New NRL sitcom? Men behaving very badly
Roar Rookie
By Kerryn Derricott, 14 Nov 2009 Kerryn Derricott is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- nate myles, NRL, Rugby League
Sydney, June 25, 2004. The footy Show's Reg Reagan, the alter-ego of ex-rugby league player Matthew Johns, meets a young look-a-like during a DVD signing at Sydney's Virgin Mega Store. AAP Image/Dean Lewins
While turning up to play and giving 110 percent, football stars find themselves in the precarious position of being idolised by people from four years to 94 years. But is this the reason why they sometimes misbehave?
Throughout 2009, the National Rugby League appeared to be in some form of disgrace almost weekly, and as a result of the code’s popularity in New South Wales and Queensland, the news was flooded with the seedy details of each scandal.
The incidents were vastly different, starting with Manly Sea Eagle Brett Stewart and a sexual assault accusation, to Matthew Johns and the Cronulla Sharks’ New Zealand sex scandal, and Nate Myles defecating in hotel corridor.
But they all had the common theme of throwing the code into disrepute.
This leaves the million dollar question: why the NRL?
Especially when Brendon Fevola very publicly shames himself and his former club Carlton at almost every chance and there was the scandal surrounding the termination of Lote Tuqiri’s Australian Rugby contract.
Margaret McDonald from The Australian says: “I think bias comes because NSW and Qld are rugby league states, so NRL stories will get very big headlines and lots of exposure in these two states [on] radio, tv, website, newspapers”.
McDonald also believes that stories like Brendon Fevola’s almost weekly mindsnaps receive more coverage in Southern States.
“When people in Sydney or Brisbane say AFL misbehaviour does not get the same level of coverage they are stating the obvious – AFL is not as important in those two states,” said McDonald. “That’s why NRL scandal stories get put well back in the sports section of Melbourne, Hobart, Perth and Adelaide papers, not the back page because it’s AFL heartland and not league.”
It will be of interest to see if another code steals the scandalous spotlight in 2010.
With Kevin Sheedy scouting players for the new Western Sydney AFL team to be introduced in two years time, and with countless education programs being introduced in the NRL, maybe Sheedy and company will take the spotlight.
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- nate myles, NRL, Rugby League
Mick from Giralang said | November 14th 2009 @ 6:57am | Report comment
the growth in crowds, ratings etc this year is evidence that the silent majority see through attempts at sensationalism in the media. When a bloke having a quiet pee in the bushes in the ealry hours of the morning becomes front page news, you know it’s the media that has real problems, not the game.
Kerryn Derricott said | November 17th 2009 @ 9:06pm | Report comment
Is the media actually helping the crowd growth though? Is all the seemingly negative media helping to draw attention back to the code which was witnessing its popularity dwindle by the minute…
Firestarter Bob said | November 14th 2009 @ 8:11am | Report comment
Yeah, right. Like the Melbourne media didn’t swarm all over Inglis when he was charged. By McDonald’s logic the Storm must be far more popular in Melbourne than we have been led to believe.
Redb said | November 15th 2009 @ 7:04am | Report comment
Inglis is a ‘Melbourne’ player.
McDonald is right NRL bad deeds are big news in NSW/QLD, but minor in VIC, SA, WA, Tas
The reverse is true for AFL. although Cousins and Carey get plenty of coverage in the NSW/QLD press and its never positive.
Just suck it up, the Sydney media is more tabloid like.
Anakin said | November 14th 2009 @ 8:51am | Report comment
Please – some respect – dont for a minute think the NRL doesnt cop more than afair share of media hype!
Yes, NRL players are big news in NSW & QLD – whilst maybe not so much in the southern states, BUT the level of media beat-up, and the disparity between codes is poles apart. Fevola & co making headlines in Melbourne may last 2-3 days at most, but NRL “scandals” dominate the media for weeks on end. It seems Rugby, Soccer, & AFL have an agreement with the media that, sure, use the ‘bad’ news to sell your papers, but then back off & realise you’re simply hurting the game that feeds you so much. NSW & QLD media on the other hand seem content on biting the hand that feeds it. Big headlines, constantly, may still mean big sales in the short term – but if it gets to the point that many doomsayers predict and League slowly dies away (GASP at the thought!!) then long term it is these very media outlets that will suffer.
That said, Rugby League has proven its resilience over the last century and I don’t for a minute believe it will die any time in the next century, but I do think this point needs to be rammed home. Enough is enough!! – run with the news whilst it still is, but then build a bridge and get over it … surely there’s plenty more stories besides dredging up something that happened several days, week, months, and even years ago.
Redb said | November 15th 2009 @ 6:59am | Report comment
Fevola is still making headlines in Melbourne and his bad behavior is the constant ‘hook’ in almost every article. Wake up.
M1tch said | November 15th 2009 @ 7:31am | Report comment
But the stigma will stick to only Fev, not Carlton nor the AFL
Redb said | November 15th 2009 @ 9:41pm | Report comment
says who?
Corey said | December 2nd 2009 @ 2:06pm | Report comment
I talk constantly to AFL players and they hardly remember the chickengate afair at the start of the year, yet everyone remembers Matty Johns- WHICH HAPPENED 6 YEARS AGO!!! AFL people are very slack at remembering what happened a couple of months ago, yet the media will continually hunt down RL players. Look at Kochie off Sunrise (who is a major AFL fan), even he thought it was unfair that the NRL gets beat up more than the AFL. RL players get booted from the game if they use drugs once, whereas AFL players get 3 chances, and do not get named either. That is just ridiculous. AFL is crap in their handling, they just know how to keep the media quiet. LONG LIVE LEAGUE.
