Ryan
Journey Man
Opinion Piece
In this old cynical bastard's view, Rugby League is losing it's allure. It's not about community or a demographic anymore - it's not tribal. It's not about the Joey Johns, Steven Menzies, Darren Lockyer types. It's about a bunch of young blokes wanting as much coin as possible, no matter who it's with, or where it is.
The clubs are just as bad, if not worse. If Glenn Stewart wasn't offered a contract, I hope there was some form of communication as to why, how much, and when things would transpire.
There's no loyalty - either way. In fact, that includes the NRL. The NRL doesn't reward long standing players, their families or their tenure.
All this culminates in fan affinity, which in turn results in lower attendances (as seen by the earlier rounds).
The tough sell in all this, while the NRL, players, and clubs cannibalise each other, is the fact that all three ask for (no, expect) loyalty from the fans no matter. They feel it's owed to them.
How can players threaten mutiny within the ranks if they don't get their way, when the wholesale reason specific decisions are being made by the club have been dictated by NRL Salary Cap Restrictions.? Is the expectation from players like Steve Matai that The Manly Sea Eagles cheat the salary cap to accommodate Glenn Stewart?
Or is communication between Stewart and the club in question here?
I have supported this team for a good long while now, and I love the team with all my heart and soul, mainly because of the fans, but also players like Steve Menzies, Glenn Stewart, Anthony Watmough, Jason King & other club legends.
This whole affair, and in fact MUCH to do media & social media wise with The Sea Eagles has been handled very poorly not only on this subject, but quite a lot. There appears to be communication breakdown.
It's very, very hard to remain so passionate, plugged in and loyal, when the system, behaviour and output coming back from the players, the club & The NRL are anything but.
If the current administration in the NRL think the salary cap was originally designed so that club legends have to uproot at the tail end of their careers, then I call the current NRL administration charlatans and fools. The salary cap was designed so that the game would be sustainable monetarily, and that certain teams cannot dominate for long periods - basically to even the field - the result being a larger proportionate fan base per team.
The current Long Standing Player Allowance contradicts that ethos. It goes against what the salary cap was designed to do - which is amass a growing number of fans - because I tell you right now, there are a few unhappy campers with all that has transpired here.
Thought's?
.
In this old cynical bastard's view, Rugby League is losing it's allure. It's not about community or a demographic anymore - it's not tribal. It's not about the Joey Johns, Steven Menzies, Darren Lockyer types. It's about a bunch of young blokes wanting as much coin as possible, no matter who it's with, or where it is.
The clubs are just as bad, if not worse. If Glenn Stewart wasn't offered a contract, I hope there was some form of communication as to why, how much, and when things would transpire.
There's no loyalty - either way. In fact, that includes the NRL. The NRL doesn't reward long standing players, their families or their tenure.
All this culminates in fan affinity, which in turn results in lower attendances (as seen by the earlier rounds).
The tough sell in all this, while the NRL, players, and clubs cannibalise each other, is the fact that all three ask for (no, expect) loyalty from the fans no matter. They feel it's owed to them.
How can players threaten mutiny within the ranks if they don't get their way, when the wholesale reason specific decisions are being made by the club have been dictated by NRL Salary Cap Restrictions.? Is the expectation from players like Steve Matai that The Manly Sea Eagles cheat the salary cap to accommodate Glenn Stewart?
Or is communication between Stewart and the club in question here?
I have supported this team for a good long while now, and I love the team with all my heart and soul, mainly because of the fans, but also players like Steve Menzies, Glenn Stewart, Anthony Watmough, Jason King & other club legends.
This whole affair, and in fact MUCH to do media & social media wise with The Sea Eagles has been handled very poorly not only on this subject, but quite a lot. There appears to be communication breakdown.
It's very, very hard to remain so passionate, plugged in and loyal, when the system, behaviour and output coming back from the players, the club & The NRL are anything but.
If the current administration in the NRL think the salary cap was originally designed so that club legends have to uproot at the tail end of their careers, then I call the current NRL administration charlatans and fools. The salary cap was designed so that the game would be sustainable monetarily, and that certain teams cannot dominate for long periods - basically to even the field - the result being a larger proportionate fan base per team.
The current Long Standing Player Allowance contradicts that ethos. It goes against what the salary cap was designed to do - which is amass a growing number of fans - because I tell you right now, there are a few unhappy campers with all that has transpired here.
Thought's?
.