El Diablo
Post Whore
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Fat Pat has his say. some of it is just his usual Rugby League hate but he does make sense in other parts
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...t/news-story/1dbdc0c1516e9bf46e2e107da562d07a
As self-interest cripples NRL, it’s time for an outsider to save it
Rarely is it not compelling viewing. These pages will runneth over with news and analysis, colour and pictures. Words will be invented by commentators who ignore the natural speed limits of the language and crash one adjective into another.
A pile-up ensues.
Victorian support swung behind NSW the moment Queensland selectors could not find a place for Melbourne Storm’s Billy Slater.
For the uncommitted fan, the great man’s omission was as idiotic as it was disappointing.
But it is the timing that is so sweet. Conveniently, the first Origin match will camouflage what can be seen perhaps as the beginning of an irreversible slide by the once mighty sport towards, if not irrelevancy then a shrinking shadow of what it might once have commanded.
Rugby league is riven by self-interest and in freefall because its leadership has neither the strength nor wherewithal to support or halt it.
The crisis could not be better captured than yesterday’s court appearance by Damian Keogh, the former chairman of Cronulla. The former Australian Boomers basketballer announced he would relinquish the chairmanship of last season’s grand final-winning club after he was handed an 18-month good behaviour bond for cocaine possession. He pleaded guilty to the charge.
Keogh was charged on May 5 with possessing a prohibited drug after Rin Tin Tin and police searched patrons in a Woolloomooloo pub.
At the time Keogh immediately stood down from the chairmanship but did not relinquish it even though he told arresting police the drug was cocaine.
The only reason for not stepping away altogether can be that Keogh, a successful businessman, thought ultimately that he did not have to.
If, indeed, that is the case then it gives clarity to why rugby league is dysfunctional. There is an entrenched culture of self-interest or, at best, an ignorance of what generates corporate good health.
Keogh was remorseful outside the court. “With regards to the Sharks, I have decided to step down entirely from the board,” Keogh said. “I recognise my ongoing involvement with the club has the potential to be an unnecessary distraction.”
A distraction? Dear God. It is much more than that. It is a ravine of a breach of trust, immediately cutting him off from his club board and administration, his players and supporters and the competition as a whole.
The NRL has a poor attitude to illicit drugs, one that might even border on a dangerous culture. Keogh’s predicament merely stamped that to be true.
The league has established a strict code for players with heavy penalties. And the chair of last year’s premiers has been caught in possession of cocaine. And he pondered “do I or don’t I step away?”
Rugby league is rattled, short of money and its credibility fast dissolving. The commission chairman, John Grant, writes angry emails at 2.45am. It is claimed but unproved that chief executive Todd Greenberg ran financial distribution plans by the clubs before the commission knew about it. Otherwise it is hard to see where Greenberg has left his mark.
Clubs are split, aligned then split again before you can finish breakfast. Some are represented by men who have been there too long. Nick Politis, chair of the Sydney Roosters, is one and he needs to walk away.
Grant, well-intentioned, is not a strong leader and appears too malleable. He condones club demands to have seats on the allegedly impartial ARL board. So much for independent decision-making.
With the commission itself compromised, the clubs motivated mostly by self-interest, financial plans offered and withdrawn, a meek chief executive and now a player payment push for a billion bullion the league is clogged thick by selfishness.
By the day the sport retracts further and further from its potential.
The heart of the problem is inherent. The NRL is not talented enough to run the code and the club officials lack the expertise to do anything about it. A crippling deficiency. They desperately need outside help. They need Andrew Demetriou.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...t/news-story/1dbdc0c1516e9bf46e2e107da562d07a
As self-interest cripples NRL, it’s time for an outsider to save it
- The Australian
- 12:00AM May 31, 2017
- Patrick Smith
Rarely is it not compelling viewing. These pages will runneth over with news and analysis, colour and pictures. Words will be invented by commentators who ignore the natural speed limits of the language and crash one adjective into another.
A pile-up ensues.
Victorian support swung behind NSW the moment Queensland selectors could not find a place for Melbourne Storm’s Billy Slater.
For the uncommitted fan, the great man’s omission was as idiotic as it was disappointing.
But it is the timing that is so sweet. Conveniently, the first Origin match will camouflage what can be seen perhaps as the beginning of an irreversible slide by the once mighty sport towards, if not irrelevancy then a shrinking shadow of what it might once have commanded.
Rugby league is riven by self-interest and in freefall because its leadership has neither the strength nor wherewithal to support or halt it.
The crisis could not be better captured than yesterday’s court appearance by Damian Keogh, the former chairman of Cronulla. The former Australian Boomers basketballer announced he would relinquish the chairmanship of last season’s grand final-winning club after he was handed an 18-month good behaviour bond for cocaine possession. He pleaded guilty to the charge.
Keogh was charged on May 5 with possessing a prohibited drug after Rin Tin Tin and police searched patrons in a Woolloomooloo pub.
At the time Keogh immediately stood down from the chairmanship but did not relinquish it even though he told arresting police the drug was cocaine.
The only reason for not stepping away altogether can be that Keogh, a successful businessman, thought ultimately that he did not have to.
If, indeed, that is the case then it gives clarity to why rugby league is dysfunctional. There is an entrenched culture of self-interest or, at best, an ignorance of what generates corporate good health.
Keogh was remorseful outside the court. “With regards to the Sharks, I have decided to step down entirely from the board,” Keogh said. “I recognise my ongoing involvement with the club has the potential to be an unnecessary distraction.”
A distraction? Dear God. It is much more than that. It is a ravine of a breach of trust, immediately cutting him off from his club board and administration, his players and supporters and the competition as a whole.
The NRL has a poor attitude to illicit drugs, one that might even border on a dangerous culture. Keogh’s predicament merely stamped that to be true.
The league has established a strict code for players with heavy penalties. And the chair of last year’s premiers has been caught in possession of cocaine. And he pondered “do I or don’t I step away?”
Rugby league is rattled, short of money and its credibility fast dissolving. The commission chairman, John Grant, writes angry emails at 2.45am. It is claimed but unproved that chief executive Todd Greenberg ran financial distribution plans by the clubs before the commission knew about it. Otherwise it is hard to see where Greenberg has left his mark.
Clubs are split, aligned then split again before you can finish breakfast. Some are represented by men who have been there too long. Nick Politis, chair of the Sydney Roosters, is one and he needs to walk away.
Grant, well-intentioned, is not a strong leader and appears too malleable. He condones club demands to have seats on the allegedly impartial ARL board. So much for independent decision-making.
With the commission itself compromised, the clubs motivated mostly by self-interest, financial plans offered and withdrawn, a meek chief executive and now a player payment push for a billion bullion the league is clogged thick by selfishness.
By the day the sport retracts further and further from its potential.
The heart of the problem is inherent. The NRL is not talented enough to run the code and the club officials lack the expertise to do anything about it. A crippling deficiency. They desperately need outside help. They need Andrew Demetriou.
