Just trying to think my way through this whole nightmare situation and, despite the eagerness of so many to blame the media or the NRL, the blame sits squarely on the sloping shoulders of the club.
Please correct me if I'm wrong but this appears to be how it unfolded:
Dean Ritchie breaks a story that the players won't play with Jackson Hastings. We all know that Dean Ritchie has just the one sauce and that sits very nicely on a sausage roll.
So a leak comes from within the club.
That leads other journos to stick their collective noses up in the air and see what they can sniff out, only to find a punch up between our captain and the vanquished player in a quiet Queensland country town after humiliating loss #1.
Next our gallant club decides to send out the coach who may or may not know about football but doesn't have much of a grasp on the media, to a surprise press conference. He tells them that it's his decision and there have been a number of documented problems over a considerable period of time, thereby publicly humiliating one of this own contracted players. This causes some players to publicly declare that they don't have a problem with the 22 year old.
Seemingly Barrett stepped up to the press because our CEO was in NZ and it takes forever to get back from there.
At some point around here, humiliating loss #2 happened.
The Barrett statement leaves many questions about what happened in that quiet Queensland country town. Keeping in mind that everyone in the inner circle knew there was something to hide about said town, it's hard to believe the complete incompetency of the organisation at this point. Of course the journos were going to sniff around further. And what do they find?
Newspaper gold - a strip club!
Around this time, Barrett's public shaming of Hastings allows Rothfield to do the sympathy interview that anyone with an ounce of media nouse would know was coming.
Enter humiliating loss #3.
Next our esteemed Captain decides he should be fined $10,000. This information is released with no detail about what the fine was for. An invitation to dig further?
Finally, weeks after the sleepy Queensland country town, the Club issues a statement that four players will be fined for breaking curfew but refuses to name them. They seem to think that the names won't come out because the journos will have lost interest completely disregarding the fact that at least 13 other players will be defending their innocence to their friends and family. Unlikely leaks there, what?
Holy ****ing mololy.
And all of this on the back of a salary cap fine - sure, we didn't cheat or at least not as well as the others do - and the mindnumbingly stupid decision to bow to the threats of Blake Green's manager and grant him a release before they had a replacement.
What a joke of a club.
Clowns ladies and gentleman, we have clowns. Roll up, roll up. Come, see the joke of the NRL!!!!
Please correct me if I'm wrong but this appears to be how it unfolded:
Dean Ritchie breaks a story that the players won't play with Jackson Hastings. We all know that Dean Ritchie has just the one sauce and that sits very nicely on a sausage roll.
So a leak comes from within the club.
That leads other journos to stick their collective noses up in the air and see what they can sniff out, only to find a punch up between our captain and the vanquished player in a quiet Queensland country town after humiliating loss #1.
Next our gallant club decides to send out the coach who may or may not know about football but doesn't have much of a grasp on the media, to a surprise press conference. He tells them that it's his decision and there have been a number of documented problems over a considerable period of time, thereby publicly humiliating one of this own contracted players. This causes some players to publicly declare that they don't have a problem with the 22 year old.
Seemingly Barrett stepped up to the press because our CEO was in NZ and it takes forever to get back from there.
At some point around here, humiliating loss #2 happened.
The Barrett statement leaves many questions about what happened in that quiet Queensland country town. Keeping in mind that everyone in the inner circle knew there was something to hide about said town, it's hard to believe the complete incompetency of the organisation at this point. Of course the journos were going to sniff around further. And what do they find?
Newspaper gold - a strip club!
Around this time, Barrett's public shaming of Hastings allows Rothfield to do the sympathy interview that anyone with an ounce of media nouse would know was coming.
Enter humiliating loss #3.
Next our esteemed Captain decides he should be fined $10,000. This information is released with no detail about what the fine was for. An invitation to dig further?
Finally, weeks after the sleepy Queensland country town, the Club issues a statement that four players will be fined for breaking curfew but refuses to name them. They seem to think that the names won't come out because the journos will have lost interest completely disregarding the fact that at least 13 other players will be defending their innocence to their friends and family. Unlikely leaks there, what?
Holy ****ing mololy.
And all of this on the back of a salary cap fine - sure, we didn't cheat or at least not as well as the others do - and the mindnumbingly stupid decision to bow to the threats of Blake Green's manager and grant him a release before they had a replacement.
What a joke of a club.
Clowns ladies and gentleman, we have clowns. Roll up, roll up. Come, see the joke of the NRL!!!!
