An American view on seeing Rugby League for the first time.

[pussycat]

An Americans view of Rugby League - Slightly different to the tight shorts view of the AFL



Cam Inman
FOX SPORTS
May 28, 2015 9:00AM

CAM INMAN covers the San Francisco 49ers for the Bay Area News Group. After hearing so much about State of Origin since Jarryd Hayne’s NFL switch, he decided to watch his first game.

SANTA CLARA - California is my state of origin, which might explain why I had never watched an Australian rugby league game until now.

I quickly found myself fixated Wednesday on the spectacle that was Queensland’s 11-10 win over New South Wales in the State of Origin opener.

Those men were old-school tough. That match was tense to the last second. The sport, it has gained an overseas fan.

In 15 years of covering the NFL from the San Francisco Bay Area, I’ve watched America’s most popular sport grow enormously. It’s becoming bogged down, in the process, as both updated safety measures and constant referee interaction diminish the gladiator element.

No pads makes for a gladiatorial contest, which impressed NFL writer Cam Inman. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: News Corp Australia

Perhaps that’s why it was so refreshing to watch the Blues and Maroons bang their non-padded, helmet-less bodies for 80 bruising minutes, at a hurried pace. Along the way, teamwork proved essential, and sportsmanship should be applauded, if merely for the lack of taunting opponents or harassing officials.

If the NFL looks more like this in 10 years, I wouldn’t be surprised, as long as more points are scored.

All of which makes it more intriguing to follow Jarryd Hayne’s attempt at a NFL career with the 49ers after his success with Parramatta and NSW.


What follows is as amateur an analysis as possible. It will take more than a couple hours of television viewing to master rugby-league rules. But I’ve made a career out of watching and sports – and writing about many of which I’ve never played - so here are some quick observations:

-- Hayne’s former New South Wales club came out strong, sternly ready to defend last year’s results. That intensity lagged after halftime, however, and the exhausted Blues were fortunate to lose by only a point. Queensland’s attacks kept coming and coming.

-- These aren’t your NFL-style tackles, where too often defenders want to knock out their foe with a hard hit. Here, gang tackles rule. Bodies are brought down by multiple players, often with arms lassoed around necks while elbows sneakily are wedged into backs. Spear tackles are illegal, just as they are in the NFL.

-- Breakaway runs are scarce. This is how the old NFL must have been before the forward pass sparked today’s offensive fireworks. Josh Dugan, however, made his mad dash count when he raced nearly 30 yards before his kick bounced up to Josh Morris for NSW’s first try. Some players look more suited as NFL offensive linemen and tight ends, rather than quick-footed running backs, which Hayne is attempting to become.

-- Ah, the video referee. Yes, replay challenges have become incorporated more and more in American sports, in a positive way. Best part here is that the verdict comes across on the stadium’s video board, along with an ad for Kentucky Fried Chicken (which was founded in my late grandmother’s hometown).

-- Blues captain Robbie Farah got body slammed onto his left shoulder, and he kept playing. Queensland’s Johnathan Thurston got flipped by two defenders, and he tried a 45-metre penalty kick. Tough guys, there. As tough as trying to score around the edge against the Maroons.



-- Cooper Cronk scores the first try, and finishes the Blues off with a field goal. Cronk? Oh, like Gronk? That would be Rob Gronkowski, who helped the New England Patriots win the last Super Bowl. Should have made that connection and placed a wager.

-- Why aren’t more field goals attempted? That question is best meant for the Blues. In a related note, the 45-degree angle kicks after tries offer the type of challenge the NFL needs. It’s better than simply moving point-after kicks back 15 yards, which is what the NFL decided to do last week.

-- The head coaches aren’t on the field and instead sit in a suite behind glass? Many NFL assistants do the same but not the head coaches. Must cut down on player/coach confrontations that reporters exploit.


-- A line you’ll never hear in a NFL broadcast: “The chicken wing could be the only reason for that penalty.”

-- A line I may borrow if the 49ers offense struggles like NSW: “You can put the sprinklers on at the other end of the field. There’s been no play down there.”

-- Amazing how those jerseys don’t rip. Reminds me when Canterbury rugby shirts were an American fad, decades ago. As for the rest of those uniforms, short shorts haven’t been seen like that in American sports since those on a NBA court, decades ago.

-- Fox Sports’ pregame coverage offered cool, different approaches than most NFL games, and that goes beyond last year’s clip of a teary-eyed Hayne saying: “It’s been a long time.” Interviewing the captains after the coin flip and the coaches from their locker rooms extended the hype. Updating the “wagering lines” is understandable, and so un-American, as pro sports here pretend as if no one gambles on them outside of Nevada (where it’s legal). Also, voyeurs get spoiled with cameras spying on locker rooms before the game, after it and at halftime.

