As I watched the heart-wrenching interview with Alex McKinnon and his girlfriend Teaghan Power unfold I had a tear in my eye.
I’m sure a large number of viewers would have been in a similar position as they witnessed the courage and determination of Alex and the unbridled love and support of Teaghan.
It really struck a chord with me, but alas Liz Hayes and Channel Nine had to manipulate a beautiful love story to depict the captain of the Melbourne Storm, Queensland State Of Origin team and Kangaroos as an insensitive and uncaring human being.
To assassinate Cameron Smiths’ character on national TV, to not mention the concerted effort that Smith and the Melbourne Storm have made to contact Alex and to take what Smith said out of context was a disgrace. It painted Smith in a bad light and gave him no chance of reply.
Make no mistake, Smith is a decent human being and a man of integrity who gives of his time generously to a number of charities and to rugby league fans. How do I know this? Because I have had the pleasure of meeting Smith on a handful of occasions and have seen firsthand why he is an ornament to the game of rugby league.
For a multi-Logie award winning TV programme to show Alex only 30 seconds footage of Smith talking to the referee with negative connotations was misleading to say the least. It took place after Alex McKinnon had been taken from the field, something that Liz Hayes conveniently forgot to mention or she had done insufficient research to know the true facts of the story.
Another clever ploy by Channel Nine, which they used to maximum effect, was to not beep out the audible obscenities from Alex after he had viewed the footage. This would have had an impact on a large number of viewers and pulled at their heartstrings, far from impartial reporting I would have thought, if anything it came across as being bias.
For Channel Nine to portray Smith as a villain and manipulate the McKinnon story to boost their TV ratings and garner more interest in the State Of Origin decider was an embarrassment for not only the TV station, but also the game of rugby league.
I hope that Liz Hayes and 60 minutes are proud of themselves for tarnishing the reputation of arguably rugby league’s greatest ever hooker. The onus is now on them to apologise publicly to Cameron Smith for bringing his integrity in to question and for driving a wedge between him and Alex McKinnon.
Cass
Guest
Jj vlad - This could have been just about any captain in the NRL - they all push the referees to the limit because they are directed to by the coaches because it has become such a business. Winning is everything or they lose their jobs. Jamie Lyon is relentless, Michael Ennis is absolutely disrespectful to everyone and we all saw James Graham loose it completely this year. Paul Gallen argued in defence of his players in last weeks SOO about lifing tackles. All of these men seem decent human beings off the field. Cameron Smith just happened to be the captain of the opposition on the day and to say that this reflects his personality is absolutely ridiculous and close minded. Its ok to not like Smith because of footy but to bring his personality or integrity into doubt because of this is just petty.
Hans
Guest
What happened to tonights mailbag. Very disappointed that the glorious Liz Hayes did not have the courage to back up her personal attack on Cameron Smith. In support of the Daily Telegraph you have successfully placed both the McKinnon and Smith families in a very embarrassing situation. Good work Liz always thought you were genuine. You lost us. No more rubbish 60 minutes.
Cubb
Guest
But Gal wouldn't of done the same thing as CS did in this instance, and that is the 'Big Crunch' to the whole matter. Yeah, Gal (might of taken drugs, might of?) and he might have been a grub (under forced circumstances in SOO) but Gal is as tough as they come without any holds barred and CS is not and he carries on like a “Sooky Sook”!
Jackson Henry
Roar Guru
She stitched up Bozo as well. Well, it was a very muted criticism. That, I have not seen from the Faily Telegraph.
wombat
Guest
Hey Adam ,not much "vision " shown when arguing with the ref as McKinnon is getting carried off on a stretcher . Maybe that relentless quest for success and victory is what causes someone to get something so wrong . And won it counted there was zero compassion shown,it was all about the penalty and winning the game ,that was Smiths priority ,that's why it looked so bad and I would suggest why he has nothing to say about the whole thing. His precious reputation has been tarnished ,by his own actions. He could of course fix this by actually admitting he got it wrong and apologising ,but maybe he is still all butt hurt about being exposed . By the way how would anyone in Mckinnons situation react if they saw the Australian captain blaming him for ducking his head ,seriously Smith really got it wrong and what is making it worse is not admitting it .
smell the fear
Guest
a few days late?
smell the fear
Guest
opinion
KillaKanga
Roar Rookie
We the "little" people can have a direct affect on shoddy/vicious reporting by entities such as 60 Minutes/Liz Hayes etc. It requires a willingness to contact the major sponsors of gutter journalism (what the show has become) and advise said sponsors...... "As Long As You Continue To Sponsor This Show I Will NEVER Avail Myself Of Your Product/s" . If you go after the money supply it suddenly gets the attention of those in a position to do something about it . If enough people sign up to this action , you would be surprised how swiftly change would come about , but don't just do it yourself . Ask your friends and families if they are willing to assist in forcing a change of direction in order to prevent the media from participating in one sided character assassinations ......a 60 minutes specialty of late .
