You wouldn't blame David for galloping into sunset
Article from: The Courier-Mail
Karl deKroos
August 01, 2008 12:00am
THERE must be days when David Gallop wakes up and says to himself: "This gig simply ain't worth the hassle."
A moment when he sits on his board between sets on his early morning surf and thinks: "Stuff it, I'm not going in today, let someone else sort it out."
But then by the time he gets home and checks his messages, those thoughts -- if they exist -- are pushed aside and the chief executive resumes the battle.
And what a battle it is. Rugby league seems to find drama like no other game. The never-ending off-field exploits of young men who can't handle their grog is the mere tip of the iceberg.
More pressing is the ongoing stoush with the NSW Government over poker machine taxes which threaten to cripple most of the competition's Sydney-based clubs.
The constant search for increased revenue streams for a game almost entirely reliant on funds from television rights; the looming fight with the AFL as it beefs up its surge into traditional league territories . . . and then, wham bam, along comes Sonny Bill Williams. That was one not even Gallop could have seen coming. The game's highest-paid forward walking out on his teammates and club less than a year into a five-year deal, to play rugby union for a team that is the plaything of a loaded French comic-book king.
Who could blame Gallop if he just put his head in his hands and said: "Enough is enough."
But Gallop doesn't run and hide. After issuing a statement on Saturday night, there he was front and centre on Sunday morning trying to make sense of the developing Sonny Bill situation.
By the end of the day he was on the front foot, promising the Bulldogs whatever support they required, both financial and legal, to bring Williams to heel.
He was strong in his view that although the Williams situation was hardly ideal in the code's 100th year, the game was not about to disappear into a dark hole.
So was he hailed for his leadership, for his strong presence, for his refusal to bunker down -- as many of his counterparts in rival codes are prone to do?
No, Gallop put his head out and got it stomped on. His honesty was lambasted as rhetoric. He was abused by Phil Gould and others, smashed for not being able to wave his wand and save all the game's problems.
Gallop wears glasses but he is no Harry Potter. There are no quick fixes to the numerous challenges facing rugby league.
It is all too easy for John Ribot and Brad Fittler to sit back and surmise how the competition should be structured.
On paper it is very easy to compress 16 teams into 12, relocate clubs to Perth and Adelaide, double the TV revenue, or increase the salary cap and stop the flow of stars to French rugby and English Super League.
Sadly, the reality is far more difficult and it is only made more so by the misguided machinations of those who aren't at the front line but are more than happy to lob grenades from afar.
