ARLC chairman John Grant says stop shooting game in the foot
ARL Commission chairman John Grant has warned those involved in rugby league that they need to stop shooting the game in the foot following a year in which the code has suffered immeasurably from off-field incidents.
Grant, who has been chairman since the independent commission came into effect in 2012, made no attempt to hide his frustration after a season blighted by, among other things, the salary cap scandal at Parramatta and allegations of match-fixing.
He suggested the incidents were hindering rugby league’s ability to grow as a sport.
“If you compare this year off-field with previous years and whether it is better or worse, I would say it is worse,” Grant told The Australian yesterday.
“Maybe we’re more sensitised to it too because we have greater aspirations for the game.
“But we have just had too many issues this year, obviously headlined by the whole Parramatta debacle.
“It is naive to think that doesn’t translate in some way.
“It translates to people who watch the game, people who come to the games, people who want to get committed to rugby league, sponsors who want to stay in the game, sponsors who might even be thinking about it.
“If we’re going to grow this game — and what does grow mean?
“More people play, more people watching, more people going to games and more people supporting the game through sponsorship, that’s what growing the game is all about.
“What we have is this little cocoon of rugby league at the moment which we can pretty well define — the rusted-on fans, the members, the sponsors.
“I have to say the commission, and certainly I am, just over this — over this general view that you can’t kill rugby league with an axe.
“If you want to be the biggest sport and have more people playing, the game has to grow, which means you have to attract new people. You have to attract new sponsors, you have to attract new mums, all that sort of stuff.
“It is not good enough to be saying you can’t kill rugby league with an axe.
“We have to stop killing ourselves and start really being cognisant that everything that hits his game from a negative point of view damages things and it takes a long time to recover. We have to stop it.”
Grant acknowledged that the majority of players understood their place in the sport but said it was incumbent on everyone within the code to take responsibility for the ongoing damage caused by high-profile incidents.
Sunday night’s grand final has not been immune, with Cronulla opting to put Andrew Fifita off limits following the NSW forward’s involvement with killer Kieran Loveridge.
Fifita’s association with Loveridge meant he was one of four NRL players to receive notices from NSW Police this season for consorting with criminals.
“I think we shouldn’t discount the player community’s ability to understand and change,” Grant said. “I have to say, in the 4½ years we have been involved, the player group has matured enormously. Which is why I said before maybe we have higher expectations.
“I am certainly of the view that the majority of player community and their understanding of being role models has advanced considerably.
“We’re in a good position going in the right directions.
“When these things happen it is such a shock. Players are increasingly more conscious of the environment in which they work and the demands of that environment. That will only improve over time, but what it does do is bring into stark contrast when you have a bad incident.”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...t/news-story/fa49ee3834d5f5971e476e09452d9557
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