Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 thriller, No Country for Old Men, depicts the final days of ageing sheriff Ed Tom Bell as a lawman.
Ed Tom, after years of bravely serving his community, has grown old. He is the last remnant of the old-time sheriffs and can no longer comprehend the increasingly dangerous world around him, namely the psychopathic hitman Anton Chigurh.
Despite the increased presence of law and order in the West compared to when he was a young officer, the modern West has bred a new and more frightening evil (Chigurh) to which has has no knowledge of combating.
Feeling that his former world has passed him by, Ed Tom retires at the novel’s end before Chigurh, the embodiment of evil, can claim his life.
Out of the current Cowboys squad, five players are aged 30 or older.
These players are Glenn Hall (32), Matt Bowen (31), Brent Tate (31), Jonathan Thurston (30) and Dallas Johnson (30). Another, Ashley Graham (29) will be 30 next year. Over a third of the team that can be categorised as ‘old-timers’.
Sadly, most of the aforementioned players look to be a shadow of their former selves. While Thurston and Graham are still playing well, Matt Bowen has been particularly poor this season.
Brent Tate and Dallas Johnson still perform well, yet their diminished playing abilities indicate that they are perhaps struggling to contain the new challenges associated with modern games of rugby league.
Both men are not particularly large, with Johnson and Tate weighing 92 and 88 kilograms respectively. Yet they are both incredibly fierce competitors that possess true grit.
They debuted in a time where players were smaller but arguably tougher. Hard work and a gritty playing style were applauded.
Respected hardmen such as Glenn Morrison, Shane Webcke, Paul Bowman, Brad Fittler and Andrew Ryan were the living embodiment of such mentality.
Peroxide hairdos and internet tirades were unheard of. Arguments stayed on the field and were settled on the field. If someone physically challenged you, they were accommodated accordingly.
However, since the early 2000’s the NRL has changed in a profound way. Years of professionalism has led to increased efficiency in weights training, spawning true monsters.
Sides have grown much larger and now feature giants such as Sam Kasiano, Martin Kennedy, George Burgess, David Klemmer, Daniel Tupou and Konrad Hurrell. Every game it appears as though the old-timers struggle more and more attempting to contain such beasts.
Also, it seems as though the current interchange limit is set to stay the same for the foreseeable future. This will allow the big men to continue dominating the field, and will make sure that the old-timers will continue to struggle to contain their impact.
Additionally, in recent times there has been an increased focus on making the game safer. While this has largely been successful, it can be argued new lows in terms of on-field thuggery have been witnessed in this decade.
High shots, spear and cannonball tackles and chicken wings are still prevalent, and acts of ‘stitch pulling’ and ‘wheel squeezing’ have been documented.
Perhaps this new era of the NRL has developed a new breed of subtle yet terrifying individuals. Hitmen like Steve Matai and Jared-Waerea Hargreaves remain an omnipresent threat to the old=timers.
Bowen, Hall, Tate and Johnson are expected to retire at the end of this season. Considering most are playing every game through pain, it seems as though they don’t want to push their chips forward.
Much like Ed Tom, I guess they have reached the conclusion that it’s best to retire on their own terms, rather than be forced to retire through injury.
At the end of No Country, a retired Ed Tom recites a pair of dreams he had the night before to his wife. The first involved his father handing over some money to him.
The second depicted him as sheriff riding on horses with his father through a dark, cold and narrow mountain pass. His father then lights him a torch and before riding ahead through the dark to make camp.
The dream ends with his father waiting by a campfire for his arrival.
Ed Tom’s dreams can be interpreted to apply to the current situation of the Cowboys’ old-timers. The first dream can be interpreted as the generation of players before them handing down values that have been lost in the current game.
The second can be interpreted as giving hope to the game. Hope that the torch, representative of determination, grit and professionalism, will be passed on from the old-timers to the next generation.
Rugby league has always been a violent, brutal game and not one for the faint of heart. It has for long been swallowing up and spitting out its sons like the Roman God Saturn.
The Cowboy’s old-timers are no exception. The NRL is no country for old men.
Their bodies and willpower are simply deteriorating after years of tremendous exertion and strain.
I hope that we see more players like them in the future, although I don’t think we will. I don’t know if the structure of the current game allows it.
What I do know is that their exit from the game will mark the beginning of a new era for the club. Rugby league as I know it will never be the same again.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
Haha. A pair of superstrong dwarfs called "The Wildmen of Borneo" used to be a part of PT Barnum's travelling circus. He made them wrestle with onlookers to demonstrate their strength. A bit of trivia for you.
Wildman From Borneo
Guest
Nope just a wildman! My mother used to call me that!
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
Wildman, I think the addition of Lui should hopefully some of the playmaking pressure off Thurston. He was great last night and actually looked more dangerous with the ball in hand than Thurston. Matt Bowen's form this season has probably also lead to an increased reliability on Thurston, as Bowen could usually be counted on to make a few clean breaks a game as well as set up a try or two. So far he has one line break and one try assist this year. I think we need more size on the bench. Taumalolo should return and maybe look to promote one of our junior fowards, perhaps Grevsmuhl, for this Fridays clash against the paper tigers. Also, out of curiosity, are you really from Borneo?
