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The refusal by the NRL to acknowledge the concerns raised by the Rugby League Players Association would seem to suggest that they have more pressing issues that need to be dealt with.
Some of rugby league’s elite players such as Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston are the spokesmen for our game. For them to voice their concerns, it shows how important the issues regarding player welfare, annual leave and retirement are to them.
If, as reported, these issues were raised back at the start of the season why hasn’t the NRL acted and resolved them?
If the NRL has a duty of care to ensure that player welfare is paramount why is it then that the demands that are being placed on the players is increasing year after year?
There is the threat that players will boycott the game’s night of nights, which would be a terrible look for the NRL.
The NRL only has to look at the increased number of serious injuries that are occurring to realise that the stress and fatigue placed on the players is increasing. This is in no small part due to the schedule that sees them start pre-season training in November and culminates with eight teams playing in the finals series in September and two teams in the grand final on the first weekend in October.
That does not even take into account international commitments, increasing the strain on the game’s best players.
Until the NRL is far more transparent to the players, clubs and fans and takes player demands more seriously, then the perception that it’s all about revenue and TV rights will only continue.
It is time for the NRL to listen to those who we turn up to see each week.
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