Redb said | December 3rd 2009 @ 9:28am | Report comment
“RL players get booted from the game if they use drugs once, whereas AFL players get 3 chances, and do not get named either”
Are you talking about performance enhancing or recreational drugs? Because the AFL has the same rules as WADA re performance enhancing drugs, it is immediate ban. The 3 strikes relates to rec drugs, NRL has 2 strikes.
Redb
Paul J said | November 14th 2009 @ 9:48am | Report comment
League fans will have to cop this on the chin from other codes fans (yet again) for a while yet.
RL can not control The Daily Terrorgraph but it can control the proper disciplining of off field incidents when it gets its independent commission.
Firestarter Bob said | November 14th 2009 @ 12:24pm | Report comment
Look no further than the Telecrap’s ongoing following of Charmyne Palavi which always appears as “NRL Cougar” in headlines no matter what the context. They always put “NRL Cougar” in the headline, happily trashing the NRL brand in the process. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/rugby-cougar-court-date-delayed/story-e6freuy9-1225797404295
They did it with the Rabbitohs brand too, over the wife of one of the owners of the club:
Wife of Rabbitohs’ boss busted for using mobile phone while driving
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/wife-of-rabbitohs-boss-in-court/story-e6frexnr-1225793510561
They also put all these stories into the Telegraph’s rugby league section. But if you look at the Herald Sun’s AFL section they never put the off field stories in there, leaving them in the main news section.
The so called “war” between the codes in Sydney is entirely an invention of the Telegraph.
People should not mistake the Telegraph as being reflective of the fears and opinions of the rugby league community.
By whatever scale you measure the Swans success, it has had no impact upon the popularity of the rugby league or limited its growth. The GWS will be the same.
bever fever said | November 14th 2009 @ 12:49pm | Report comment
Pity you dont actually follow what you preach FS, if you really believe that the Swans and the AFL have had no impact on RL why then do you constantly take pot shots on AFL related stories.
Firestarter Bob said | November 14th 2009 @ 4:43pm | Report comment
Usually so it adds to the debate. No harm.
M1tch said | November 14th 2009 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
People dont care, its really simple as that.
This so called horror year for RL if its true, would have turned awa millions of supporters..but it didnt!
bever fever said | November 14th 2009 @ 1:20pm | Report comment
For the AFL and GWS to go OK in Sydney not one fan needs to change from the NRL to the AFL, pity the Daily terror wont say that.
Hazey the Bear said | November 14th 2009 @ 1:20pm | Report comment
I’m not sure I’d say people don’t care, Mitch…
But I would say that the bad exposure of the NRL in actual fact *galvanises* the fans. I think it’s kind of like saying, “These stories don’t prove that there’s anything wrong with the sport, or the code, or even the players, and I’m gonna support it even more because of them.”
I could be wrong, but I sorta get the feeling that’s what’s happened.
TammyS said | November 14th 2009 @ 4:47pm | Report comment
No, I just think the on field product is just way too good at the moment that most nrl fans can seperate whats happening on the field to whats happening off it
Fly on the Wall said | November 14th 2009 @ 10:10pm | Report comment
The NRL product at the moment is great, just a pity the cast are uneducated common suburban thugs.
If any of the atrocities committed this year by NRL idiots had been done by ordinary Lebanese or Aboriginals young males they’d already be in jail.
But because they’re footy stars and overhwelmingly white they get let off or a token suspension – and the clubs’ initial response is always to lie to protect the player and club first, never mind the person bashed / raped / abused etc.
Mick from Giralang said | November 17th 2009 @ 6:34am | Report comment
Do you actually know any NRL players?
Paul J said | November 16th 2009 @ 8:11am | Report comment
Fly on the Wall
“atrocities…NRL idiots …bashed / raped / abused etc.”
With that sort of un biased open minded banter perhaps you should apply for a job at the Daily Telagraph?
Michael C said | November 16th 2009 @ 8:54am | Report comment
I read your article with interest, you quoted Margaret McDonald who illustrated that the NRL getting over exposed is typical of the Sydney/Brisbane media and the NRL states coverage…..and she points out the same applies for AFL in the ‘AFL states’.
and yet the author still manages to effectively ignore all this by posing “It will be of interest to see if another code steals the scandalous spotlight in 2010.”
I thought the one thing we’d gleaned from the article to that point was that Sydney/Brisbane based NRL fans ‘hard done by’ attitude is in essence – unreasonable.
And that therefore – we’d expect nothing less than for NRL scandals to dominate the NRL pages next year in Sydney and Brisbane and AFL scandals to dominate the AFL states pages.
Such is the burden of being number 1 in a given market. (and all those soccer heads who wanted to know when they were ‘mainstream’….it’s easy, it’s measured in ‘scandal’ stories).
That’s the way it is.
Kerryn Derricott said | November 17th 2009 @ 9:14pm | Report comment
Michael, as the popularity of the NRL can be understood as dwindling due to reducing crowd sizes it is a reasonable assumption to make that another sport will steal “the scandalous spotlight in 2010,” especially with the reaction of hardened NRL fans in NSW to the new ALF team in Sydney.
Anything is possible in sports reporting and when the light is on another area the other may just go a little bit quiet.
Do I think this is possible for next year, no. Do I think it is possible at all, yes. Football is fast becoming one of the most popular sports in the nation and two of the most popular figures, Harry Kewell and Luces Neill, are from NSW. Now that is a real chance at change.
danwighton said | November 23rd 2009 @ 2:16am | Report comment
The NRL gets a disproportionate amount of negative publicity, even in Melbourne. Part of the reason for that is the incidents that have occurred this year, and part is anti-RL bias.
The Link said | December 3rd 2009 @ 3:18pm | Report comment
Just read this – “reduced crowd sizes”. This is patently untrue.
NRL crowds increased this year.
A-League crowds however are down, dramatically so.