-- There’s a beauty in not needing officials to mark where a ball was downed after every tackle, as players simply trust each other enough to carry on and keep the game moving forward – or backward with those passes.

-- I need to go on a beer run before State of Origin 2. As an impartial and neophyte observer, I’ll buy both XXXX and Victoria Bitter. Cheers, mates.

[ParraEelsNRL]

Now make the poor merkin sit thru a few hours of fumbles and bumbles lol

[AFLsforPussies]

American will always prefer Rugby League over AFL when they see the two sports.

NFL and NRL have so many similarities in culture and rules that AFL has'nt.

Both play on rectangular grounds
Both have metre marks on fields.
Both have conversion kicks.
Both have to get the ball past a line for a try or touchdown.
Both have hit ups.
Both have cheerleaders.
Both sports require a lot of weight training.

I could go on forever with similarities between the two codes.

I have known a few Americans into NFL when I travelled and I can tell you the whole culture of AFL would be seen as too dorky. Uniforms and bad team songs would have them running away laughing for the start.

Is a lot about the image and look in American sports and I can tell you Americans would'nt take tiny shorts and the weird singlets in AFL seriously ever!!

And then the style of play in AFL has pretty much nothing Americans can relate too.

[Xman]

American will always prefer Rugby League over AFL when they see the two sports.

NFL and NRL have so many similarities in culture and rules that AFL has'nt.

Both play on rectangular grounds
Both have metre marks on fields.
Both have conversion kicks.
Both have to get the ball past a line for a try or touchdown.
Both have hit ups.
Both have cheerleaders.
Both sports require a lot of weight training.

I could go on forever with similarities between the two codes.

I have known a few Americans into NFL when I travelled and I can tell you the whole culture of AFL would be seen as too dorky. Uniforms and bad team songs would have them running away laughing for the start.

Is a lot about the image and look in American sports and I can tell you Americans would'nt take tiny shorts and the weird singlets in AFL seriously ever!!

And then the style of play in AFL has pretty much nothing Americans can relate too.

I've had American friends who really liked AFL, especially the faster paced play, and competing ball catching similar to basketball rebounds.

[Raiderdave]

American will always prefer Rugby League over AFL when they see the two sports.

NFL and NRL have so many similarities in culture and rules that AFL has'nt.

Both play on rectangular grounds
Both have metre marks on fields.
Both have conversion kicks.
Both have to get the ball past a line for a try or touchdown.
Both have hit ups.
Both have cheerleaders.
Both sports require a lot of weight training.

I could go on forever with similarities between the two codes.

I have known a few Americans into NFL when I travelled and I can tell you the whole culture of AFL would be seen as too dorky. Uniforms and bad team songs would have them running away laughing for the start.

Is a lot about the image and look in American sports and I can tell you Americans would'nt take tiny shorts and the weird singlets in AFL seriously ever!!

And then the style of play in AFL has pretty much nothing Americans can relate too.

I've had American friends who really liked AFL, especially the faster paced play, and competing ball catching similar to basketball rebounds.

Sure they did
Its an abortion. . A mad womens shit as in all over the place.
Almost every human on the planet outside a few morons in the sthn states of Australia
Laugh at the rubbish
.

[Xman]

American will always prefer Rugby League over AFL when they see the two sports.

NFL and NRL have so many similarities in culture and rules that AFL has'nt.

Both play on rectangular grounds
Both have metre marks on fields.
Both have conversion kicks.
Both have to get the ball past a line for a try or touchdown.
Both have hit ups.
Both have cheerleaders.
Both sports require a lot of weight training.

I could go on forever with similarities between the two codes.

I have known a few Americans into NFL when I travelled and I can tell you the whole culture of AFL would be seen as too dorky. Uniforms and bad team songs would have them running away laughing for the start.

Is a lot about the image and look in American sports and I can tell you Americans would'nt take tiny shorts and the weird singlets in AFL seriously ever!!

And then the style of play in AFL has pretty much nothing Americans can relate too.

I've had American friends who really liked AFL, especially the faster paced play, and competing ball catching similar to basketball rebounds.

Sure they did
Its an abortion. . A mad womens shit as in all over the place.
Almost every human on the planet outside a few morons in the sthn states of Australia
Laugh at the rubbish
.

sure they do

[Raiderdave]

classic case of NRL fans has an anecdote that must be true, afl fan has one and it must be bullshit. Such hypocrisy.

The NRL one came straight from the horses mouth dipshit

The vflol one.. from a lying wanker

[AFLsforPussies]

American will always prefer Rugby League over AFL when they see the two sports.

NFL and NRL have so many similarities in culture and rules that AFL has'nt.

Both play on rectangular grounds
Both have metre marks on fields.
Both have conversion kicks.
Both have to get the ball past a line for a try or touchdown.
Both have hit ups.
Both have cheerleaders.
Both sports require a lot of weight training.

