Having just finished a furious 40 minutes of rugby league at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, North Queensland Cowboys skipper Johnathan Thurston heads toward the sheds – but not before doing an interview with Channel Nine’s sideline commentator Darren Lockyer.
After finishing the interview, Thurston drags his weary legs to the tunnel. He turns his head slightly and sees a young Brisbane supporter sitting in the front row with a big grin on her face.
If he kept on walking there would have been no hard feelings. Instead he changed direction, headed for the girl and handed her his headgear like he has done countless times before.
That young fan would have gone to school on Monday the envy of her classmates. The NRL should be thanking their lucky stars they have players like Thurston.
Because of that small gesture from Thurston, the NRL has a fan for life in that little girl.
On the same night in Gosford where Manly-Warringah outmuscled South Sydney, this writer picked up something that means absolutely nothing in the big scheme of things.
The Eagles kicked for the try-line with Souths’ superstar Greg Inglis watching the ball safely go dead in-goal. The ball evidently fell into the lap of a photographer who had taken a position at the north-western end of Central Coast Stadium.
Inglis didn’t just snatch the ball back and go on his merry way like many others might have.
The photographer tossed the ball up to Inglis, who in turn accepted the footy and tapped his new buddy on the top of the head.
Back in Round 1 at Pirtek Stadium, the New Zealand Warriors went down to the Parramatta Eels. In one passage of play, an Eels player knocked the corner post clean out of the ground at the southern end.
Ninety-nine per cent of players would have never thought twice about re-planting the unloved old corner post.
But for a few moments, friendly giant Manu Vatuvei forgot he was in a cut-throat NRL contest and went to work making sure the corner post took its rightful place back in the hallowed Parramatta turf.
These moments mean nothing right now, but they say something about the players we barely get to see.
Most NRL players are thoughtful, honest and respectful. Some are funny, quirky and you might be surprised by how much they have to say if they were given the chance to say it.
Yet we may never get to see what these men are really like while they are locked up by their paranoid, obsessive employers.
While putting together work for Totally Rugby League magazine, this writer was hoping to do a story on Burleigh Bears’ new recruit and former Penrith and Wests front-rower Matt Bell.
After a phone call to the club I was asked to send through an e-mail. Less than 24 hours later I received an e-mail back saying Bell didn’t want to do interviews. Perhaps that was Bell’s decision, perhaps not.
A few days later it was the same old story with the Canterbury Bulldogs. This time I wanted to speak to promising young NSW Cup forward Lachlan Burr. This time there was no response at all.
Surely letting Burr, a player who has only seen first grade on one occasion, do an interview helps promote their club and especially their NSW Cup team. If clubs aren’t even letting NSW Cup players speak to the media now, what will it be like in a few years’ time?
The more we hear from our players, the better off we will be. They are the reason we watch the game in the first place. A club can’t make money without the players which makes it absurd to keep them from facing up to the media.
There is a difference between protecting your product and destroying the relationship between players and media, because the media is the link between the players and the public.
Hopefully the time will come when, whether through a player revolt or even the NRL stepping in, we will see the clubs unlock their dead-bolted front doors and let the players reconnect with the fans.
Then we might see membership and crowds really grow.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
I don't think that's the golden goose. You will find most like me signed up for $2 a week subscripition, which I generally cancel when I can't use it. Works out at about $40 a year then. WIth my season ticket (really all members should get this for free!) even at the price it's at I aint going to throw money away.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
And their in lies a different issue. The newspapers just don't have the money to send people to all the games, especially when they are in Melbourne, so they just use a local correspondent who is there to cover Melbourne and has no interest in covering the Panthers.
Muzz
Guest
The media have made their bed so sod them !! I also think that the NRL wants to cash in and clubs will get their cut with us getting our news and player interviews via the new Digital Pass.There are already more than 2 million registered at $90,thats a lot of dough. Ironically the media will have to pay for their Digital Pass if they wish to find out whats going on in S Burgess,SBW,GI etc etc life.
