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There truly is never a dull day in the life of a rugby league lover.
Over the past year, I have been so impressed with the direction our sport is going. In the past year alone, the sport has achieved so much.
Under the leadership of people like Dave Smith, I have seen real change, with bold visions for the governance structures of our clubs, the participation of the players in various community initiatives and the commitment to ensure that we have diversity at all levels of the game.
The NRL is truly heading in the right direction.
However, if we are going to take this game into the next century and ensure its survival for generations to come, then everyone (and I mean everyone) needs to come along for the ride.
It was with tremendous disappointment that I kept my ear very close to the ground on Friday and heard whispers that a series of Gold Coast Titans players had been involved in a drug scandal. The story has developed over the weekend, with it being announced today that Greg Bird and Big Dave Taylor (one of my favourites) have been stood down by the Titans after being linked to the scandal.
They join other members of the Titans – Beau Falloon, Jamie Dowling and Kalifa Faifai Loa – in being served with notices to appear in court. Already there is talk of more than 100 people being involved in what will be an ongoing investigation. The TAB has already shutdown its markets for the wooden spoon this year.
When I heard about this news I was embarrassed and disappointed. Embarrassed because I have once again found myself defending the sport I love to detractors, all because of the alleged actions of a couple of buffoons. Embarrassed because I could spend all day talking about the excellent work in the community that so many players and clubs are committed to. I’m disappointed as a fan and disappointed for the administration, who must feel like they are taking one step forward and two steps back.
I cannot stress this enough – this, coupled with the issues that the Titans are facing in their back office, is enough to destroy the club. In addition to this drug scandal, Gold Coast are a club which is struggling financially in a major way. They do not have a sponsor for this year, and following the events of the last few days are unlikely to find one.
We have seen the impact that a scandal of this size can have on a club. The Sharks are still reeling following the ASADA drug scandal almost two years on. It creates uncertainty for fans, sponsors, the team and any players who would have had a potential interest in coming to the club. All these factors combined will almost certainly lead to one thing – financial devastation.
Kudos to the NRL and Dave Smith however for coming out strong. Dave Smith has promised that he will be coming down hard on the players involved. This is consistent with the approach that the new leadership has shown towards players behaving badly and sends a strong message that this behaviour will not be tolerated.
Rugby league is a microcosm of society. There will always be mistakes and there will always be players who bring the game into disrepute. However, the charges which are looking to be levelled at these players are extremely serious and the NRL is correct in taking a strong stance towards them.
Our game is a business and these players are causing damage to our brand. Damage to a brand which other players and other stakeholders in the game work hard to create and to preserve. This is another opportunity for the NRL to say no to this sort of behaviour and send a clear message to the community that the rugby league community will not tolerate behaviour of this nature.
To the Gold Coast Titans fans out there – I urge you to be brave and stick with your club. They need you more than ever.
@ladieswholeague