I could go on forever with similarities between the two codes.

I have known a few Americans into NFL when I travelled and I can tell you the whole culture of AFL would be seen as too dorky. Uniforms and bad team songs would have them running away laughing for the start.

Is a lot about the image and look in American sports and I can tell you Americans would'nt take tiny shorts and the weird singlets in AFL seriously ever!!

And then the style of play in AFL has pretty much nothing Americans can relate too.

I've had American friends who really liked AFL, especially the faster paced play, and competing ball catching similar to basketball rebounds.

Don't insult basketball with your single nation abortion of a game lol..

No points for missing in basketball and it is played around the world.

Yeah I bet your American friends found AFL a good comedy fest.

[Swans4ever]

How insecure is this post - have to find validation in what someone overseas thinks of the game they follow....hahaha.

[AFLsforPussies]

How insecure is this post - have to find validation in what someone overseas thinks of the game they follow....hahaha.

Insecure, lol =D> =D> =D>

Only thing insecure is a game that gives a point to someone when they can't kick straight

[Xman]

American will always prefer Rugby League over AFL when they see the two sports.

NFL and NRL have so many similarities in culture and rules that AFL has'nt.

Both play on rectangular grounds
Both have metre marks on fields.
Both have conversion kicks.
Both have to get the ball past a line for a try or touchdown.
Both have hit ups.
Both have cheerleaders.
Both sports require a lot of weight training.

I could go on forever with similarities between the two codes.

I have known a few Americans into NFL when I travelled and I can tell you the whole culture of AFL would be seen as too dorky. Uniforms and bad team songs would have them running away laughing for the start.

Is a lot about the image and look in American sports and I can tell you Americans would'nt take tiny shorts and the weird singlets in AFL seriously ever!!

And then the style of play in AFL has pretty much nothing Americans can relate too.

I've had American friends who really liked AFL, especially the faster paced play, and competing ball catching similar to basketball rebounds.

Don't insult basketball with your single nation abortion of a game lol..

No points for missing in basketball and it is played around the world.

Yeah I bet your American friends found AFL a good comedy fest.

well you can miss the hoop and still score in basketball.

[Swans4ever]

How insecure is this post - have to find validation in what someone overseas thinks of the game they follow....hahaha.

Insecure, lol =D> =D> =D>

Only thing insecure is a game that gives a point to someone when they can't kick straight

How is that insecure - just a different scoring system - plenty of sports do. Can't don't you have a nice cup of tea and think of how much better the Ol dart is - Fucking whinging Pom!

[AFLsforPussies]

American will always prefer Rugby League over AFL when they see the two sports.

NFL and NRL have so many similarities in culture and rules that AFL has'nt.

Both play on rectangular grounds
Both have metre marks on fields.
Both have conversion kicks.
Both have to get the ball past a line for a try or touchdown.
Both have hit ups.
Both have cheerleaders.
Both sports require a lot of weight training.

I could go on forever with similarities between the two codes.

I have known a few Americans into NFL when I travelled and I can tell you the whole culture of AFL would be seen as too dorky. Uniforms and bad team songs would have them running away laughing for the start.

Is a lot about the image and look in American sports and I can tell you Americans would'nt take tiny shorts and the weird singlets in AFL seriously ever!!

And then the style of play in AFL has pretty much nothing Americans can relate too.

I've had American friends who really liked AFL, especially the faster paced play, and competing ball catching similar to basketball rebounds.

Don't insult basketball with your single nation abortion of a game lol..

No points for missing in basketball and it is played around the world.

Yeah I bet your American friends found AFL a good comedy fest.

well you can miss the hoop and still score in basketball.

No that is called a rebound shot in basketball and it is not guaranteed to go in the hoop off the backboard.

In AFL it is an absolute miss kick at goal and you still get awarded a point for it.
No other goal scoring game in the world has extra side goals or hoops.
Only AFL reward the poor attempts at goals.
=D> =D>

[AFLsforPussies]

How insecure is this post - have to find validation in what someone overseas thinks of the game they follow....hahaha.

Insecure, lol =D> =D> =D>

Only thing insecure is a game that gives a point to someone when they can't kick straight

How is that insecure - just a different scoring system - plenty of sports do. Can't don't you have a nice cup of tea and think of how much better the Ol dart is - Fucking whinging Pom!

Different scoring system. YOU MEAN PATHETIC NO SKILL SCORING SYTEM MORE LIKE IT.

[docker24]

I was in the US for nearly a year for my dads work transfer. I showed heaps of the friends I made over there AFL and most of the basketball and baseball likers preferred AFL. Whereas NFL fans preferred rugby.

But in saying that I did come across NFL fans who thought rugby league was laughable.

Works both ways I guess