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How is a match fixed? Who are the villains? Is my club immune? Is there an end in sight?
Sadly, the answers to soul-searching questions like these may never surface. But for NRL fans, the mere humiliation of having to ask might be just as painful as naming the guilty.
For what’s worse, knowing your team is poisoned by match fixers or suffocating amid the rumours of match-fixing’s evil grip?
For supporters, the legitimacy of a playing group is everything. If clouded, visions of success make way for microscopic scrutiny of the suspects.
Is there an aversion to physical contact surrounded by uncharacteristic mistakes? Is there evidence of an emotional disconnect? Prolonged examples tarnish the elation of victory and spread innuendo like wildfire in times of defeat.
Mike Colman in the Sunday Telegraph recalled a conversation he had with David Gallop several years ago where the then NRL CEO explained match-fixing as the one thing the game could not survive.
“If people feel that our game is crooked, that the result is not pure, they will walk away and never come back,” he said.
Walk away?
Imagine that! Swapping lifelong colours for those of a foreign code or heaven forbid, cracking it headlong into a sporting sunset.
Rugby league has lost fans in the past only to welcome them back in better times.
Super League was the first shake-up in my time. Many turned their back on the game or took a back seat monitoring results from afar.
I recall the ugly fallouts but welcomed the game’s extended coverage and as a Manly fan thanked the ARL for not copying Super League’s pastel coloured strips.
Many bitter fans relaxed their stance after reunification. By kick-off to the 2000 season, I’d all but shifted my allegiance to disgruntled rugby league neutral.
Along with the Bears, the Sea Eagles had played their last. The sight of Manly favourite Geoff Toovey leading the merged outfit onto NorthPower Stadium finally convinced me to accept the splash of red and black that was part of the Northern Eagles joint venture.
A fair slice of luck kept me in the mix. Had the boot been on the other foot and Norths taken control in 2003 I doubt I could’ve held on.
If ever a group of fans needed a reason to pack up and walk it’s the Rabbitohs. And that’s exactly what happened when they were axed; only they marched en masse through the heart of Sydney and straight back into the fold.
Rugby league’s resilience led by faithful fans is legendary. Without them, both Melbourne and Cronulla’s rebound from recent scandal wouldn’t have been as swift.
Heartbroken Eels supporters will also find a way through this season’s turmoil.
Traditionally, once right from wrong is defined and the guilty removed it doesn’t take long for the wounds to heal.
Match-fixing though is a totally different beast. One wrong let alone multiple are yet to be proven and until so, alleged conspirators will also be a figment of the imagination.
Without findings either way, the rumours are unlikely to subside. And like most rugby league stories, where there’s smoke there’s fire.
I often wonder if previous player punishments for small time betting are just the edge of a puzzle still missing its biggest piece.
The most harrowing story for me is the demise of former Manly cult hero David Williams. After finishing atop the 2013 try-scoring list the Wolfman apparently went AWOL after a forgettable performance in Manly’s grand final loss to the Roosters.
The winger returned in 2014 down on form and predominantly in the NSW Cup. His charismatic presence replaced by a lost and distracted soul.
The source of his grief surfaced with a season-ending suspension in July 2014 following an admission to betting on NRL matches across three seasons. The glory days never returned and the Wolfman retired in 2015 almost without recognition.
With Williams in mind, thoughts on the two suspicious Manly games in 2015 (note: Williams did not play in either game) naturally wander to greater depths and bigger sharks.
What could be more gut-wrenching than learning members of your favourite team have been smugly counting rewards amid the despair of beaten teammates and supporters?
Most would like to believe the Sea Eagles are guilt free. But without undeniable proof, the more sinister speculation looms as the NRL’s biggest threat.
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