‘Rugby league in crisis’ is a catchphrase footy fans are used to.
But in 2019, something is different.
Rugby league is not in crisis.
In fact, it is thriving.
Last week, after a self-imposed hiatus on Twitter, Peter Beattie came back to social media to tweet some figures about the first seven rounds of the season.
And there was plenty of good news to share.
On the field, there have been 300 fewer penalties compared to the same point in 2018. The on-field adjustments that have been made to the game have led to ball-in-play time increasing by an average of one minutes and 45 seconds per match. If you tally that up, that equals almost 100 more minutes of extra play for fans to enjoy.
Off the field, the impact has also been significant. Compared to the same point in the season last year, total free-to-air television audiences have increased by more than four per cent. National total subscription viewership has increased by three per cent.
Club memberships have increased by three per cent and total NRL audiences have increased by more than two per cent.
Many fans wondered what impact the off-season from hell would have on the 2019 season. If you look at the figures reported by Beattie last week, it appears that they have had very little impact.
In fact, across all key metrics, there has been an improvement.
Of course, this doesn’t consider what impact the off-season had on people that the game is trying to attract as opposed to the rusted-on fans.
But one of the biggest differences that I have noticed this season is that for the first time in a long time, the media actually seem to be on rugby league’s side.
Think of some of the stories that came out last year. Phil Rothfield tweeted that ‘rugby league is now a shit game’, questioning his love for it.
Todd Greenberg made a direction to the referees at the start of the year to be more strict in the way they applied the rules. This led to an increase in the number of penalties being blown, but most fans were supportive of the change given it forced teams to actually play by the rules.
But there were sections of the media that went so hard against these changes that Greenberg backflipped through the year and seemed to give in to those making the most noise.
But over the last couple of months, we’ve certainly seen a shift in the way the rugby league media report on issues – and it’s for the better.
Brad Fittler and his approach to the media during the NSW Blues camp last season certainly changed things during State of Origin and seemed to have no negative impact on the team’s performance.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Open media access led to some great stories being produced about some of the players including Josh Ado-Carr and James Roberts.
This year we’ve seen pieces about many players, too, including Braidon Burns and David Klemmer. The rugby league public loved these stories.
On top of these deeper stories about our players, we’ve seen footy fans begin to push back against the media in certain circumstances, particularly when they seem to be attacking the game.
When The Daily Telegraph published photos of some of the Canterbury Bulldogs squad taken by long-lens cameras last Mad Monday, the fans were critical of an approach that seemed to have the goal of hanging the players out to dry.
In circumstances where the media often question the access they get to players, situations like that demonstrate why the players and the media can have such a challenging relationship.
We saw similar pushback this year when Phil Gould was made redundant at the Penrith Panthers and Fox League shared an article highly critical of Gould and the impact that he had on the club.
Love him or hate him, rugby league fans rallied against this article in defence of Gould and against such blatant negative reporting.
Perhaps some of the media are beginning to get the message.
Last week we saw Phil Rothfield tweet that he had fallen back in love with rugby league.
Some took a cynical approach to this and questioned whether it was in response to new figures released which showed that the Sydney Morning Herald had beaten News Corp, reaching 7.49 million people this month – three million clear of their nearest rivals.
Whether Buzz has done it for the right reasons or not, it’s refreshing to see us focusing on the footy, which has been exceptional this year.
We saw a couple of cracking games this weekend and very entertaining tries scored across the board.
There’s so much in rugby league to celebrate, imagine how much more successful the game would be if we spent more time celebrating it.
Jimbob
Guest
I keep saying the solution here is simple: flash up a quick KFC promo every time there is a ruling on a Try/NoTry... even if it doesn't go to the bunker.
peeeko
Roar Guru
the Dt writers were told by their bosses to change as they were getting the public offside. News limited then started paying influencers on social media to start liking and supporting their tweets. This rumour has been doing the rounds on social media and comes from good sources
Emcie
Roar Guru
Let's be honest, league is growing despite the media not because of any change in coverage. I reckon the NRL taking an active role in creating their own content through nrl.com has had a big impact on directing public sentiments as well.
Big Daddy
Guest
If the Broncos current vein of form continues their crowds may start to decline which is not a good thing for NRL crowds. The NRL needs a competitive Broncos.
Fred
Guest
Buzz Rothfield has less credibility than Buzz Lightyear. The Daily Terrorgraph is a monstrosity.
