Each morning during this COVID pandemic, I have woken up and repeated the following phrase: I am grateful for a healthy family and for a job.
Repeating that mantra has helped me stay positive in these overwhelmingly depressing times.
But even in trying to stay positive, like others, I have had moments of being overwhelmed. Those feelings have amplified over the last few weeks as I wonder what sport will look like when the world begins to return to some sense of normality.
Sport is that special something that brings a twinkle to my eye. It creates unspeakable joy, passion, determination and overwhelming loss. And over the last couple of months, my life has been emptier because of its disappearance.
In the coming months, there is plenty to look forward to. The NRL is set to resume on May 28 and other codes are set to follow.
But sport is not just what happens on the field. It is about the community around the game and all the pieces that come together to make our games what they are.
Over the last few months I have watched as colleagues and friends of mine have been made redundant from organisations like Fox Sports. Sweeping changes have been made at Cricket Victoria. The future of AAP still hangs in the balance and just yesterday it was announced that there will be no Big League in 2020.
News like this fills me with grave concern about the future of sports media in this country.
We have already had a taste of it. Staff writers at Fox Sports have contributed several clickbait-type pieces over the last couple of weeks, including one about Latrell Mitchell and his lack of match fitness, which created a frenzy on social media.
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
Agendas are nothing new in rugby league, but it is astounding to see the way different players are treated. Take Mitchell, who even prior to breaking lockdown laws was being hounded in the media for not singing the Australian national anthem and for his appearance in the most recent NRL ad.
He was targeted because of his race by some fans. Compare that to Nathan Cleary, who has allegedly lied to the integrity unit and is still considered by the Penrith Panthers as a future leader of the club.
Our news feeds have been filled with stories about anti-vaxxers and the celebrities that are supporting the players that have taken this stance, debate about the way the NRL spends its money and a back and forth between Channel Nine and the NRL about who is better placed to look after the NRL’s digital arm.
The nonsense written about the NRL’s digital arm has been fascinating to see. Some writers allege it has no value, yet Channel Nine seem very eager to acquire it. I can’t imagine why Nine might be interested in acquiring a source that acts like a competitor to them.
Can you imagine how damaging it would be to rugby league if Channel Nine and Fox Sports were the main entities where we got our news? Especially in an environment where journalists have been made redundant while we keep former players on contract to keep us up to date on the game?
(Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
But it’s not just the media that worries me.
Cost cutting does, too.
I acknowledge this pandemic has forced all companies to think about how money can be better spent. There is almost no company in the world that was ready for the impact of this pandemic and there will be no company that returns post-pandemic in the same way.
But our sports need to be careful about where savings come from, particularly if it means reductions to funding for grassroots or for the women’s version of the game.
There has been plenty of excitement about the NRL’s return in May but I have heard next to nothing about what is happening with the women’s game going forward.
This worries me after news from the Sydney Roosters and Brisbane Broncos earlier this year that they would not be able to pay to field teams this year. No doubt the NRL are working hard to see what the women’s game will look like in 2020, but going backward is simply not an option.
I want sport to return as much as anyone else, but sport will not be sport without diversity and inclusion or without the quality journalism we have come to expect from many of our news agencies over the last couple of years.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Saying Rugby League is a hard body contact sport doesn't imply Australian Rules is not. You can't tackle around the legs or push in the back and there is a lot of running and chasing involving greater endurance. If there were more cricket playing countries it might go global.
AJ73
Roar Rookie
And Australian Rules is not a hard body contact sport? Plus it involves greater endurance than other sports, which puts stresses on the body as well.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Attendance in the AFL is it's strong point but I prefer to watch on TV these days as I don't get out much. I don't watch Basketball but I watch a bit of Netball where Australia are World Champions like in RL.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
SOO may have been started by the VFL but it was desired by Queenslanders from the start of the QRL because Queenslanders had to go to Sydney to get a chance to play for Australia by first playing for NSW. Qlueensland took regular beatings from NSW full of Queenslanders. The best AF can do is pick an All Australian team that only performs on paper.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Why does the NRL rate so high when it is so low in the participation list? It is because it is a hard body contact sport with tackling allowed below the arms and it is played by elite athletes and despite having some big flaws many viewers like the contest and the battle for points determining table position. Rugby League's growth potential is high in the Australian Football states of Australia whereas Aussie Rules was played in NSW before RL and doesn't have anywhere to expand to. There is also RL played in PNG, NZ, Tonga. Samoa, Fiji & The Cook Islands but Aussie Rules have Nauru and Gaelic Football.
