Television has-beens cheer the violent end of league

May 26, 2005

The NRL should send Channel Nine and its bonehead commentators to the sin bin, writes Tim Grau.

IF THE National Rugby League knew what was good for it and the game, it would dump the Nine Network as its broadcaster and make sure the boneheads who host Channel Nine's present stable of "football" shows are never allowed to do it again.

After years of attempts to broaden rugby league's appeal being thwarted by the continuous indiscretions of wayward players, now it is the supposed "league legends" hosting the Nine Network's Footy Show, Sunday Roast and Boots 'N' All who are dragging the game backwards.

For the third week in a row these programs have dedicated a large portion of their air time to discussing the "good old days", highlighting on-field fights, justifying the violence, calling for the return of player clashes and fisticuffs and on two occasions encouraging viewers to send in their choices for the "best" brawls.

Last week's much-promoted "All New" Footy Show was no different, with former players Wally Lewis and Mark Geyer chortling about a boxing round they had in a past State of Origin match. Even the lead-up publicity for the show focused on the "fight" between its chief boneheads Paul Vautin and Peter Sterling and short-lived recruit Rebecca Wilson.

Yesterday, one of the Sunday Roast hosts, a senior league reporter for a daily newspaper, previewed the State of Origin game under the headline "Origin Biffo", saying the match would "erupt with a good old-fashioned brawl" and quoting NSW's first Origin captain saying "that would be lovely to see".

There's nothing "good" about a brawl and it certainly isn't "lovely".

Allowing the game to be promoted and marketed in this fashion would be like Soccer Australia highlighting the ethnic-based crowd violence as an integral part of the game, or a political party using Question Time slanging matches to attract swinging voters.

Can you imagine the Australian Jockey Club, rather than using its successful embracing and friendly "Princesses Welcome" campaign, lamenting the "good old days" of race fixing and underground SP bookies to encourage new sponsors and crowds to their events?

If the NRL is wondering why it has a problem with the game's image, participation in the sport and players who have questionable judgement, they need look no further than Nine Network's "league legends" reminiscing about brutal punch-ups, head butts and team slug-fests.

Not to mention the banal stupidity of Mathew John's alter-ego Reg Reagan campaigning to "Bring Back the Biff".

It certainly isn't the sort of thing any responsible parent would encourage their child to participate in.

The NRL knows, or at least should know, research shows that most often the key decision-maker in a family about which sport a child will play is the mother. Is it any wonder that more and more children are choosing to play a sport other than rugby league? And their parents, particularly mums, are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics' survey of children's activities found the most popular organised sport for children was swimming with a participation rate of 17 per cent, followed by soccer (13 per cent) and netball (9 per cent).

The organised sports that attracted most boys were soccer (22 per cent), swimming (16 per cent), and Australian Rules football (14 per cent).

Where is rugby league you say? Well it rates only a paltry 2.9 per cent with 77,000 children playing. Compare this to the 439,000 children swimming, the 356,000 playing soccer, the 205,000 playing basketball, the 193,000 playing Australian Rules or even the 129,000 participating in martial arts.

Sport is now a competitive business. Attracting participants and audiences, not to mention precious sponsorship dollars, require sophisticated professional marketing and promotion consistent with community standards.

Organisations seek to align their involvement and sponsorship with sports and other activities that reinforce good community values and a positive corporate image.

When their corporate image is damaged by a negative association, they are quick to end the relationship. Just ask the Bulldogs and Knights management about the loss of sponsorship support they suffered after their players' indiscretions.

It's also not rocket science as to why the Commonwealth Bank stopped its sponsorship of a national school rugby league competition after an all-in brawl between players and supporters a few years ago. Do you think these schoolboys were trying to emulate anyone?

In negotiating the broadcast rights, the NRL should be looking to have a TV network that wants to show the game, its skill, athleticism, tactics and professionalism. Having has-been footballers who long for the days of thuggery, brutality and boofhead behaviour host league's premier shows is no way to promote rugby league in an increasingly competitive sports market.

It's hardly the image for a sport trying to promote a more family-friendly environment, attract broader support, particularly from women, and secure much-needed corporate support.

Sport, business and community standards have moved on. It's time the NRL sent the boneheads to the sin bin.

Tim Grau is a managing director of the public affairs, communications consulting company Springboard Australia.