Next Sunday, 40,000 people will half-fill Sydney’s Olympic Stadium for a grand final that had no right to happen.
Well, that’s if you listened to the doomsayers who queued up to sink the boot into Peter V’landys before the NRL season restart.
When V’landys unveiled his ambitious target to reboot rugby league by May 28 following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, his critics were as strident as they were predictable.
In mid-May, Collingwood president and human headline Eddie McGuire said: “The AFL wants to show social leadership, they don’t want to be out like the NRL spruiking different ideas, we’re going to be model citizens.”
The rebuttal writes itself. Steele Sidebottom’s four-week lockdown ban. Nathan Buckey’s $50,000 game of tennis. Jordan de Goey’s police charges. Héritier Lumumba’s revelations of racism. Oh, and Eddie’s visit to the Pink Flamingo nightclub. And that’s just McGuire’s Pies!
McGuire found an unlikely ally in Peter FitzSimons, who asked: “Is there an industry more at risk of spreading COVID-19 than the NRL?”
The eventual answer to hanky head’s hysterical question? Yes — virtually any other industry you could name.
Given how many code warriors took up arms against V’landys, you can be sure a single case of coronavirus contracted in an NRL stadium would’ve received blanket coverage.
Plenty of pessimism came from inside the tent, too. Phil Gould — a man who prefers to snipe the game’s administration from his soapbox than ever have a crack himself, despite years of public flirtation — insisted the NRL would not return until there was a vaccine for COVID-19.
“No chance in the world,” said Gus, also raising the spectre of clubs folding.
But as this corona-hit campaign approaches its final instalment, the NRL isn’t just limping to the line — it’s gathering steam.
A pulsating finals series will culminate with 40,000 fans inside ANZ Stadium — an inconceivable prospect six months ago and by far the most normal decider of the four football codes in 2020.
Any asterisk chat has completely evaporated from rugby league pub talk.
The two clubs that faced the biggest imposition — the Warriors and the Storm — both aimed up, and the adopted Sunshine Coasters are in line for yet another piece of silverware.
The Raiders suffered the competition’s worst injury toll, no doubt linked to the disrupted calendar and bye-less fixture, but Ricky Stuart never used that as an excuse.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Sure, the NRL hasn’t been free of controversy. It wouldn’t be rugby league without the kind of unedifying headlines attached to Sam Burgess and Addin Fonua-Blake and Bronson Xerri and Michael Jennings…
And although V’landys’ six-again edict has sped up the game, opinion remains split over its application by the whistle-blowers.
But while Australia’s biggest football code was forced to move their grand final 1600 kilometres away, tinker with something as essential as the length of their matches and cop complaint after complaint about the quality of the endless midweek contests that filled up their unfollowable fixture list, the country’s second-biggest game boasts the rarest of commodities in 2020: normality.
Besides some empty seats, the date on the calendar and the fact that the Roosters won’t be there, precious little looks different about the 2020 grand final than we expected before the outbreak of COVID-19.
Imagine telling that to the critics back in May.
Heyou
Roar Rookie
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Heyou
Roar Rookie
Red and white all the way!
Phil
Roar Rookie
I like the way you think Lisa. V'landys has been great for our game. Did I see on another thread somewhere you are Saints fan?
Heyou
Roar Rookie
No and yes :laughing:
Heyou
Roar Rookie
:laughing:
Nat
Roar Rookie
NSW have never had a bad team - on paper... :silly:
Heyou
Roar Rookie
Lol :laughing: A Queenslander! May the best team win. (Just quietly I’m a little worried that Freddy has too much talent to choose from :silly:) I would NEVER underestimate the Cane Toads! Love SOO battles.
mushi
Roar Guru
Potentially because we encouraged concussion
mushi
Roar Guru
On your points Nar, yes he is normally a step or two further in outrage. But. Fox lauded Api getting an injection. We support drugs in sport. The NRL has diverted funding from grass roots. The NRL does not believe in grass roots funding. What actually makes the money for professional sport is the product having value. The product isn't the game on the field, its our attachment to it grass roots. Grass roots is the spine, sponsor's are the wingers. As to integrity its an article lauding an effective leader but not one ever accused of integrity
mushi
Roar Guru
He's not actually a journo anyway I think, isn't he an opinion columnist?
