captainskin said:
Sometimes I can't understand some of you blokes. Everyone acknowledges it is a professional game and players change teams mid-year. And then you want retribution on the 'disloyal' ones and sit them out. THe players all want to win a comp. GT will choose the best players who will win the comp for Manly - this year. And he will work on next year's comp next year, with next year's players. If any coach/team starts going down the 'tit for tat' way, he will definitely lose the hearts and minds of the dressing room.
(evening rant over)
I call it affinity. Surely you have an affinity to certain players / the playing group? It's called community. It's called tribal warfare. Look at the Blues and Maroons.
What Eagles "family" or "brotherhood" is there if these guys drift in and drift out of the team all the time?
I love this sport, because it's about us vs. them. If I don't know who "us" is, I can't be as passionate as when I know everyone bleeds the colors and fights in the trenches together.
I just look at Whare now, and think he's just "doing his job" or "biding his time" before he moves elsewhere, and tries to sink us next year.
I can't bring myself to have an affinity with that player in that light. I end up having apathy. Then, when 3-4 players are in the same boat, you have an apathy for potentially 20-25% of the team on the field at times - and that's where passion dies off.
That's for me anyways.
For mine, it's the Lockyer, Menzies, Hindmarsh, A Johns type of players and characters that make this game great & passionate. It's also of note (to me, at any rate) that the class of these types of player are a dying breed.
Now, it's all about the Hopoate, Hodkinson, Tasi, Lussick, Williams, Whare, Hargreaves types - and they just aren't people you can build solid affinity with.
That's my say - and of coarse it's just opinion, and everyone is entitled to theirs.
I repeat, I just can't get excited watching Lussick, T Williams and Whare run around for us. I lost interest the year Hodkinson, JWH, Tasi, Perry and co. were sprouting about how excited they were to leave.
It's the same situation again, and if the NRL can do something about that (whilst I agree with positives of a salary cap), they'll find a much bigger / more passionate fanbase.