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Do you remember round five of the NRL? You know, the one just gone. It was where Wayne Bennett – I mean – South Sydney played the Wests Tigers. Then the Warriors got the better of the Roosters in New Zealand and Bennett… no, that’s not it. It was the Dragons beating Jamal Idris… no, the Bulldogs, at the SCG.
Do you know who is playing tomorrow night? You could be forgiven if you haven’t looked yet.
The week has been dominated by headlines scrutinising Bennett’s deal with Newcastle and Idris committing his future to the Gold Coast Titans.
It has given league some significant space in all forms of the media, but would NRL chief executive David Gallop be happy?
League legend Steve Mortimer had an interesting take on the situation on Sky News’ Sportsline program on Monday night.
“What’s sad to me is that we’re talking about this and not about the game,” he said.
Brisbane and Newcastle had just played out a tight clash at Suncorp Stadium to complete the round, but the questions were all about Bennett.
“I’ve got the greatest respect for Wayne Bennett, but here is rugby league trying to grow their memberships like the AFL does so well and trying to grow their corporate sponsorships.
“What about all of those memberships that the Dragons have been driving?
“A young kid has a number one jersey on his back and now that player says he’s not going to be at the Dragons anymore; he’s going to Newcastle.
“That goes against the grain of what rugby league is trying to do for the community.”
That was followed up on Sportsline on Tuesday night by Carlton great Anthony Koutoufides saying that AFL fans would be looking at the situation and laughing.
“I can’t even imagine a coach or players moving teams throughout the season,” he said.
“To me it would just really jeopardise the harmony of the team.
“Knowing your coach is going to leave or that your star player is leaving and going to another club is unheard of.”
It begs the question: How do administrators get fans to stay loyal when those within the game show none?
And are memberships harder to sell because of the frequent movement of players and coaches around the league?
First of all, let’s not brand Bennett and Idris greedy.
Every year, thousands of people change jobs because they’ve received a better deal. Every year, thousands more contemplate moving jobs.
Rugby League players, even accounting for the passion and heart of a club, are no different.
But it must make those within the NRL’s membership departments, who are already playing catch-up, feel a little bit sick sometimes.
“Hey, come and give us hundreds of dollars to watch next season. Oh, except the coach, fullback, prop and lock won’t be there. Don’t worry though, we’ll give you a hat!”
Dramatic, but does the madness of mid-season movement and the speculation that goes with it, make the code a harder sell?
Kouta did point out that last season the AFL had to put up with the constant speculation surrounding the future of Gary Ablett Jnr and Mark Thompson at Geelong.
Ablett went to the Suns and Thompson is now a senior assistant at Essendon.
Both deals are believed to have been done during the season, but no official announcement was made before the end of the campaign.
It would be almost impossible to do the same in rugby league. Recruiting, in the absence of a draft, never stops. Players are usually very reluctant to sign if they don’t know who the coach is going to be.
We’re just over a month into the season, but expect a host of player announcements from the Knights in the coming weeks.
Would you rather not know until the end of the season so the focus remains on the extraordinary feats of the players on the field?
Or are things just fine the way they are?
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