It’s been a funny few weeks in the world of rugby league. Remarkably, Manly’s David Williams was charged with affray and offensive behaviour at a Kings Cross nightclub.
This is remarkable not for the act in question, but that a north-shore resident would be caught dead on the other side of the bridge.
Perhaps he was lost.
Then there’s the Blues Origin great Glenn Lazarus leading the inimitable (in a bad way) Clive Palmer’s senate ticket in the next Federal Election. I don’t know much about the Brick’s politics, but I suppose credit must be given as his political career has lasted longer than his Queensland rival, Big Mal.
Meanwhile, Phil Gould has done something no-one ever expected him to do, something even the Fonz could never bring himself to do – he’s admitted that he was wr…wr….wr….wrong.
Yep, he had it all wrong about Golden Point. Such was the magnitude of Gould’s proclamation that the earth briefly ceased rotating on its axis.
In that vein, I want to write something different – read “positive” – about our great game. After all, there has been so much negativity lately that it’s worth taking time to think of the countless things about rugby league that bring joy to so many thousands of fans.
And to be honest, I’m sick of all the opinion pieces about Gal’s punch (and yes, I am guilty of writing one as well).
Reading the commentary about rugby league players, one would be forgiven for thinking that they are the dregs of society. But the reality is that most players are just…well…ordinary blokes.
Crime? I don’t know the stats, but I would surmise that rugby league players are no more likely to commit a crime than members of the general population.
Drugs? I’ve spent most of my working life working in financial services (forgive me) and I reckon the proportion of employees at many large financial services firms who regularly take recreational drugs is higher than in rugby league.
Alcohol abuse? There has been much concern about binge-drinking among young Australians (and the violence that often ensues).
Again, I don’t know if the stats bear this out, but I would assume that a smaller proportion of professional rugby league players have a “problem” with alcohol than the general population. After all, drinking excessively is not in keeping with the level of training and fitness regimes professional footballers are required to maintain.
Unethical behaviour? Are rugby league players any more or less ethical than, say politicians? Or real estate agents? Or bookmakers? Or lawyers?
I don’t necessarily know the answer, but am perplexed as to why we apply a different set of moral and ethical standards to our sportspeople than to others in the public (and private) eye.
We can also compare rugby league players to athletes from other professional sports and the vast majority appear as veritable angels.
Take American football as an example. Until a rugby league player is charged with dog-fighting (Michael Vick) or murder (Aaron Hernandez) or heavy weapons charges, I’ll take our players any day.
Interestingly, in the days since Hernandez was charged with first-degree murder, the prices fetched for his memorabilia in the United States has sky-rocketed. I don’t know what that says about American society, but it aint pretty.
Of course, I shouldn’t tar all NFL players with the same brush, but nor should we do the same to rugby league players. In reality, the worst crime committed by many rugby league players is appearing in a women’s clothing on The Footy Show – oh the horror.
One of the best lines I have come across recently was in a Sydney Morning Herald article that stated that “for every Blake Ferguson there are any number of Nathan Merritts involved in rugby league”.
It’s something we too easily forget. Run through the team sheets of any first-grade NRL team and you’ll find them filled with decent, hard-working and honest men.
Men who regularly and in their own personal time visit children’s hospitals to give succour and joy to sick kids.
Men who – again unlike the “heroes” from other major sports – spending time signing autographs for fans after matches (witness the Rabbitohs and Raiders players taking photographs with fans after the match last Friday).
Men who have the same fears and goals and yearnings and dreams as the rest of us and who ultimately are not “role models” – at least, no more than a TV news reporters or rock singers or Hollywood actors.
It’s a sad fact, but we rarely hear the media talk about the good things that our players do. I’d love to hear stories from fellow Roarers about some of the positive things that they’ve seen and witnessed coming from our game.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Think jimc is referring to the officialdom,media types and the ones(more than a handfull) who originate from the systems involved.There are of course exceptions to any rule,and one cannot generalise. But it would be foolish to suggest, it does not exist ,is clearly wrong as evidenced by comments on this site as an example over the years by various public comments by a few.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
Spot on Chrissy, do you still leave messages on Phil Hughes' phone regarding batting tips?
Chris Martin
Roar Rookie
Rugby League , a player test positive to cocaine , 2 year ban. Music industry - Kurt Cobain , Jimmy Hendrix , Micheal Jackson , Elvis Presley , Amy Winehouse , Whitney Houston all die from drugs or side effects and are all immortalised.
Nick
Guest
i love my league but I think a lot of the negativity comes from the marketing. Most of the time it's marketed to dumb nuts. If the posterboys can't string a sentance together and constantly talk about going the biff as if they punched on at every trigger throughout their careers... you can't then turn around and say why is everyone being negative? That's just... dumb.
yeah, right!
