One punch and your off,Its a good job we did not have it in the seventies.We would have finished with five a side.

Sin binned rather than off.

There's a big debate at the moment in Aus as to whether the rougher elements of RL are putting people off playing the game (or, more specifically, putting parents off letting their kids play). I was surprised to read that RL is only the 8th most played sport in Australia - and that's something they are looking to improve.

Is that after Kangeroo boxing, Alligator wrangling and Sheep shearing?

Don't forget the casual racism.

Go on to YouTube and search for Monty Python - Bruce.

It's people like Paul Gallan and Justin Poore's fault, who try TOO hard to keep up their tough guy image.

[urlhttp://www.couriermail.com.au/news/brisbane-junior-rugby-league-finals-axed-following-brawls/story-e6freon6-1226492375645[/url

4.18 CHILDREN PARTICIPATING IN TOP 10 MOST POPULAR ORGANISED SPORTS Australian Bureau of Statistics

Number ('000) participation rate (%)
Soccer (outdoor) 277.8 19.9
Swimming 240.1 17.2
Australian rules football 223.7 16.0
Cricket (outdoor) 135.7 9.7
Tennis 131.6 9.4
Basketball 118.7 8.5
Martial arts 105.2 7.5
Rugby league 97.2 7.0
Soccer (indoor) 59.4 4.3
Hockey 25.6 1.8

7% only play RL , it's a national Stat and the % must be far higher in NSW & Queensland , no sign of Union ...
RL however is still the 3rd most watched game spectator wise
another issue facing Junior leagues is the number of indigenous/ Pacific Island origin kids playing RL , who are far bigger - stronger at a much earlier age , its a huge mis-match for the full contact games , hence tag rugby is being heavily promoted.

I visited a junior club in Brisbane last week that has some Salford expats involved with coaching and administration; the Islander issue is further compounded by some Islander birth certificates (how age groups are allocated) being dated with the date of registration of birth, rather than date of birth. Some don't get registered for 2 years so you could get a 12 year old running round with 9 year olds. One team has a huge (suspected) 17 year old with 14s. Some kids don't know their real age.

Do they not allocate players by height and weight rather than age? I'm sure I read somewhere that some comps in Australia do just that.

This idea was touted when I was there in 2008/09. Don't know if it materialised but I'll make a special effort to find out for you when I get back over there in a fortnight or so.

It hasn't been done. It's still being talked about for some grades.

Hmm. That's a shame. The ever growing popularity of football over there (I lost count of the number of times I was asked, on revealing I was from Salford near Manchester, "are you red or blue? - I'm a HUGE Man U fan." My response that I was a rugby league fan really confused many of them.) is such that the NRL simply must take steps as radical as the suggested.