I understand what you are saying but that is the nature of the NRL beast . When you play at NRL level and the stakes are high all players that take the field regardless of age are scrutinized and judged purely on performance .I feel for the kid. I'm more than close enough (in age) that i still remember what its like. I definitely think most athletes would read about themselves. Imagine if he found this place and read some of the dribble people write about him. He is super young and he made an aussie team at 20. Lets put some perspective around this. I hate slater but he is a freak. Some argue one of the best fullbacks to pull on a jersey. He debuted at 19. 4 months later he turned 20. In his second season he debuted for queensland at 21. He didn't make his debut for australia until he was 24. Tom is judged by a lot of very good judges as a phenomenal talent. In my opinion we need to stop bashing the kid cause i'd hate him to think there is a lack of love. He's going to be a scary prospect at 24 with some more maturity
Having said that NRL players are not wimps they are mentally and physically tough . No place for the faint hearted in the NRL as they don't last long . Only the tough survive . The rest go and play netball