Wed 22 May 2013 | 
Where to now for rugby league?
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Enlarge textA cultural change in rugby league is urgently needed, not only for the sake of players and fans, but for the survival of the game itself.
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Does David Gallop, the Chief Executive of the National Rugby League, have the worst job in Australia?
There's little doubt he has the worst job in Australian sport, seemingly spending much of his time in damage control explaining away the indiscretions of star players that include drug use, sexual assault, and just plain old biff.
There has been much written and spoken this week about the exploits of Matthew Johns and his mystery Cronulla Sharks teammates in a hotel room in New Zealand seven years ago.
I'm not going to add to the posturing or moralising here but will ask the next relevant question: where does rugby league go from here?
Gallop has done the indisputably right thing by attempting to steer the sport he administers down a correct path by indicating prevailing attitudes within rugby league culture must change.
His problem is, he might be alone.
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, at least one senior rugby league player thinks Gallop is full of it.
"It's fine for David Gallop to come out and say you can't have group sex but the last thing blokes will be thinking about on a Friday night at the club is David Gallop," said the player, speaking anonymously.
"I don't know how a chief executive can come out and say we can't have group sex if it's consensual. It's like discrimination because that is a person's private life. It's like saying you can't be homosexual, or you can't have such-and-such sexual preferences. How can he tell us what we can do in our private lives? What if there's more women than guys, is that wrong, too?
"We already have so many rules: we can't drink on these days, we can't go to these places, now we can't have group sex. About the only thing we can do these days is go to club functions, and just hang around other players. That's just isolating us more from the rest of the world, and it could lead to even more violent acts."
So a ban on group sex will lead to more violence from rugby league players? You couldn't make it up. I wonder what families with young daughters and female fans think about that?
Meanwhile, asked at a training session media stand-up if rugby league's reputation was "OK" after the latest fiasco, Manly Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler replied: "I think so, it is a great product, NRL. It's a great business."
Either Hasler gets it completely and was struggling to (not unreasonably) avoid the question, he really believes that rugby league is a "great product", or he's really, really, dumb.
Sport in Australia, a country with a small population and many rival businesses vying for public attention and sponsorship money, is a very competitive arena.
So, let me put the following to the anonymous player and Des Hasler.
If you're a sponsor wanting to associate your company with a sport or sporting organisation over the next few years, would you rather team up with the NRL and its gang-bang crazy culture or perhaps the squeaky-clean family-friendly Socceroos who next year will be playing in South Africa in front of the world at the 2010 FIFA World Cup?
NRL's problems may only just be beginning.
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29 May 2009 14:07 AEST
From: Wollongong
Sharks
Ha ha ha! The Sharks are goooooooone!
18 May 2009 19:28 AEST
From: Bundaberg
4 cities
Rugby League is playeed in four cities. Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and Manchester so why does it get so much coverage?
18 May 2009 11:56 AEST
From: Briz
Thanks for the morals lecture Matt
Matt, they did nothing illegal (or even immoral in the eyes of plenty) perhaps your wisdom isn't as universal as you thought. Given the tsunami of indignation from self-apppointed keepers of public morality (i.e. journalists) I note that 43,000 people turned up to watch the Broncos v Titans game. Most bought tickets when the controversy was at it height. Also big crowds at other league games this week-end. You should also check out "sex-scandal" stories in the English Premier League. And the recent story of an A-league player (that's in Australia if you didn't know) charged with sex with a 13-year-old. Now that is immoral AND ILLEGAL!
17 May 2009 23:05 AEST
From: Qingdao
Rugby League
why is it called football soccer and afl are football all they do is throw the ball and bash each other
16 May 2009 14:43 AEST
From: wollongong
The hypocrisy sickens me
The girl was 19 and too immature for the situation she put herself in, now shes grown up and regrets some of the things she did when she was young, throwing mud isn't the way to act mature. Shame on 4 corners we have enough gutter journalist without the abc's help. To all those so blinded by hate of other sporting codes the constant this vs that ti for tat simple mindedness. Grow up, it's not all about you. Let us just enjoy sport not the nagging. Schools should be looking them selves in the mirror not discriminating between sports schools are more responsible for sex education in this country than any particular sporting code, surprisingly a lot of people pay to dollar to avoid giving there children comprehensive sex and relationship education.
15 May 2009 21:49 AEST
From: London
Where to now for rugby league?
"Squeaky clean family-friendly Socceroos" you say. Oh dear, the Sebastian Ryall scandal couldn't have come at a worse time then. Just shows that there is a scandal just waiting to come out for every sport.
15 May 2009 0:29 AEST
From: sydney
I am sick to death of rugby league
Really i can't take another story... it's the same meathead ancient b.s over and over again... can this sport die already...please!!!
14 May 2009 12:33 AEST
From: Memphis
Sit back and enjoy rugby league kill itself
"Would you rather team up with the NRL and its gang-bang crazy culture or perhaps the squeaky-clean family-friendly Socceroos who next year will be playing in South Africa in front of the world at the 2010 FIFA World Cup?" I agree with Matthew Hall, football of the round ball kind has become more attractive than ever for potential sponsors.
14 May 2009 11:12 AEST
From: Ashfield
It's all about education
Just as each club has coaches, trainers, physicians, managers etc. they should also all have a "social mentor" or "life coach" of some sort who work fulltime with the club and all its players, while also having a direct reporting line to the NRL. Whether right or wrong, many of these players come out of highschool as under-educated boys who are naive of social situations. They need to be given set programs of continual social education, fitting in around their footy training, and they also need to be constantly provided with community-based activities in order to take up their time in a positive way. These guys are great athletes and most probably well-meaning lads, but at an early age can be easily lead astray into a negative "footy" culture. They need help to steer them in the right direction early, and this comes from constant education programs.
14 May 2009 10:17 AEST
From: Seattle
Agree
Yep. Money talks, and no sponsor would want to be associated with a player / team that can cause it embarrassment. To the senior player - you accept the money from a sponsor, the sponsor expects certain things in return - most notably though would to be not to tarnish the company providing the money. In accepting the money and lifestyle, you are accepting the responsibility that should come with it. I've been in the US for a year now - and take football, there are 32 teams, but a population over 300 Million or one team for 10 Million people. Rugby League has 16 teams for what is a sport in two states, so about 600,000 at per team. The corporate dollar is much smaller, and they will become selective as to where it goes.
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Sport, without spin, from around the world. Matthew Hall considers the issues behind the headlines and tells the stories that others don't.
Matthew Hall Sport, without spin, from around the world. Matthew Hall considers the issues behind the headlines and tells the stories that others don't. Matt is a writer, author, and filmmaker, originally from Perth, he now lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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