Culture comes in many forms, and it can be either a poison or the elixir of life.
In sporting terms, how does management create a positive culture that entices a bunch of young, strong men from all walks of life to follow a pathway to success? Is it strong leadership? History? Pride in team colours?
Every generation has vastly different outlook to the last and neither can truly understand each other because of their respective life experiences.
But what accounts for a positive culture? Let’s look at three generations to compare: the boomers of the 1960s and 70s, generation X of the 1980s and 90s, and generation Y of the 2000s to now.
No one can say one generation had a better culture than any other, because each has had their vices as well as their virtues. The boomers are lauded for toughness and quick wits to penetrate a defensive line only five metres away when a pie and Coke was the warm-up and a beer was the consolation for your concussion.
Young upstarts quickly fell in line with the older blokes and wingers knew their place. Thousands of fans swung from the rafters to unashamedly advise the refs and opposing players how their sexuality, ethnicity or skin colour affected their gam – not that anyone would complain today, because that’s just ‘how things were’.
Did they play up off the field? Of course – but we all had to go to work on Monday and the pub shut at 7pm on Sunday.
The years of generation X introduced a level of professionalism because playing rugby league became a full-time job. Money, TV and personal endorsements turned a footy player into a pseudo celebrity. They now train full-time and they’re getting bigger and stronger, but they are still 20-somethings with cash to burn and free time.
Sure, the old heads still pulled them into line as required, but Kings Cross and Fortitude Valley still hold many secrets of which the general public remains unaware and the Daily Telegraph or Courier Mail didn’t publish.
We loved our stars for what they did on the field and had a passing ‘boys will be boys’ interest in what happened off the field.
Now we wonder about the skill of generation Y – Sonny Bill Williams-like machines who hit like wrecking balls and run like cheetahs. In most cases, these boys have lived and breathed rugby league since being contracted to a sports-focused high school. They are superb athletes with haircuts to match.
Who pulls these blokes into line? Who in Newcastle next year tells Kalyn Ponga – worth more than half the current team at just 19 years old – to pull his head in?
Answer: we do, and they contribute willingly. They still have the same desire to play up as all previous generations, but everyone carries mobile phones and must tweet all we see.
Jarryd Hayne goes to a house party and some bikie tweets a fistful of cash and next thing he is in front of an integrity commission. Yes, the NRL has an integrity commission because these fellas care little for all the advice and coaching of club staffers.
From Blake Ferguson, Todd Carney, Josh Dugan, Ben Barba and Tim Simona right up to Jesse Bromwich, Kevin Proctor and Sharks CEO Damian Keogh. Plus the whole ASADA thing – $20,000 for blurry video of some player acting stupid – why not?
No club is excluded, and why should they be? They buy the best players they can afford and shuffle off those who are not up to scratch. These boys are great footballers with all the smarts and loyalty of politicians.
Wayne Bennett proclaimed many years ago not to look up to players as role models because they are not; they are footballers, and like the rest of us, experience comes from mistakes.
We are now in a time where a clip under the ear from an elder has made way for online outrage and public persecution for this is now our culture.
sheek
Roar Guru
Nat, The good old days of the 60s, 70s & 80s were indeed better, & they just keep getting better as each year passes! I'm amazed at how good I was back then & getting better with each year that passes..... I miss those days. Coat hanger tackles, late tackles, off the ball stuff, fisticuffs, all-in brawls, Piggins raking the ball back at dummy-half, Kelly demanding the loosehead in the scrum no matter what, Barry the grasshopper ref cheating as if it was his right, Hollywood, Moose, ahhhh, those were the days!
sheek
Roar Guru
At the risk of being technical, Raper took the rap & milked the notoriety but apparently Dennis Manteit was the guy who did the deed.
BigJ
Roar Guru
Don't remember that cockroach chasing incident, but it sounds like a good addition to another list.
Big Daddy
Guest
We need a bit more face slapping . Get tommy back. Tommy hated everyone including some of his own team mates. I can remember him tossing turveys gear out for picking the wrong bed and when he came off the reserve bench and put one on oliphant which changed the whole match.
Nat
Roar Guru
Cheers Big J. Didn't know what to expect or even if it would get a start but I figure I can't always comment on others articles unless I offer something of my own. It had a little editors help (and spelling mistake - gam) but it's a start.
Nat
Roar Guru
Yes, exactly my point on the first nudie/dog aspect. You shake your head with a Boys will be Boys attitude. The 2nd however, gay or not, some drunken tool tries that on another persons partner, they get what's coming. In no way excusing Pierce's actions with that girl. If I put myself in that situation I would hope my less belligerent mates get me out of there.
