Agreed. But I think union is harder to pick up as a casual observer.

Im gonna see a AFL Game, Sydney Swans vs Collingwood. Going back home to Sweden tomorrow so it will be hard to take you up on that offer, maybe next time if there would be such a time.

Playing union might be more fun than league but watching it is really boring IMO, there is way too much "10 guys in a pile then someone run 2 meter and then there is a new pile followed by a lot of kicking back and forth". I like (american) football so that might be why I prefer league over union.

That makes no sense, if you prefer American Football you should prefer union by your logic. There is no flow whatsoever in American Football.

To me League is like a version of the game for kids, beyond touch rugby but before they get to the big boys game. Somehow people like it I dunno why.

It makes total sense. In american football you run into a pile and then the play is over and will start over again from the starting position, the same with league but union you continue to play in the pile and nothing happens during way to much of the game.

The AFL game was awesome, 38K in the stadium. Aussie rules is awesome, still not sure of the rules but after some reading up on that I think I really will enjoy aussie rules, have to find somewhere to download it...

There were a woman in her 70s maybe siting next to me and she was listening to the canberra/parramatta rugby game while watching the AFL game and she had travelled from Canberra to watch the AFL game, pretty hardcore fan for her age.

There was also a Sydney supporter who started to berate the Magpies fans when Sydney scored and it got to the stage were the security guards came up to him and followed him back to his seat, I think he was 1 or 2 minutes from getting beaten up.

Aussie Rules is actually really easy to pick up as there are very few rules and nuances for a team sport imo (which is not a criticism at all btw).

Essentially:

You can run with the ball in hand but must bounce the ball every 15 metres.

You can kick it or fist pass it (clenched fist), no throwing.

Goals are 6 points, behinds (the two outer goals) are 1 point.

If you catch a ball that has been kicked more than 15 metres you can call a mark and get essentially a free kick from that spot.

To tackle you can shoulder someone or tackle them below the shoulder and above the knees.

Really that's it. If you know these things you can follow the game.

Snitch feel free to correct me if I have got anything wrong I am only a casual fan (Marty Clarke ftw, he's going back!)

I still have some questions

Are you not allowed to tackle people in the back?

can you tackle people at any point except for when they catch the ball and then go back to get the free kick thing (mark?)?

If someone hits the ball out of bounds does the referee then throw it back in?

Are you allowed to run out of bounds as long as the ball is in bounds?

What are the rules when there is a big pile of people especially in the beginning after each goal, what happens if someone holds down someone who has the ball to the ground?

No

RaZBoy basically nailed the rules, it is a really simple game. That said, I'm really only a casual fan as well. Probably only watch a handful of games a year.

Zina, as for your other questions:

You are allowed to tackle from behind if they have the ball. However, in recent years they have become quite strict on the "hands in the back" rule which basically means you can't touch someone from behind if they don't have the ball. It's designed such that the receiver of a kick has a decent chance of taking a mark (the free kick thing ), otherwise the defender could just stand there and push him at the instant he tries to make the catch.

Essentially you can tackle anyone carrying the ball (unless they have just taken a mark in which case they are entitled to a free kick), you can't attack anyone not carrying the ball.

Yes, you can run out of bounds as long as the ball stays in.

When there is a pile up, it usually becomes a new bounce. However, if you are in possession of the ball and are tackled to ground, you must release the ball, if you don't release the ball it is a free kick against you... but... there is also a rule around this that you must have had "prior opportunity" to do something with the ball (hand pass or kick). If the referee deems that you had no prior opportunity (e.g. if you pick up a loose ball and get simultaneously tackled), it is also a bounce. It's a pretty subjective area of the game, as is the "hands in the back" rule I guess.

Also, as for your observation that union is just a big pile up followed by a big pile up, I can totally understand that, but when you start to appreciate the skills (as well as the strength) that are actually going on in the rucks and mauls (the pile ups ), it really is an interesting part of the game... but yeah, unless someone fairly knowledgeable can explain it to you, it would look pretty ridiculous.

I actually grew up playing league and used to think the exact same thing about union, but later in life I randomly started playing union and now that I have a deeper understanding of the game, I can't stand watching league anymore.

This is going to get tl;dr and I'm sure no one cares... but... When I was a kid watching league (10ish plus years ago), the game was totally different. It was a faster, more free running game...

However, it evolved over time such that it became so fast and free running that the best way to compete was to slow down the play the ball, which is illegal, but subjective (i.e. the ref has to decide how long is too long to hold a player on the ground) and the most successful teams became very good at exploiting this.

