IceWorks
NRL Player
- May 10, 2019
- 1,145
- 1,711
Ye
Yep, smart guy and good commentator, always self serving.
NRL General Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Unbreakable
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- Status
- Jun 13, 2019
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Fox league reporting 18% increase in viewership for Round 1 over last year(which was also a record), Dolphins vs Roosters game having the highest viewership as expected given it's a new team.
Are we seeing NRL pull away from AFL even more after their viewership win last year?
If NRL get the 18th team that they are trying to get so they get the extra game each round I think it's a forgone conclusion, it's pretty telling already that they can win with one less game each round compared to AFL.
Are we seeing NRL pull away from AFL even more after their viewership win last year?
If NRL get the 18th team that they are trying to get so they get the extra game each round I think it's a forgone conclusion, it's pretty telling already that they can win with one less game each round compared to AFL.
Alec
International Rep
- Mar 4, 2008
- 19,413
- 12,537
If he's still winning MOTM awards then it should count under the cap.
Santa
State of Origin Rep
- Jun 30, 2020
- 7,661
- 13,517
Not sure about pulling away just yet (you would assume yearly ratings would fluctuate a bit depending on how certain teams are going), but still makes the TV deal we made really dumb compared with the AFL.
- Mar 4, 2008
- 34,959
- 41,750
Don't pay any attention to Slothfield
the highest viewership according to Fox sports was the Sharks vs Rabbitohs game. it had 630k which was a new record for a regular season match.
Dolphins vs Roosters came in second with 567k (record for a Sunday arvo game)
Broncos vs Panthers came in 3rd with 552k (record for a Friday night game)
- Jun 13, 2019
- 10,201
- 14,680
No, it was correct.
Those figures your going by are exclusively fox views, Dolphins was a Nine game and combined was first. Sharks/Souths game was an Exclusive Fox game, unlike our game or the Parra vs Storm game, which had more overall viewers as well.
BroncosFever
State of Origin Rep
- Jun 6, 2014
- 6,155
- 10,987
and Slothfield decided to make it a comparison between Brisbane and The
What exactly is there to compare? one club made their debut into the NRL in front of 30 thousand fans (which by the way, is a Broncos average attendance)
That senile prick dribbles on too much for my liking
- Jun 13, 2019
- 10,201
- 14,680
It was a stupid comparison because they were given Sunday compared to our friday night and it's their first game, plenty of people would of watched the game just to see the new team, lets see how it compares in a few weeks.
broncos4life
International Captain
- Oct 5, 2011
- 26,606
- 27,255
Good! It was a stupid tackle and dumber to try and appeal.
- Jul 28, 2016
- 24,138
- 35,507
Fitz probably wanted him to challenge and be out for longer so he doesnt feel obligated to pick him.
His role in the team is very limited at this stage.
- Mar 4, 2008
- 34,959
- 41,750
Brandon Smiths manager, Stan Martin, has spoken about Smiths move to the Roosters over the other 4 teams that were seriously interested.
Now this one will probably get glossed over and ignored, but Martin has claimed he was offered a backhander by a club for the services of Smith.
Martin reportedly told every suitor “No brown paper bags. Everything we do must be above board."
he also claims that there were two factors that turned him away from the Phins. one was that Wayne Bennett didn't show up to the meeting during Smiths tour of the club. The other was that the Phins didn't have a squad and he didn't know who he would be playing with.
Stan Martin said:
“There was one club that offered me a backhander,” Martin added. “But I had no interest in anything dodgy like that.”
“We ended up seriously considering five clubs,” Martin reveals.
“They were the Cowboys, Titans, Dolphins, Roosters and Storm.
“There were whispers about the Broncos but they were never a serious option at all.
“A few other clubs expressed interest but they pulled out because they wouldn’t go up to the value we were looking for.”
Martin on the Tour:
“All five ended up tabling similar money actually, so the decision wasn’t about money for Brandon,” Martin said.
“I said, ‘What do you want to do?’ I asked if he had a preference. He said he was open to visiting all the clubs and having a look around.
“Brandon went to the Cowboys first. He had previously been at the Cowboys, so he knew the set up there.
“He had friends up there and he checked out the facilities. He was blown away by the Cowboys headquarters. He said, ‘I think I might go back to North Queensland’. His mum wanted him to go to the Titans. I said, ‘Just wait. Let’s see what else is on offer.’
Martin on the Dolphins / Bennett
“Brandon never promised to sign with the Dolphins, nor did he commit to anything,” Martin claims.
“The truth is there was never a handshake deal with Dolphins, that’s not true
“I am his agent. Brandon does not do the negotiating, that’s not his job. He is a nice kid and he just speaks from the heart.
