Stido
06-09-2008, 12:27 PM
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/nrl/story/0,26746,24301415-5016365,00.html (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/nrl/story/0,26746,24301415-5016365,00.html)
Willie's opinion on youngsters
By Josh Massoud | September 06, 2008 12:00am
AS the NRL warmly congratulates itself on this year's inaugural Toyota Cup, we stumbled across this appraisal from one of the game's highest profile stars:
"With the Under-20s I feel they are getting over-exposed. I played in a 20s comp in 1999, we weren't on TV. It was nothing and you were treated like nothing. And that's how I feel they should be treated now. But you see them getting a bit of profile and exposure - I'm filthy on it. They shouldn't fly on the same plane or wear the same kit. When I was younger you had to earn all that and now all these things are coming to them really easy.''
Those are the thoughts of one William Marshall Mason. Clearly, the human headline is not on the same page as David Gallop when it comes to the NYC (National Youth Competition).
Mason might have his enemies - but he has plenty of friends on this one. Hardly a day passes without someone groaning about the new competition in earshot of this column.
The complaints are never-ending: cost, cannibalisation of reserve grade, breeding players for rugby, a glorified Jersey Flegg comp dressed up as something else. Gallop says the 50 Toyota Cup players who graduated to NRL level are proof the new competition is a success.
That argument is flawed because it conveniently doesn't say whether those players were actually ready for first grade. In many cases they weren't. Some were selected in accordance with club policy, while others got a start because the standard of the NSW Cup feeder competition has gone into free-fall at the expense of the NYC.
The result is a continued decline in average age and experience of debutants. This trend might be a bonus for the Toyota Cup's profile, but how on earth can it be so for NRL standards?
WHAT a pity they cancelled the Bulldogs supporters' bus for tomorrow's trip to Canberra. Sure it's cold. Sure the team can't beat a cold. But because they couldn't muster 30 passengers, a lot of Bulldogs fans will miss something pretty damned special and I'm not talking facetiously about wooden spooons.
I'm talking about the little doer Hazem El Masri. Unbeknown to most, El Masri began fasting for the Holy Islamic month of Ramadan on Monday. That means he can't eat or drink during daylight hours for the next four weeks.
It's a sacrifice that promises to test El Masri's resolve during tomorrow's game, which cruelly kicks off at 2pm. He must play 80 minutes at fullback on an empty stomach and without swallowing a drop of water for hydration. And he won't be able to re-fuel until two hours after fulltime.
Everything we know about El Masri tells us he will respond in style.
DIRE predictions for a miserable crowd at ANZ Stadium at the Swans' qualifying final tonight are proof that rugby league is not the only sport doing it tough in Sydney. A turn-out of fewer than 30,000 should prompt a dramatic re-think at AFL headquarters about the code's one-size-fits-all approach to marketing.
Wake up Demetriou! Sydney is not Melbourne. We don't give a rats about your Shinboners or Collywobbles. Either bother with some promotion that talks directly to Sydney or start preparing for a painful time convincing us to accept a second team.
Willie's opinion on youngsters
By Josh Massoud | September 06, 2008 12:00am
AS the NRL warmly congratulates itself on this year's inaugural Toyota Cup, we stumbled across this appraisal from one of the game's highest profile stars:
"With the Under-20s I feel they are getting over-exposed. I played in a 20s comp in 1999, we weren't on TV. It was nothing and you were treated like nothing. And that's how I feel they should be treated now. But you see them getting a bit of profile and exposure - I'm filthy on it. They shouldn't fly on the same plane or wear the same kit. When I was younger you had to earn all that and now all these things are coming to them really easy.''
Those are the thoughts of one William Marshall Mason. Clearly, the human headline is not on the same page as David Gallop when it comes to the NYC (National Youth Competition).
Mason might have his enemies - but he has plenty of friends on this one. Hardly a day passes without someone groaning about the new competition in earshot of this column.
The complaints are never-ending: cost, cannibalisation of reserve grade, breeding players for rugby, a glorified Jersey Flegg comp dressed up as something else. Gallop says the 50 Toyota Cup players who graduated to NRL level are proof the new competition is a success.
That argument is flawed because it conveniently doesn't say whether those players were actually ready for first grade. In many cases they weren't. Some were selected in accordance with club policy, while others got a start because the standard of the NSW Cup feeder competition has gone into free-fall at the expense of the NYC.
The result is a continued decline in average age and experience of debutants. This trend might be a bonus for the Toyota Cup's profile, but how on earth can it be so for NRL standards?
WHAT a pity they cancelled the Bulldogs supporters' bus for tomorrow's trip to Canberra. Sure it's cold. Sure the team can't beat a cold. But because they couldn't muster 30 passengers, a lot of Bulldogs fans will miss something pretty damned special and I'm not talking facetiously about wooden spooons.
I'm talking about the little doer Hazem El Masri. Unbeknown to most, El Masri began fasting for the Holy Islamic month of Ramadan on Monday. That means he can't eat or drink during daylight hours for the next four weeks.
It's a sacrifice that promises to test El Masri's resolve during tomorrow's game, which cruelly kicks off at 2pm. He must play 80 minutes at fullback on an empty stomach and without swallowing a drop of water for hydration. And he won't be able to re-fuel until two hours after fulltime.
Everything we know about El Masri tells us he will respond in style.
DIRE predictions for a miserable crowd at ANZ Stadium at the Swans' qualifying final tonight are proof that rugby league is not the only sport doing it tough in Sydney. A turn-out of fewer than 30,000 should prompt a dramatic re-think at AFL headquarters about the code's one-size-fits-all approach to marketing.
Wake up Demetriou! Sydney is not Melbourne. We don't give a rats about your Shinboners or Collywobbles. Either bother with some promotion that talks directly to Sydney or start preparing for a painful time convincing us to accept a second team.