Eight weeks ago, there was a brief press announcement that Kurtley Beale, the NSW prodigy since his school days, was leaving the Waratahs at the end of the 2011 season and heading for the Melbourne Rebels.
In retrospect, this was and is an earth shattering event for the NSW Waratahs on and off the field.
It was briefly reported as such but quickly disappeared into the background and was forgotten.
Today, James O’Connor will sign with the Melbourne Rebels.
Beale is one of a handful of mercurial players. O’Connor is another.
In other environments or walks of life, each would be considered a genius.
There are really only five of these mercurial players in the southern hemisphere. They are Beale, Cooper, O’Connor and Sonny Bill Williams (SBW) from rugby union and Benji Marshall from rugby league.
Mark Ella and Russell Fairfax were also in this category.
They possess the “Royal Routine” of football skills.
They combine extraordinary vision, sublime skill both from hand and foot, ice cold blood in their veins making them high percentage goalkickers (excepting SBW), freaky evasiveness, preposterous self belief and incredible courage.
Dan Carter, Danny Cipriani, Pat Lambie, Jonathon Sexton, Stephen Larkham, Cooper Cronk, Todd Carney, Darren Lockyer, Jamie Soward and others are gifted and highly successful players.
They turn games singlehandedly but, in my view don’t have that X factor, the sublime talent of the other group.
Players like Beale captivate and build supporter bases and memberships.
They fill stadia. They command headlines. They need to be given the support to work their magic.
They need conducive playing strategies and coaching techniques. They need to be surrounded by players who will support but won’t get in the way.
In the 2005 NRL Grand Final, Pat Richards was such a player. He had come out of a well earned retirement. His instinct told him that he needed to be ready for the unexpected.
He came off his wing, took the magical Benji Marshall flick pass, iced the game and instantly added thousands of new members to the Tigers 2006 membership drive.
It is not dissimilar to music bands that have a musical genius in their line up. The other musicians, play important supporting roles but are easily replaceable if they ever get ahead of themselves.
The players like Beale and O’Connor, play at the bleeding edge. They make mistakes. But they all seem almost psychopathically impervious to the effect of these mistakes. This too makes them special.
So now we hear that two of these extraordinary players will be playing for the Melbourne Rebels next season.
Firstly, how did NSW let Beale go? Secondly, how did the Rebels, a first year franchise, trump the NSW offer?
One thing is for sure. Rugby has just entered the real world of entertainment where supply, demand and performance determine value.
When the Hollywood Studio contract system that tied actors to one studio, collapsed in 1948, actors became free agents and their earnings rose to reflect their box office power.
So too in rugby. The most valuable players are signing one year agreements so that they can test their market value annually and play for the highest bidders.
Beware. As Kevin Costner,John Travolta and more recently rugby’s Jonah Lomu and Berrick Barnes found out to their cost, the reality of market testing can be a double edged sword.
In rugby, injury is a constant, career ending threat. If the English Premier League is anything to go by, the players will earn more, bring more people to the games’ sources of revenue (TV audiences, merchandise, sponsorships and gate takings), and the overall game will grow.
The Reds have shown that entertaining, winning rugby is a very commercially viable proposition, no matter what they other codes offer.
The audaciousness of Melbourne Rebels’ attempt to build a professional rugby club in the AFL heartland, has been repeated with the coup of signing these two hot rugby properties.
Ably led by their savvy Impresario Chairman, Harold Mitchell, the Rebels stole them from right under the noses of their present employers.
The Force have a sick note. Their pitch is not as enticing as other organisations.
The NSW Waratahs don’t have any excuses, and can only blame themselves. The new Board has dropped the proverbial ball.
Once again, the Waratahs find themselves without a playmaker or an X factor player to attract back their 25,000 lost supporters. They are also missing a confirmed coach and captain for 2012.
The Rebels have momentum. Expect more signings. Meanwhile, in the words of the co-authors of “Money for Nothing” Dire Straits’ genius Mark Knoppfler and Sting, Beale and O’Connor can sing:
“We gotta install microwave ovens, Custom kitchen deliveries, We gotta move these refrigerators, We gotta move these colour TV’s”
LeftArmSpinner
Roar Guru
bennalong, i do believe in supporting home teams. Despite much thinking about it over the past 18 months, I have remained a tahs fan. that doesnt mean I cant have opinions on them or other teams. So, you should stay where you did your apprenticeship, even if our original boss has moved on and been replaced by someone who is making your life difficult and despite greater rewards being offered by competitor employers??????
Nathan
Guest
"Ably led by their savvy Impresario Chairman, Harold Mitchell, the Rebels stole them from right under the noses of their present employers. The Force have a sick note. Their pitch is not as enticing as other organisations." You are mental. So is JOC. You've just signed a player that tried to get club recruiting strategies altered in his contract
bennalong
Guest
I thought there was a salary cap next year. Are the Rebels offering dodgy payments with cosy arrangements with advertisers?
bennalong
Guest
LAS You still don't believe in supporting home teams,do you? Professionalism will suit you. You can switch to the best team. Follow your fave player from outfit to outfit tweating as you go. We're stuck with it but you don't have to bend over. Beale should have stayed with the team that has paid while he found this pizzazz. O'Connor should have shown more respect for his team. How long before you can switch national teams. That'd be good !
