- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
As children we’re taught about responsibility and consequences. If the school bus came at 7:30am it was my responsibility to get there on time. If I missed the bus then it wasn’t the fault of the bus company or the driver, but mine and mine alone.
The consequence was that I didn’t get to school on time.
Understanding responsibility and consequence is important for the development of any individual or organisation.
Todd Carney, for example, would’ve understood that an alcohol ban meant no drinking. Still, he chose to break that rule and now he has paid the price.
As a trained school teacher Manly coach Des Hasler is better placed to understand the action/reaction process than most.
If a pupil in his class didn’t want to abide by the rules then there would’ve been punishment of some sort.
So, why has the Sea Eagles icon been fighting so many battles this year that, on the surface, seem to be open and shut cases?
The club still feels they were treated poorly when the NRL suspended Brett Stewart for four games and fined them $100,000 in 2009. The NRL claims some players were allowed to drink too much, but they only came to that conclusion thanks to the Sea Eagles own report.
Then there’s the Brookvale brawl from round 25 this year where Glenn Stewart and Adam Blair turned the match into fight night on the way to the sin-bin.
Hasler claimed it was the NRL’s responsibility to make sure the players were walked off the ground by extra referees.
Manly forward Brent Kite also hit out at the media in the aftermath of the bust-up. Apparently it was the responsibility of journalists to not replay the fight in news bulletins because it set a bad example.
The latest thorn in Hasler’s side came on Saturday night at the Sydney Football Stadium where a terrible crowd turned out to see Manly beat North Queensland in week one of the finals.
Hasler said the NRL shouldn’t have moved the match to the bigger venue.
“I’ve mentioned to the NRL that maybe, just that first week, let the sides have the [home-ground advantage].” Hasler said.
“If Manly are playing [North] Queensland, it’s not a hard one, is it? It’s not a hard one to work out that we would have easily got 20,000 [at Brookvale]. So 13,000 – probably ten [thousand], there might have been a bit of fudging there – but clearly there is a lesson there.”
The lesson is if you’re not happy with the rule then make sure your club doesn’t agree, along with every other NRL team, to move finals to bigger venues.
The Sydney Football Stadium is 20 kilometres from Brookvale Oval. If fans can’t be bothered making a journey that small then something is wrong.
In Hasler’s defence it wasn’t a great look. The stadium was more than half empty and a game against the Cowboys was never going to have officials putting the ‘house full’ sign up. Yes, Brookvale would’ve been packed, but it’s not the point.
Finals, regardless of who is playing, need to be held at bigger venues. In the UK, fans travel hours from places like Newcastle and Liverpool in the north to see their team play at Wembley in London on Cup days. Asking supporters to travel across the other side of the harbour isn’t unreasonable.
The club needs to stop swimming against the current.
You may agree with Hasler on many fronts and that’s fine.
But if Manly’s own report into the 2009 incident said Stewart was, according to the NRL, “asked to leave the main bar due to intoxication at around 6.00pm” then that’s not the fault of the league.
If a player decides to get in a fight on the way to the sin-bin then the NRL is not responsible and if every club agrees to play finals matches at bigger venues then so be it.
Manly isn’t the only problem child either.
David Gallop was predictably drowned out by boos from the crowd at AAMI park yesterday as he presented the minor premiers with the JJ Giltinan shield ahead of their match against Newcastle.
Everyone from Storm coach Craig Bellamy to each player involved still feels like they won the premierships that have been taken away.
That’s understandable. The players worked hard during those seasons and remember the celebrations with men who are as close as brothers. Those memories don’t fade.
But it doesn’t make it right.
Deep down they must understand the NRL had to punish them for making a mockery of the rules everyone else was playing by.
To boo Gallop was wrong. He didn’t treat the salary cap like a suggested limit. He didn’t bend the rules or mislead the fans.
When did we stop understanding how responsibility and consequence work?
I don’t get it.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.