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MASCORD: League's new boss ready to stand up to Rah-Rah bullies

31st March, 2015
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North Queensland sweat on the return of JT. (Photo: AAP)
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31st March, 2015
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David Collier, our new global leader (rugby league fans finally have someone to take the aliens to meet when they ask), has made his first bold statement, warning we won’t be pushed around by other sports anymore.

The former England and Wales Cricket Board CEO – the first ever Rugby League International Federation boss – comes across as fellow who mostly governs by consensus.

Given the chance to make hard and fast statements on clubs releasing players, or Australia showing more of an interest in international footy, he has demurred somewhat.

It’s all about dialogue, he will tell you.

But in a Skype interview I did with him this week, I wanted to know what he thought about rugby union continuing to bully its little brother in certain parts of the world.

In South Africa, league isn’t even realised as a separate sport and was asked by the government to affiliate with SAFU. Two incoming league tours in recent years have been interrupted and just plain blocked by rugby union in Morocco, with the help of local authorities who would not allow teams into, or onto, grounds and in once case pressured a bus driver not to show up.

What does the man who now represents us think of such outdated prejudice?

“There should be absolutely no reason why other sports – not just rugby union – should be fearful of any other sport,” said Collier said.

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“The whole essence of the International Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games is for multiple sports to work together.

“I think it would backfire on any sport that tries to protect itself because it could very easily find that sport losing its Olympic status – if it did try to prevent other sports.”

In other words – behave, dear Rah-Rahs or we’ll dob you into the IOC, where Collier has much experience through his involvement with hockey.

“That’s one of the roles of the International Federation,” said Collier. “It is the advantage of the decision we’ve just made to take the RLIF to the next level.

“There is now an equivalent body that is active to be a conduit to the IRB and – if necessary – to IOC and other parties.”

Collier says his major focus outside of the World Cup is to make sure rugby league is a big part of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. It is unlikely we’ll see the much heralded “second property” – an RLIF-owned international tournament aside from the World Cup – emerge before then.

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We talk a lot about politics in this column but I wanted to make a comment about pure football after watching Johnathan Thurston haul North Queensland back into a game they were badly losing on Monday – and then win it for them.

Only a few times in 30 years have I walked out of a stadium feeling I had witnessed individual greatness.

Wally Lewis did it almost every time I saw him play Origin. In the case of Andrew Johns, I realised how precious it was to watch him from the sidelines before it was too late to really savour the experience.

And there were times watching Peter Sterling, when he had the other 25 players wrapped around his finger, that left you gape-mouthed.

There have been countless others greats – Mal Meninga, Darren Lockyer, Laurie Daley, Allan Langer, Brad Fittler, Sonny Bill Williams – who were half a rung below these four when it came to imposing their will on a contest with sheer talent and tenacity.

But I now put Thurston up with that top group.

Four or five years ago, walking a kilometre to hail a cab from the Cowboys’ ground at suburban Kirwan, I suddenly had a deep sense of privilege at having had the opportunity to watch a career like Thurston’s at close quarters.

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Savour every minute of it folks. It’ll be over before you know it.

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