Has Meninga cost himself a place as an Immortal?

Drawing a long-bow with this article. The assault charge should never had got to court. Mal was blindsided by an individual with quite the record from memory. I watched Mal playing in Brisbane weekly, receiving endless streams of racial abuse. I admire his ability to turn the other cheek and respect the occasions when he decides to hit back, whether that be verbal or otherwise. He is an open and honest man that seems to constantly seek to improve himself. This article misses the mark I believe.

Captain of the all powerful Green Machine. Captain of Queensland. Captain of Australia. You don't achieve these roles if you " .....are the kind of person who gets a bit antsy when he finds himself on the receiving end of things he just doesn’t like". I'll say Mal has proven himself a leader of men. And since when did it become wrong to express an opinion when you feel you have been hard done by? This is childish commentary. Mal is a legend and will forever live in the hearts of all who watched him. His many followers will boast to their children and grandchildren that they lived in the days when Big Mal led out the Green Machine onto Bruce stadium. He will be googled, twittered, articles will be written about him, and his name will be tossed up every time a team of the century is named, long after the pad used to scribble this article is withered to nothing - whether a bunch of NSW journalists like it or not............that's why he's an immortal.

I think Mal did a good job in bringing these points out into the open, I can tell you that many Queenslanders know and feel the same way and while it is just a game, it is still the Australian way to use fair sportsmanship without sinking to low levels of unnecessary propaganda... If it is anyone's right to point these things out it is Mal's, as the coach and leader to the Maroons. On particular part for example, after game 1 and game 3, on which occasions NSW lost, Gallen (who I have great respect for based on his amazing achievements) quoted the ref's at making unfair decisions - excuse me, but do you want your "7 year old child" learning it is ok to 'blame the ref' when you lose? On both occasions I remind you, this was the first thing that popped into Gallen's head and he thought was important enough to mention in the immediate post-game interview. Furthermore, if QLD had made such comments (as Gallen's) could you imagine what would have been published in the NSW media? Would there be a demand for apology from QLD? No, because it's been happening for years. Even as gracious in winning and defeat as QLD were they still needed to face these adversities - Good on ya Mal, you have said nothing but the truth and I applaud you! Anyone seriously questioning whether what Mal has said is true or not must be living in another world - aren't we meant to uphold what is true? Even if it's against our own wishes?

Seriously Gareth? Raping and murdering daily can be negated by the fact that you are a Queenslander and that you had a stellar rugby league career? WOW! Now there's a comment for you. The type that could only come from a Queenslander's mouth. Seriously, you guys up here should change your name from Queensland to Jonestown because I've never seen so many brainwashed people in the one place at the one time. Ron MacAullife did such a fantastic job of making Queensland believe they are all a downtrodden lot. It's a shame the gentleman is no longer with us to enjoy it, but I'm sure he's sitting up there and looking down and smiling at his great work. Hey, that's it, MacAullifetown! That's what you should call this place. My personal view on such things is that no-one could ever convince me that I'm an underdog. I won't allow myself to be told that I'm oppressed and wretched but it really seems a good fit for this state some how. I'm sure by the time that SOO rolls around again next year you'll manage to play the underdog card. Now I think about it it will be simple, no Lockyer, that should account for that.

Yes, we may well get to the day when cashed up athletes hire their own lawyers and take it to a real court. Not NRL appointed jusiciary jurors who are told to ignore the precedent set only weeks before for an almost identical tackle. Taylor had loading from previous occasions but he did not lift with a hand in between the legs (like Uate's) which to my knowledge is a more serious offence. I would have settled for 2 weeks for Taylor, 1 for Uate. Anything other than that is a stitch up. Inconsistent rulings or just plain wrong, there is no other way to spin it. Maybe should have had the exact same jurors on hand for the 2 hearings. The game has to balance the power. The last time the clubs got fed up with the league, half of them took a better offer from another competition. QLD crowds compliment what are otherwise abysmal crowd figures for a first grade competition. More people turn up for American High School football than to the NRL.

I read someones response on a newspaper blog the other day, it was very well done and broke down the actions of the blues camp and what was thrown at Mal during the series. You have to remember that the judicary made some pretty big calls in the lead-up to the last game. Taylor getting 5 weeks for a tackle made in the wet is strange to say the least. I could give you the number of a couple of Barristers that could have easily got him off. Wet weather football with puddles on the feild would be a start, we dont see this often.

