Roosters captain Braith Anasta during NRL Round 3, (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Renee McKay)
Aren’t the Roosters the team that just keeps on giving? How pleased David Gallop must be that on Grand Final week he has yet another stench to clean up around Bondi Junction.
Did someone at the Roosters call someone at the Sharks and scream “FULL HOUSE!” down the phone?
And whole swag of assaults, DUI and the great public defecation (I may have missed a few) and then a few allegations of match fixing just to top off a fine 2009. Oh yeah, and toss in the regular use of brothels while you are at it.
Of any of the PR disasters they have been involved in surely tossing a match must be a whole stratosphere above any of the other misdemeanours. This is not to dismiss the other deeds, but to highlight the seriousness of the allegations.
Match fixing tarnishes the whole integrity of the code, you are one step from the farce of professional wrestling once that comes into play.
Most sports around the world have had to deal with it rearing its ugly head at some point and it is probably just a matter of time before some player loses all dignity with the thought of a quick pay day.
It’s the fighting it that is the key. Most of the time you are just relying on pride to self regulate but we are reminded time and time again that every man has a price.
Of course policing and proving it is another matter.
Unless you can get actual rock hard proof of a player placing a bet or receiving payment it is impossibly hard to actually prove anything dodgy.
Having said that obviously vigilance is the key and everything must be done particularly with the enormous presence that gambling holds in our society, but the difficulty in proving it means that when you actually find proof you need to come down on the perpetrators like a ton of bricks.
But what I didn’t like was the TAB’s Glen Munsie claiming that he was suspicious not only because of the amounts that had been wagered but because the Roosters were down by 10 and “tossing the ball about like the Harlem Globetrotters”.
Now everyone has their right to an opinion but what do you want, a side down by a few tries so they stick it under their wing and crash it up until the final whistle?
Hard data like suspicious betting patterns is one thing but once we start to query a player every time something goes wrong on the field we are doomed.
For example, with the scores at 0-0 St George receive a penalty forty metres out from the try line and two weeks in a row opt for a shot at a penalty goal. Common place in Union but eyebrow raising in League. Did anyone check the betting patterns on the “Method of First Scoring Play – St George penalty” market at Centrebet?
Of course not. And rightly so, but we must be careful not to tar every upset with the accusation of a fix. It is the usual moan of the mug punter.
Which brings us back to Munsie.
Every week the numerous bookmaking agencies are filling newspaper columns with tales of odds and value to entice the mug punter from parting with their cash and filling their coffers. They often have advertising deals with the particular media groups and even special prices for the journalists who drop their agencies when discussing the weekly prices.
Munsie even claimed they announced the suspension of betting in order to perhaps stop any fix taking place. How noble! Of course they aren’t noble enough to perhaps not accept any bets on sport or even just stop sponsoring them so we can listen to a game in peace without being badgered with the latest prices as though we are in the middle of a stockmarket pit.
Of course while I do hold a grudge against bookmakers, I too think there was something odd with the Roosters match.
A number of sources from within punting circles had heard tales of vast sums being placed on that match, as well as a number of previous Roosters matches.
Of course, we are talking about the Roosters 2009 to lose a match not the Roosters 2003. We are hardly talking about a completely freak occurrence here.
But the way the prices were cut and the line moved certainly backed the theory that something was up.
Are we just jumping at shadows?
Roosters CEO Steve Noyce looked to dismiss in by saying that if they investigated every rumour it would be a full time job for someone. At the Roosters I’d argue about five full time jobs.
But this isn’t just something about a player and his performance between the sheets laughed about at the pub, this is one of the most serious allegations you can make coming out in a national newspaper.
Surely things need to be looked in, I’d lay it at the feet of the NRL. How seriously are the Roosters going to look into it as if there is anything behind it, it would result in a meltdown of confidence from their already battered fan base and probably an astronomical fine from the NRL (should that be a ‘long overdue’ astronomical fine?).
As I stated earlier I’d argue you largely need to hope the players are smart enough not to risk their careers over such a matter.
The Roosters overhaul has begun with the appointment of Brian Smith. Now it looks like they have signed Todd Carney, an interesting choice to say the least.
Better start filling those full time roles Steve.
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The Roosters five-eighth copped a knock from Lindsay Collins.
Tomorrow morning we’ll see Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Uysk dispute the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world in the heat of Saudi Arabia, and…
The Sharks skipper was stopped in his tracks by the smaller man!
The Sharks fullback scored a try in the opening minute of the game, before costing his side one just before halftime as the Roosters…
The Roosters centre was not square at marker as his Sharks opponent took off short side for the try line.
"He's a winner, his side's on top of the table - where's Parra?"
