Azkatro posting for the Panthers.
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In the spirit of the game
If you were like me and happened to watch the Channel Nine 6 o’clock news on Tuesday the 22nd of September, 2009, you would have been confronted with the shocking footage of under-16 Blacktown City players attacking opposition players from Lower Mountains during their grand final, played last Saturday.
It was interesting timing as I was about to commence writing my latest piece about the human spirit that is so often displayed in the great game of rugby league. Then I saw vision of teenage boys getting kicked on the ground while they were involved in a game.
It sure was hard to recall the human spirit I was so in tune with just earlier on today, while conceptualising my piece. What those boys did wasn’t a fight. It wasn’t biff. It wasn’t big men sorting themselves out in the opening exchanges of a big game. It was clear cut, bona-fide, straight out assault.
For an encore, the Blacktown City boys responsible for the disgraceful act proceeded to face the crowd, gestured rudely and generally act as if they deserved acclaim for what they’d just done.
Some spirit.
However, I had to remind myself that it was not the norm. Yes, there are certainly other examples of this type of behaviour in junior rugby league games. But it is clearly a case of misguided youth who are let loose on a football field.
It is such a shame that they would want to act this way, given the opportunities the sport of rugby league presents them, but I digress.
Allow me to think back to the original intention of this article, which was to underscore the unique balance between raw aggression and unbridled human compassion on display in rugby league.
Less than 24 hours after the Blacktown City v Lower Mountains grand final, Leeds hosted Hull Kingston Rovers in front of a 11,220-strong crowd at the ageless Headingley stadium. For over a century these two teams have locked horns. Generations of Rhinos and Robins players ripping and tearing into each other. On this day, it was an elimination play-off match, so plenty was at stake.
For one man, however, it was to end in tragedy.
Hull KR centre Chev Walker ran the ball wide in the 11th minute of the game. Former teammate Keith Senior grabbed him from behind and managed to stop his progress before bringing him down. Unfortunately, Walker’s left leg was caught in an awkward position, and the weight of both his and Senior’s body conspired to cause an horrific compound fracture.
With Walker’s shattered leg dangling in the air, Senior immediately called for assistance and was visibly concerned for the man who, just seconds before, was his foe. The crowd quickly sensed the severity of the injury and a rare hush swept around the stadium.
As he was treated on the field, an overwhelming sense of concern took hold. You suddenly felt that he was no longer Chev Walker, the former Great Britain international. He wasn’t the former Leeds centre, nor was he the holder of the #3 jersey in Hull KR’s 2009 squad.
All of that was forgotten. What you saw now was a man who was in distress, and you hoped against hope that he would recover quickly. Eventually he was placed on a stretcher, and as the crowd warmly applauded his exit from the game, Walker clapped the goodwill of the crowd in return. There is something special about the way English crowds sound, and after everything you’d just seen and felt you just wanted to stand up, pump your chest and shout “I LOVE YOU CHEV! GET WELL SOON BROTHER!”
Before you remembered of course that your apparel adorned the blue and yellow of the Rhinos, and there was still a game to be won!
To me, this moment in time beautifully encapsulated all that is great about rugby league. The toughness and the competitive spirit, coupled with the togetherness and compassion that we all have for each other. Warm and fuzzy combined with tough and uncomprimising, in one neat package.
Then I remember what I saw on the news and wonder how such extreme brutality can find its way onto a rugby league field.
It’s a shame those boys hadn’t been able to see the level of decency Keith Senior displayed against Hull KR before they stepped onto the field last Saturday. They could certainly learn a thing or two from him.
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747 words. Liftoff!
-v-
. More significant changes aren’t that successful either – is there really much of a difference between the Auckland Warriors and the New Zealand Warriors? It’s been nine years since we made the switch and there’s still been no Premiership, still no major culture change, and still a decent chunk of fans wanting to change it back. It makes you wonder what the point of it was in the first place.
