Generally I don’t hold much truck with the nostalgic rants of former players lamenting that the game was tougher and more skilful back in their day.
With developments in coaching and sport science the game is as skilful, fast and furious as it has ever been. I marvel at what these athletes are able to achieve each weekend.
What has disappeared from rugby league are the cheap shots, punching, all-in-brawls and the ‘Winfield cigarette ladies’ at the grounds. There is no desire to revive these relics in 2019.
Rugby league ‘Immortal’ Andrew Johns said something recently that struck a chord with me. It’s an issue that has irked me for a few years now.
In response to the increasingly common vision of players laughing and joking with opposition team members, the former Newcastle Knights halfback had this to say:
“I see players before the game shaking hands, laughing and joking. Hang on – you’re going out there to bash each other.
“I can remember when I was playing, myself and Brad Fittler are really close. I never talked to him during the year. If I’d see him at a game, at the toss of the coin, I’d say ‘good luck’ and that was it. There’d be no handshakes, no pats on the backside.
“There’s too much love in the game, there’s got to be more hate.”
It would be easy to shake this off as another dinosaur ‘the game’s gone soft’ category comment but there is a reason why this is significant. My particular beef is with what occurs at the end of matches.
Channel 9 commentators Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler. Bros. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
As dedicated fans our weekly moods rely on how our team fares. It sometimes depends on the enormity of the loss.
We want to see players that represent the club that we invest time, money and emotion into, visibly hurt after a thrashing as much as we do.
It is perplexing and disrespectful to fans to see a player having a laugh with the opposition seconds after their side has suffered a thirty point loss due to a poor performance.
Johns was a player with exceptional skill and vision along with remarkable toughness. It was not uncommon to see him play the role of a seventh forward, pile driving opposition props into the turf when necessary.
Here is a man who played in an NRL grand final after suffering three broken ribs and a punctured lung a fortnight earlier. He had a tremendous will to win but it is what happens in the modern game immediately before and after the battle that has him concerned.
Some time ago there was a shift in junior sport to focus on participation and enjoyment rather than just winning. It makes sense, if community clubs are going to maintain numbers, in what is a competitive market to capture the leisure time of participants, then they need to offer an inclusive and pleasurable environment.
A win at all costs approach to selections and game plans is only ever going to benefit a minority of players.
The NRL is a different beast however. We are talking about athletes that are paid handsomely by clubs, and ultimately the sponsors and fans, to go out and give their best and do whatever is necessary to win games within the rules.
There is no doubt that that within the 80 minutes (or a bit more in the event of a Golden Point situation) NRL players are totally committed to a positive outcome. It is what comes literally seconds after the final whistle that has fans of losing sides demonstrating their anger on social media.
JT has a laugh. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Grant Trouville)
There are no rules to stop players having a laugh with the opposition after a game. It will always be an individual decision but surely it’s not a great message to the supporters that have come out to back their team.
Progress in sports psychology is such that athletes learn to switch on when they are performing and just as quickly switch off when the intensity is not required. Surely there should be an hours grace before the laughter and back slaps commence after a big loss.
From the moment we start in team sports we are taught to respect our opposition and be gracious in defeat. Shaking hands and saying ‘congratulations” or ‘well played” is an essential part of the game that should never change.
NRL players are more mobile than ever and have to seek opportunities wherever they lie. Junior development systems start for players in their early teens. It is a given that there will be close friendships across the competition. The days of local juniors dominating teams and one-club veterans have almost disappeared.
As more money is available, there is a danger that fans will feel less engaged and players may be perceived as ‘only in it for the money.’
Experience tells me that for the most players love their club and will do anything for a win. They are highly competitive individuals.
Just give the fans an hour or two to absorb a loss before the frivolity starts.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
Oh, I would, but he blocked me more than ten years ago. The guy just doesn’t want to learn.
Womblat
Guest
I think he does, maybe even as much as you, but like many others, he confuses "respect" with "love". Maybe you could point that out to him in one of your "advice/comment" e-mails you regularly send to certain players. I reckon he'd appreciate that as much as they do.
MaM
Roar Rookie
It seemed to be that teams used to go straight to their dressing room after the final whistle, then debrief and feel some sort or disappointment in losing for at least a few minutes, then meet up after with the opposition for beers etc. Now it's the hugging and laughing straight after the final whistle, with that lingering on, that might irk others. It's as if the losing doesn't matter at all. Maybe that's a fox/nine/nrl thing that players should hang about on the field after the games. If that's the case then it would probably be hard to maintain the rage.
Nat
Roar Guru
Am a Broncos fan but didn't see the interactions after the game with my head buried in the pillow. :) I understand where you are coming from but there just isn't that investment anymore - either way. 3 of the 4 examples you offer are local juniors and would not imagine playing anywhere else. But then, Johns was probably the last of those to play in a professional comp where big money was on offer. Prior to that, a couple of grand and match fee was about it so the incentive to play elsewhere was no where near as enticing (unless you're Phil Blake). On the same token, clubs are not looking locally for their talent either. Ask any of the players today who they supported and very few would say it's the club they play for today. You cannot expect entrenched loyalty from young guy they effectively purchased from another part of the City/State/Country. They are employees and that equals about the same level of passion but also professionalism that you or I would give our employers. As fans, we care about the jumper, the club and the history. We are emotionally attached but I think we need to keep in mind it really isn't as high stakes as we make it. So I think getting upset about a player that's not as disappointed as us at the outcome is a wasted emotion. P.S. I'm no Buddha. I've screamed at the TV, been the vocal fool at Suncorp and kicked the dog on nights like last Thursday. The next day, give the dog a big bone and hope it gets better next week.
