Over the off-season, the Wests Tigers have raised the bar in terms of producing original online content, with their ‘Unfiltered’ series. But the best interview thus far was released in in the past day or two, focussing on fullback James Tedesco.
Usually clocking in at around eight minutes, their Unfiltered videos have given members a new kind of access to the players as we wait for the next year of footy.
In part, that’s a result of the length of the interviews, which leaves room for more than the regular footy platitudes.
It’s also a result of the questions, which encourage the players to speak with more candour and authenticity than they otherwise would.
On top of that, the interviewers have tended to keep themselves out of the frame, distancing themselves from the comic styles that tend to dominate longform NRL interviews.
In that sense, the Unfiltered series reminds me more of a fan podcast – in a good way – over a more filtered NRL release.
Of course, many of the people who produce official content are themselves fans.
But there’s a charming, off-the-cuff quality to the Tigers’ new set of interviews that goes above and beyond that.
It’s been great to hear Josh Aloiai talk sincerely about his rookie year, Kevin Naiqama discuss his role in the back row, and Chris Lawrence reflect upon his hopes for 2017.
The fact that the Tigers are in such a state of flux in the wake of Robbie Farah’s departure made the interviews all the more interesting.
In their own way, every player feels as if they’re articulating what it takes to produce team unity, with Matt Ballin putting in a particularly great appearance.
It was also a great move to start with the newer and lesser known players – a perfect introduction to the year ahead, creating a real sense of anticipation as we moved towards the big names.
As a Tigers fan myself, that’s produced really good rhythm in the off-season, a period when it can be hard to maintain fan momentum.
It also felt apposite to save Tedesco until the end, just because his trials and tribulations as a player – most recently his broken jaw – make him particularly compelling in this kind of intimate venue.
Seeing him speak about his injuries, surgery and rehabilitation was cathartic, and felt like the first time he’s been truly back on board since being taken off the park at Campbelltown.
Tedesco is also a compelling interview subject because he presents as reticent at first but then warms up with the right kind of atmosphere.
There seems to be a bit of a stereotype that NRL players are uniformly inarticulate, but that may be simply a matter of opportunities.
When you drop a couple of footy players on a panel with seasoned television personalities, it’s not surprising that they seem a bit out of their element.
Similarly, there’s only so much a player can say in the ten-second window allotted to them beyond the end of each game,
In those kinds of situations, “full credit to the boys” is about it, plus a bit of cheeky banter if you happen to have the wit of Johnathan Thurston.
What the Unfiltered series demonstrated, however, is how articulate and interesting players can be when interviewed in a calm, casual and authentic manner.
In that sense, it often reminded me of The Locker Room, Denan Kemp’s NRL podcast.
Kemp has a unique talent for making footy players feel comfortable in their own skin, resulting in a couple of interviews – such as his conversation with Jamie Soward – that totally changed my perception of the player.
There’s not much more you can ask from an interviewer than that.
As the NRL takes steps to prevent scandal diminishing the reputation of the game – 2017 feels pretty eventful already – it might be useful to consider the Unfiltered series as a way of presenting players at their best.
That’s not to say, of course, that other teams haven’t been innovative over the off-season as well.
In the wake of their grand final victory, the Sharks have just announced #50Stories, a historical look back over some of the key moments shaping the Cronulla-Sutherland ethos.
As part of their efforts to engage with their fanbase after a difficult twelve months, Newcastle have started “Ask a Knight” interviewing players based on questions sent in by fans.
The Panthers, too, have had a longer interview series called “On the Air,” while Souths have been using their signature drone footage to capture the boys training at Redfern in the blistering summer heat.
In fact, the Bunnies probably come close to the Tigers in terms of innovative online content, including a series of well-curated archival interviews – most memorably a 2014 chat with Adam Reynolds – and a decade-by-decade look at South Sydney’s storied rugby league history.
Other clubs have had great one-off features as well, with the Dogs recently posting an endearing piece in which players recounted their earliest footy memories.
Still, it’s the Tigers who have really raised the bar over the off-season, making a pointed effort to retain fan momentum in the wake of Farah’s departure for Souths.
It’d be great to see this used as a benchmark for what the NRL can do with its socia media presence as the 2017 season unfolds.
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