Teams were actually employing wrestling/bjj/etc coaches to teach their players how to manipulate opponents in the tackle to put them on their back, make the face in the wrong direction, arm locks, etc, etc... Anything that would make it harder for the tackled player to get to their feet quickly and play the ball.

Ironically, this is what I came love about union. It is designed that as a tackler, if you don't immediately release the tackled player, you are penalized, or the tackled players team mates will come stomp all over you.

Monday 27 June 2011

squat
5x20
5x60
3x100
3x5x115

press
5x20
5x40
3x5x52.5

hangclean
3x40
3x60
1x70
2x3x75
3x2x75

Smoked the squats again. Weren't easy per se, but felt strong.

Dropped one of the cleans from the rack position...

PSA: Dropping a 75kg bar from shoulder height makes a much louder noise when it hits the squat rack braces than dropping a 140kg deadlift in a somewhat controlled manner from thigh height.

Thx for the aussie rules rules help, I think I got it now, especially the pile up thing was a bit confusing but you explained it in a good way

Not that anyone cares... But I just remembered there is a round bye this week for rugby and our club has called a full rest week, which is ghey because I wanna play, but great because I'll get another full week of SSesque training in.

Wednesday 29 June 2011

squat
5x80
3x100
3x5x120

bench
5x20
5x60
3x80
3x5x87.5

deadlift
5x60
5x100
3x120
1x140
5x140 (straps/belt)

Still feeling good. Smoked all lifts.

Thursday 30 June 2011

Concept2 (500m/1:00r)
4x ~1:55
*few mins rest*

2x ~1:55
*few mins rest*

1x ~1:55

No rugby training this week, so figured I should do some cardio. It was hard, but I think I got fatigued more in my quads before I was gassed... Probably partly due to squats over the last 10 days, but I guess I should also probably go for shorter, more high intensity intervals.

Friday 1 July 2011

squat
5x20
5x60
5x100
3x120
3x5x130

press
5x20
5x40
3x50
3x5x55

hangclean
3x40
3x60
3x70
3x1x80
1x90
Fx95

Squats still feeling strong, but back def getting fatigued with this progression/volume of squats/deads. Back to full time rugby next week, so will prob go to some kind of two day a week program with squat one day and dead the other.

2nd set of press was hard, but I nailed the 3rd set. Weird.

95 would have been an all time WR for any type of clean I have done, so I'm not too disappointed that I missed it. I failed in the hole, was pretty close I think, just didn't "attack" it enough imo... Maybe would have got it if I wasn't fatigued. I kinda tried again twice more, but my grip was well and truly gone so I barely moved the bar.

Took vids. Will post later.

Read through the book a little bit ago, I didn't realize he recommends mixing up the assistance work so you aren't doing the same stuff every month. That's sweet. It will go perfect with my training ADD/goal shifting.

Playing sports seems to be such a better way to improve cardio than just running or something. It's more fun, time goes by way faster, and you will probably stick with it.

Yeah, I do generally like his "it doesnt matter what the f*ck you do for assistance exercisess - it's just assistance" attitude

re sports: im a total believer in specifity ...i dont know how to say that word. I swear it doesn't matter what kind of cardio i do, im still f*cked after 10mins of playing rugby until ive played rugby week in, week out.

that said, iirc correctly, he does also reccomend sticking wiht one set of accessory exercises for at least one cycle. but i dunno, im drunk :P

Most people dont train cardio close enough to game intensity and length of time to make it much of a difference come game day. I certainly remember this from my competitive soccer days. Should take up crossfit. What? Oh...

Agree on the intensity part. Specificity is important but most people's training does nothing to prepare them physically for their sport as it is far too pedestrian.

Monday 4 July 2011

deadlift
5x60
5x100
3x130
5x150 (belt and straps)

bench
5x20
5x60
3x80
3x5x90

Totally owned it today. Felt so easy.

Nice progress back upwards bro. What's your current weight? And height, since I can't be bothered to look back

ty broseph.

I'm hovering around 91kg (up from hovering around 90kg a few weeks ago).

I'm about 182cm (I think... I haven't checked in a while )

Also, for those who care, I'll be back to rugby full-time this week (Tue/Wed/Sat of varying intensity), so I think I'm going to do something like this:

Monday: dead/bench
Wednesday: cleans
Thursday: squat/press

I'll stick with sets of 3x5 and linear progression for the big four (except deads). No accessories. I'm going to take a punt and say that a major reason that my dead and bench felt so great today was because I hadn't done anything CNS draining (i.e. 3x5 squats ) before hand.

Not entirely sure what I will do with cleans...

Another six footer-ish eh (both me and JF are too)? Nice. Will be so sweet when I crush your lifts at the end of this year...eh...