people in which 70% were dragons supporters (noone can say broncos are trully well followed) and it was a game of poor skill, immense ammount of handling errors, and so many bogans with missing teeth and feral language, not a family event. its a sport of run forward, fall over, run forward, fall over, kick, and barely any kicks are decent, or pin point. i feel sorry for league people, in hating the indigenous game, and the world game, you are trully missing out on real spectacles. i hope you come to your senses and give others a go.
I take exception to this. Gridiron may be slow and boring, but it's a much harder game than rugby league. That padding is for a reason, the tackling is very hard, players would probably be killed without it. Hard tackles in rugby league are very rare, and still not as hard as the hardest gridiron tackles. Rugby players are not as big and powerful as gridiron players. Also tactically rugby league is behind, it's generally just run tackle run tackle run tackle run tackle kick etc. Union is probably even worse, a dull procession of collapsed scrums and penalties for obscure infringements.
Quick, somebody start talking about Gaelic football, then get the American gridiron and the Canadian gridiron fans arguing with each other. We'll have a six-way hand/football flamefest, and the association football fans who actually started this thread can heat up some popcorn and enjoy the show.
It won't heat up man because theres no comparison between AFL and rugby.If you want to see a sport played by elite athletes who can run like the wind, jump 20ft in the air and maintain precise hand and foot skills at the same time, AFL is for you.If you want to see a sport derived from animals, for animals with the excitement factor of watching grass grow, and played by illiterate, idiotic fink and fort butt sniffing boxheads, then you're a rugby man.ABSOLUTELY the most terrible sport in this world.
It only took a page and a half for this to turn into a pissing match between Rugby, League, AFL and Gridiron. Partially thanks to you. Thread stays here.
Wow, and I thought the US sports fans were truly messed up in the head. Thanks for demonstrating that I have things better here in the States than I had thought. Best to count my blessings.
I remember in my time at high school; there were more soccer teams than anything else during the winter months however, Rugby and Cricket matches were always considered more important than Soccer. There would be more celebration when a Rugby or Cricket player was selected for a representative team than for Soccer.
It seems to me that this is the difference between soccer growth in Australia and in the USA. In Australia, the sporting landscape & culture is fragmented roughly across state lines - and soccer, with it's global reach & appeal and a season that doesn't conflict with the others, is in the perfect position to become a code that is relatively popular across the country. It's a game that appears to be little threat to the others but with the ability to unite the country. But since this is a pissing competition between the major Aussie sports, here is my take on them: Union: "kick and clap". Can't argue with its relatively interesting large gloabl presence but as someone said earlier, the flow of the game too often gets broken up by baffling penalty calls and is becoming increasingly dependent on having a good kicker. i.e. if you can't kick your penalties, you won't win. League: "run tackle run tackle". Fairly boring at times but high fitness levels are required for sure. But there does appear to be little subtlety and craft involved in playing which puts me off, as does the unfortunate lack of appeal for the game globally. At least in Oz you have the best league in the world by far even if there is more money over here. AFL: Never been to a game but looks like it could be fun, and the athleticism is to be admired. Too bad about Fitzroy (who were once my team from afar) merging with Brisbane but you can see why they did it. If I ever emigrated to Melbourne, I know I'd happily get into the AFL scene. But soccer is king. It's beauty is in its simplicity.
Gee, thanks, mate... more like a torpedo kick to me. With all the debate since the World Cup started over all the footy codes in this country, and Melbourne being a microcosm of it all, one fundamental truth has come out... Soccer can co-exist quite nicely, as a niche sport or otherwise, with all the other footy codes, whether it be Aussie Rules, rugby league, or rugby union. It's a wonder this argument never comes up in the context of cricket or basketball, or whatever other sport -- in terms of the "no way, sport 'x' is going to take athletes away from sport 'y'" blanket statement that always seems to come up in this sort of context.