I have loved rugby league since I was eight years old. Back then I was a slightly awkward, chubby, smiling child who would hold hands with my dad who would take me to Parramatta Stadium to cheer on my team, the Parramatta Eels.
Clinton Schifcofske was the first player I ever fell in love with (and, to be fair, along with my dad, was probably one of the driving forces behind me picking the blue and gold in the first place).
Since then, a lot has changed. But plenty of things haven’t – including my love of the footy. I’ve spent the last 22 years enthusiastically supporting the Eels, but my devotion to rugby league has gone much deeper than that.
I have passionately defended the game against its detractors (particularly in relation to player misbehaviour off the field), I have done my best to draw attention to the positive work that plenty of our players do off the field and I have advocated staunchly for the recognition of and continued development of the women’s game.
I do all this because I genuinely love rugby league and the people that make up the rugby league family. And it’s because of that love that I’ll continue to do all of the above.
But I would be lying to all of you if I didn’t admit that after the off-season we have had this year it is getting much harder to defend the game against the increased number of detractors because I simply have no answers anymore.
I’m just tired and disappointed. What’s scary is that there are still 38 days until the new season commences.
Jarryd Hayne. Jack de Belin. Dylan Walker. Zane Musgrove. Liam Coleman. And now Ben Barba. All of these payers have been involved in alleged off-field incidents this off-season.
Barba’s behaviour was deemed so serious that the North Queensland Cowboys felt that they had no choice but to tear up his contract immediately, before he had even played a game for the club. I applaud this strong stance and wish that other clubs responded with such conviction to player misbehaviour.
This surely signals the end for a man who will go down in rugby league history as having had plenty of talent and opportunities – but he was also a man who wasted those opportunities and squandered his immense talent. If the allegations are true, despite the missed opportunities, I have no sympathy for Barba; only for his partner and his children.
(AAP Image/Craig Golding)
Following the Barba incident, CEO of the NRL Todd Greenberg has come out strongly and said: “I issue this warning to players again. The game has changed, and community expectations are clear. We won’t tolerate misbehaviour and the sanctions will be extremely strong, especially for violence against women.”
Many people have questioned why it has taken Todd this long to come out and make a statement like this. For many fans this is long overdue and a stance that should have been adopted a long time ago.
Perhaps that’s the case, but I’m pleased that, even if a little bit late, this stance has finally been taken. Enough is enough.
I’ve heard Todd speak on several occasions and what always strikes me about him is that he is someone who likes to believe the best in people and recognises the transformative ability of our game.
He is a man who believes in second chances and potentially this has influenced the NRL‘s prior stance in relation to players who have done the wrong thing off the field.
Todd recognises that there are men playing our game who have had challenging upbringings – some so challenging in fact that it would be hard for many of us to process.
This is not an excuse; it’s simply recognition of the reality that for many of the players, were they not playing footy, their lives would be radically different.
Some could potentially be in jail. Some would not be working. Some would be struggling to make ends meet. Not all of our players have had the benefit of an easy childhood and plenty have fought very hard to chase their dream to play footy.
(Matt King/Getty Images)
I know that Todd has spoken with pride about the positive steps Russell Packer has taken to change his life and this is supported by Wests Tigers chairperson Marina Go.
He has also spoken in this manner about Blake Ferguson. Rugby league gave these men a second chance.
But maybe it’s time for rugby league to stop being so forgiving, because the message does not seem to be getting through that these alleged behaviours are unacceptable.
Following this off season there is no more room for patience unless we as a game want to continue to alienate our fans and members and give people a reason to choose another sport.
But for our game drawing the line in the sand is the easy part. The hard part will be ensuring that the game sticks to its guns and that the clubs support the stance that the NRL is taking.
Winning may often be viewed as the most important thing, but what I expect from my game first and foremost is that the men and women involved in the game are men and women that I can be proud of – on and off the field.
Nat
Roar Guru
Yet you did reply just 2 weeks after the fact. If it was just me calling out your BS you may have half a point but it's every logical, sensible contributor saying the same thing to you. If everyone's missing your point, make a better one.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
You are a complete waste of space champion. What a ridiculous post , it's not worthy of a reply. You are one of the least logical posters on here but you have such a high opinion of yourself.
BA Sports
Roar Guru
Seen the news out of QLD today? Wife and mother let down by the court system and police. Domestic violence abuser husband was allowed to retain shared custody of their child. 6month old child now the victim of a suspected murder suicide by the father. Screw your conspiracies, accept the numbers and expect that they are far worse than you know when the legal system doesn't instill confidence that victims will be protected.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
My comment was answering Bangerz question as to how the statistics were compiled. And obviously, if the police investigate and determine that a complaint was false, then they don’t record it as a statistic. Not all complaints result in a report because the police consider the complaint to lack credibility, or not worth the allocation of resources. The number of physical assaults that don’t result in a complaint to police dwarfs the number of false complaints that are made.
