'ET' pic one for the ages
It will never surpass the iconic image of Norm Provan and Arthur Summons, but the picture of Sharks captain Paul Gallen and club legend Andrew Ettingshausen embracing each other, in tears, after the grand final is one for the ages.
For many, though, the sight of Ettingshausen front and centre on grand final night raised a few eyebrows.
According to some of his former teammates, "ET" has been aloof and distant from the club for many years – although he's willing to help out when asked.
There's also lingering distaste about his much-publicised affair with the wife of former teammate Paul Mellor, an episode he blamed on depression caused by bad financial decisions.
For the record, the NRL decided to use Ettingshausen – and retired Storm legend Matt Geyer – as on-field talent on grand final day. That's why he was so visible in celebrations.
In the eyes of many, it was great to see a club legend of his stature welcomed back into the fold.
He had every right to be celebrating with a club he helped – in no small part – to build.
Holt's stepson not a Sharkie
The surviving stepson of the late Harold Holt is hardly doing backflips over the Sharks' win.
Jack Gibson's immortal line – "Waiting for Cronulla to win the premiership is like leaving the porch light on for Harold Holt" – was finally put to rest with grand final victory.
The reference is to the former Prime Minister who disappeared while swimming near Portsea in 1967 – Cronulla's first season in the competition.
So said Sam Holt when we contacted him this week: "It's quite a witty line – but I didn't know about it until a week ago. I have no interest in sport. As long as they think of him [Harold] fondly, I have no problem with it."
Bias complaints miss the point
There's nothing more amusing than complaints about biased footy commentary.
Channel Nine has copped it in the neck this week for their "biased" coverage of the NRL grand final, with an unlikely protagonist in Channel Ten newsreader Sandra Sully who took to Twitter to condemn the "bias" towards the Sharks.
We love you, Sandra, as you know … but really?
You can surely understand the callers being enthusiastic about the Sharks edging closer and closer to their maiden premiership 50 years after joining the competition.
As Nine sports boss Tom Malone pointed out when we contacted him,Phil Gould, Peter Sterling, Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler, Darren Lockyer and Wally Lewis are paid to have a say.
"They're our rugby league experts," he said. "They're paid for their opinions. The only person who gets paid for neutral commentary is Rabs [play-by-play caller Ray Warren]."
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...hard-to-be-a-good-person-20161006-grwd37.html