Adam
Guest
Jj that comment makes little to no sense whatsoever and thanks for speaking (on behalf of all fans by the way). I'm from NSW and my team has lost grand finals to Melb,and I am a fan of Cameron Smith. An amazing player and leader who clearly has great vision on the field and is articulate off it. Reading your comment, fact is if he had been your clubs hooker for the last 10 years you would probably own his no 9 jersey. So your reason for disliking him isn't actually because of what he does on the field, but simply because you are jealous of his success. Smith is relentless in his quest for success and victory, many people who succeed in this world are. But what that has to do with a persons ability to show compassion, as you suggest, I don't know.
tony
Guest
Cant agree more seems more and more a ratings grab that they didn't want the truth to get in the way of. As for Alex I hope he thinks about was has now happened and meets with Cam behind closed doors and NO CAMERAS or PAID interview.
Big Willy TBU
Guest
Agree 100%
Simoc
Guest
Yes McKinnon is a lot better off than every other one in his unfortunate state and is trying to cash in on the NSW goodwill. Channel 9 has never have had any credibility with news or events other than sport and now they're losing that. Cheque book journalism its called. They pay to re-invent the story and the way its told. Its for the headlines which they hope translate to more viewers which equals more advertising power. Its great that Cameron Smith didn't respond and boycotted the 9 clowns but I think he should just move on. His detractors will never like him and I don't really care what they they think. They are born losers and Cameron is a winner and always has been.
Birdy
Guest
I think the whole world is in love with Teaghan. Surely CH9 can get her a job replacing Liz Hayse
Jackson Henry
Roar Guru
One of the key reasons behind RL never having reached its potential is due to its tribalism - which, in fairness, is its best and worst asset. Getting an outsider to run the show is one of the best things to have ever happened. You just couldn't trust a RL figure to put aside their club / state allegiances and do what's best for the game. It's a real shame. They've had their go - to put it mildly. If nothing changes then nothing changes. If the price we pay is that these outsiders get the players names wrong, well, I'm happy with that.
Wayne Lovell
Roar Guru
Ha! I think the commission and Smith is doing a great job, you guys who still have that city comp mentality wont be happy until an ex-nsw origin player is running the game again, good luck finding one that always that has "management and corporate acumen" Our comp cost money, that means it needs to make some, that makes its a business, business people should be in charge of that, if the person in charge of the money has limited understanding of the game them hire someone who does to cover those areas of the business. Pretty logical stuff really.
Wayne Lovell
Roar Guru
Your right he wouldnt but Gal is an ACTUAL grub with a history and a drug cheat to boot. Gal probably wouldnt have got the same support from NSW that Cam did from QLD.
Cubb
Guest
Yea with the Queenslanders its 'ALL A ONE WAY STREET' with biased viewing and biased supporting, which was very evident in SOO 3 against any decision made by the referees and if these decisions wouldn't of gone their way anything could and would have happened. Smith (as some other captains) goes over the top (week in and week out) and these are the results that can and will happen. It's about time that there were some rules implemented (as is in RU) of what a captain can and is allowed to question the referees about.
Zero Gain
Guest
Exactly right. All those acting indignantly over Smith's innocent words are stone cold silent about the disgraceful and dangerous lifting tackles in SOO3. How stupid is it to focus your anger at somebodies words rather than the physical act of aggression that causes the injury? I fear that Alex is being led down the wrong path. Why hasn't he instigated legal action against those responsible? Is he being manipulated by those in the firing line?
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
John Grant is at the top(chairman in fact).As a former Kangaroo ,I propose he knows something about the sport ,to which he represented at the highest level.
Jj vlad
Guest
@aurthur. That's what happens when you have two guys at the top who know nothing about the sport. Couldn't the bum commission have found someone who understands the game and it's rule in addition to management and corporate acumen. Greenberg looks like he's too frail to play touch footy and smith still learning the names of the 16 teams. Lord help us.