Pickett
Guest
Rugby League is a resilient game. It's been that way for over a hundred years with many ups and downs through out - Super League war, off field drama, salary cap scandals, media attacks etc... This year has seen some incredible footy, fantastic cliff hanger games, Bankwest stadium, traditional teams like Manly, Parra and StG do well, I could go on.. To top it off, it just needs an Easts v Sou ffs GF with Easts winning by a field goal in extra time :) On a separate note, how refreshing is it to see Fifita and Gallen speaking their mind in the media, not being constrained and saying the usual media-trained, conformist, boring nonsense stuff. We need more personalities in the game.
buttery
Roar Rookie
Who really cares what Rothfield & Kent think of the game, they are journos who make a living off the game , us fans are the ones who count, we pay the money for entry in to games, we pay the money for cable TV & newspapers, they pay for nothing, not a penny, they don't listen to the fans, they print & expound their own drivel, they criticise social media but let's face it, social media is the only the fans can have a "right of reply" to their media rants.
Craigo
Guest
Well said, Mary! I agree!
Birdy
Roar Rookie
Not sometimes but everytime I read or hear a negative report on RL the words of the great Mike Gibson come rushing back . In one of his last interviews he recalled that when he started as a journo he was advised that dirt sells , especially in RL. So he followed. He established his career until he realised he and the media were killing not just the game they loved but the very game that paid their keep. He changed his ways and paid homage to his game and became an even greater success. My toast to one of Australia's greatest sport journos who didn't need muk to be the best.
Paul
Roar Guru
It's great to read a positive piece from Mary too. Living away from the east coast of Australia, we're nowhere near as badly infected by the media as those living in Sydney & Brisbane. That said, there have been so many good thing happening on the field, they've largely offset the bad things, so all good with the media here as well. There's still plenty of season left for the Kents & Rothfield's to ruin, but as you say, it's becoming harder for them to win followers, with more & more push back from the public when we feel someone's been hard done by.
RandyM
Guest
don't mean to be negative but the use of the video ref has become a joke again. It was good for the first 2 weeks so what happened? They've gone back to using it for just about every single try and the bunker are taking too long. Guess KFC are pressuring the NRL
rayner
Guest
I'd like to fully agree with the article but I can't. Some in the media are self-centred enough to think they should direct the game. Paul Kent is an example. He goes to town on NRL 360 about issues and when he doesn't get his way he gets angry. Just watch his performances on the show in recent days. He shouts over the top of those like Crawley and Hooper when they disagree with him and if, as they should, the NRL excludes Inglis' new income from the cap then watch Kent go off. He, and Rothfield, I hold responsible for bullying the NRL into going back from their crackdown on the wrestle and other infringements last year which had seen the game get faster and more open. Now the wrestle is still in play. One of the best things this year I have seen was the Penrith-Souths game where the wrestle was gone. Fast and open, it was a game to watch. That's my beef!
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
I have noticed a subtle change not only in the media’s conversation but also with the fans . Even here on the Roar there is so much more talk about, wait for it ; footy! The game has continually put itself down, for way too long. Off field incidents, conspiracy theories, unwarranted Ref bashing etc , etc. My team is well in the bottom half of the comp but I have enjoyed this season immensely. The rise of Parra and its new stadium, the form of the Raiders, Manly’s Unexpected improvement, the Rabbitohs under Wayne. All great for the game. There are certainly improvements still needed but RL remains a cracker of a sport.
Insider
Roar Rookie
Isn’t the case with sponsorship, StG have grown as have Manly, who needs soap
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
I'm glad the media did have an influence on the NRL regarding the poor refereeing standards along with the hard line approach to enforcing the rules at the start of last season. There is now a good balance between attack and defence and the standard of refereeing is much better. I used to watch the Super Rugby many years ago but watching the refs enforce the letter of the law and re pack scrums 5 times had me reaching for the remote control. I got into trouble at the time saying that they better do something otherwise no one will be watching. A year later the media were saying the same thing. Manly and Saints are clearly not supporting the no fault stand down and therefore should be attracting fewer sponsors, less crowds and poorer ratings but is that what is actually happening? If JDB and Walker are allowed to play then the best way for fans and sponsors to show their displeasure at these two clubs is to back up their strong words with strong actions. Don't watch or sponsor these two clubs. Boycott the sponsors. It won't happen. If they're not boycotting guilty players like Lodge why would they boycott players who aren't convicted? As for the media and some fans being negative on some issues , it's the only way to get change and the lack of criticism of the refs now is proof that it wasn't a juvenile reaction to a teams loss. Teams are still losing at the same rate.
Larry1950
Guest
Could it also be that the great unwashed public support the so called 'harsh' stand down of players like Walker & de Belin?
Insider
Roar Rookie
about time the media focused on what’s good about the game,