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'Sloppy and incompetent': Fans slam NRL ad over 'litany of errors'

The new NRL ad has been widely praised but also criticised for being “too politically correct” and now a number of factual errors have also been pointed out from fans throughout the campaign.

The NRL unveiled its new advertising campaign on Monday - a throwback to Tina Turner’s iconic hit Simply The Best.

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While reaction has been mixed, some fans have pointed out some unusual errors in the ad that don’t seem to make sense.

The first error appears in the first few clips as footage shows the Trbojevic brothers playing around with a league ball in the backyard.

The new NRL ad has some inaccuracies in the Trbokevic scene and Rabbitohs march scene.
Fans have pointed out a few inaccuracies in the new NRL ad. (Images: Twitter)

Super League footage is also running on the television as the date 1996 pops up as Tom and Jake play around.

But one fan pointed out Tom Trbojevic was born on 2 October, 1996, well after the Super League war had started.

The toddler in the photo also appears way too old to be Tom.

The second gaffe comes when a fan appears in a John Sutton jersey during the 2000 South Sydney Rabbitohs march against their exclusion from the NRL.

The fan hold up a sign, which reads: ‘Save our Souths’.

But Sutton did not debut for the Rabbitohs until 2004.

However, the NRL told The Daily Telegraph: “it’s a metaphor showing Sutton going from angry Souths fan to premiership winner.”

The final gaffe was spotted in an early version sent to news editors, showing Hazem El Masri carried off Belmore Oval in his final game in 2009.

But the original caption showed the date as 2010.

The final version fixed this error before it went to air on Monday, according to The Daily Telegraph.

NRL’s divisive ad

The two-minute ad features the Super League war, South Sydney’s expulsion from the comp, as well as some of the more memorable grand final triumphs of the last few decades.

Fans flocked to social media to sing the ad’s praises on Monday, however not everyone was impressed.

A number of prominent figures believe the ad is too ‘politically correct’, criticising certain aspects of the ad such as a long shot of Mitchell draped in an Aboriginal flag, Macklemore’s performance at the 2017 grand final in tribute to same-sex marriage, and the famous kiss between Karina Brown and Vanessa Foliaki after the partners played against each other in a State of Origin match.