NRL in crisis? What crisis?

Given all the hysteria in the press lately, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the NRL was in a state of crisis. However, there really is no need to panic.

Although the game certainly has its share of issues right now, it is in no danger of folding anytime soon. In fact, given closer examination, most of the big issues are really quite small.

John and Luke go to Flagstaff
When the story about the USA arrest of John Sutton and Luke Burgess broke in the press, it was accompanied by mug shots of the pair. The then Rabbitohs captain was bleary eyed and looking worse for wear. Julie’s boy Luke didn’t look much better.

Last November they engaged in a fracas with a security guard after being asked to leave a bar in the Arizona town. Police subsequently arrested them on charges of disorderly conduct and held them for eight hours. The charges were later dropped and the two players released.

Allegations have since been made that the security guard was ‘given satisfaction’ in exchange for dropping the charges. While this term for me conjures up an image of slapping people in the face with gloves followed by pistol duels at dawn, the contention was that the security guard was given money in exchange for asking that the charges be dropped.

The story gained more momentum when it was suggested that the then South’s CEO, Shane Richardson – now the head of game strategy and development at NRL HQ – tried to cover up the incident. Richardson flatly rejects the allegations and said, as the charges were dropped, there was no obligation to report the matter.

While the whole thing didn’t look the best – and the mug shots made it all look pretty damning – it really is a storm in a tea cup. Firstly, do we really need to see every embarrassment that befalls an NRL player plastered across the press? Is it reasonable for us to expect that the NRL air all its dirty laundry in public? I’d think that the answer to both of these things is no.

I reckon Shane Richardson is right. Further, having been on the tail end of some very unjust treatment at the hands of bouncers in my time (as I’m sure many of you Roarers have too), isn’t it just possible that Burgess and Sutton were on the receiving end of an unfair situation themselves?

Regardless, it is hardly a disaster for South Sydney. One could frame a scenario where the situation was actually strategically advantageous for the Bunnies. While Luke Burgess is a handy player, he is hardly a star. He played 18 games last season, made an average of only 61 metres a match and only broke nine tackles while conceding 14 penalties.

After this incident Souths’ very valuable twins (Tom – 123 metres a game and George – 137 metres a game) would understand why their big brother was released to Manly and probably not get their backs up about it. Meanwhile, the Rabbitohs now have some room to manoeuvre salary cap wise.

That Sutton was also involved in the Flagstaff incident was arguably even more advantageous for the Bunnies. While he has been an excellent and long-serving stalwart at the Redfern club, his star has surely been waning. While his 13 line break assists and 12 try assists in 2014 were okay, his average of 69 metres a game was well down on his almost 100 a game in 2013.

Compare that to Greg Inglis’ 153 metres a match, 116 tackle breaks, 19 line breaks and 13 tries. With those NRL leading stats it’s easy to see why Inglis’ manager Allan Gainey says that he is fielding inquiries each week from all over the world about the boy from Bowraville. Apparently an overseas agent has even been engaged to shop Inglis around to French Rugby union clubs.

With the departure of Jarryd Hayne to the NFL, Greg Inglis is arguably the best player in the NRL. He is certainly the jewel in the Rabbitohs’ crown. They absolutely don’t want him to follow the recent departure of talisman Sam Burgess. To keep him, South Sydney will be prepared to offer whatever they can – as well as whatever Dave Smith can find under his car seats and in the centre console. One of the key things the Bunnies could offer Inglis was the captaincy of the famous Redfern club. After Sutton went out in Flagstaff that scenario was made all the more feasible.

While the above scenario may not be the way things went down, the whole matter is certainly not a crisis.

The peel off rule
Another big drama was caused when the NRL rules committee announced that players must peel off the tackled player more quickly in 2015 or face penalties. Now we all know that wrestling and holding down the tackled player is a central part of defensive strategy. It stops an attacking team’s momentum and gives your defensive line more time to reset. Basically, it stops your opponents scoring. So if you have to get off your opponents faster they will score more tries, right? Well yes, they most probably will.

Apparently lots of people blame Wayne Bennett for this move and say that he has too much influence on the game. It is interesting to note that Wayne’s Newcastle sides have been in the bottom three for penalties conceded over the last two seasons. Given that, it is hard for me to see why his influence is a bad thing. However, it is far more noteworthy that the four sides that contested the preliminary finals in 2014 were all in the top six sides for penalties conceded. Further, in 2013 the two most ill-disciplined sides of the year contested the grand final.

Sides are conceding more penalties than ever before. There were 365 more penalties conceded in 2014 than in 2013. In 2013 the average penalties per side per game was 5.5. In 2014 that rose massively to 6.4. It is clear then that conceding penalties poses virtually no disincentive whatsoever. In fact (as I’ve been saying for a while now) conceding penalties is clearly a defensive strategy for some clubs. Players will continue to hold down the tackled player.

Effectively all this rule change will mean is that more penalties will be given away. The only way any inroads will be made into stopping these spoiling tactics is if the refs start using the sin bin for repeated infringements. Nothing less will make a difference. This rule change is certainly not a crisis.

Player exodus?
This week two stories made big news. The first was that Manly star Daly Cherry-Evans had visited the Titans’ facilities up on the Gold Coast. The talented number seven is off contract at the end of the year and is bound to attract very big offers. Tim Prentice’s excellent piece called for a player transfer window and I reckon he is spot on. The last thing any club and their supporters need is constant speculation about player movements while they are trying to remain focussed on the season at hand.

The other story that came to light, as mentioned above, is that Greg Inglis’ manager is receiving offers for the superstar player on a weekly basis and that an agent has been hired to shop him around to French rugby union clubs. This is concerning as Inglis is contracted at the Rabbitohs until the end of 2017. That’s another three seasons and yet he is allegedly being offered up for contract?

While Inglis, Cherry-Evans and their managers are entitled to shop around for the biggest deal possible, it really is unsettling to the fans who place so much hope and faith in them. But here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter if Inglis goes and plays for Toulon, or if Cherry-Evans goes to the Titans. The reality is that fans don’t support players, they support clubs.

Players come and go. Some leave for other clubs, some retire and some get dropped. Go back and look at your club’s team lists from five seasons ago and you’ll be surprised by just how many players you’d forgotten about. Great players may leave to other clubs, or go to union, or even to go to the NFL, but at the end of the day they will be replaced and new heroes will rise.

We all have our favourites at any given time, but in reality we – the long term, rusted on club members – are the clubs. Far more so than the great majority of the players. A player can hope to play for 15 seasons at most. I’ve already been a devoted fan of my side for over three decades and I’m hoping for another four. While there are tens of thousands of NRL fans out there just like me, I don’t think we have a crisis on our hands.