AJ73
Roar Rookie
Even with OzTag, touch footy, and Union, they barely crack 300K. As for SOO (which was started by Australian Rules Football), the AFL played that and it fell by the wayside when it became a national competition. What else is the measure of interest? TV viewers - it's neck and neck. AFL Finals outrate NRL finals. Without SOO, NRL has fewer viewers. Comparing like for like, AFL has more viewers. Attendance - AFL is the 5th most attended sporting league in the world. Only the NFL, Bundesliga, EPL, and the IPL have higher averages. Membership - AFL has 1m + members, NRL just over 300K. The two clubs with the highest membership in Sydney are the Swans and the Giants. And I watch both codes as well as Union and Soccer. Really sport in general. Leagues growth is probably close to its high point in Australia If you look at the major TV sports/participation (all ages) in this country it is 1. Soccer (~1.9m) 2. Basketball (~1.1m) 3. Netball (~1.0m) 4. Australian Rules (~975K) 5. League (~270K) 6. Union (~210K) Still, a lot of ground to make up.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Yes I was aware that you can't watch all AFL games live but I did not take this into consideration in my amateurish analysis. More people watch AFL games live too. You are probably correct about teams in Adelaide and Perth but the number of registered players is not the only measure of interest. There are plenty of people who play rugby union and watch rugby league although I am just extrapolating on the small sample I have known. There is also touch footy and oztag that are based on rugby league and throw in State of Origin and Internationals that Australian Football can't reproduce unless Western Australia succeeds.
AJ73
Roar Rookie
Please if you are going to bring figures and games into it, please get it right. NRL - I can watch all 8 games live from start to finish as there are no overlaps in games AFL - I can only watch 6 games possibly 7 games live, as there are games on at the same time (at most only a quarter difference in starting time) on Saturday afternoons and night as well as Sunday afternoon. As for teams in Adelaide and Perth, that is not likely to happen in the foreseeable future. If you have a look at the numbers of people registered to play Rugby League, there is only 25K (aged 15 and above) outside NSW and QLD. There are 175K registrations for this age bracket across the country. Compare that to 120K registrations alone in QLD and NSW for Australian Rules. There are 550K registrations overall. These figures are from clearinghouseforsport.gov.au
Tim Salas
Guest
You're a bit late on this one, Mary. The standard has been horrible for years. News are a good example. They have sought to talk down the game's value for decades now. Perhaps you don't recall them signing the cheques and then going around the other side of the desk to collect them?
The duad
Guest
Agree totally Sports journalism is not different from general journalism. Stories have to be dramatic and sensational to get views. Regardless of how minor the story is it has to be made better with misleading headlines and opinions and misinterpreting and taking things out of context. Everyone is an expert. Opinions become news. If it is a slow news day Journalists must make nothing something. Its all about clicks and views. The truth has nothing to do with news anymore, its all about revenue. People are being conned into thinking something is important and later we find out it is rubbish. Player movements that never happen, rivalries that dont exist, refereeing decisions that may or may not be right or wrong. Its everywhere in journalism. Its simply a media con game or fake news if you prefer.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
Yo matth. TBF, the ABC TV news has been shite for some time now. It's almost identical to the appalling FTA versions; Fires, half the stories coming from the police desk and even infotainment pieces (If I see that bl00dy Miriam Margolis on *another* ABC program then bottles will roll I tell you). Try watching the SBS 18:30 news. Sooo much better.
jamesb
Roar Guru
Maybe as a way to starve them off from owning NRL digital.
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Lol
Chris Love
Roar Guru
Why would 9 get a discount on 2021 and 2022 seasons? They held the NRL to ransom?
Chris Love
Roar Guru
I couldn’t find the McNamara comments. Were they deleted?
Chris Love
Roar Guru
I stopped watching the footy show when Sterlo left. He was the last real rugby league commentator. The rest were there just to goof around.
Shakti
Guest
Wonderful article Mary
Eelsalmighty
Roar Rookie
AH, I think you summed it up with "the current trend" and that's the key point. I actually disagree with the thematic of the article because it leans toward blaming the virus for major faults/potential problems that have existed for years/decades.
Alley Barber
Guest
Moderation ?
Alley Barber
Guest
I wouldn’t have a problem if the ABC was as it was 20 yrs ago . But , unfortunately it has been hijacked , and doesn’t offer any value for money for a considerable percentage of the population.