Wildman From Borneo
Guest
The Cowboys have the players they are just not performing to their ability. Henry should by now have his systems in place for the amount of time he has had but, he hasn't. They have a few problems but it's not the players alone imo. One problem is that Thurston is too dominant. Shut him down and you shut down the whole machine. By now, Henry should've fixed that! They should be barrelling teams with that forward pack they have but they ar'nt. Their bench players are really letting them down imo and they are unable to compete in the grind where, they should excel with that forward pack. But they cannot. Henry has had enough time with good players. Any more time afforded to him will be wasted time imo
Lovey
Guest
I'd hate to think the game evolves into one for "freaks" a la basketball. It is important that nippy little players do not get phased out, that is part of the game. And if there is still any thought of expansion into overseas markets, it should be borne in mind that the average Asian or Melanesian is small. This has to be managed through interchange rules. Also, stamina should be rewarded.
BULLDOGS 4EVER
Guest
why do you want to change our game for,what you saying our small man not having a impact on our game.Barba, Bowen Cronk Sandow Kelly Sezer. Just some that come mind & over the years we had some great players you call small
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
Agreed Oikee, the Burgess boys are going great guns. The Cowboys could use young Jason Taumalolo the same way as South's use big George. But once again, King has proven he is a fool and one of the greatest young prospects in the game remains on the sidelines.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
I still think what Bennett did at the Dragons was exceptional. Soward will never be remembered as a great playmaker and Boyd won't be remembered as one of the great fullbacks but Bennett got the best out of them. The style he brought to the Dragons won them a minor premiership, a premiership and world club challenge trophy. Great coaches, like great players, get old and lose their way a bit. Bennett is no exception and I believe this is what we are witnessing at the Knights. Sure, he had a great team with the Broncos, but he still won premierships. Meanwhile at the Cows, we have a great roster, much better than the Dragons of 2010, yet still with nothing to show for it. I still think a Bennett or a Bellamy would have won a premiership for us.
up in the north
Guest
For R.L.to be true to itself in the future then yes it needs the little fellas too - of course. Else we'll end up with some sort of hybrid mongrelised imitation of yank footy. God forbid. As far as the "KING" is concerned, just what exactly has he achieved so far? I still can't work out why Graham Murray was treated so badly. It must be nice and safe to not have the local media baying for your blood after dismal performances. I believe Tallis was on the board when Bennet was mooted as coach, perhaps a golden chance went south. I'm certainly not well placed to know the details, but the same mistakes keep happening in the top paddock and it must drive the boys banannas. Souths size is directly one of the biggest reasons for their current form obviously, not the only one, but a big one. All the leading teams have heaps in common, so what sets them apart? I guess that's the million dollar question isn't it.
Johnno
Guest
Elijah, good point David Middelton is a stat's guru, he would know, it would be interesting. Plenty of player's retired early or went to back to bush footy back then, before the money came in. Just now it get's publicised. Back then in the 80's and 90's I remember, if you racked up 150 games it was a big news story, not as much now. But it would be interesting. -Look at the end of the day rugby league is a contact sport, there will always be some late hit's that go unnoticed, that will always be the case I think, but it's getting more scrutinised than ever before. -example: Take Micheal Jenning's in state of origin, in 2012 Game 1, he was sin binned for throwing a punch from behind on Brett Tate , in the 80's ,90's or early 2000's that would of been let go in origin or in a club game. The video analysis, is getting tougher on the cheat's and tough guys. Matai is real old school, but the majority of player's like steve matai are being phased out, and Matai is not the new breed of player under 25, he is a veteran 29 this year grew up in the 1990's, so he is really the last of the old school players,. But the younger player's are far more clean overall. And the shoulder charge has brought that in line even more. Another old school player Frank Prtichard, has behaved better this year too, with stricter rules, and now the send-off is back in vogue expect more players to be "good little or should say good big boy's lol".
Johnno
Guest
Bellamy and Wayne Bennett, ay. Let's give both these 2 , squad's where they don't have as much talent at there shoulder's and see how they go. Bennett, has won nothing since 2010, he hasn't taken Newcastle that far. Newcastle in 2012, miss out on the 8 if memory serves me correctly. And are sitting at no 5 on the ladder, just a pass mark, hardly Brisbane Bronco's 1990's glory day's stuff. Bellamy when he was origin coach, was blown out the water by the "Melbourne storm Maroon's", . And don't give me that excuse that was spun by Bellamy himself, that it was awkward coaching against his club player's. What a cop out, a lame weak excuse. Bennett had a super club at Brisbane, and yes he helped the kiwi's win a world cup, but they still had a good side, and they beat Australia in a 1 off game, and "was Bennett's great coaching, did it cause those Billy slater fumble's at the back" hardly. If Billy Slater didn't get the yips in that world cup final, it may of been a different story, and steve price was injured and was unavailable for the final. And Bennett if I recall lost a few origin's as QLD coach, he won some but he lost some too. Bennett was coach of QLD 1986-1988, won 1 series lost 2. Bennet coached QLD in 1998 , won series 2-1, but anyone who care's remember NSW squad was decimated by injuries for game 3, it was almost a NWS 3rd's team, a country origin basically. Bennett next QLD stint 2001-3. Won 1 series, Drawn 1 series, lost 1 series. So Wayne Bennett can coach, but give wayne a team of no hoper's or average player's and see how he goes. David Furner or shane flanagan, put Wayne Bennett or Craig Bellamy in there shoes, and see how they'd go, or Daniel Anderson, steve kearney, or Ricky stuart at the Eeels. Or Ivan Cleary at his time at the Warriors, or now at the Panther's. Funny ricky stuart won a title in 2002 with a good rooster's roster, he wasn't the same coach at Cronulla or at the Eeels. Funny another so call great modern coach, Tim sheens wasn't the same after his green machine day's with maybe the best club side ever , radier's late 80's to 1995. Yes he got a title in 2005 at west tiger's, but after that not much. And coaching Australia, to success is hardly having to coach a team on struggle street.