Ants Pants
Guest
I find it interesting that , you haven’t touched on the idea that , some of the allegations are in fact false.
Over here
Roar Rookie
"Their is an underlying layer of abuse and racism in Australia that unfortunately will take a very long time and a lot of painful talk to finally bring it out. " how did we get onto racism?
SAVAGE
Guest
Agreed, society likes to pin these people up as pillars of society and role models, as soon as they break the law, it's their employers fault.
SAVAGE
Guest
When sponsors started giving money to the game. They do not want to see their brand being worn by a known wife beater running around on tv.
Nat
Roar Guru
I've never heard of a "defensive backhander". Is that just one of those 'clam down' smacks around the chops? Of course that's ok, men have been openly using that one since early times right up until now - the 1950's.... "I witnessed..." I'm calling BS. You came across the dispute between the ladies, most likely known to you. You may have had the right intentions until the daughter started to get the better of you so you gave her the old "defensive backhander". To your absolute amazement neither lady was ok with that. How would you know she "dined out on the defensive backhander for years and lied about her double assault" if you were only a bystander?
David
Guest
Whilst I think the NRL is right here in sending a clear message, they need to look at the bigger message they are sending. Previous drug use “only” got him 12 weeks suspension. If the NRL wants to take this stance and expect more from players, the players should be told now what will happen for each thing they do wrong.
Blocker
Guest
As a cowboys fan I am proud of the actions the club has taken. The attacking abilities of the team will be lessened but the character of the team strengthened. I am not a fan of Greenberg’s actions though. He is happy to stand up and be the big man now, beating his chest but this is the same Todd Greenberg that took no action when it was alleged Barba was guilty of a similar offence under his watch. We are also still waiting on a response to Bolton’s and De Belin’s incidents (although one is yet to go through court). Can hand down a life sentence in a week but what about the other stuff as well Todd. Hypothetically now, what would happen if one of our jillaroo’s smacked their partner and it was caught on cctv? Would that also result in a life ban? Thankfully the less professional (in pay) jillaroos seem to be more professional off the field.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Correct. Definitely the majority. People who suffer a common assault from someone they know, usually don’t report it - they sort it out personally. And if they go report it, they often don’t go through with supporting a prosecution. People will often report a common assault by a stranger, but because they fin’t know the person, it can be hard for the police to track them down, so they get away with it.
Ants Pants
Guest
What an absolute load of BS.
Ants Pants
Guest
I would have to think a fair amount of reported assaults wouldn’t result in a conviction.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
That the Cowboys decided to cancel the contract fair enough but for the NRL to de-register him could cause problems. At the moment he hasn't even been charged. Greenberg has said he has had the incident described to him but has not seen it. A good solicitor would get him off the de-registration case based solely on an unproved allegation. The NRL needs to have player contracts include a clause that if a player is charged by the police he is to be suspended. If found guilty, then de-register him. At the moment all the NRL is doing is being reactive. Get in and straighten the contracts up, be proactive.
The Barry
Roar Guru
It’s always the people that offer zero stats and zero facts that want everyone else to do it. Everything is a conspiracy. It’s always the guy who sounds like he’s been cloned from Ray Hadley that accuses everyone else of being conned by the media propaganda machine.
Fix the scrums
Guest
Its about time Greenberg and co. did what is right and kick players out. Why they let Matt Lodge back in still astounds many people to this day. How do women view a code that lets players get away with assault and indecent acts so many times ? How do sponsors view the code? How do families react when so many NRL players are in the headlines for the wrong reasons? The damage is done , a line has been finally drawn in the sand. Lets see if Greenberg has the guts to hand out more harsh measures in the future.
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
But fans spoke out about it in droves. And I was not silent on that one either: https://www.theroar.com.au/2018/09/10/forget-mad-monday-how-good-was-the-weekend-footy/
northerner
Guest
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe those "money grabbing media" entities have signed a contract with the NRL or any of its teams so they don't actually have a responsibility to protect the reputation of the game. On the other hand, those very well paid players, many of whom earn a heckuva lot more than the media types, have contracts and responsibilities to the game. Save your ire for the ones who breach their responsibilities, not the ones who have none to breach.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Well its all over "Ben Barba has been deregistered by the NRL after an integrity unit investigation found he had been involved in a physical altercation with his partner". NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said he did not see a time "or any time in the future" when Barba would be welcomed back to the game. The finding came after the integrity unit viewed CCTV footage of the incident involving Barba and his partner at a Townsville casino over the Australia Day weekend.