<div id="feature_box"><div id="minifeed"><div id="minifeed_header"><div id="minifeed_content"><div id="article_item">NRL clubs will remain empowered with the responsibility for punishing their own players for off-field indiscretions despite the controversy generated by the early season spate of alcohol-fuelled incidents. <a href="http://www.silvertails.net/news/General-NRL/clubs-to-remain-in-charge-of-punishments.html">Read the full article</a>
The code could do worse than to appoint someone like Wayne Bennett to replace Gallop as the face and leader of the NRL administration. Â A strong and clear thinker who knows the game, who doesn't knee-jerk react, and who doesn't get swayed by populist arguments and media feeding frenzies. Or pinch midas-touch John O'Neill from rugby.
Seems a bit of a double standard that they say clubs have the power yet when we exercised that power they decided it wasn;t enough. More tom foolery from Gallop
I have to agree with Bennett on this one. It comes down to the type of indescretion. Some small stuff can certainly be dealt with in-house but anything that involves the police would be a good starting point. The toothless RLPA association has also done a backflip: "After calling for a single body to oversee off-field infringements, RLPA president Matthew Rodwell joined club CEOs in accepting that a one-stop discipline shop was unrealistic. Todd Greenberg (Bulldogs), Steve Noyce (Roosters) and Shane Richardson (South Sydney) joined Rodwell for a two-hour meeting with NRL boss David Gallop to discuss a solution to the game's recent player behaviour woes. Gallop has twice intervened to have Brett Stewart and Jake Friend suspended after their respective clubs, Manly and the Roosters, failed to ban them over alcohol-related incidents. The NRL's tough stance prompted calls for it to assume control of player discipline and instil consistent penalties. Rodwell was one voice calling for an independent tribunal, but yesterday changed his tune. "The big thing was that the Players Association came to the meeting with the view that the clubs were better placed to handle player discipline," Gallop said. The think tank grappled with ways in which consistency can be achieved across the 16 clubs, a challenge that will feature prominently when the issue next arises at the upcoming CEOs meeting.
The RLPA is a toothless piece of crap. Paid for by the NRL. No wonder many players just won't have a bar of it.
Webke wants to run the NRL, maybe he could build his resume by starting a real players association that would actually represent the interests of professional players.
Double standards Gallop strikes again. On one hand they pretend to be against the grapple then they go to a meeting and do exactly that.
