jbb/james said:The players union allows for every layer to have a month off at the end of the season when there duties are finished. Its training or playing essentially
Mark from Brisbane said:And hello, the rest of us work 48 weeks of the year and have a month off, AND if lucky we get a tenth of what these guys earn
lsz said:To be fair what they do is pretty physically taxing
NFL, arguably as tough as NRL (that is a debate for another day) has a 16 match season over 17 weeks. That is with a squad of 52 players
We have 26 rounds, a couple of byes thrown in, with a squad of 25 players. In addition to this the top top players have rep football thrown in. Considering how the game has speed up and become more brutal there is a serious need to look at the demands on the players - no one likes not having the top players around at the end of the year
But of course (as usual) i am bleeding heart lefty and they should be happy to earn so much "money" for playing a game
HoldenV8 said:I see that Greg Inglis has played a reported 40 hours of rugby league in 2014 (32 games), hence the Vermin have given him a 10 week break.
Most of us humanoids (I'm a fan of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) work 40 hours every damn week. Sure we don't take the hits that NRL players do, but Inglis isn't exactly someone like Mat Ballin who is making 40+ tackles per game. He's not a prop or second rower taking a couple of hit ups each set.
Compare that to players from 30 or more years ago who played a full season, plus mid-week cup games, rep games where if they were good enough they'd play most of those and still back up for their clubs a few days later. Plus those good enough would play more in a Kangaroo Tour year. Some players would end up playing upwards of 40 games a year (and while being fit, their fitness wasn't what it would be if they played today, nor was the medical attention for injuries there like it is today). All while holding down a full time job.
Players today really have it easy in comparison. Sure, everyone needs a break every now and then, that's natural, but sometimes I think talk about player burnout gets blown out of proportion.
Vyssini said:HoldenV8 said:I see that Greg Inglis has played a reported 40 hours of rugby league in 2014 (32 games), hence the Vermin have given him a 10 week break.
Most of us humanoids (I'm a fan of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) work 40 hours every damn week. Sure we don't take the hits that NRL players do, but Inglis isn't exactly someone like Mat Ballin who is making 40+ tackles per game. He's not a prop or second rower taking a couple of hit ups each set.
Compare that to players from 30 or more years ago who played a full season, plus mid-week cup games, rep games where if they were good enough they'd play most of those and still back up for their clubs a few days later. Plus those good enough would play more in a Kangaroo Tour year. Some players would end up playing upwards of 40 games a year (and while being fit, their fitness wasn't what it would be if they played today, nor was the medical attention for injuries there like it is today). All while holding down a full time job.
Players today really have it easy in comparison. Sure, everyone needs a break every now and then, that's natural, but sometimes I think talk about player burnout gets blown out of proportion.
I have a different recollection to what it was like 30 or even 40 years ago. Firstly fewer teams - 12- saw 22 rounds. The midweek cup saw teams usually play reserve graders until the semi finals at best and there was nowhere near the same intensity in state football- origin wasn't even a series the first few years. Also finals were limited to a top five (they were the days) with again fewer matches.
The only area where I agree with you that top players today have it easier is in regards to lengthy Kangaroo tours.
Team | P | W | L | PD | Pts |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |