About five weeks ago, I asked to be taken off the Golden Boot judging panel.
I’d hardly watched any NRL this year and a lot less Super League than previous seasons too.
It’s then I was told that I hadn’t read the criteria properly: it was only for international games.
‘Whew, that’s a relief’ I thought. I stayed on the panel and voted for Tommy Makinson.
This subject is about a week old now and I spent half a day trying to think of a column about something else. No luck. So here goes.
It’s as if the Golden Boot should be grateful it was one of the few awards Aussies took seriously.
More fool the Aussies for taking it seriously. I’ve been on the judging panel on and off for decades and it’s been so haphazard they didn’t even award it between 1990 and ’98, adding the gongs retrospectively when the concept was reanimated.
As judge I’ve been told it’s for the best player in the world, it’s for the best player in the world with a greater weight being given to internationals, back to the first one a couple of times and finally it’s for the best international player of the previous 12 months.
The Rugby League International Federation purchased the IP the same way the NRL bought the IP for the Immortals.
The Immortals was for the best Australian post-World War II players. Now it includes blokes back to 1908 and there’s a Kiwi in the Hall Of Fame which means overseas players are eligible too.
Foreigners who played in the Australian premiership and Aussies like Brian Bevan who mostly played overseas – talk about criteria shock.
The Immortals was conceived to boost circulation and flog port; the Golden Boot was conceived to boost circulation and bring in sponsorship from adidas.
It’s your choice if you take awards seriously. By the same process that you gave credence to the golden boot, you can now remove that credence.
I’m not sure anyone cares; whether you respect it or not it’s like any other award in sport – a commercial property to be bought and sold.
But actually, the more I thought about the choice, I went from being neutral to actually being a champion of the changes.
England’s Tommy Makinson (16) runs for a try against New Zealand (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
To understand the rationale, you have to understand “the dream”. This isn’t reality reflected fairly by an award, it’s an award intended to help change reality.
In rugby union, no-one would argue that the world’s best player could be crowned as such due to his feats in club football.
Few would argue provincial competition alone can make you the world’s best rugby union player.
It has to be internationals.
I don’t think a lot of people who follow the NRL understand The Dream, that some of us who interact with the game daily feel in our bones every one of those days.
That dream is that we’re rugby union.
It’s every country playing multiple Tests every year in front of packed houses, any one of five teams capable of winning the World Cup, club football never placed above this.
I’ve taken this dream to such an extreme that I can take or leave February to September but obsess about October and November.
I’m in Jacksonville now. When it rained during the Americas Qualifiers double header last night, the entire crowd fitted under the ground announcer’s marquee.
But we keep dreaming.
The Golden Boot is an award for rugby league’s aspirational, imagined, perhaps fantasy future, not for the game as it is today.
Putting the cockerel back on top of the World Cup is the answer to a question nobody has yet asked.
Most rugby league fans don’t even know the World Cup went missing for years and was found on a tip. If they close their eyes, they can’t picture the trophy let alone conspire to remove its new GPS device and whisk it away.
Just in case you were wondering, the trophy is the one in the middle. (photo: 2017 Rugby League World Cup, Scott Davis)
Sooner or later, you have to answer a demand that doesn’t yet exist, get ahead of the curve. Rugby league’s never done that.
Tommy Makinson winning the Golden Boot is like your uncle buying you a plot of land on the moon for Christmas.
You’ll never get to see the day when it makes sense. But it will make sense one day. At least I believe it will.
I’d like to dedicate this column to another dreamer, and a long-serving Golden Boot judge, Malcolm Andrews who we lost recently. Malcolm was my hero.
Jarumain
Guest
Changing the criteria to name the best player based on 3-4 games destroys the credibility of the only international award that had any weight. If you want an international award based on Tests then make a new award.
Kay Merda
Roar Rookie
Bless you Steve You're the one Australian scribe who passionately writes for the international game. And you're not alone-there are a few of us who would love to see RL properly promoted and played throughout the world. I live in Spain and there is real interest here, particularly since a Catalan team won the Super League. Our local RU club is full of Mungos and the NZ coach uses many League videos and drills to demonstrate specific skills to the kids. Like you I dream one day even a Spaniard may hoist the Golden Boot!
Mick Jeffrey
Roar Rookie
I had two thoughts when I heard Makinson won the award. The first like just about everyone else was WHO? The second was "Doesn't he drive Rally Cars?" Not sure if anyone else found it easy to confuse him with Tommi Makkinen who won the World Rally Championship on multiple occasions during the 90s.
Fred
Guest
And yet Billy Slater won an award for playing in 2 Origin matches...
Fred
Guest
Cheers Jaime, wow strong result for Jamaica! Chile's loss was to be expected I guess.
Ghost Crayfish
Roar Pro
Maybe to promote the Magic Weekend in the NRL for future years, they should just give the Dally M to the guy who plays best in those games next year.
Emcie
Roar Guru
You can't just not give out an annual award because you don't think the canidates aren't spectacular. And I'm not sure an annual award can be judged over a two year period. Lets be honest, there haven't exactly been any outstanding Australian players this year and you can't count origin because there's no equivilent contest outside of NSW and QLD which basicly would leave International Tests as the main indicator anyway. Considering Australia has done away with the ANZAC Test and only won one of their two tests this year and had their most prominent players of the last decade all pretty much retire in the last 18 months is it that surprising that the final canidates were hardly setting the world on fire?
Matt
Roar Rookie
Is it ironic that the Rugby Union award takes into account both International and Domestic performance (like what the Golden Boot used to be)? Instead the new criteria has just undermined the value of the award, rather than adding value to the International game.
Paul
Roar Guru
No-one Emcie, if the criteria is so limiting to make the award meaningless. Can this guy be classed as the best international player in world Rugby League after 3 games? I'd rather they made it over a two year period where teams have to play a minimum of 5 or 6 Tests (preferably more) and play sides away from home
Emcie
Roar Guru
And who would you have given it to? There was hardly a Kangaroos player (nevermind an actual golden boot contender) in the team of the year or in the top 5 Dally M scorers and given the amount of international fixtures (and wins) England had this year its hardly surprising the award was taken out by a pom
Jaime O'Donnell
Guest
Hi Fred, US beat Chile 62 - 0 and Jamaica def Canada 34 - 8.. So tomorrow we have US vs Jamaica to qualify for the 2021 World Cup, Canada and Chile are playing first for ranking points.
Paul
Roar Guru
"I have a dream". Was that one of the selection criteria for the 2018 award, Steve? If awards are going to be handed out, they need to have meaning to players & fans NOW, not in 207 when Russia plays the US in Italy in the Rugby League World Cup final. Right now, the criteria to win this award make it meaningless - the winner played THREE games in the qualifying period. It's a bit like giving the mighty Dragons the 2018 premiership after 3 rounds because they won their first 3 games easily. Please continue to enjoy your dream Steve, but stay away from voting on this award till it gains more meaning, which it can only do if way more internationals are played each year.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Getting ahead of the curve - even being aware a curve exists - seems too hard for some people. Thanks for the read.
Sludge McFlurrey
Guest
Golden boot has become RL’s version of “Australian of the year”. Just another meaningless, nothing award , corrupted to suit an outcome.
Rebel334
Roar Rookie
Steve i love reading your articles, keep them up. I'll admit i am more of a Rugby Union man than a League man, but i still love my League after a diet of it growing up in QLD. I too look forward to the day that there is serious competition at international level in League, it just adds a level of unknown that is exciting and holds the relevant competitions and countries to account at how they run and control their competitions, which in my eyes can only be a positive thing. I'm also a big believer that countries with a strong Rugby League competitions should have competitive Rugby Union teams, due to the nature of the athletes and the core skills been able to be replicated, just like countries with strong Rugby Union competitions should have competitive Rugby League teams. This is where i believe League should be focusing their efforts in building the international game.
Fred
Guest
Steve, who won in Jacksonville?