Could a sex tape determine the NRL champion?

On the 2nd part, absolutely. To make it harder, these bys have been local stars all through their teens and attracting the attention of the girls. By the time they make grade, they are cashed up, beefed up and openly chased by girls. Still doesn't give them the right to shag, denigrate, film and share the footage with anyone but it is a culture they've become accustom too long before they become known NRL players. I could pull holes out of the 1st part just for a bit of Friday fun but I'll save that for another day ;)

It's the information age champion, my location means little. I could be at Moore Park or Mongolia and still see, hear and read everything you have. Yet I doubt my Mongolian mates, who speak very little English would draw the same conclusion from Gould's comments. You've taken “It’s extremely widespread said Gould" who was clearly deflecting from his club, and formed "If it’s true that there are a lot more sex tapes out there yet to be released and someone is biding their time for the right moment to release them, then whoever is doing it could prove to be more powerful than the best players and coaches this season". You assume a lot players from numerous teams have some type of sex tape out there and, further, one (or a group) person has all these tapes and going can manipulate the NRL through a controlled release. One person has a video of one instance with one player - May. It's a ridiculously long bow to draw that this, or another person, is some sex tape puppet master.

3) if you’re getting paid anywhere from 120K to a million bucks a year to play footy and present an acceptable public face of the game...don’t make sex tapes

Two things jump out. 1) If the Bulldogs or the Maroons blame the Napa sex tape scandal for derailing their seasons, then they have bigger problems than they know. 2) if Gould (and potentially others) know that this practice is widespread, why hasn’t he done anything about it? I know the game has only just started cracking down on these but surely Gould realises this is not a good look for his players - particularly when the Panthers are positioned as a community club.

And your evidence of this is Gould? One person with a vid, broken into 2 (or more) parts of one situation involving May? Did you come up with this theory on the way to a MENSA meeting you genius?

Won't someone please think of the bookmakers?

I think fines also need to be part of the deterrent discussion for sure Rob. Although the potential for this type of thing has been around for a while, I'm sure this issue has really caught the NRL unawares and I suspect the other major sports are in a similar boat. I'm sure there's no easy answer and the 3 options the NRL has given itself probably don't cover the multitude if sins. If fines work, great if stand downs work, that's great too, but I think there's a lot more options the NRL should investigate and incorporate into its operating practices.

You raise a very valid point 40/20. You have voiced one of my greatest concerns about the potential for this to be abused in order to manipulate team rosters to have key players removed from big games. Look at the recent attempt by a Roosters employee to entrap Sam Burgess in an attempt to remove him from the game. Although Sam proved he was not involved other players were and it is very disappointing. The fact remains though that the young woman involved herself in a very unprofessional way in not only admitting to her use of Tinder but foolishly putting herself in a compromising position in the first place. I'm not too sure though if a person can call themselves naive if they are a frequenter of Tinder? In any case her conduct reflected poorly on her employer. Yet did the Roosters discipline or censure her for this? No, and their unwillingness to do so gave her actions their tacit approval. But I digress... ;-) “It’s extremely widespread” said Gould referring to filming these sorts of things in this era." Of that I have no doubt. This is a generational problem and not an issue of club culture. Clubs should not be expected to play nursemaid to grown men. They have a duty of care and a responsibility to educate their players up to a point but at some point players have to accept responsibility for their own behaviour for which their needs to be consistent penalties and consequences. To that end "hitting players hard" as you suggest 40/20 may be the only way to get this message to sink in. But this will only work if the penalties are consistent across all clubs instead of cherry-picking sanctions based on a player's importance to the club.

If only these guys chose a different industry, they could have built a billion dollar reality tv empire off the back of this.

I’m against mass suspensions. I’m for fines of the scale where players are on the equivalent of dole payments to play and officials at clubs get whacked that hard they take proactive steps to prevent it happening. Maybe $30k for the first upload viewed and $10k for ever view upto $500k then $5k till you reach the million at which point you get to present a check with you and your mates to Todd at half time in the GF for Bravehearts. I’m sure that will get you some of the admiration you seek and a good feeling of achievement.

This could be NRL's version of the fappening. The good news is, if NRL are consistent with the 10% salary fine, this could give the NRL a healthy revenue boost. I wonder if Greenburg will hire a hacker to hack player's phones if they are a bit short on cash.

I don't think anyone can stop a person from releasing these tapes, it's more about how the NRL manages the situation if/when it occurs. My reading is that there are "lots" of tapes out there so lets call "lots", twenty as an example. If these are all released at once and the situation is similar to that of May, the NRL MUST stand down all 20 players, assuming they're charged with a crime by police, because a precedent has been set. If a person had this type of material and wanted to be seriously vindictive, the perfect times to release would be prior to SOO or the finals, as this would garner maximum exposure. It actually makes the action taken by JDB against the NRL even more important to resolve as a matter of urgency. IF the Court finds in JDB's favour and he's allowed to play, it should obviously negate a lot of the impact other tapes should have on teams. IF the verdict falls to the NRL, potentially there'll be a lot of guys sweating big time on their playing futures.

So have you changed your stance from 'play on until proven guilty' to 'no retrospective bans'? 2 things. 1, The idea there is one person with all these tapes ready to manipulate the NRL is ludicrous. There may very well be a large number of tapes out there but you're inferring a coordinated assault. You do understand that person would be spending as much time inside a cell as May would for distributing these tapes. This person is not some underground hero, they are filth of the lowest form hiding under rocks launching grenades with no respect for anyone, especially the girls involved. 2, The answer is quite simple but hard. If you know you have a tape being circulated and at risk of this 'stand down' policy come forward to the club. However, you have to actually be arrested and charged by the police for this to occur. Otherwise, like Big Papi, you may get a few weeks and a fine. This way, the player, club and officials sort out their own punishment and you take all the power from the person leaking the tapes.

FT l’ve never been concerned about players personal conduct in the bedroom or how many women they have conquered in a season. But they have taken this stuff out of the private arena and put it on public display and it’s become some sort of competition at the expense of victims. I have recently discovered several teenagers have got access to the vision and there is hundreds more kicking around for them see. It’s gutless disrespectful filth and i’m sure it’s going to have a terrible and long lasting effect on everyone involved. If my I children have access to this on their devices in the school yard lt’s not acceptable.

Obviously the me to message hasn’t been in NRL presentations.

So someone makes a tape ( with consent) what do you do now NRL ? Soon every players bacground from preferences to political views will determine there suitably to play. A SPORT