Nat
Roar Rookie
Hi Lisa, Even though you finished poorly "go the blues", I'll 'like' anyway. :stoked:
Heyou
Roar Rookie
I, like so many, was devastated at the thought of no rugby league season in 2020. We lamented on social media, we wrung our hands, and whined and whinged and a tear or two may even have been shed by the faithful. Stuck at home for months, in my sick bed most of the time, feeling like the world was going to hell in a hand basket and losing my grip on sanity when there was ZERO sport to be watched on the box, hope came from above. No,It wasn’t from GOD ,although she might have had a hand in it as SO many prayed for relief, but from Mr V’landys and his board and minions, who gave us succour in these troubled times. Gussets Gould was full of it, Eddie is a drongo and Fitzsimmons? who cared what he had to say about OUR beautiful game? I’m still not keen on some of these changes to our game, but I’m old school and somewhat reactionary in my own little rugby league world. (I still miss proper scrums lol) I will be forever grateful for the efforts of our chief and his gang for a reprieve from total sport shutdown. The game I love was up and running, great football was played and watched, some even got to go to a game or two. It was a roller coaster of a year, particularly for my lot who struggled, fought and lost and kept us breathless and horrified, hopeful and hysterical at the moments of brilliance, not quite balancing out with the grim groans and spitting of chips at the woefully substandard efforts that were our downfall. We live to fight on in a new season with new hope in our hearts. Thanks to a smart man who made crucial decisions in dire times. It worked We look forward to our Grand Final, anticipating a great game of two very different teams, both worthy( Go Panthers!) We look forward to an awesome State of Origin series (go you mighty Blues) Naysayers must all be feeling a bit embarrassed, but I don’t expect they will ever admit it! I’ll be counting down how many sleeps until the 2021 season begins. It’s bound to be another cracker. Amen to that! :laughing:
Tony
Roar Guru
A great player who lost his way. Such a shame.
Adam
Roar Guru
Don't EVER badmouth the Wiggles like that again!
matth
Roar Guru
In the greatest state on earth :stoked:
Paul
Roar Guru
I get where you're coming from. I too am concerned many want to make V'landys a knight or something similar for coming up with some ideas, when most of the hard work has been done by hundreds of nameless people. I don't think this piece does that, more it's a written "stick your tongue out" at those who knocked the idea from minute one and don't have the courage to admit they were wrong. I also like your spelling of Pallashay but I seem to think it's missing a few "z's" and "c's". A bit like Mt Kossyosko. :happy:
Nat
Roar Rookie
Absoluetly a collective effort. I think the NRL fell A-ss backwards into his leadership and experience that enabled the NRL to get up again. Had it still been Beattie and Greenberg, the game would be broke and dead.
BigGordy73
Roar Rookie
Lots of people deserve praise for getting the season through, the NRL for planning and negotiating with the respective governments. The players, coaching staff and other club stuff for following the covid guidelines with only a handful of players in exceptions. The fans getting behind the game by watching on TV, buying into the “Fan in the stand” concept till crowds could return. Then when crowds could return generally filling the reduced capacity for most games and abiding by the covid guidelines such that no NRL venue to my knowledge has ended up on a covid warning list due to positive cases. Everyone was truly in it together and the NRL definitely showed the way for the other codes with its can do attitude. Every challenge along the way was met, other than perhaps Annastacia Palaszczuk’s continuing ridiculous Qld border closure/restrictions for political purposes.
Nat
Roar Rookie
Why is that clickbait on my behalf? Mines a personal POV, if others agree, that's fine but it wasn't the point of writing it. You have a point though, I have no repect for him, I stopped reading his stuff many moons ago and all I see of him these days is his commentary in Sports Sunday. Maybe he has a 'role' to pay on that panel but what comes out of his mouth is utter gibberish and not just the topic of league. My greatest issue with him, which aligns back to the points above, is he is full of easy answers and the hypocrite high ground he takes. Drugs/Grassroots and no to 'big business'. He works for big business, he does corporate speaking gigs as does his wife. It's easy to throw stones but what is the solution offered? He literally throws lines out for clicks and comments and to promote his latest book.
Dexter The Hamster
Roar Rookie
No, the majority weren't giving it to V'landys. This is the great misconception.