Opinion – The Warriors’ monumental loss to the Sharks was another chapter in rugby league’s myriad of stories and possibilities, but the rugby news rings like a broken record, writes Jamie’s Wall.
The Warriors gave a lot to say, not a lot of good, writes Jamie Wall.
Photo: photo port
A few weeks ago I wrote about the Warriors and how strong their news cycle is no matter what happens to them on the field.
Long story short, it’s because of the multitude of stories and possibilities the NRL brings with it, around transfers and job security for coaches. It allows the casual fan to try to solve the many issues the Warriors have, because really how often does a conversation about them start with “what they have to do is…”
Boy, did they manage to test that theory to the extreme after toxic waste was dumped from a performance last weekend. After being scouted with an individual advantage and unable to score, the Sharks felt charitable enough to give them another player in the bin for good measure. Which makes it almost impressive that the Warriors still managed to lose that game convincingly, with the Sharks running away with it in the end.
Almost impressive because surely no one has messed up a 13v11 situation so much in rugby league history, so at least there’s something unique about it. But it only took a day before the loss was overtaken by events – the Warriors had signed Ronald Volkman and Freddy Lussick, while Kodi Nikorima was released to join the Rabbitohs (who happen to be opponents of the Warriors in this weekend’s Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium).
There’s so much to talk about and it’s just a team that doesn’t even play well. That’s why it’s such a shame to see rugby dwell on a few issues that have taken over the conversation like the boring guy at rugby club who had a few too many beers.
Yes, it’s time for the Silver Lake update again. For some reason, this agreement has not been resolved despite having been concluded at least twice in the last year. The saga was never particularly easy to understand at first – lots of money coming in seemed good, what had to be let go in return was concerning. The best way to describe it was letting someone build a pool in your yard before you didn’t have to pay except they could have parties there with their friends whenever they wanted. Then after a while they might sell the pool to someone else, but you have no say in who it is or what they would use the pool for.
It was to be sorted last April. So now everyone is tired of the same old garbage coming out of the same mouth about the pros and cons of the deal. Especially considering that very little is likely to change – the new CommercialCo entity that will market the All Blacks with the Silver Lake cash injection will likely be run by NZ Rugby cronies anyway.
Then on Thursday came another chapter of The Neverending Story which is the Global Season discussion. If a copier doesn’t get credit for writing this one, it’ll be a crime, because it’s essentially the exact same idea as the last time it was thrown around. Which, by the way, dissolved very quickly.
Again, people are struggling with the concept of the planet having two hemispheres, which is the main obstacle to this agreement. Additionally, some test nations face the prospect of being relegated from the top tier, something they will never agree to.
These two problems. Again. It’s so tedious that it’s enough to make your eyeballs bleed, so hopefully they heal in time so they’ll all come back in about five months or so.