“I think people at the Dolphins were under the impression he was going because Brandon would say, ‘I really like it here, I want to come here’, but that’s Brandon’s way of being polite.
“He is not a liar.
“Of course Brandon was going to be positive. Clubs are asking him questions and he is doing a tour of clubs, naturally you are going to be positive about any place you visit out of respect to the clubs involved.
“Brandon may have intimated to clubs that he may have liked what he saw, but there was never a handshake saying, “Yes, we’re done’ and we didn’t sign anything, except with the Roosters.”
“Brandon didn’t even meet with Wayne, Wayne didn’t turn up to the meeting. Brandon had spoken to Wayne on the phone,” Martin said.
“The Dolphins’ offer was significant, as good as any other club’s. He genuinely liked the Dolphins set-up, he thought to go there as a foundation signing would be a prestigious thing, but he was concerned about the fact they didn’t have a squad. He didn’t know who he would be playing with.
“Brandon is actually a quiet kid. I know he is seen as mouthy and out there, but he is very humble and when he turned up to the Dolphins, he was ambushed by all these cameras and reporters. He didn’t expect to walk into that. He just wanted to have a quiet look at the place and he was shocked by the press that turned up.
“Brandon felt it was like a set-up. It was supposed to be a quiet meeting.”
Martin on the Roosters:
“Brandon wasn’t considering Sydney at all initially,” he recalls.
“He had done all his visiting up north and I said, ‘Do you want me to cancel your appointment with the Roosters?’
“He said, ‘No, we have them scheduled, let’s go down there and meet with them’.
“He met ‘Robbo’ (Roosters coach Trent Robinson).
“The Roosters were great. They didn’t pressure him. We didn’t really have to make a final call so soon, but in the end, Brandon wanted to just make his mind up and get it sorted, so he chose the Roosters.”
Martin on the $1 Million price tag:
“Brandon was a little concerned about the $1 million salary,” Martin says.
“He had seen the pressure on other $1 million players in the game. Brandon said to me, ‘Mate if you get a $1 million price tag, you have to dominate every week and the pressure is absolutely f***ing huge and I don’t want that weekly pressure’.
“He never wanted a $1 million deal.
“It’s a real thing. Guys like Jason Taumalolo, Ben Hunt and Daly Cherry-Evans have been through some rough times and the $1 million contract doesn’t help them. Where is Ash Taylor now? The poor bloke struggled. It’s been tough on Dave Fifita, so Brandon made it clear he didn’t want $1 million from any club.
“I could have pushed for $1 million, and some club would have paid it I reckon, but Brandon never wanted to go to that mark.”
Martin on the Roosters - part two
“Meeting ‘Robbo’ changed everything,” Martin said.
“Robbo is married to a French woman and in their house they speak French.
“We went to dinner with them and Brandon said, ‘I can’t believe how natural those people are’. They went outside for a BBQ and Robbo switched from French to English. His passion blew Brandon away. Robbo sold him. Simple as that. There was a little bit more to it, Mitch Aubusson was another factor. He, Jared (Waerea-Hargreaves) and Brandon went for a game of golf and Brandon was just really blown away by the sense of mateship at the Roosters.
“It was hard for Brandon to leave the Storm. He loves Craig Bellamy (coach) and will always value what the club did for him, but with Harry Grant locked in at hooker, Brandon wanted a starting spot and he has got that at the Roosters.
“He loves being coached by Robbo. He is very comfortable at the Roosters.”
Now this one will probably get glossed over and ignored, but Martin has claimed he was offered a backhander by a club for the services of Smith.
Martin reportedly told every suitor “No brown paper bags. Everything we do must be above board."
he also claims that there were two factors that turned him away from the Phins. one was that Wayne Bennett didn't show up to the meeting during Smiths tour of the club. The other was that the Phins didn't have a squad and he didn't know who he would be playing with.
Stan Martin said:
“There was one club that offered me a backhander,” Martin added. “But I had no interest in anything dodgy like that.”
“We ended up seriously considering five clubs,” Martin reveals.
“They were the Cowboys, Titans, Dolphins, Roosters and Storm.
“There were whispers about the Broncos but they were never a serious option at all.
“A few other clubs expressed interest but they pulled out because they wouldn’t go up to the value we were looking for.”
Martin on the Tour:
“All five ended up tabling similar money actually, so the decision wasn’t about money for Brandon,” Martin said.
“I said, ‘What do you want to do?’ I asked if he had a preference. He said he was open to visiting all the clubs and having a look around.
“Brandon went to the Cowboys first. He had previously been at the Cowboys, so he knew the set up there.
