In the wash-up of the Great Fifita Origin Dummy-Spit Saga (that perhaps never was) there was one thought that lingered in the air.
Despite doubts over the veracity of reports, was anybody that hangs around suburban footy fields really that surprised such a scenario might happen at the top level?
For those who have been living on the moon, the contention was that Fifita went and stomped his feet in the bathtub after allegedly being told he would be benched for Game 3 by coach Laurie Daley.
No, this article isn’t another effort to make a pariah out of the Blues big man, who although temperamental and unpredictable, I do not believe is as much of a prima donna as he was trumped up to be.
Rather it’s a broader commentary about what I perceive has been an attitude shift that has noticeably taken place in the last decade throughout rugby league ranks, starting from the bottom up.
At this point in time I’m going to cross off another of the listed criteria by which I’ve gauged whether I am officially ‘old’.
I’m going to commit to print a sweeping, disparaging statement about the next generation that could be accused of forming an ignorant comparison to how my own peers behaved in their day.
Regardless, I’ll press on.
I’d contend that in the last ten years the ability of players to handle a demotion or omission – particularly in the late teenage years – has plummeted shockingly.
If I think back to the seasons I was lucky enough to play in a modest senior side regularly playing finals footy, I can distinctly remember guys who missed the cut for grand finals and other big matches.
To a man they were gutted, but took it on the chin, and most often bounced back as better players.
There seemed to be an attitude of “if things are not going my way, I should look at myself before blaming others”.
(AAP Image/Joe Castro)
They would go away and train harder, seek advice, and still show up to cheer on teammates and carry the water for them.
That mindset creates teams that are genuinely tight, accountable, hungry for improvement, and ultimately successful.
Subsequently, in a couple of instances I can recall blokes mirroring the Johnathan Thurston-Steve Price tribute of handing over a grand final medal to a teammate who didn’t make the cut, such was the bond.
However in the last few years, since winding down as a player and focusing more on coaching and selecting sides, similar scenarios have led to some disconcerting experiences.
I’ve had lads come into senior footy, the youngest, the most inexperienced, the least fit, who will point blank refuse to be named as 18th man, because they feel they are too good for it.
In fact, one 18th man clean failed to show up without notice on game day when a starting player got stuck in traffic, on what would have been his breakthrough opportunity.
He never came back, because he’d had that much wind blown up his backside in the years preceding – and had no time for introspection on his own shortcomings.
If a kid has progressed through juniors, larger than others, trampling over people, throwing audacious offloads that they think are spectacular (but only effective 50 per cent of the time), they believe that qualifies them for a saloon passage.
I’ve had another kid who wasn’t picked in the top team, but told he would captain the second-string side.
It was firmly impressed on him that if he led the team strongly, the starting halfback role would likely be his in the next game.
Similarly, he never showed up for the reserve grade side, left them to fall in a hole and when the top side was well-beaten, he was never there for his opportunity.
In both instances, the players that walked away then rang friends and family members in the playing ranks and tried to get them to abandon ship too.
It’s a cancerous, selfish mindset that must have stemmed from somewhere, a cultivated notion that the team is infinitesimally smaller than the ego of the individual.
On other occasions I’ve seen up-and-comers refuse to shower with teammates and walk straight to their car because they blamed everyone else for an unexpected loss, and guys refuse to train for events that are months away because they are convinced “the side has already been picked”.
In one case a player got caught out cheating with a teammate’s and childhood friend’s partner.
He blamed everyone else but himself for the inexcusable act that saw the playing group disown him.
To the players themselves, they believe their reactions are macho and assertive, but in reality it is only them absolving themselves of the obligation to focus on weakness, train hard and make amends.
Everybody else can see that clear as day.
A defeatist, fragile attitude might well be why they are viewed as a fringe selection and not a definite starter. Throwing a tantrum only confirms a coach’s or selector’s suspicions.
I have always maintained the mantra: show me a great player who doesn’t get picked and I’ll show you a player with deficiencies somewhere.
Coaches are in the game of winning. They don’t knowingly leave out talented, hard-working, go-getters who will bring them victory.
If there is a struck match between two selections, the coach will probably get accused of favouritism no matter which way they lean.
It’s only natural for coaches to have favourites, but it’s funny how many favourites just also seem to be diligent, consistent, self-aware and with a strong team ethic.
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
I’m not saying nobody behaved like a spoilt brat in bygone eras when they were overlooked for selection – but the frequency of spitting the dummy seems well above what it used to be.
I honestly hate to generalise, but it’s hard not to observe this phenomenon without forming some theories about why it came to be.
Has the ‘everyone’s a winner’ mentality of junior competitions made people unable to deal with omission? Have glorified sports like bodybuilding and adventure races – where nearly everyone gets a cool photo, t-shirt and finisher’s medal – meant a craving for recognition is now a demand? Have the pressures of being seen as a success at everything on social media driven an inability to cope with being second-best?
I’m left with the thought that verified winners don’t just find a way to squeeze into a side; they find a way to make themselves among the first picked – no matter what is put in their way.
