In a league of their own

It’s been said that rugby league is a second class game, followed by second-class people and – going by the kind of negative publicity the game continues to garner – one would have to agree with this rather harsh claim!
In the past week alone, we have seen a couple of prime examples of why league has, and needs, to clean up its act.
Firstly we’ve had the spectacle of New Zealand league supporters descending upon the country’s showpiece for next year’s Rugby World Cup – Eden Park – to watch the Kiwis play the Kangaroos. However, instead of enhancing the sport’s name, these yobbos only managed to put more hits on the reputation and standing of their beloved game than the Kiwi team did in their big test match loss to the Australian opposition on the field!
NZ Herald league reporter Steve Deane summed up their behaviour aptly and succinctly in his comments:

“When it comes to giving itself a black eye, league is Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather rolled into one. It sets about itself with remarkable vigour, leaving its followers dazed and bloodied and wondering whether it's even worth coming out to answer the next bell.”

Deane’s description of the crowd’s antics paints a rather unseemly picture for all to see.
“The sight of thousands of people sheltering their children from flying missiles as they streamed for the exits with fully a quarter of the night's test to go was as bad as it gets for the code.
With more than 44,000 people packed into Eden Park and a strong Kiwis side facing a Kangaroos second string, major gains for the sport were begging to be made. All that was required was a half-decent Kiwis showing and a bit of common courtesy from those watching.
Instead, we got a booed Australian national anthem, a ham-fisted flop from the Kiwis and a near-riot in the stands. As bad as the Kiwis were, the behaviour from some in the crowd was worse. Much, much worse...”
Not a good look at all! And before any leaguies get all indignant and accuse me of picking on their game - which I am – they need to take a long look in the mirror. Perhaps they should be asking why league’s reputation is in tatters.
Another recent example is the news out of Australia, where Canberra Raider’s player Joel Monaghan was caught photographed in a rather compromising position with a dog. Apart from taking human/canine relations to a new low, as well as giving new meaning to the old saying: “giving a dog a bone”, Monaghan has again dragged league’s sullied reputation into the cellar.
Apparently these antics were part of a “Mad Monday” celebration to mark the end of Canberra’s 2010 season. Now if league advocates were serious about cleaning up their game they would do well by banning “Mad Mondays”. This is based on the rather novel concept of finishing up your season by encouraging everyone to drink as much alcohol as possible and see what happens.
However, what the idiots who allow this kind of Mad Monday rubbish to happen (which is a concept that comes straight out of the dinosaur age of rugby league back in the 1960s and 70s) fail to realise is: copious amounts of booze; plus young men; equals trouble!
Now I realise that the average league supporter is not a genius, but you don’t have to be Albert Einstein to deduce that this is a recipe for disaster.
You only have to read out a few of league’s long roll call of shame: Brad Fittler, Mathew Johns, pre season bonding sessions by the Canterbury Bulldogs, to see the common connection between the game’s bad behaviour and its booze culture.
Again, the yobbos at Eden Park were not fired up on candy and Coco Cola. But my guess is they had a belly full of booze and had transformed from loyal fans into an ugly, unruly mob.
I am not taking the piss out of rugby league. However, if the game’s administrators and supporters want to enhance its battered reputation, they could do a lot worse than taking the piss out of rugby league!