See you at the Bledisloe!
Strength in union
Meantime,for yonks your humble correspondent has predicted that,when push comes to shove comes to “ball in now”,the genuinely global grunt of rugby union would eventually triumph in Australia over the essentially provincial push of rugby league.
And for yonks the least we can say is . . . it hasn’t happened yet!
In fact,for most of the past twenty years,as discussed above,rugby union in Australia has stalled at best and gone backwards at worst – while rugby league’s only true problem has been the relentless growth of AFL.
Can Joseph Suaalii resist the siren call of rugby?Credit:Getty
And that is why the current struggle over securing the services of rising NRL star Joseph Suaalii and perhaps another half-dozen leaguies is so interesting. For as Australian rugby starts to gear up for winning the home-based 2027 World Cup – you heard me – it is already making eyes at league’s finest.
This week,Rugby Australia chair Hamish McLennan went public on it,saying rugby wanted Suaalii – reportedly for as much as $10 million over five years – and taunting league in the process.
“Why would Joseph want to be the king of one club and one code,” McLennan said,“when he could be a legend of two codes and go into the pantheon of sporting greats,in fact he could be the Ian Thorpe of two codes. Truth be told,league can’t give him a Lions tour in Australia,a home World Cup in 2027,the potential to win a gold medal at the Paris Olympics and Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.”
The NRL’s Peter V’landys was not long in returning serve.
“I don’t think Suaalii would go to rugby because he would be bored . . . I’m confident Joseph won’t go anywhere because he wants to play an exciting,fast and vibrant game,not a slow and hard-to-watch game where they only play 33 minutes. Joseph will be too fit for that.”
Amusing,yes?
But look to the aforementioned global grunt of it and tell me McLennan is wrong? In a genuine struggle for the likes of Suaalii – who has a clause in his Roosters contract allowing him to leave if union comes calling – McLennan’s point is irrefutable,most particularly if it is backed up by $10 million that comes through money generated by actual global exposure.
But playing on an actual world stage,against the Lions,in an Olympics and at the World Cup? What’s not to like,Peter? And what on earth has the NRL got to put up against it? You will really have to do better than,“But league’s a better game!”
Heads in the game
And just quickly on league before we leave it. The effects of the concussion on Roosters player Victor Radley last weekend was truly shocking.
I was every bit as concerned as the commentators as – from a tackle gone wrong – Radley went down,his eyes rolled back and his whole body convulsed before our very eyes. Still with little movement,he was eventually taken from the field on a Medicab. I do not recall ever seeing a more upsetting manifestation of concussion,not even in boxing.
None of which prevented Roosters coach Trent Robinson opining on Nine News on Thursday night:“Based on his symptoms,he could have played this week because he didn’t have any. But as we know there must be things that we don’t know completely just through symptoms. So therefore he’s not playing this week.”
Victor Radley is taken from the field against the Storm.Credit:Getty
Seriously,Trent? “Didn’t have any”? He was convulsing! And yes,you no doubt meant “no symptoms since in the ensuing week,” but I put it to you:in the wake of the worst symptoms at the time seen in living memory,and on a player who has had previous concussion issues,even saying “he could have played this week” – and even with your qualifying remarks – bespeaks a culture that all of the football codes must leave behind forever.
Stadium good,hospital better
As to the opening of the new stadium this weekend,I suspect your humble correspondent will be getting lots ofnyah-nyah-nyah messages along the lines of,“See? It’s fabulous!”
No doubt,it’s fabulous. It would want to be,yes?
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet at the opening of Allianz Stadium.Credit:James Alcock
The issue was never whether or not a stadium built now was going to be better than a stadium built 30 years ago. Of course it will be! The issue was the absurdity and profligacy on the public purse of building state-of-the-art infrastructurefor the primary benefit of non-tax-paying sporting businesses while so many other areas of need for public funds are ignored.
At least the madness of also dropping another billion dollars or so on the Olympic Stadium was stopped and the Perrottet Government has seen the light on other NRL hand-outs.
Cheap shot
Q:What has 26 legs and can’t,for the life of it,climb a ladder?