Chris Davis
Guest
The behaviour of players surely reflects wider societal changes. The atomisation of society, the move away from communal work spaces, and communuty neighbourhoods with shared recreational activities has broken the link between the player and his team. The I'm Alright Jack, dog-eat-dog, me-first mentality of modern consumer society will manifest itself in selfish individualism. Proper team ethics can be re-established but only if a kind of old-fashioned trade unionist, co-operative spirit is nurtured, based upon equal pay, equal treatment and a refusal to tolerate the prancing prima donnas whose toys are invariably found far from their prams.
Larry1950
Guest
A lot of it has been exacerbated by their recruitment into these schools of excellence at a young age, where they're given a free pass to goof off at their school studies because they're good at footy. Treated differently & different rules apply to them because they can win a premiership, the American 'jock' mentality has crept into our systems. Also, like the yanks, everyone has an entourage of hangers on, even at this young age, willing to blow smoke up their arse & tell them what they want to hear. Many of these kids have never been accountable for anything in their young lives, all care but no responsibility. Think Dave Taylor as a case in point.
terrence
Guest
Big Daddy, brilliant observation. He might just squeak Lebanon past Malta if he plays to the ability that his Uncle "Backdoor" Benny dreams he has. Otherwise?
BeastieBoy
Guest
Robert, I think it depends on the sport so i will limit my comments to League in this case. In the past I agree with your sentiments. However in those days there was a lot less money riding on the game and so much more loyalty by the clubs to the players. Now there is NO loyalty driven by the structure of the salary cap. So the players react and fight back to push their interests. They are forced to. If they don't appear their value goes down and they can't find another club at the right money. look at Kenny-Dowell punted by the Roosters for a small mistake that did not record a conviction, so they could fit new players into the cap. The loyalty he showed them, playing also through the GF with a broken jaw. The problem is the Cap Structure. It needs to reward loyalty of players and junior development.
Big Daddy
Guest
Andrew johns made the comment last night that Mitchell Moses is a future rep player. Seeing we only gave SOO and tests ( no city v country ) not sure what team he means. Probably Lebanon in world cup.
Tony
Guest
Which generation coined the term "playing group" to be used instead of "team"?
Chris
Roar Rookie
Twenty years later, the young people criticised here will be writing their own thinkpieces about what's wrong with the kids these days. And so it goes.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Daley got the gig because of his coaching country in the, thankfully forgotten, City v Country origin. If Daley goes, and he should, one series win from four attempts, Toovey should be the one to take over. No allegiances to any media outlets.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Agree. The game has changed from being a 13 man game to a 17 man game. The game plan decides on who starts and who doesn't, not a players' feelings. If a player can't accept that, too bad.
steveng
Roar Rookie
The sooner Gus Gould coaches NSW 'AGAIN' the sooner NSW will have a chance to stamp out all the nonsense and disciplinary problems that they have. Daley is not up to the task(s) that will make NSW winners, he has proven what a loser he is and nothing in the future will alter his mindset. The Fifita incident is just one problem (probably) that Daley has been faced with and he must have handled all the rest 'the same way'!!! While Daley is the NSW coach NSW haven't got a chance!!!
Wayne Turner
Guest
Daley is gutless and weak.He should have stuck to his guns,and told Fifita who's boss.Daley caving shows he's not up to the job to coach NSW again. Plus,Fifita is an overrated sook,and NSW shouldn't pick him again. One great origin game: game 1. Doesn't cut it.
Gray-Hand
Guest
NRL players aren't amateurswho join a club so that they have something to do on Saturday morning. They are professionals selecting an employer so that they can advance their (all too fleeting) careers and earn money to support themselves and their families. Of course they are entitled to work out with their future employer exactly what their role and level of responsibility will be before they start, just like every single other person in the job market. Imagine a lawyer applying for work with a law firm with no assurance that they when they start they would be doing legal work for clients of a type appropriate for their experience and expertise. That lawyer would be a fool to accept the job. As would a rugby league player in the same position.
Nat
Roar Guru
Only with age comes experience. I do think your line bout social media plays a large part in our 'be seen' culture but one cannot be seen to fail, or at least, not be in the best scene. I, too, have seen it in footy but also in Uni grads believing they've done their apprenticeship. Although it is the few over the many. If anyone, irrespective of age, believes they have nothing else to learn, let them play elsewhere.
Sean
Guest
I agreewith the article. 10+ years ago players were just happy to be in first grade. Now they want a position set for themselves or theyl go elseshere eg Bird Watson, Lolohea. Players who are in reserve grade or are on the bench obviously arnt doing there best to get on the starting side. Annoys me how nrl clubs have to promise a position to a new player to get them to sign. It should be to get the opportunity to train hard to get picked for the team regardless of position.
sheek
Roar Guru
Robert, You look younger than me but I agree with the sentiment of your words. Regardless of generation, there are things that ring true through every generation, every era. The majority of young workmates I've worked with were a delight. Whether I was just lucky or not I don't know. I was one of four shift crews & I heard a lot of uncomplimentary stories of young guys on the other shift crews, but I was fine with mine. On reflection though, there are plenty of dickheads I've come across from my own generation.
Birdy
Guest
No doubt you will get heavily criticized for this article Robert. On the bright side , Roger Federer agrees with you. Society has criticised the younger generation for about 5000 years. Thats about 5000 years too long. While in our time crying on someones shoulder was totally discouraged, today they jump on social media and get any reply they want and sometimes some of that lunacy comes from mainstream media.
Oto shark
Guest
I wonder which generation could also take some blame for how the new generation is?