I watch the game i love and when i am at a live game and a fight kicks off it changes the game.
The fans suddenly fire up beyond what they originally were, the players effort goes up a notch and the game is far more exciting.

Here's the problem, if i watch it on T.V.
the commentators

[i"that's disgraceful behaviour"[/i

then the after match commentary

[i"that's disgraceful behaviour"[/i

and for good measure the papers the next day

[i"that's disgraceful behaviour".[/i

One week later the powers that be ban the players for yes you guessed it

[i'their disgraceful behaviour'.[/i

Now i ask myself this, who helps make the game what it is?
simple
THE FANS

Everyone i ask who loves the game LOVES RUGBY FIGHTS fans and yes believe it or not THE PLAYERS do too . So i ask this

WHATS WRONG? JUST GIVE US WHAT WE WANT (FIGHTS)

or do you disagree?

Hmm, you're right - a fight certainly perks up the game and there's nothing wrong with a bit of biff as a spectacle.

But actively encouraging fighting will take away from the finer points of the game - that being skill, pace, power - and ruin the spectacle we have now on the rare occasions we do get a punchup

i wouldn't actively encourage as such but i just think a little spell in the sin bin and leave it at that. No more RL disciplinary comebacks after that just deal with it at the game.

I go to rugby league matches to watch rugby league. if i wanted to watch fighting, i'd go to a UFC event or possibly a Queens match.

It's good to see some biff now and again aslong as it does not affect the level of rugby on show.

Certianly gets the fans going and makes the game much more intresting.

it not so much the fight because lets be honest it is usually just a bit of handbags and some heavy pushing and shoving and lets not forget that the game is a very physical game anyway and that's part of the enjoyment.
I don't so much want to see a toe to toe fight like in ice hockey but it does increase the game in terms of atmosphere.

There are many examples of this in the past and the 1st that springs to mind is the Saints v Leeds game were Ryan Bailey did the shoulder charge.

Ask anyone who watched that either at the stadium or on sky what they thought of the atmosphere before the Biff started compared with during and after the Biff ?

What i want is less of the reprucussions after the match and for the game to be the hard and physical spectacle that it is.

If it's not allowed in the rules, then it's not a part of the game, and as thus is disgraceful behaviour. However, they are good to watch!

Often fights start as a result of a player thinking the rules have been broken by someone (i.e. high tackle, mouthing off, messing in the tackle) and thus taking the law into their own hands. They don't just happen for no reason (most of the time anyway!). By encouraging fighting, you are encouraging players to decide others' fate which would be stupid.

At the end of the day, we watch rugby league to see rugby league. A bit of aggression here and there is good, but if you just want to see fights, watch UFC.

Big hits I feel up the match for both fans and players alike. They have to be massive ones like the one on Maurie Fa'asavalu by Ryan Bailey really got the crowd riled up. I don’t remember any fighting in that game apart from a bit of pushing.

Fighting does not come in the form of fist shots to the head in rugby league. However they do come with the battle on the field!

I can see what Wire Yed is getting at, but to be honest at the top level, those kind of players don't seem to be bred anymore.

Think back to the likes of Tim Street, he was always worth a punch or two per game, but I can't think of any player in SL with that kind of attitude anymore. Even Terry Newton seems angelic of late.

Looking at the state of one of our second rowers eyes yesterday after he was involved in a scuffle at Parkside Hawks, I'd say I was against it, but, its part of the game, like it is in Ice Hockey.

Disagree

I go to watch rugby. End of.

nowt wrong with abit of biff every know and again..........

Love it is part of the game it is mans game played by men who like to inflict pain on other men big yes for me.

Points to the robotic nature of players these days, there are certainly very few 'characters' at the top level, and the game is all the worse for it.

Nowt like a scrap to liven a game up.

The game is far too professional now, than it used to be. Hence, there are far less fights than there used to be. I know this may be slightly irrelevant, but i recently watched the Lions program on SKY (Invincibles) and it was a very good watch for a Union program. However, the point i'm making is that they were fighting an awful lot, and everyone went flying in to the fights, sticking up for team mates, but then once the fight was split up, that was that got on with the game. These days player would be sent off, or cited and banned for numerous weeks, exactly the same as they would in RL, because the game is much more professional.

However, you can't encourage fighting in the game and i'm pretty sure if someone punched an opposing player for no apparent reason, then they would be sent off and you would be calling for it too (unless you supported the team of the player). A fight certainly does liven a game up though, nothing better than a good punch up, often say when watching a game on SKY, i hope there's a good punch up in the game.

good call

You can't beat a good brawl. A 10-15 second straightner to clear the air, beltin. If you dont like it, watch netball.

Paying to watch genuinly tough forwards, the likes of Lee Crooks, Nicky Kiss, Kevin Ward, Kurt Sorensen, Brian Case, Kel Skerret, Tim Street, etc was often worth the entrance money alone if you knew they were up against a like minded player.

With the modern day 'who can fall on the ground and play the ball the quickest' routine, most of the biff has gone.

Cant beat a good punch up......................and if you play for Leeds you wont even get a ban

I think its good to see a bit of biff and emotion in the game with the players, some of them hardly seem to care about the shirt but some certainly like to get there sleeves rolled up adn fight for everything.

Whilst i like to see a bit of biff and fighting on the pitch, i totally agree with any in the stands this is not a place where it should spread to.

Jordan James headbutted Clint Newton on Saturday night.
Clint laughed at him, had some verbals and then the next time he had the ball smashed his way through the Celtic defence from 20 yards so yeah let them have a bit of biff.

Our game is good enough not to rely on fights for cheap entertainment. If you want to see a sport where fighting is tolerated, go and watch ice hockey and see how entertaining that is. Or go and watch UFC. Or even better, grow up.

yeah ....outside now










sorry that was disgraceful

Bring back the biff !

Well some anyway.