The NRL and Rugby League is losing out to other Sports

By John
(HateQLD)
www.nrlnews.com

NRL Season 2008 was starting to take shape for the race to the finals , with a lot of good quality games over the week end . Canberra , Penrith and Newcastle gathering good momentum.St George Illawarra although the score board showed a big losing margin , it did not reflect how they performed against a very tough Melbourne side , with the Dragons one man down for most of the game.

Canberra in particular have been very impressive with their win in recent weeks , they  put the sword to one of the competition favourites the Sydney Roosters , and at one stage leading 24 - 0.

Canberra is a side, with  no big name stars in their line up.Alan Tongue and Todd Carney being the most two recognised players in the ranks , a few more names are starting to emerge as future household names .
Todd Carney is the one who is recognised the most down in the ACT .

The controversy of Monday's nights game , with the all in brawl , and the unwarranted sending off Jason Ryles was a talking point of the weekends clashes.

All the league talk of the weekends games was quickly forgotten when all the off field dramas raised its ugly head again .The incidents which allegedly took place involved the same players and players from the same club who have had trouble in the past . All these troubles are alcohol related . The players involved are young men who want to have a good time which they are entitled to do, but end up losing focus and cause problems.Players will be in the public eye and the media scrutiny and any bad behaviour will be pounced on by the media .Players are an easy prey for the public to target as some members of the public will try and prove their toughness against footballers .They will target the players who have a bad reputation .

The likes of Brett Hodgson , Steve Menzies, Hazem El Masri , Darren Lockyer , and many others are heroes amongst fans and they are always in the headlines for the right reasons.

Canberra is on the verge of a semi final berth for quite some years, has had their club name tarnished by Todd Carney and Bronx Goodwin. Both of these players have not respect for themselves , for they fans and their team mates . All of their team mates are putting the hard yards with Captain Alan Tongue playing with a painful rib injury .

Canterbury Bankstown have being in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.First the salary cap scandal in 2002, followed by the incident on a pre season trip to Coffs Harbour, and not to mention the loud fire cracker which was lit at the ANZ stadium , many believing it was a Bulldogs supporter.With all the internal trouble and club executive leaving , the club had a very bad name amongst many other club supporters .Going to a bulldogs game became very uncomfortable , many people wanted the club kick out of the competition.This year alone the Bulldogs have had bad publicity .Outspoken player Willie Mason who  brought unwanted attention to the club , left the club on bad terms . This year the Sonny Bill Williams dramas unfolded , and Reni Maitua stood down for disciplinary reasons and now Ben Roberts and Lee Ta Mari has again given the club a bad name.Ben Roberts has already being in trouble this year , it could not came at a worst time for the bulldogs , one of their worst season record for a while,with the wooden spoon in sight.
Hazem El Masri is on the verge of breaking the top point scoring record but it could go unnoticed due to stupid actions of his team mates.

All these actions has made the Bulldogs the most hated side in the competition , many will not attend a bulldogs match .With a club with so much history it is a shame all these disruptions are bring the club to its knees

These two clubs have had many great heroes come through the clubs and all their action was on the field.Both club stood by Ben Roberts of the Bulldogs and Todd Carney of the Raiders .Both Carney and Roberts have had second chances given to them, only to have those two players disrespect their club and their team mates.most of these incidents have been alcohol related.

How would the great players of the past from both clubs feel today with all the issues surrounding the club they all once proudly represented . The current good players from both clubs who will be on the receiving end of a constant abuse from rival fans .

Our great game is drowning in a bowl .Both the NRL and the clubs have to take a tougher stand and suspend the offending players for long periods , send them out to the work force to make them realise that they are not bigger then the game.The actions taken by the players of the past week may turn kids away from the league to play other sports.Other sports do have issues as well,but not as much as the league has suffered since the salary cap scandal.

It is unfortunate the good players of the game will not be recognised as the bad will out weight the good .

Hate Qld
John