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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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