Guest
Jim, you are clearly a very balanced man.. chip on both shoulders. Not sure if the guys I played rugby with and against in Dundas Valley, Hornsby, Blacktown, and Parramatta were snobs, but I'll take it from you.
crashy
Guest
I agree with your article Con. Gang rape is not just a rugby league problem, its a society problem.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
I think its you that missed the mark completely oikee. Paul Weyman just got his degree in Civil Engineering. Is he not tough enough? Be sure to say that to his face if you ever see him. I think its great that league keeps these blokes off the streets. But none of that matters to mum and dad supporters. All they see is a bunch of blokes who cant string two words together and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a beer.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
I really appreciate you writing a positive article Con. I was so sick of seeing nothing but Gallen related stories for the past few weeks. Young Tariq Sims of the Cowboys spends a lot of his time up at the local learning disability school where I used to volunteer for school. The stuff some of my mates get up to on the weekends is probably just as bad as this. I though your comparison of rugby league players to NFL players was really refreshing, kind of makes people think that our boys really aren't that bad. The only point of contention is your grouping of lawyers with "politicians". As the saying goes, politicians are mostly people who have too little morals and ethics to stay lawyers. Cheers for the great read!
JimC
Guest
Mostly the anti-league brigade are essentially fighting a class war. From the rugby union people (in Australia) its a combination of envy and snobbery. They continue to bash rugby league players but seem blind to the fact that rugby league players are a reflection on the society they inhabit, Even the players they bribed at a young age and put into their elite schools (Kurtley Beale!!) are not immune to the surrounding culture. It really is pathetic and the others that jump on the bandwagon (AFL zealots, soccer fans yearning to live in Europe) are just opportunistically chipping at a rival even though in their heart of hearts they know it's not the rules of the game or the shape of the goalposts that influence behaviour, it's the surrounding culture.
Wilson Flatley
Roar Rookie
Tough blokes with Prem. Rings? (manly fan)
Jo
Guest
Tall poppy syndrome.. People love to bash and keep down those who want to succeed and do succeed.
The eye
Guest
Yes of course you're right there,but if they've got an opinion on a try as it goes upstairs I want to hear it,especially if its different to the one sent back to the ref..haven't heard them tell the ref how to run the game,apart from the fighting incidents.Havent heard many clever analogies for a long time,Alexander probably surpasses Sterlo on that these days.
oikee
Guest
Bom. As Poirot would say.
oikee
Guest
Hello, i sink in the boot, as Poirot would say, and nobody hears me,. Bom. Possitives, Rugby League "on tour" this weekend. Draw made, Broncos and Rabbits, the two powerhouse clubs got top billing, Friday night live. Bom.
oikee
Guest
You miss the mark completely, Uni students are not tough enough to play league, yes we take the lowest common donominator, of course we do,,, why,,, because they would tear you a new one. We want the best, to get the best you look at the bottom dwellers, the bottom feeders and kiwis and islanders. Not knocking them, but without rugby league, what are they,? chitlings. You be thankful rugby league keeps them off the streets, unlike the mess south africa got itself into. The NFL is simply the AFL of Australia, has trouble to bring through coloured race, which is why they have had the issues they have with racial abuse. Rugby league puts out indigenous players up in light. Thurston, Inglis, Mundine, Beetson, Renouf and Blacklock, all adored by RUGBY LEAGUE FANS. Mny many more as well, i tipped the iceburg as Poirot would say.
Neil
Guest
As a casual League supporter I say league is ran well. To run any football code in the modern media 24 hour news cycle where journos are waiting for the next slip up to occur is difficult to say the least. What all football codes need are good ambassador s for their sport.
Renegade
Guest
I've seen this happen as well...i saw a guy wanting to punch on with Greg Bird right in front of everyone just because he was Greg Bird and he was there. Bird didn't take the bait and instead decided to leave the joint so nothing escalated even though he was the one being harrassed. At the same time, i've also seen the opposite occur once where Isaac Luke carried on like a tough grub thinking he can do whatever he wants because he is an elite sportsman.
Wayne
Guest
What you also do not see is the idiots that want to fight players for no other reason than to say they knocked out a star. Worked at a leagues club when I was younger that will not be mentioned here and the number of times this happened made me feel sorry for some of the players involved. Not saying they were angels but maybe it is the same case with David Williams.
me, I like football
Guest
Was Gould for or against the Golden Point?
Epiquin
Roar Guru
If we're making comparisons with NFL, I think there's one thing that makes a difference in the eyes of mum-and-dad spectators. Most NFL players come through the college system. They speak well in front of a Camera and occupy the upper echelons of society. NRL players are mostly not university educated and are plucked from high school and given a contract young (I know there are exceptions and I don't mean to generalise). Its no secret that league is 'the working class game' and many players can barely fix two words together on TV. When it appears in the news that a player has committed an indiscretion, it just reaffirms to all the mums what they've already decided: That rugby league is a game for thugs. A key component of any news story is that it must reaffirm its audiences beliefs. I don't mean this in a disrespectful way, its just what I've observed.