Why won't the clubs let the players talk?

On Monday, when Johnathan Thurston and Cameron Smith didn’t turn up for the annual NRL Captain’s Call – a media event designed to celebrate and draw attention to the beginning of the NRL finals – the rumblings started.

Since then, it’s been my observation that there is a growing level of discontent from a number of rugby league journalists who have become frustrated with clubs for repeatedly knocking back requests for interviews with players.

What seems to have riled up these journos is that the lack of access to players being afforded to them by clubs is occurring just before the most important period of the season, the finals.

While a club bunkering down as it heads into a finals campaign isn’t unheard of, it seems the general vibe from league journalists is that, at a time when the game should be jumping at the chance to promote itself, clubs are closing the door and shutting down the ability for journalists to talk to players and generate any new media attention.

It’s generally accepted that the number one priority for a club is for its football team to win. From winning, all the good things flow: sponsorship, crowds, revenue. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that clubs will act in their own best interests if they determine it will assist on-field performance.

The official line from the Storm and Cowboys for their captains not attending the call may have been related to sickness but, while it may not be detrimental to their causes, each club could legitimately claim that sending a bloke to Sydney for a photo shoot certainly wouldn’t enhance their ability to succeed in the finals.

When I asked Daily Telegraph sports journalist Richard Hinds whether he thought the reduction of access to players was a growing trend, as the NRL builds their in-house media capability and control the message, he replied “No. It’s clubs using a loophole in rules to dodge commitment to promote their game”.

Stephen Buckley, Marketing and Communications Manager for the Brisbane Broncos was interviewed by Scott Holmes in May of this year for the Brisbane Media Map. He gave some very clear insight into the direction that rugby league organisations are headed when it comes to engagement with fans, content production and controlling the message. When asked what could be expected of the Broncos in the next twelve months, Buckley responded:

“Over the next twelve months we are hoping to see the Broncos make the finals while also growing in social media numbers and memberships. We aspire to be like British comedian Stephen Fry. He has millions of followers and maintains he never needs to do another media interview unless he really wants to…

“This is achievable because of the number of people accessing social media. Our future goal is we want people to come to us for the content rather than us having to look for new audiences.”

If clubs are seeking to control and manage all of their own content, an interesting question arises about what other news can be reported by external media outlets. If all the ‘good news’ stories are retained and distributed centrally by clubs, the logic follows that only the ‘bad news’ stories are left for journalists to focus on.

As rugby league fans, if all we’re left with is ‘Here are the Broncos aren’t they all great?’ or ‘Here is a Bronco who did X, isn’t he awful’, everyone loses. Providing journalists with access to players allows people who think differently and see the game differently from those inside the club to find stories and narratives that exist outside of club communications strategies.

More unique stories can only improve people’s engagement with rugby league. In an environment where clubs will always pursue their own interests first, it’s up to the NRL to ensure that these stories can continue to be told.

If clubs are only creating media that link in with their brand (with a slant focussed on satisfying advertisers) and denying journalists access to players that may uncover different stories and angles, the lens through which we see footy players and our ability to experience the game in more interesting ways shrinks. This is to the detriment of the game.

The commitment for clubs to promote the game is mandated by the NRL who determine the quota of press conferences and media requirements that clubs must fulfil. However, as noted by Hinds, there is significant wiggle room when it comes to whether clubs actually satisfy their commitment to promote the game through the media.

It’s hard enough already to find anyone playing or coaching footy to say anything of remote interest at these NRL-enforced media commitments and the central body is to blame for some of this. The rules around what coaches and players are allowed to comment on at mandated press conferences without copping a fine from the league seem to grow more restrictive every year.

The result is that press conferences have become so staid that even the slightest straying from the usual clichéd script produces an inordinate amount of froth from some sports journos. One ill-thought out comment and it’s like seagulls on a chip, because that’s the only morsel that is likely to be found all week.

Part of what makes sports great are the narratives that flow from it and that are constructed around it. History and stories give games meaning, they enrich contests and stoke rivalries. Stories about the individuals who play at a top level humanise the game, and in an era where players are paid more and exist in a microcosm of their own, it’s vital that the public is occasionally reminded that the players they watch are human beings too, with unique lives and myriad motivations.

But you look at quotes from Stephen Buckley above and wonder what chance there really is of developing new and original narratives that increase the joy of engaging with rugby league. If the end game for clubs is to have total control of both the message and the medium, what hope do sports journalists have of uncovering alternatives to the party line that the clubs serve up? And as fans what hope do we have of finding anything worth reading that isn’t club-sanctioned, cookie-cutter dross?

I tweet @brinpaulsen