What a piece of fluff. Anyone in the public eye for 30 years or more can have the same nitpicking written about them. No one is perfect, especially Mal who did 'suck it up' for the whole 6 weeks of a grubby origin campaign. Origin was made for QLD'ers to stand up for their state against the arrogance of NSW. Just when the tough old QLD hearts might have softened for the long suffering blues, they remind us why not only us, but all of Australia have a healthy dislike for a state that believes Australia truly revolves around them. Yes Mal got cranky, yes Mal had a whinge through the paper. Was it unjustified? No. Does he deserve to be continually character assasinated? No. A more interesting debate would be to break down both sides of the argument and present an article on what caused the stoush in the first place. Now that I WOULD enjoy reading.

If he was a NSWelshman, he would already be a immortal. Maybe it is time to reserve our judgements and comments until the running of the game is no longer a joke, just today i read something that said the Origin series has no governing body, so its just a great concept not run by anyone in particular with no rules, laws, actions or reactions or anything significant to keep 2 states apart and at each others throats, like they are at the moment. It is a total shamble, like the game until we get someone in charge to oversee the sport, a complete joke, along with the reporters who report on the game. Phil Rothfield, this guy is a sharkies fan yet he can say as he likes in the Sydney papers.

I think the judicial system has missed the point of the judicial system. It's no longer a justice system, it's a legal system. Did the whole thing go something like this? Meninga "Yes your honour, I punched him but I didn't 'assault' him. He was calling me names" Magistrate "Good point! Case dismissed" You seem to be the expert mushi, I'll leave it up to you.

The only one in the running who should have a cloud over his status is Joey Johns. The fact that he managed to contravene drug testing throughout his entire career, or at the very least have it swept under the carpet, gives his whole career an air of illegitimacy. Outside of that, I don't care what someone gets up to. Mal Meninga could rape and murder every day for the rest of his life and it wouldn't change his stellar football career.

I think you missed the point of the judicial system

I think you may have missed the point elbow. The whole premise of the article was not to pick through his private life, we ALL have one of those. It was to highlight the fact that, if you're the kind of person who likes to throw their weight around then maybe you should be selective in who you throw it. You want to be sure your actions don't come back to bite you. The bloke in the pub in the ACT was probably just some jerk too full of ink for his own good and should not have been seen as a threat to Mal nor his future. The media on the other hand sure can be.

He should, and probably will become an immortal. The fact that he is a hypocritie of the highest order and has the emotional maturity of a seven years old should not hold him back.

Not an article up to the usual roar standards. Should we pick through the lives off the field of other immortals or possible immortals? I don't think so. They are immortal due to their football ability, and human in the rest of their lives.

"Now, whilst I’ll grant you he was acquitted of the assault charge on that occasion, it still remains a fact that he did strike someone (and possibly more than once) and it would appear that this is because that knee-jerk reactions are his way of dealing with situations he finds unpalatable." Really?

If you ever needed proof that being involved in football leads to arrested development... this is it. Are these blokes grown men, or teenage girls having a schoolyard spat? Mal would have been far better served to stay silent and let his achievements speak for themselves. By writing this article, he has ensured that people are talking about him and not his team's fantastic performances. I hope and imagine that is the exact opposite of what he intended.

He'll still be an immortal, Joey and Lockyers probably will be as well (all three). Who really cares if he punched a bloke or if Joey loved techno music or what Darren was really doing with Dell when he was using cocaine, the point is they were terrific players, and in 50 years if you want to show off the creme de la creme of this era, it's tapes of these blokes you'll pull out. Or download, but you get the point.

Mal should already be a Immortal, it is rugby league that is letting the game down , not Mal. He showed brilliant leadership and did everything in his power to not bite back at the NSW sledging until after the series, when as they say, "it was all over, the fat lady sung". Then he let loose on the scum from down south after the whistle, if anything , he is nothing short of a genious. Just looking at the rats nest he ignited this week is why rugby leaue should be cleaned out and the dinosaurs retired for good. Like i said, if he was already a immortal, this garbage probably would never have happened, you only have to look at the way they treated Lockyer and others who play 300 games to realise, this game does nothing for the players, it is all about ratings.