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If there were any celebrations at the National Rugby League headquarters over the news of the television ratings figures for the year, they were understandably muted.
For the first time, rugby league drew higher television numbers nationally than the AFL, a hefty percentage increase giving the NRL a much-needed boost after another bout of bad publicity.
The news came just a day or so after Jake Friend used up his last strike in another alcohol-fueled incident which ultimately cost the young player his job with the Sydney Roosters. Friend’s name can be added to the rugby league dishonour role of 2009 which includes Stewart, Watmough, Mason, Myles, Fittler, Bird, Seymour, Gallen and Johns, all of whom committed infractions, alleged or proved, of varying degrees of severity but with the common denominator being over-consumption of alcohol.
Add to that the police drug squad hauling Danny Wicks away with subsequent serious allegations levelled at seemingly half the Newcastle Knights team, and league CEO David Gallup could be forgiven for breaking into a cold sweat every time he opened the newspaper.
This litany of bad behaviour doesn’t seem to be affecting league viewership at the top level. In many ways, rugby league is a perfect TV game. Almost all the action takes place in the 10-20 metres between the attacking and defending teams, and that action can be fast, hard-hitting and breathtakingly skillful. The camera misses very little. In comparison, so much happens in an AFL game a long way from the ball, scintillating marks and great goals notwithstanding, that it is a game best viewed live at the ground.
But the adverse publicity is almost certainly hitting the game at junior level. Participation rates in key areas are low, with football proving up to five times as popular in a number of Sydney LGAs, and Aussie Rules, basketball and rugby union drawing kids in greater numbers. While parents haven’t been surveyed en masse, it would be foolish to assume that the image of the NRL isn’t a factor in them steering their kids away from the game. It mightn’t be the only reason, but it is a reason. And this is despite the NRL pouring a lot of money into junior development and keeping registration costs close to nothing in many cases.
Why does the game seem beset by these problems? Other codes have had their issues without doubt, but the sheer volume of League incidents outweighs Union, AFL and football combined. It can’t be the scrutiny – all sports stars live in fish bowls these days, more so in overseas sporting competitions. There have been allegations of a drinking culture in League, given it is a game played predominantly by young men between the ages of 18 and 25. But young men play other sports. There have been suggestions that the NRL’s issues are simply a mirror of society. Perhaps, but they would seem to be a magnifying glass more than a mirror.
Consider this scenario: Many NRL teams enforce total drinking bans during pre-season training or at significant periods in the year. Players are breath-tested every day and train hard to attain an elite level of fitness for 8-10 weeks. They are then rewarded with a weekend off, and are told to let their hair down. They go out for a night on the drink, are in peak physical shape (and alcohol affects fit people a lot more quickly than those of lesser condition), are largely or completely unsupervised, and are caught up in the heady mateship of bonding with team mates.
Why not provide a loaded gun, too?
It doesn’t mean players shouldn’t take responsibility for their actions, not at all. But the scenario described happens frequently, and it would only take three or four standard drinks in this situation for a player to be intoxicated and unable to make rational choices for themselves. Before long, the group is binge drinking. Consider that many young players at NRL clubs are living far from home, without parental supervision, and may have done so since before they were of legal drinking age.
Perhaps it would be healthier and safer if clubs allowed players to have a couple of drinks a week, in line with medical guidelines (and all clubs have doctors on staff who could inform players what the guidelines are). It wouldn’t affect fitness levels and would eliminate the pattern of binge drinking that seems to lead to most of the trouble in the game.
As well, maybe clubs should be ensuring that any team bonding session involving alcohol include officials or senior players who are able to monitor players and give them a tap on the shoulder when they’ve had enough. Bar and hospitality staff are now required to complete a course in Responsible Service of Alcohol; perhaps it wouldn’t be a stretch if players did the course too. Self and peer-monitoring might work better than getting into an argument with a bouncer, fueled by VB courage, notions of invincibility, and not a thought for the headlines the next day.
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