oikee
Guest
Again Johnno, i agree, if we want to slow down the big men. At the moment i think the NRL is working at 100%. What do i mean, well i think we have a perfect balance between big men, small men and everyone in-between. You only have to look at the rabbits last night to see that we have the game close to spot on. Renolds Luke,,,,,, Burgess monsters and Inglis,,,,, Clarke Sutton Merrit. The game is allowing anyone who is good enough to play the game, which is and has to be, a fine balancing act to make sure our game produces the absolute best of the best. We can tweak that as you mentioned, and it is easy to slow down the big guys like Kasiano, Burgess boys and Tamou and others, but do we want to do that, or do we want to see a nice flow of big and small running together like Rhinos and Gazelle's, panthers and monkey's,,, all together mixing in a game that allows everyone to excell. Unless we see a heap of big players running roughshot year after year, i think we have it pretty right. these big guys slow down sooner or later, they hit the "no country for old men" syndrome sooner or later, and as Elijah has pointed out to me, no need to be throwing them on the sxcrapheap because we have changed the rules so much to kill their parade. Let's not rain on their parade. Let us let them breath, let us let them have their 30 seconds of glory,fame. I am loving the way the Burgess boys are taking the game by storm, and why not, they are supreme athletes, they are wonderful humans, and they are ours, our game is shining bright because of these boys. I really have no complaints, except maybe the video man, i am sure we will sort our differences soon enough. hehe.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
Absolutely agree Scott. I think Neil "King" Henry should abdicate the throne, or else suffer a revolution at the hands of disgruntled fans. I remember reading somewhere that the Cowboys were pushing for a big money contract to sign Bellamy or Bennett a few years ago but the Cowboys board blocked the idea. Overall his win rate is still worse than Graham Murray's and I don't think the King is getting the best out of the players. How I wish we had a coach like the Storm, Bulldogs or Knights.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
Agreed, cut the interchange and watch the small men's impact on the game return.
ScottWoodward.me
Roar Guru
Elijah I dont know about the players but the coach has certainly been there too long. If Bennett or Bellamy had coached this Cowboys team they would have had at least one P'ship by now. The recruitment, selections and fundamentals we expect from a well coached team like line speed, error counts, defensive structure are just not there.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
- Yes Johnno, player welfare was really non-existent in the 80's compared to the measures taken nowadays. I'm still not sure about it prolonging the careers of players overall. I guess we need to contact David Middleton about the average age a NRL player retires at compared to the last few decades. But in my opinion, players seem be retiring earlier now. - As I mentioned in the article, the game might be safer, but thugs and hitmen still exist. Matai hasn't curbed his violent behavior, and during last nights game (Broncos v Titans) I witnessed several high shots and swinging arms from Titans players. Greg Inglis could probably talk to you about the current state of safety in the game. Although the violence today is not as bad as it was in 50's-80's, it is still there and players are still retiring early due to injuries caused by grubs performing illegal moves. - Fair point, although a lot still go un-penalised by the refs One thing is for sure though, it would be great to see more "Noels" and less "Pearces" in the game.
Joe
Guest
Absolutely agree Johnno. Reducing the interchange would be a massive result for the game. And i'm only guessing here but I think that golden point would become near redundant. Near the end of the game, the value of the little fellas would be more apparent, tearing holes in tired defensive lines, even tough defensive outfits may start to resemble Swiss cheese. The game would probably be more entertaining as a result. Needless to say, I am by no means a hater of the gritty, defense orientated games. Some 'spectators' disagree, however.
Johnno
Guest
cut down the interchange , even more then. That will bring back the little men. Where endurance, and skill, 2 component's will be in bigger demand. Bring back the Gary Larson types , the types who can tackle all day, or Nathan Hindmarsh, or the little men like Alan Langer or Adrian Lam.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
Cheers Oikiee, you like your big fire don't you? I love my big fire too. Might get pretty chilly tonight, hopefully a freshly roasted chook will warm my soul.
oikee
Guest
Yes, i agree Johnno, a stint in England seems to do no harm either.