LeftArmSpinner
Roar Guru
THEWEAK, i am with you. how does George connect greed with a pay rise for a job well done???? the glass is more than half full!!!! we may even discover that the glass is RWC winning full.........
Theweakshallinheritthetitle
Guest
George! If this is the good news -What's the bad news mate? Is this a parade looking for rain or what? You know allot more than I do about the 'egos' of these boys . How do you know so much? Unless you have inside info I would suggest strongly that you may be very wrong. Those two individuals have each won a big game for the Wallabies Team in recent times. I will give them the benefit of the doubt for now. Btw it's the 'almighty dollar' that keeps these boys in the code and in the country. The glass is at least half full.
Rebel Yell
Guest
Its hard to do so and sorry but I'll say it........ Huxley has to go......a great team man i here, and stable in attack but "seriously awful" in defence......close to embarrassing for a professional player......admittedly those head knocks and that terrible and unfortunate tumor removal wouldn't help......I mean he's done well to return to the point he has. Vuna is 100% attack and if he tackled would be in the wallabies.......i'd even put him on the bench to spark things if the team was down by 20 points to try and re-ignite.......he's harder to tackle then Digby. Kurtley should go to 5/8 and OÇonnor to fullback next year and stick with Mortlock and Gerard.... who I think is deserving of a wallabies recall. Loose forwards are the weakness.....apart from Delve and Saffy. Great to get someone like Ben Mowen from the Tahs.......
George
Guest
The individual player greed of the almighty $ does not build a winning team. Rugby is a team game not a individual game - both players are talented but can they play as part of a team. JOC is not a team player - that is a fact following recent events, the jury is out on Beale. Beale is playing well now as he has nothing to lose. Interesting times ahead for the 2012 season as is interesting times ahead for Wallaby coach Deans as he must learn to manage these individuals with over inflated egos that put their own interests above that of the team. Just look at Deans experience with Giteau - JOC & Beale may be too hard to manage & will need to be disciplined if they cross the line.
LeftArmSpinner
Roar Guru
NOpe. I will let the dust sete but they are sure ticking the boxes.
bilbo
Guest
Especailly strange when you consider Super Rugby teams have a larger squad and a smaller salary cap than NRL teams. Maybe they are doing a Miami Heat....a couple of great players, then add a few park footballers.
Jerry
Guest
3 are NZ born. O'Connor has NZ parents, but he's born in Aus.
Rory
Guest
There's another Melbourne team that got in a bit of strife recently for buying up everyone to win competitions. Um Storm? Why bother when about 99% of Victorians don't give a damn about what they call bum sniffers. Fighting a losing battle. Should have put a team where it could have been self-sufficient in time through development, not constantly buying up players developed elsewhere. Somewhere like a 2nd Qld franchise or 2nd NSW. Maybe Central Coast where NRL have ignored them for so long that they could have been major playing out of BlueTongue Stadium. How many Super Rugby or NRL players are EVER going to come from Victoria?
Rory
Guest
Pity all this talent's being WASTED on Melbourne!
sixo_clock
Roar Guru
Nice work LAS, It is all about entertainment now that we have gone professional. Furthermore that is great for our game 'Losing Ugly' has sent a sharp rebuke to the 'Tahs and they are paying for it at the gate. Do they have the stomach for the truth we wonder, or the capacity to change? Reminds one of the 'Let the turnstiles spin' comment of Big Dell. Though the team then wasn't strong enough to get him the ball! ps: have you signed up with the Rebs yet?
LeftArmSpinner
Roar Guru
Muzza, Rupeni would fit the bill. but I have not been able to think of any others.......help me out. Boks, who from SA would fit that Bill. Habana was quick, but he doesnt throw extravagant passes or kick prodigious goals.....
LeftArmSpinner
Roar Guru
nathan, the xfactor thing is not about who you would pick to win you a game of footy. it is about extraordinary individual skills and that leading to crowd pulling ability, and the4n exciting the crowd......... I would select Carter ahead of them all. he does it all, but not with the panache of flair, not with the error rate......... Beale, Cooper etc are not flashes in the pan. they may be flashy but not flashes in the pan. they simply havent been around long enough.........
LeftArmSpinner
Roar Guru
its not salary cap.......must be other stuff endorsements etc even though it is not in the club's jurisdiction...............
LeftArmSpinner
Roar Guru
well, Lipman, Saffy, Campbell and Robinson all have done well as has Delve. although i cant explain their defensive woes. would need to examine it closer.
Muzza
Guest
It irked me to think that the only players you rate a "mercurial" all built their game in Australia... But 4 of them are NZ born... What about mercurial Boks or Islanders for example? I spose this is an Aussie site afterall...
nathan
Guest
x-factor, bah! I'd rather have Dan Carter any day of the week than Quade Cooper. mercurial? doesn't win you ganes, Carlos Spencer anyone? yeah they might be flashy, but they're just as likely to lose you games as win them. consistently great players are way better than flash in the pans like Cooper, O'Connor, Beale, SBW, although Benji has been consistent