Rugby League and Booze...does it go?

[Eye_Shot_The_Sheriff]

Hmmm

Most of us like a drink, but given the ludicrous events of C.Gower and T.Smith over recent times (two amongst hundreds btw) and other incidents where alcohol has been linked to depression etc, i just wonder how much mental harm the booze is doing league players

I spotted two Australian players two weeks ago at a bar at 2pm on Friday arvo. Whilst one was ok, the other was absolutely off their chops. Just makes me wonder what they do for the rest of the week?

I don't know, perhaps it was time that we said enough was enough. Its time for a culture change.

You don't need booze to have a good time.

Make Love and don't have hangovers

ladies or beer? you join the dots

 

[Bomber]

As with depression, drinking is a problem in Australian society full stop. It isn't the exclusive domain of rugby league players only, or any other sport.

If you take a random selection of 250 Australian males between the age of 20 and 30, you will get a lot of people with depression, drinking, gambling and substence abuse issues.

The fact that these players earn up to ten times more than the average battler, with far less real responsibility other than 'sports entertainment', and many having no tertiary qualifications for life after football, all adds up to a ticking timebomb.

 

[effnic]

Did anyone find out about the T. Smith incident was it all crap or did it really happen i havnt heard anything since.

 

[sooperdooper]

Did anyone find out about the T. Smith incident was it all crap or did it really happen i havnt heard anything since.

i think you have just answered yourself, nothing heard. nothing done from that little article!

 

[Stagger eel]

Hmmm

Most of us like a drink, but given the ludicrous events of C.Gower and T.Smith over recent times (two amongst hundreds btw) and other incidents where alcohol has been linked to depression etc, i just wonder how much mental harm the booze is doing league players

I spotted two Australian players two weeks ago at a bar at 2pm on Friday arvo. Whilst one was ok, the other was absolutely off their chops. Just makes me wonder what they do for the rest of the week?

I don't know, perhaps it was time that we said enough was enough. Its time for a culture change.

You don't need booze to have a good time.

Make Love and don't have hangovers

ladies or beer? you join the dots

when are people going to realise that it's a friggen social problem and not anything related to a so called Rugby league culture.

 

[Fairfax]

Treating depression with a depressant, ie alcohol, is a very bad idea.

 

[wittyfan]

It doesn't always have to be ladies or beer, Eye_Shot_The_Sheriff. ;-)

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

My bro used to play in the juniors for a club and whenever they finished training and pretty much every night when they werent working @ there other jobs they'd literally be @ the leagues clubbing gambling their arse off on the pokies.

Many of these are current first graders even rep players.

 

[Fibroman]

when are people going to realise that it's a friggen social problem and not anything related to a so called Rugby league culture.

Finally..........someone else on this forum with some common bloody sense.

Binge drinking dates back to 1788 in this bloody country. It is a social problem that has been evolving for over 200 years. When the memories of a diggers that fought for this country, that also played up on the piss during their down time are completely erased from our minds, then..........maybe.....you might get a fair dinkum Australian bloke to pull up after he has 4 beers.

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

Dont know I usually drink fair a bit on fri-sat night anywhere to 12-13 schooners and spirits, it unwinds me and I dont turn into a ratbag.

Its only the very small minority that wrecks it for everyone so its a bit harsh saying that you should pull up after 4.

 

[Shark]

when are people going to realise that it's a friggen social problem and not anything related to a so called Rugby league culture.

Yes and no.

It's a bit like the young blokes + fast cars = higher road toll equation.

RL players + booze = regular scandals.

You're right, drinking IS a social problem of national significance - As is the road toll. But within both of these overall social problems, there are sub groups that 'spike' the statistics.

Young blokes come out worse in the road toll, RL players come out worse on the drink. Fact, unfortunately.

 

[Danish]

I fail to see why league players should behave differently to the rest of australian society.

We all, by and large, drink. And for the most part, we all used to write ouselves off every few weekends when we were/are young (i'm 21). So why should a young league player not be allowed to have a drink?? Its not against the law. Its not against societies view. Its nothing.

Worse still, the same people shake their finger at today's players for getting on the turps while glorifying the drinking stories of past sports stars. Typical baby boomer reaction really. The old "do as i say, not as i do" routine of the media and public when it comes to NRL players is bloody pathetic.