Paul
Roar Guru
I could not agree more about your pet hate, Birdy. In years gone by, I've turned off the TV because I was getting so angry with forward passes being thrown and the ref ignoring them. There's a real obsession about "metres gained" and "getting to your kick", which seems to sum up 75 or 80% of sets. Sides make their 40 or 50 metres then boot the ball down inside the opposition quarter and repeat, This is in line with your comment about flat line attack or playing at the game line. Part of that same issue is being coached to play the ball quickly, not play it correctly and in that regards, your right, the coaches have plenty to answer for.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
Nothing naughty, no roar firing squad turned up at my door, so I must have pushed the wrong button. My comment was along the lines of coaches pushing the flat line attack and milking it for all it's worth My biggest pet hate x1000 is forward passes from dummy half but it's how there being coached now days. They clamped down on it last year, which I supported ,and look what happened. So in my opinion it's a coaching fault rather than a skills problem in most cases. The only way in my book, for the flat line attack working consistently is by the refs turning a blind eye for the sake of entertainment. I wonder how many wingers no tries have been as a result of this flat line forcing them into a position where it's almost impossible to stay on side.
Rod
Guest
You would expect core skills to be better now as they train so much more . Plenty of players can’t even pass the ball both sides or comfortably play either side . I don’t know the game is more structured ,there for I don’t believe players can some up a situation as well as guys from pre super league era . Mind you a modern side under modern day rules would destroy any team pre super league with out question
Isaac Buatava
Roar Pro
Could it be that players have got better at compartmentalisation, and they are better at switching on and off.
Paul
Roar Guru
sorry Superspud, I'm not getting confused about skills and procedures because every thing a player does on the field involves a certain level of skill, be it playing the ball, catching & passing, scrummaging, etc. The game actually demands less of most players now than it did 30 years ago. How many times will we see a set of 6 with one or two passes to a forward to cart the ball 50 yards over 5 tackles, then a kick? I'm guessing that happens probably 80% of the time in most games. This makes the simple errors I mentioned earlier even harder to wear because there's rarely a need for them to happen. .
Paul
Roar Guru
Nat I don't think anyone's getting upset and I also don't think this is trivial by any means. You're a Broncos fan aren't you? I assume from your comments you had no issues with your team laughing & joking immediately after getting a hiding from South Sydney or appearing to have no issues with a 2 and 6 record? In year gone by, players had much more buy in to Clubs and it was the exception rather than the rule, that guys would change Clubs. This meant they really "got" the passion the fans brought to the game. They understood the hurt fans felt when their team got belted and players didn't appear to try. Players are welcome to do what ever they like, after they've finished the game and cleared the ground, but it's hard to call most players anything but "mercenaries for money" when they appear to care so little. Look at one team guys like Raudonikis, Toovey, Hasler, Johns, etc, all totally passionate, certainly far more than most modern footballers. There's no way you'd see any of these guys laughing and joking on the field, straight after getting a belting, yet this is what we see most weekends and that's disappointing.
Superspud
Roar Rookie
I think you are getting confused with skills and procedures. Everyone in todays game has the ability to play the ball correctly and efficiently. I think what they mean by skills are the catching, passing etc. I would say perhaps the chip and chase used to be more prevalent in the 80s and 90s. The reason for ball security being lessened is that the game now demands more from players. Catch it out in front look for options. I remember my old coach saying to me when I caught the ball in my hands "It's not a cricket ball, catch it on your chest". Things have changed. I think it is fair to say scrummaging has gone backwards.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
I think its terrific the way the players have a chat and congratulate each other at the end of a fierce contest - shows they are human
Paul
Roar Guru
it wasn't naughty, was it?
Birdy
Roar Rookie
My reply disappeared
Paul
Roar Guru
How many guys get pinged for not playing the ball correctly, Birdy? James Maloney cost his team 6 points a few rounds ago by facing the touchline to play the ball. How many guys are getting one-on-one stripped or cough up the ball through a loose carry? These are deadset basics that guys should not get wrong, but they do way more than they did in the 70's & 80's.
Paul
Roar Guru
TB, the last sentence sums up the way I think it should still work. Show respect to the opposition immediately after the game through a handshake or, heaven forbid, a manhug and that's it. If you hook up at a pub a few hours later, good stuff, but enough of the laughs & jokes straight after a game please.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Maybe they can have a deduction on their contract payments if they don’t pass disappointment KPIs...?
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yeah there’s definitely a line there. I guess I’d rather have a sense that players are putting in on the field and having a laugh after than playing half hearted and putting on a show afterwards...
Sammy
Guest
I like the idea of being able to socialise with the opposition a few hours later, but not immediately after the whistle blows. Losing players should still express some of disappointment, whilst honouring that they were outplayed. We see this in State of Origin but not in the NRL. With televised sport, a player who laughs off a loss too quickly sends a mixed message - one one hand he is setting a great example to young kids than winning is not everything. On the other hand he's indirectly implying that he doesn't really care that much about the loss since the pay cheque is guaranteed.
Big Daddy
Guest
Because a lot of player's change teams they have to get along reasonably well as the bloke you played with today might be your opposition tomorrow. There a couple of guys who do carry on in and after the game but most show a bit of respect and that's all you can ask for.