Roger Ramjet
Guest
Too many wanna be journalists out there with a mobile phone etc so players have to be extra aware of anything they do will end up on Channel 9 and or 7 and front page of the telegraph for most of the week. The average Joe or Jane citizen who do these things or worse things don't suffer the same fate though and most likely their employer will never know about these incidents- unless of course it involves a custodial sentence.
BigJ
Roar Guru
Also Nat congrats on your first article, great read
mushi
Guest
Well depends if we’re doing a good old days discussion you have to at least acknowledge what passed for good back then was an incredibly low bar for a sportsman. If Pearce had have done that in the 50s at a league party nothing would have happened. Perhaps the biggest outrage would be that he didn’t try to forcibly convert an openly gay person. And no one would have ever heard about it.
Nat
Roar Guru
Hi Big J and Mushi. That comparison is a matter of perspective given what is socially acceptable at the time don't you think? Dry humping a dog and a nudie run, within context, which requires nothing more than a dismissing shake of the head. A belligerent drunk whose wet themselves and assaulting girls deserves what they get. Appreciate the discussion.
The Barry
Roar Guru
You don't completely focus on the on field action though. Your 10 best Origin moments which appears directly under this article recognises moments that largely happened off the field. Of your 10 best moments, two occurred in the tunnel before the game, one after full time, one didn't even occur inside the stadium and three were fights, while play was stopped. Only three involved actual footy being played and even then, one of those was under the banner of a "series win" and not a specific on field moment. I'm surprised you didn't nominate the Wally Lewis actor chasing a life sized cockroach with a fire extinguisher.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Your comparison doesn't work BigJ You've made a judgement call that pretending to dry hump a dog while clothed is substantially worse than public nudity and indecent exposure. The latter is definitely against the law while I'm not sure the former is. But that's fine, you're not necessarily wrong. But it's not a valid comparison. Imagine if a player ran through an entire hotel, open to the public stark naked these days? I suspect he'd be suspended for a while, fined thousands, have to do counseling and may even get charged. There'd certainly be no "haha...what a character" approach. There's no judgement call involved there. Same incident, different era, markedly different reaction.
Nat
Roar Guru
I seen that as well Birdy. Common sense would suggest it won't happen in this PC world for fear of being sued. I hate to sound like a dinosaur but without fear of consequence there is no respect. Where is the middle ground between a Millennial demanding respect they haven't earned and authority figures requiring common sense from those with little life experience?
Birdy
Guest
it is very true that players are doing no more or less than that of yesteryear, except that now we have a story hungry media and everyone has a mobile phone . Unfortunately, back jn the day marijuana, not much stronger than tea leafs was the drug of choice. Today, anything goes. Funny thing though, watching a morning show the other day they were discussing how school teachers were being tought wrestling holds as students were beatjng up teachers on a regular basis nowdays.. The reasons gjven by the panelists borded on ridiculous. While i agree teachers should have lost their Cain or strap the difference between then and now is 1 word "NO"!!!!!! Today's society has taken away the right to say no . Call it out of control PC or what ever . To give any instruction to a TA, apprentice or even your grown up kids has to be backed up with reasons why and you have to have a degree in physcology to deliver an instruction so as not to offend. Confusing world
mushi
Guest
No way to really tell right? Back in the 50s and 60s if he tried to kiss a woman who didn't want it no one would have batted and eyelid. Likewise a drunken dry humping would have gone pretty much straight through to the keeper.
BigJ
Roar Guru
Damm right Josh Maguire. There is far too my focus on stupid off field antics ( though they never make thier way to my articles, i focus on the on field action). Having said that if players did not do such stupid stuff off the field there wouldn't be a problem.
BigJ
Roar Guru
Dont think Johnny Raper ever humped a dog or tried to kiss a lesbian. Big difference between a nudey run and Mitchell Pearce's actions.
Nat
Roar Guru
Absolutely fellas. Love him or hate him Josh Maguire gave a great quote on the Sunday Footy show last weekend "They're trying to sell papers worth $1.50 and their opinion is worth about as much" Appreciate the read.
At work
Roar Rookie
It's the reason people like Danny Weidler has a job, he reports on all the junk, filth and useless information in the NRL. I don't care if somebody was drunk at 3am, just like I don't care that some player welcomed a baby into his young family. Congrats to him but it shouldn't be news. We all love to hate him, but people like Mundine was great for journo's as he was a quote machine. We need more players like that which generate both love and hate from the fans, not some boring players full of cliches.
The Barry
Roar Guru
There's a famous story of Johnny Raper running through a hotel in northern England in nothing but a bowler hat. He was called a 'character' because of it. Can you imagine what would happen if say Josh Dugan did that these days? I don't think the players are any worse behaved, there's just greater opportunity for them to be caught. For some reason there's a salacious need in society to read about their misdemeanours and cast judgement. Even on purely sports websites like The Roar the articles about what a player got up to on Saturday night attract more clicks and comments than what he did on Saturday afternoon.