For the Ninjas:
What a Waste!
There’s a quote by Douglas Adams that goes “Life is wasted on the living”. The premise is straight-forward enough – people living their lives don’t enjoy their day to day existence, or take advantage of it, as much as they could do.
A similar (although less catchy) phrase could be applied to rugby league players. Playing in the NRL is wasted on rugby league players.
I was watching the Newcastle Knights bumble their way through another horrible 80 minutes last weekend when it struck me. Here is a side that all of a sudden has some of the best facilities in the NRL, arguably the greatest ever coach, a record number of season ticket holders for the club, and they dish this up.
It’s not like the side was simply outclassed - the effort in basic rugby league fundamentals was just not there. As has been mentioned by several commentators since, the defensive line speed was dreadful, and the go-forward from most of the forwards was similarly disasterous. These facts are an attitude problem, not a lack of skill. In fact, I can think of only one match this year where these aspects were up to scratch – an impressive round 4 win over the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Before Bennett’s arrival last season, several members of the Newcastle team were moved on. Cory Paterson, Beau Henry, Antonio Kaufusi, Cameron Ciraldo, Isaac De Gois, Shannon McDonnell and Mark Taufua were all given their marching orders for the 2012 season. There was little public comment on this process by the players, however it did erupt when Mark Taufua announced on twitter that “A few of da anti Wayne Bennett Boys r drinking at @JzEbByT [Zeb Taia’s] house while they have a #Rank meeting with Bennett.Worry about da Dragons u 9Ball”.
A few tweets later, he mentioned that Kaufusi and De Gois were with him.
I personally don’t think it’s a stretch to say that certain players left behind still resent Bennett for breaking up their 2011 side, and there are still issues with harmony at the club. It’s certainly the only reason I can think of for the lack of effort in so many Newcastle performances this season.
It wouldn’t be the first time that this has happened, either. In 2009, Newcastle sat in fifth spot on the competition ladder after 19 rounds. Then-coach Brian Smith announced during a bye week that he would be departing the club for the Sydney Roosters in 2010, taking the club’s administration up on an offer of an early release.
Newcastle’s next three results were a 44-20 loss to Manly, a 30-18 loss to the last placed Sydney Roosters at home, and a 40-8 rorting at the hands of 12th placed Parramatta. They dropped out of the top eight and their for and against dropped from +48 to -20. Brian Smith stood down after the Parramatta loss, and the player’s lack of effort over those three weeks had its (presumably) desired result.
And so I believe that the Knights players have again thrown their toys out of the cot at their unjust treatment from Wayne Bennett. As it stands, mid-season import Willie Mason (on $40,000 and match payments) is easily the side’s form forward. Other imports, such as Snowden, Buderus, Tahu and Boyd have been among the better performers in the side – adding credence to the theory.
It’s an amazing attitude for professional sportsmen to have. Surely you would expect that with the new benefits at the club mentioned earlier, any player would be keen to put in 100%, prove they were worthy of a spot in the team, and live out their dreams of playing the big games at the end of the season.
It’s by no means a phenomenon unique to Newcastle, either. How many times in recent years have we heard of coaches “losing the dressing room” – more often than not ending in the coaches premature demise? I think most supporters can stomach a lack of skill from their side resulting in a poor season – not all teams will always have the quality of players to challenge for the competition - but the lack of effort is inexcusable. Daniel Anderson, Ivan Henjak and Kevin Moore are three coaches who have fallen victim to it in recent years.
Rugby league players – their own worst enemies. All any supporter asks for is 100% every time they take the field – not when it suits their petty agendas. They might be surprised how far it takes them.
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