The rot has set in.
Personally I really don't think it's rocket science. What is there to be optimistic about for Rugby League fans in Australia? That Rugby Union is doing even worse? Set that bar any lower and you're gonna need a limboist. The AFL is kicking the NRL's ass in pretty much every facet and it's not a fun thing to witness. Crowds, ratings, media coverage, they dominate all of it, and not because they necessarily deserve to do so, it's just that the NRL is so ineptly administered that 90% of the time, it's own goals that are damaging them, not anything the AFL is doing. We have State Of Origin for f**k sake, easily the biggest sporting event in the country involving a ball and still we can't bruise the chip chasing Seagull filth down south.
Todd Greenberg is out of his depth, it's as simple as that. All of this new shit like the RL commission and finally being free of Newscorp and their garbage, all of these big changes that were supposed to give us cause to think big about our favorite sport and all of it has gone off like a fart in a balloon. And don't even get me started on recent rule changes.
The way the NRL have been f**king with the rulebook in recent times just goes to show you how lacking in vision they are in everything else. The 2 referee system sucks and doesn't work like they said it would, neither does the bunker (what a monumental disaster that has turned out to be after all the hype), the 7 tackle set has ruined the playmaking potential of sides in attack because nobody wants to risk giving away an easy out of the opposition half with a flashy move into the in goal, the shoulder charge rule, well where the f**k do you start with that. Taumalolo had a textbook one on the weekend and he is playing next week. So what the f**k is the point then?
I could get into Melbourne and their bullshit style of play that the NRL allows them to strangle the comp with but I've given up expecting anything to be done about that. It's old man shouting at clouds stuff at this point. I understand that people will read this and think it's just raw cynicism, I get why you would think that, but I really don't like it being that way. I love this sport with all my heart, and I want it to be the best it can be always, but it has gone nowhere but backwards in recent years and that is only accelerating. The JT/Cronulla fairytales don't do much to help the idea that the NRL have agendas they try to fulfill at the expense of others either, so why be so surprised that people are disenchanted.
Before the dogpile begins, I'll say right now that the Broncos could win the Grand Final in 2 weeks and my opinion would not change one iota. This isn't about club loyalty, not a bit, this is about loyalty to the sport, and the desire for it to thrive instead of being throttled every week with either bad press or poor quality games.