A:St George Illawarra Dragons.
WHAT THEY SAID
Credit:John Shakespeare
Daria Snigur,the young Ukrainian ranked 125 in the world,making her debut in a major,after knocking out former world No.1 Simona Halep in the first round:“I’m very happy. I’m very,very,very nervous,but I tried to do my best. For Ukraine,for my family . . . I want to say thank you all.”
Billie Jean King on Serena Williams playing her final US Open aged 40,after no less than 27 years on the professional circuit:“She’s the GOAT,the greatest of all time – or at least the greatest of her time,since every generation gets better. Serena has changed how tennis is played.”
Pumas captainJulian Montoya on defeating the All Blacks in New Zealand:“I’m very proud of our team,we are starting to believe what we can do,not just a magic moment like our first win[in Sydney]. Very,very happy,very,very proud. It’s a very special moment for us.” Bravo.
Cam Smith on,as predicted,joining LIV for about $140 million:“I won’t ignore that or say that wasn’t a reason. It was obviously a business decision for one and an offer I couldn’t ignore.”Which completes,as discussed,golf’s sad split.
Rory McIlroy on LIV:“What it’s done to the world of men’s professional golf is ripped it apart,which is unfortunate.”
Virat Kohli on dealing with the stresses of cricket and life:“I mean I’m a human at the end of the day . . . Trust me,faking being strong is far worse than admitting to being weak. And I have no shame in saying that I was mentally feeling weak.”
Australian tennis playerJames Duckworth on his first-round win at the US Open:“My fiancee texted me after the match and said ‘well done,you’ve paid for the wedding’.”
Emma Raducanu on winning last year’s US Open:“I’m rewatching my matches from the US Open,and there are certain moments where I was given a lot of gifts or maybe they got a bit tight. So I think I have improved actually as a player. I think that I achieved something great,of course,but I was playing completely free and I’m starting to do that again.”
Chris Evert looking back on her life and times:“John[Lloyd] and I were both lonely,on tour,but I was so intense about being No.1[that] I couldn’t give enough to the marriage. But we still love each other and are good friends. My most successful marriage was with Andy[Mill]. We were married 20 years,but I made a bad choice[leaving Mill for Greg Norman]. It was a mistake.”
Ange Postecoglou wants his Celtic side to do well in the Champions League:“What you want to make sure is that when you have these opportunities,it’s better to swap shirts with players you admire after you’ve knocked them off,rather than just grabbing one for your collection.”
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is aiming high.Credit:Getty
Chris Ivyof Heritage Auctions on how a Mickey Mantle baseball card bought for no more than five cents 70 years ago sold for $18 million,a global record for sports memorabilia:“There’s only so much Netflix and ‘Tiger King’ people could watch[during the pandemic]. So,you know,they were getting back into hobbies,and clearly sports collecting was a part of that.”
Danielle Laidley,the former AFL player and coach Dean Laidley:“I know there’s going to be a few punches in the nose because the first person in any change in society usually ends up bloody and marred. And if that has to be me for the next generation,I’m the one. And I’m happy with that.”
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Parramatta EelsTold yers. Beat the Storm in sterling fashion on Thursday evening and are framing as contenders . . . to be runners-up to Penrith.
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Jack DoohanSon of five-time MotoGP champion Mick won his first race in Formula 2.
CollingwoodAfter an extraordinary season,later today against Geelong we will get see if they’re contenders or pretenders.
Max VerstappenWon the Belgian Grand Prix from 14th on the grid.
Aussie SevensWon the Sevens World Series title.
Wallabies Host South Africa tonight at the new SFS as none other than Argentina sit atop the table of The Rugby Championship.
The Wallabies celebrate their win in Adelaide.Credit:Getty
Queensland’s Kirwan High School’s league teamWore special jerseys with a splash of purple to represent the LGBTIQA+ community in the school at a recent game. The jerseys were auctioned,raising $3250.
Emma Raducanu What a difference a year makes. From winning last year’s US Open without dropping a set to going out in straight sets in the first round.