Good guy Hindmarsh a safe bet for the NRL
Roar Rookie
By Bradley A Smith, 10 Feb 2010 Bradley A Smith is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Brett Stewart, Nathan Hindmarsh, NRL, Rugby League
Australian rugby league players Jarryd Hayne (left) and Nathan Hindmarsh take part in a team training session in Sydney on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009. AAP Image/Paul Miller
2009 saw the NRL’s marketing department make some very poor choices. When selecting the faces of their advertising campaign, they determined that the masses would be best moved by the pure talent of young starlets Brett Stewart and Greg Inglis to bring a stadium to its feet with freakish football.
No one could deny that these two young men would make outstanding choices for the national team back line, but as leading figures in a multi-million dollar off-field push for corporate sponsorship and the hearts and minds of mums and dads, eager to find a sport for their young children to play and support, the NRL could not have found two less appropriate individuals.
Admittedly, the NRL can’t have known at the time what was to happen next.
Without the aid of a crystal ball, neither player would have been expected to become embroiled in separate off field scandals and as outstanding footballers and youth on their side, who better to promote the game, than exponents of attacking rugby league at its best?
I would strongly argue that Nathan Hindmarsh would be a better, somewhat safer choice.
Steve Price might have been another. Petero Civoneceva, Matt Orford, Cameron Smith or Nathan Cayless are others that would fit the bill as far as I am concerned.
None of these players exhibit the same freakish attacking prowess on the field, and I appreciate that this is what the NRL was thinking in their marketing approach, but all of these players have age, experience and proven leadership on their side.
I am a big Eels fan, but I would put the freakishly talented Jarryd Hayne in a similar category to Inglis and Stewart. Brilliant on field, but an obvious and flawed choice as a poster boy off the field, as evidenced by his night out in the Cross in early 2008. I would urge the leadership of the Eels to resist the temptation to elevate a still young Hayne to an even more prominent position than he already holds as a leading player.
Let Hayne do his talking in the 80 minutes of game time on a weekend, and allow him the time to grow into his role as a superstar before handing him even more of the trappings of fame.
Nathan Hindmarsh has been chosen by the NRL to spearhead the campaign against the rise of the Greater Western Sydney team due to enter the AFL competition in 2012.
There could be no smarter choice or safer bet. Hindmarsh is inspirational on the field and an absolute role model off it. He has been playing the game at the top level for over 10 years and has seen and done almost everything there is to do.
Importantly, he is old enough and wise enough to deal with the public fawning over him like puppy dogs without bathing in the excess that such celebrity has to offer.
I am hopeful that Jarryd Hayne will find a similar balance with time, but the NRL and the clubs should do their bit by not expecting or granting too much to young players before they get their heads screwed on and their feet firmly on the ground.
Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.
The Crowd Says (22) | Page 1 of Comments
Have Your Say
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
Rugby League articles
- An open letter to Channel Nine (107)
- Gallop and some of his precious Sydney NRL clubs must go (101)
- The NRL is back baby! (65)
- The NRL’s scariest players (56)
- The NRL needs a vision (52)
- Federal Court has it wrong on sports broadcast copyright (48)
- Bulldogs setting benchmark for Sydney’s NRL clubs (46)
- Rugby league’s new era: where to now? (25)
- Federal Court has it wrong on sports broadcast copyright (50)
- An open letter to Channel Nine (109)
- The NRL’s scariest players (56)
- Is the All Stars match increasing the divide? (25)
- Channel Nine needs NRL-cricket ODI compromise (36)
- The NRL needs a vision (52)
- Explore:
- Brett Stewart, Nathan Hindmarsh, NRL, Rugby League
Mick from Giralang said | February 10th 2010 @ 6:01am | Report comment
Why have a “face” of league … it’s a fairly recent innovation and alienates supporters of other clubs. Let’s go with a rip-snortin’ highlights packge of on-field action perhaps with some glimpses of past decades. — that’s the game’s eternal strength
Bradley A Smith said | February 10th 2010 @ 6:41am | Report comment
set to the tune of a great old Tina Turner song perhaps?
Can’t say it hasn’t worked in the past…
Mick from Giralang said | February 10th 2010 @ 7:13am | Report comment
Mmmmmm…Tina Turner….
Michael C said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:12am | Report comment
certain recent ‘faces of league’ haven’t turned out such safe bets – - it’s surprising they are going down this path. I’m not sure what it speaks about their sense of security in their market positioning.
