The Super League war changed rugby league in Australia forever and journalist and Roar expert Greg Prichard was at the coalface during the biggest upheaval of the game.
20-years after the code split in two for one season, Prichard sat down to discuss what it was like writing about the game during that period.
Even though he was working for a News Limited publication (Which was behind the Super League push) Prichard felt no pressure to talk up Super League.
“(I worked at The Australian) – They didn’t lean on us to report one way or another,” Prichard said.
“The Super League days were amazing because they really suit today’s media. Things didn’t change day by day, they changed hour by hour or often within the hour. Something that was news an hour ago was old news and had changed an hour later.”
We take the 24-hour news cycle in rugby league for granted these days but there was a real sense that Prichard and his colleagues were pioneers for the never ending thirst for stories.
“It was so wild at some stages that you could pretty much write anything. If someone was prepared to say something outrageous you could write it and get away with it because the landscape was going to change and everyone would forget what they said.”
Prichard was kept busy like most league reporters at the time in having to cover both competitions.
“I remember going to the Super League grand final in Brisbane and back at the Sydney Football Stadium on the Sunday for the second last week of the ARL finals. It was pretty busy but it was fantastic because it was so interesting and dramatic.”
Stay tuned for more highlights from Greg Prichard’s 40-year journalism career in the coming weeks.
More Prichard:
» The toughest person I’ve ever interviewed
» Covering the Sydney Swans during Cappermania
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