By Ray Chesterton
March 26, 2004
NOT since former NSW premier Neville Wran's quizzical interrogation, 'Are you from the ABC?", have we seen such selectivity at a media conference as yesterday when Bulldog paranoia slipped its collar.
Neville's soul was singed by some remark in 1983 on the ABC about his veracity and he was damned if those kind of people would grace his presence again.
Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes borrowed from Neville's book of media strategy at Belmore yesterday to produce rugby league's first selective media rugby league conference.
Invitations to speak to Folkes were extended only to media prepared to follow prearranged guidelines and not ask about player drug-taking and alleged incidents at Coffs Harbour.
Three TV stations were subservient enough to accept the terms.
Club chairman George Peponis called his own media conference an hour later but did nothing to alleviate Folkes' earlier grandstanding.
In fact, he worsened a degenerating situation.
Folkes, like so many at the Bulldogs, seems unable to comprehend that the allegations of social dysfunction against his players, and the game as a whole, are as entwined as a bound front-row.
The Bulldogs do not realise there is a time to talk rugby league and a time when the game is swallowed by other dimensions.
Folkes, and Peponis with his repeated mantra of, "We cannot talk about positive drug tests because it would break player confidentiality", did nothing to provide a comprehensive indication of what is being done to counter damaging allegations.
Why can't the club confirm, or deny if it chooses, that Willie Mason returned a positive reading to a drug test? It would show Canterbury to be proactive and begin rebuilding corporate and fan support.
As his bedside manner came under pressure yesterday Dr George started looking and sounding like a frazzled health minister trying to explain how Medicare works.
"I've already answered that question," he said two or three times.
George. If you had answered, it would not have been asked again and again.
The Bulldogs continue to be a club without a moral compass. A club in which too many people have lost the ability to differentiate between right and wrong.
And a club that shows no real indication of a cultural change or even wanting to change.
We now have the paradox of having Mortimer, who challenged the culture of secrecy, and Garry Hughes being discharged even though they were not involved in the indignities at Coffs Harbour.
Yet some of the players with whom investigating police would like to have meaningful conversations are still there.
The Bulldogs' reaction to problems is to pull down the shutters, draw the curtains and isolate themselves in churlishness and finger pointing at the media.
Not providing absolute transparency and an in-built arrogance has been ingrained for years.
Nothing has changed.
The Daily Telegraph