M1tch said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:35am | Report comment
to be honest he is the james hird or brett kirk of the afl..never been in a single incident
Dogz R Barkn said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:23am | Report comment
It’s a good point – I’m unsure why one single face of League is required at all.
Give me a highlights package of the actual game any day.
M1tch said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:34am | Report comment
thats what the season promo will be this year
Redb said | February 10th 2010 @ 7:40am | Report comment
“Nathan Hindmarsh has been chosen by the NRL to spearhead the campaign against the rise of the Greater Western Sydney team due to enter the AFL competition in 2012. ”
M1tch said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:06am | Report comment
Show the people the game of Rugby League and AFL..we know which they’ll choose
Michael C said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:14am | Report comment
AFL is a league and admin body – it’s NOT a ‘game’.
Pedantic point I know………but, either it should read “..the NRL and AFL…” or “…the game of Rugby League and Australian Football….”
cheers.
Dogz R Barkn said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:33am | Report comment
heh, heh – fair enough MC!!
M1tch said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:34am | Report comment
true, but most of us up here, we dont call it australian football or aussie rules..at school it was always, lets play AFL
i shouldnt have said NRL, i posted early in the morning lol
Sam el Perro said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:38am | Report comment
He in Queensland, AFL is the game. For example, there is a sign on the fence of Belmont State School for junior sign ons at the moment that says: “Come and play AFL”.
Pretty straightforward.
Redb said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:46am | Report comment
That is correct in NSW and QLD it is marketed as AFL. “Play AFL”.
Realist said | February 14th 2010 @ 9:16pm | Report comment
Everyone called it “GayFL” when I went to school. I’m from Queensland.
oikee said | February 10th 2010 @ 8:22am | Report comment
Good post, hard to disagree with what you have written. Common sense really.
Crosscoder said | February 10th 2010 @ 12:48pm | Report comment
if the game had more people of the ilk of Hindmarsh, the dramas of last year,would have been few and far between.
Using him as the face of the game is a good idea,as is the likes of Preston Campbell.
That being said it is the game itself that should be promoted,featuring some of the exciting plays of the last few years.The ratings tend to support my argument.
And of course the GC AFL franchise will hardly hold back,in using K Hunt as the face of that code,on the sunshine strip.Wouldn’t be to coax rl over to the game,not bleeding half.
Realist said | February 14th 2010 @ 9:09pm | Report comment
“That being said it is the game itself that should be promoted,featuring some of the exciting plays of the last few years.”
Spot on!. The best way to promote a sport is by showing its finer points. There’s nothing finer in the world of sport than the exciting action of a rugby league match.
sam a said | February 10th 2010 @ 1:30pm | Report comment
As an Eels man myself, I agree almost completely. I reckon the incident involving Hayne in the Cross, while a terrible look for the NRL, can hardly be called his fault. Some moron took a potshot at him; I’m not certain if he provoked it by anything other than being Jarryd Hayne.
That said, he probably shouldn’t have been in the Cross at 3am.
Realist said | February 14th 2010 @ 9:15pm | Report comment
sam a,
Spot on! No one can blame Hayne for being the target of some psychopath’s unjustifiable violence. No one would blame a civilian for being shot at while they were enjoying themselves during the early hours of the morning, so why are they so hard on Hayne?
The media needs to stop sensationalising every off-field drama that involves a rugby league/Australian rules football player. Surely they’re smart enough and skillful enough to find a real story to cover, no?
Bradley A Smith said | February 15th 2010 @ 9:12pm | Report comment
You’re both right. I don’t mean to actually blame Hayne for what happened on that fateful night in the Cross. As much as I hold to the theory that nothing good happens after 2am, especially in Kings Cross, the bloke is entitled to a night out and is certainly not at fault for being shot at by some nutbag. This incident is probably not relevant to my main point that Hayne is young and needs time to get used to the fame and adulation of the public before being made into a “face of the game”.
Realist said | February 15th 2010 @ 9:28pm | Report comment
I agree with your “theory that nothing good happens after 2am”. I don’t think anyone should be out and about at that time because it’s unhealthy and dangerous. Sleep is a necessity because it allows the brain to repair itself. People underestimate the problems they cause to their health when they don’t give their brain enough time to repair itself. I cannot see the appeal behind partying at 3:00am, but I think young people like Hayne feel compelled to do it because they see other people doing it. I that regard I can sympathise with him because he just wants to be like everyone else, though I do not agree with his decision.