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Size beat you, Nathan
Mike Colman
May 04, 2007 12:00am
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WHEN South Sydney winger Nathan Merritt failed to gain selection in the City Origin side he was frustrated, angry and depressed. So much so that he came right out and said what he was thinking.
"Is it because I'm Aboriginal?" When those words were spread over the back page of a Sydney newspaper the massed intake of breath could have set off a tsunami.
In these enlightened days of political correctness it is simply not the done thing to play the "race card".
The Australian Rugby League was shocked.
It sent Aboriginal employee Ricky Walford, a veteran of one Origin match, out to defuse the situation.
Selector Bob McCarthy sat down with Merritt to talk the issue through, and Country player Preston Campbell, an Aborigine who waited eight years to get his first representative jersey, told him to keep his head down and his mouth shut.
"It's not going to help his chances of getting selected in future rep sides," he said.
True, but it's probably not going to make things any worse either.
The facts are that Merritt, despite being one of the most exciting wingers in the game, is almost no hope of playing Origin football.
Because he is Aboriginal? Well, yes in part; to the same degree that a white runner is unlikely to win the Olympic 100 metres sprint or an Afro-American won't beat the Kenyans in the 3000m steeplechase. That's just the way he's built.
The perception of Aboriginal rugby league players is that they are quick, intuitive, brilliant ball players . . . and too small to handle the physicality of Origin football.
Of course, as with all stereotypes, there are exceptions. Arthur Beetson combined all the best qualities of a backline magician with commanding physical stature. Put together it made the ultimate football package and created one of the greatest rugby league players.
Merritt's South Sydney teammate Dean Widders is an Aboriginal footballer who boasts both size and skill; Wendell Sailor was another, but such a combination is rare.
Aboriginal players are more likely to be on the smaller side, like Campbell, Matt Bowen or Rhys Wesser.
At club level they are considered indispensable. They are match-winners and crowd-pleasers but are rarely seen as representative material.
Given the chance the selectors will always go for bigger men, physically imposing and less subtle in their skills: the likes of Sailor, Lote Tuqiri, Eric Grothe, Adam MacDougall and Timana Tahu.
Again there are exceptions. Dale Shearer and Matt Sing were fixtures in Queensland Origin sides for years but Anthony Mundine and Nathan Blacklock never got the chances many felt their club form warranted.
And, like it or not, it was because of their Aboriginality. Not their skin colour, but their size.
Their genetic blueprint made them small and explosive. Generations of sporting stereotyping branded them "fragile" or "suspect in defence".
Of course that is not to say the selectors were being prejudicial in their omission of Merritt last week. Realistic more like it.
Faced with two spots and three players of similar ability, they went for one who is bigger and one who is the best goal-kicker in the game.
Significantly, one of them is a Muslim born in Lebanon and the other of Fijian descent, so it wasn't race that counted against Merritt but the range of attributes each candidate brought to the table. And he certainly isn't the only Aboriginal player to suffer because of his physical stature.
Anyone who thinks Karmichael Hunt is having a significantly better season than Matt Bowen hasn't been paying attention.
After seven matches, two of which he played at halfback, Hunt has scored three tries, completed 37 tackles and missed 21. Bowen has scored seven tries and one field goal, completed 23 tackles and missed 11.
And who have the Australian, and probably Queensland selectors, chosen at fullback? Hunt who is 9cm taller and almost 15kg heavier.
Campbell is right to tell Merritt to keep his trap shut and keep plugging away. He hasn't got much choice, unless he can find a sport in which athletes only face opponents of the same size and weight.
Like Anthony Mundine did.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21665871-5003409,00.html
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Good article there. Probably the most sense I've heard regarding this whole sensationalist saga!
Mike Colman
May 04, 2007 12:00am
Article from:
Font size: + -
Send this article: Print Email
WHEN South Sydney winger Nathan Merritt failed to gain selection in the City Origin side he was frustrated, angry and depressed. So much so that he came right out and said what he was thinking.
"Is it because I'm Aboriginal?" When those words were spread over the back page of a Sydney newspaper the massed intake of breath could have set off a tsunami.
In these enlightened days of political correctness it is simply not the done thing to play the "race card".
The Australian Rugby League was shocked.
It sent Aboriginal employee Ricky Walford, a veteran of one Origin match, out to defuse the situation.
Selector Bob McCarthy sat down with Merritt to talk the issue through, and Country player Preston Campbell, an Aborigine who waited eight years to get his first representative jersey, told him to keep his head down and his mouth shut.
"It's not going to help his chances of getting selected in future rep sides," he said.
True, but it's probably not going to make things any worse either.
The facts are that Merritt, despite being one of the most exciting wingers in the game, is almost no hope of playing Origin football.
Because he is Aboriginal? Well, yes in part; to the same degree that a white runner is unlikely to win the Olympic 100 metres sprint or an Afro-American won't beat the Kenyans in the 3000m steeplechase. That's just the way he's built.
The perception of Aboriginal rugby league players is that they are quick, intuitive, brilliant ball players . . . and too small to handle the physicality of Origin football.
Of course, as with all stereotypes, there are exceptions. Arthur Beetson combined all the best qualities of a backline magician with commanding physical stature. Put together it made the ultimate football package and created one of the greatest rugby league players.
Merritt's South Sydney teammate Dean Widders is an Aboriginal footballer who boasts both size and skill; Wendell Sailor was another, but such a combination is rare.
Aboriginal players are more likely to be on the smaller side, like Campbell, Matt Bowen or Rhys Wesser.
At club level they are considered indispensable. They are match-winners and crowd-pleasers but are rarely seen as representative material.
Given the chance the selectors will always go for bigger men, physically imposing and less subtle in their skills: the likes of Sailor, Lote Tuqiri, Eric Grothe, Adam MacDougall and Timana Tahu.
Again there are exceptions. Dale Shearer and Matt Sing were fixtures in Queensland Origin sides for years but Anthony Mundine and Nathan Blacklock never got the chances many felt their club form warranted.
And, like it or not, it was because of their Aboriginality. Not their skin colour, but their size.
Their genetic blueprint made them small and explosive. Generations of sporting stereotyping branded them "fragile" or "suspect in defence".
Of course that is not to say the selectors were being prejudicial in their omission of Merritt last week. Realistic more like it.
Faced with two spots and three players of similar ability, they went for one who is bigger and one who is the best goal-kicker in the game.
Significantly, one of them is a Muslim born in Lebanon and the other of Fijian descent, so it wasn't race that counted against Merritt but the range of attributes each candidate brought to the table. And he certainly isn't the only Aboriginal player to suffer because of his physical stature.
Anyone who thinks Karmichael Hunt is having a significantly better season than Matt Bowen hasn't been paying attention.
After seven matches, two of which he played at halfback, Hunt has scored three tries, completed 37 tackles and missed 21. Bowen has scored seven tries and one field goal, completed 23 tackles and missed 11.
And who have the Australian, and probably Queensland selectors, chosen at fullback? Hunt who is 9cm taller and almost 15kg heavier.
Campbell is right to tell Merritt to keep his trap shut and keep plugging away. He hasn't got much choice, unless he can find a sport in which athletes only face opponents of the same size and weight.
Like Anthony Mundine did.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21665871-5003409,00.html
-------------------------------
Good article there. Probably the most sense I've heard regarding this whole sensationalist saga!
