-
IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
For the last few weeks there has been this overwhelming trend on PRE (and various HUN blogs) that supporters should will their team to lose - or merely play youth in the so called "nothing / useless / waste of time" NAB Cup. ???
Surely I'm not the only one wondering how everyone got to be so short sighted :
(a) If you lose in the NAB Cup you are merely forced to play Challenge Cup rounds over the same period. The Challenge Cup is run on the same NAB rules for 2009 meaning that you can't revert to working on set plays etc without getting smacked all over the park. There is nothing to be gained from losing (except to play "youth" in an even more meaningless hitout)
(b) If you progress well in the NAB Cup you would hope/assume to:
- earn money for the club through increased sponsorship opportunities
- earn money for the club through gate takings
- earn money for the club by winning the comp
- earn money for the club by possibly increased membership
- enjoy winning :clap
The risk is injury - yes - but that is no different to playing Challenge Cup, and last I looked our biggest injury last year was when one of our players was (excuse the pun) hit by a tram!!!
The argument that the players get burnt out is - to be honest - a little sad.
With a two week gap between the NAB cup grand final and Rd1 - plus a mid year break - I'm not exactly sure how we can keep using the term "elite AFL athlete" and "too long/testing a season" in the same breath.
I accept that there is risk in focusing too much on the NAB Cup. Since it's inception there has been little evidence that pre-season success lends itself to AFL season glory - but 8yrs doesn't make "history" when the concept/rules have themselves been evolving, and using failed logic over the same period you could equally retort:
"only one Victorian team has won in XXyrs - therefore to win the AFL you need to train/live/exist outside Victoria"
If you remove injury from the equation (I too will cry like a girl if Richo/Cousins/Brown/Simmonds is injured tomorrow) - then how could anyone be talking/thinking or praying for anything less than a Tiger victory tomorrow night
Go Tigers!!!
Eat em alive - and keep this fantastic roller coaster heading upwards for the first time in a long time!!! :clap
Surely I'm not the only one wondering how everyone got to be so short sighted :
(a) If you lose in the NAB Cup you are merely forced to play Challenge Cup rounds over the same period. The Challenge Cup is run on the same NAB rules for 2009 meaning that you can't revert to working on set plays etc without getting smacked all over the park. There is nothing to be gained from losing (except to play "youth" in an even more meaningless hitout)
(b) If you progress well in the NAB Cup you would hope/assume to:
- earn money for the club through increased sponsorship opportunities
- earn money for the club through gate takings
- earn money for the club by winning the comp
- earn money for the club by possibly increased membership
- enjoy winning :clap
The risk is injury - yes - but that is no different to playing Challenge Cup, and last I looked our biggest injury last year was when one of our players was (excuse the pun) hit by a tram!!!
The argument that the players get burnt out is - to be honest - a little sad.
With a two week gap between the NAB cup grand final and Rd1 - plus a mid year break - I'm not exactly sure how we can keep using the term "elite AFL athlete" and "too long/testing a season" in the same breath.
I accept that there is risk in focusing too much on the NAB Cup. Since it's inception there has been little evidence that pre-season success lends itself to AFL season glory - but 8yrs doesn't make "history" when the concept/rules have themselves been evolving, and using failed logic over the same period you could equally retort:
"only one Victorian team has won in XXyrs - therefore to win the AFL you need to train/live/exist outside Victoria"
If you remove injury from the equation (I too will cry like a girl if Richo/Cousins/Brown/Simmonds is injured tomorrow) - then how could anyone be talking/thinking or praying for anything less than a Tiger victory tomorrow night
Go Tigers!!!
Eat em alive - and keep this fantastic roller coaster heading upwards for the first time in a long time!!! :clap