Storm Boy
Guest
The NRL clubs should stop recruiting players based on their ability to the play the game and concentrate on getting those that can speak more proper.
Storm Boy
Guest
Panthers did the media conference at the required time and place but there were no media there. The Melbourne based media were only interested in the Storm.
Curtis Woodward
Expert
Agree that certain people have made it their job to report anything and everything. I'll put it this way, I've been out at the same nightclub as the NSW Origin side and saw plenty. Did I text someone or snap photos? No. I've been out on the drink with an Origin player who is now at an interstate club and watched him hijack a DJ's set. Did I say anything? No. Those people reporting the tabloid stuff aren't really rugby league journalists.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
I back the players. I can hear my team's players interviews regularly on the club website. I'm sorry, but in recent years the 'traditional' media have done the biggest hatchet job on the code in its history. There are those who say the media make innuendo because players don't make them selves available. But the media go a step further, they lie and exaggerate. This is the lowest ebb between players & journalists and I'm afraid the only way forward is for the NRL to give the list of several journalists and ask them to never be part of the game again. Then perhaps we may have the sort of relationship & news the media & players want.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
The NRL needs to show leadership here by training it's high profile players to speak properly and how to present themselves to the media. The players are paid, not just to win footy games, but to promote the game and the NRL is doing them a disservice by not giving hem proper media training.
John
Guest
All NRL players should be made to do whatever media interviews are requested of them - end of story.
Matt
Guest
Love the NFL films. How good is "America's Game". Really it shouldn't be so hard. I like the idea of sitting five players down mid week asking the media in and giving them stories straight from the horses mouth. If journos abuse these sessions or don't accurately report what's given. Don't invite them back .
DMW
Guest
I don't hear the clubs and players complaining, only the journo's. So if the tactic isn't working, why continue to do it then? Personally I don't need the traditional media to know the players of my club, nor the goings on at the club.
Robz
Guest
Exactly, what clubs and players don't realise is that negative media articles largely are written because media have such little access to the players and aren't able to get to know them
DMW
Guest
The irony if one can call it that goes even further... Tim Mannah was very vocal in detailing his concerns re: the new concussion rule possibly being exploited. Yet a week later he himself is suspended along with his mate Lussick for indiscretions involving attacking the heads of opposing players, and both in the same match. Surely Mannah as captain could have found a few more words to try and now dispel the notion that Norman's opinion is not the predominant view held at Parramatta. @Curtis, To address your topic, as of this moment onward I'm not interested in anything Messrs Mannah, Lussick or Norman have to say. But more importantly for the NRL is the fact that I couldn't give a rat's @$$ about Parramatta's woes as a club given they've had almost 48hrs to set the record straight and haven't. So you and every other journo who chooses to write on such subjects won't be enjoying my readership. Now, had any journo sought a reaction from Mannah as captain, or from the Parramatta club in response to Norman's statement in the press, then I'd have been the first reading. Now you tell me where the problem is...
Fenpatch
Guest
I've always enjoyed the Darius Boyd interviews. So much meaning with so few words.
Stevo@Lennox
Guest
Nice article Curtis. But I actually think the problem is that most PR merchants, clubs and players, for that matter, don't understand the media. The players, not just in the NRL for that matter, believe that the media should only write positive stories on them, in effect, be their cheerleaders. While this is the case in the majority of sports stories you see in the newspaper, the media is also there to hold them to account for their performance, on and off the field, particularly since all codes of football became professional. It's funny, politicians get a much more severe plastering in the media than any footballer ever has, but they still front up and make themselves available understanding the role of the fourth estate. Footballers need to toughen up and take the good with the bad. If a journo does you wrong, don't cop it, ring them and their bosses and let your feelings known. However, don't be so naïve that journos are there only to write positive copy about you. Personally, I love it when a footballer has something different to say. I love listening to an Anthony Mundine interview, a Nick 'Honey Badger' Cummins interview, I loved the dobber stuff between the Waratahs and Brumbies, etc. How refreshing is it when a footballer has a sense of humour, has something insightful to say or just speaks the truth without using clichés.