“He had friends up there and he checked out the facilities. He was blown away by the Cowboys headquarters. He said, ‘I think I might go back to North Queensland’. His mum wanted him to go to the Titans. I said, ‘Just wait. Let’s see what else is on offer.’
Martin on the Dolphins / Bennett
“Brandon never promised to sign with the Dolphins, nor did he commit to anything,” Martin claims.
“The truth is there was never a handshake deal with Dolphins, that’s not true
“I am his agent. Brandon does not do the negotiating, that’s not his job. He is a nice kid and he just speaks from the heart.
“I think people at the Dolphins were under the impression he was going because Brandon would say, ‘I really like it here, I want to come here’, but that’s Brandon’s way of being polite.
“He is not a liar.
“Of course Brandon was going to be positive. Clubs are asking him questions and he is doing a tour of clubs, naturally you are going to be positive about any place you visit out of respect to the clubs involved.
“Brandon may have intimated to clubs that he may have liked what he saw, but there was never a handshake saying, “Yes, we’re done’ and we didn’t sign anything, except with the Roosters.”
“Brandon didn’t even meet with Wayne, Wayne didn’t turn up to the meeting. Brandon had spoken to Wayne on the phone,” Martin said.
“The Dolphins’ offer was significant, as good as any other club’s. He genuinely liked the Dolphins set-up, he thought to go there as a foundation signing would be a prestigious thing, but he was concerned about the fact they didn’t have a squad. He didn’t know who he would be playing with.
“Brandon is actually a quiet kid. I know he is seen as mouthy and out there, but he is very humble and when he turned up to the Dolphins, he was ambushed by all these cameras and reporters. He didn’t expect to walk into that. He just wanted to have a quiet look at the place and he was shocked by the press that turned up.
“Brandon felt it was like a set-up. It was supposed to be a quiet meeting.”
Martin on the Roosters:
“Brandon wasn’t considering Sydney at all initially,” he recalls.
“He had done all his visiting up north and I said, ‘Do you want me to cancel your appointment with the Roosters?’
“He said, ‘No, we have them scheduled, let’s go down there and meet with them’.
“He met ‘Robbo’ (Roosters coach Trent Robinson).
“The Roosters were great. They didn’t pressure him. We didn’t really have to make a final call so soon, but in the end, Brandon wanted to just make his mind up and get it sorted, so he chose the Roosters.”
Martin on the $1 Million price tag:
“Brandon was a little concerned about the $1 million salary,” Martin says.
“He had seen the pressure on other $1 million players in the game. Brandon said to me, ‘Mate if you get a $1 million price tag, you have to dominate every week and the pressure is absolutely f***ing huge and I don’t want that weekly pressure’.
“He never wanted a $1 million deal.
“It’s a real thing. Guys like Jason Taumalolo, Ben Hunt and Daly Cherry-Evans have been through some rough times and the $1 million contract doesn’t help them. Where is Ash Taylor now? The poor bloke struggled. It’s been tough on Dave Fifita, so Brandon made it clear he didn’t want $1 million from any club.
“I could have pushed for $1 million, and some club would have paid it I reckon, but Brandon never wanted to go to that mark.”
Martin on the Roosters - part two
“Meeting ‘Robbo’ changed everything,” Martin said.
“Robbo is married to a French woman and in their house they speak French.
“We went to dinner with them and Brandon said, ‘I can’t believe how natural those people are’. They went outside for a BBQ and Robbo switched from French to English. His passion blew Brandon away. Robbo sold him. Simple as that. There was a little bit more to it, Mitch Aubusson was another factor. He, Jared (Waerea-Hargreaves) and Brandon went for a game of golf and Brandon was just really blown away by the sense of mateship at the Roosters.
“It was hard for Brandon to leave the Storm. He loves Craig Bellamy (coach) and will always value what the club did for him, but with Harry Grant locked in at hooker, Brandon wanted a starting spot and he has got that at the Roosters.
“He loves being coached by Robbo. He is very comfortable at the Roosters.”
- Sep 8, 2009
- 7,724
- 8,959
My biggest take out of that? The Integrity Unit should be knocking on his door demanding details of the paper bag claim. You put that out there, you need to back it up. And the NRL need to be seen to be doing something about it.
- Apr 9, 2012
- 12,778
- 14,540
That and
......I don't like the fact Trent Robinson speaks only French in his home.
Xzei
State of Origin Rep
- Mar 13, 2017
- 6,994
- 10,726
i hear they have switched to crypto wallets
- Jul 28, 2016
- 24,138
- 35,507
There’s only so much golf a bloke can play each week… I’m guessing Aubo is just as shit at it and just as happy to be putting money on the line…. Not his own money of course
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