 

[ng_1981]

Yes binge drinking is a social problem but in rugby league it is a culture and their is almost an expectation amongst players. My brother-in-law is an ex first grader and my husband's cousin is a current first grader and it blows my mind to see the difference in their behaviours when they are out with their teammates and when they are just out with their non-football friends...they often seem like totally different people.

 

[Perth Red]

Because they are figure heads for their sport, there clubs and the community they represent. If players want to get tanked up and make a tit of themselves then fine but become a brickie or a plumber! With the job of NRL player comes a whole host of responsibilities and expectations. That's a part of accepting the adolation of fans and the big fat cheque every week. They need to grow up and get a life away from the footie field, that might help.

 

[The Colonel]

Finally..........someone else on this forum with some common bloody sense.

Binge drinking dates back to 1788 in this bloody country. It is a social problem that has been evolving for over 200 years. When the memories of a diggers that fought for this country, that also played up on the piss during their down time are completely erased from our minds, then..........maybe.....you might get a fair dinkum Australian bloke to pull up after he has 4 beers.

I was taking the wrong tack completely. Because its a social problem that has existed for a long time it's acceptable - thanks for opening my eyes.


Pathetic justification for someone being a dickhead....

 

[strewth_mate]

Perhaps there is such a definitive Rugby League culture, and perhaps it does revolve around drinking. I've worked a couple of jobs with unfortunately similar cultures and associated expectations, difference being if I get on the piss one night it's not going to be all through the news.

Though I'm in no way justifying or excusing anything. The social problem of drinking is big enough as it is, however the Rugby League culture carries an intrinsic expectation of responsibility so there should be no excuse.

 

[miccle]

I am not in favour of banning/restricting alcohol to footballers in general, only if something is done about the stupid situations league players seem to get themselves in while they are full of grog.

I don't know about anyone else here, but although I'm not much of a big drinker anymore (at the ripe old age of 21), I used to go out drinking and partying pretty much every weekend and during those 2 or 3 years I:

Never once got into a fight.
Never once destroyed property at an establishment or elsewhere (a broken glass or two doesn't count... these things happen in a crowded pub)
and I definitely never, EVER acted inappropriately towards women.

I just don't understand why so many guys can't simply have fun getting on the turps without causing trouble. Maybe it does have something to do with how much money they have and how well known they are in society. Maybe they think, because they're famous, that they get a ten foot tall and bulletproof image when they are out.

Who know really? All I know is most blokes can consume drinks with their mates without getting thrown out of pubs and ending up in the hands of the cops.

 

[innsaneink]

I am not in favour of banning/restricting alcohol to footballers in general, only if something is done about the stupid situations league players seem to get themselves in while they are full of grog.

I don't know about anyone else here, but although I'm not much of a big drinker anymore (at the ripe old age of 21), I used to go out drinking and partying pretty much every weekend and during those 2 or 3 years I:

Never once got into a fight.
Never once destroyed property at an establishment or elsewhere (a broken glass or two doesn't count... these things happen in a crowded pub)
and I definitely never, EVER acted inappropriately towards women.

I just don't understand why so many guys can't simply have fun getting on the turps without causing trouble. Maybe it does have something to do with how much money they have and how well known they are in society. Maybe they think, because they're famous, that they get a ten foot tall and bulletproof image when they are out.

Who know really? All I know is most blokes can consume drinks with their mates without getting thrown out of pubs and ending up in the hands of the cops.

Some people are like u and dont make a peep....others get a gutful and end up killing people...its all about us all being different, human.

 

[Hari Kari]

I fail to see why league players should behave differently to the rest of australian society.

We all, by and large, drink. And for the most part, we all used to write ouselves off every few weekends when we were/are young (i'm 21). So why should a young league player not be allowed to have a drink?? Its not against the law. Its not against societies view. Its nothing.

Worse still, the same people shake their finger at today's players for getting on the turps while glorifying the drinking stories of past sports stars. Typical baby boomer reaction really. The old "do as i say, not as i do" routine of the media and public when it comes to NRL players is bloody pathetic.

When Jesus went to a party and they ran out of wine he turned the water into wine so they could keep getting pissed.

I love throwing that one at Christians that say drinking is bad.

 

[gunnamatta bay]

When Jesus went to a party and they ran out of wine he turned the water into wine so they could keep getting pissed.

I love throwing that one at Christians that say drinking is bad.

So you believe there was a bloke called Jesus who could turn water into wine then?