Benedict Arnold
Guest
Well everything written here makes sense. Unfortunately on the weekend Penrith didn't do a media conference post match and everything you point out to here reminds me of it. The main issue imo is the attitude towards it (media). Clubs are required to wait post match to do a press conference as per nrl rules. This was what happened: on the weekend cam and billy played in a milestone game and were obviously interviewed by media on the ground immediately after the siren while there was a small presentation - media present including fox, the broadcaster. Meanwhile (allegedly) cleary and kingston were inside and waited for a bit, and once they thought the media weren't coming went back into the sheds. What happens next is the funny part. They were approached outside the sheds to come and do their post-match press conference but declined because they said they waited for the minimum requirement of 15 minutes to do the thing, and because of that would not be participating any further. Additionally to that they released a club statement reasoning why. What I find hard to believe is that there are "policies" in place that allows clubs to get out of such occurrences. Surely if there was a post match press conference policy that makes it 'absolutely' mandatory we wouldn't have these petty excuses to veto doing media. I just find it hypocritical that a clubs take this attitude. Especially when Gould aka mr penrith talks about how we need to compete in all areas and engage with the fans...
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
Though I do notice the distinct lack of replies to articles just about players, and whats happening unless there is a negative angle to it. Have a look at the highest rating articles and a common theme emerges on what gets clicks, so in part, fans are part of the problem, and the media is producing articles that we want to click on.
NORDBURG
Guest
Exhibit A of why clubs put a ban on players talking to the media-Corey Norman yesterday.About as bright as a blackout -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Dogs Of War
Roar Guru
Its a catch 22 situation. If players feel they are being mistreated by the media, then they won't be so willing to talk, but the media on the other hand still needs to produce a story, and then will rely on gossip and innuendo because the players aren't available, and thus the player feels they are being mistreated. What needs to happen and in some forms it already does, it say once a week, every club must make itself available for 1hr for a media question day, where they have to produce 5 players who played in the last game at the very minimum (with max 10mins of questions directed at each player). I think the NRL could arrange something with all the teams so that every Tuesday\Wednesday/Thursday covers all the team fairly evenly and distributes some feel good articles about the game and personalities. Invite media down to see some of the off field activities clubs do in the community so they can be covered. If the media doesn't want to do it, then the NRL should be promoting this sort of stuff. The NRL also should be grabbing some of the content produced by each NRL clubs website and promoting the best of those articles onto it's own site. Even if it's a link to the article on clubs site. I'd like to see the NRL setup something similar to NFL films, and produce doco's on great teams of the past with commentary by players from those teams, as well as doco's on great players (Beaver, Lewis etc), so the history of the game is recorded for all time. These then should be available on the website. Grab stuff that they have already produced, the NRL for the centenary of the game, had a site which had the top 100 tries of all time and players, this site has now dissapeared, when it was something that people who aren't aware of the history of the game, or just want to take a trip down memory lane could have really enjoyed what was produced. So many other things they can do, they really need to just look at what American sports do, and ensure we follow a similar path with player availability. Seems to be no end of stories coming from even small market teams like my Bengals, let alone the big market teams such as Washington. Americian media have worked out it's the personalities that make the sport, if you feel close to a player, then you will have more attachment to the team, and also want to read more about that personality. Granted not eveything is going to change overnight, but I do think that getting the ball rolling on this would help. I'm sure a few of the teams who are struggling like Cronulla and Wests would have no problems getting started on this process so it can be refined to make something the media want to cover. Not to mention we would see less stories about crowds and the like, but there is more content to cover, and much easier articles to write. Those rumor type articles won't dissapear, but they will be less likely to be all you read about.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Willie Mason, Robbie Farah and Paul Kent had an interesting discussion about this on NRL 360 last week. Kent was saying that the players aren't talking to him they're talking to the public through him and that if they want to big $$ then they have a duty to promote the game. All fair points. Mason and Farah said that there's been heaps of times that they speak to a reporter for 15 minutes about the game and the reporter takes one innocuous comment and turns it into a hysterical headline.