Paul Kents article on why the NRL is screwed. An unjust attack on Sonny.

[trewhella]

I find this particular article completely offensive.
Having seen non truths and half truths written first hand in the Murdoch backed Telegraph for over twenty years, Paul Kent has the gall to call out rugby league players for not promoting the sport through the media.

I find his comments as hypocritical in the least.

If I was a player and I had my reputation tarnished at the hands of the Telegraph journalists, why in Gods name would I give them the time of day?
Sonny was called Money Bill Williams for at least 5 years following his exit to rugby. Paul Kent was particularly angry in his tone towards him.
Here we are two years later and Paul is being a sook as a result of the lack of co operation from the players.


Here is the scoop Kenty.

Number 1)
Players have already been paid and the tv rights deal was big because there is no incentive to go to a game when I can see great vision in HD in my lounge room.

Number 2)Players have been traumatised for far too long by your publication. Own it.

Number 3)The ASADA investigation has led to an even greater mistrust of the NRL in relation to player welfare. Look at the poor scapegoats involved. Why should players play the media game? What is in it for them when it is a TV product and they have contracts already signed.

The NRL and the Tele mirror have a lot to answer for over the years.

I don't read that paper and I never will. It is a mind dulling publication sold to the masses, generating rumour, innuendo and skuttlebutt at the hands of professional sportsmen.

Hypocrisy.

[Johnny.]

I wrote this.

The NRL has been run by an increasingly incompetent series of "bosses."

I think the lowest point was the fake shock that David Gallop had when he held the press conference about the Melbourne Storm salary cap rort.

I hold out no hope that David Smith will be any better than Gallop or Moffet before him
-------

Funny sidebar: Has anyone else noticed that the NRL has been run by guys called David for the last 14 years since the Tiger left.

[Vasco]

I find this particular article completely offensive.
Having seen non truths and half truths written first hand in the Murdoch backed Telegraph for over twenty years, Paul Kent has the gall to call out rugby league players for not promoting the sport through the media.

I find his comments as hypocritical in the least.

If I was a player and I had my reputation tarnished at the hands of the Telegraph journalists, why in Gods name would I give them the time of day?
Sonny was called Money Bill Williams for at least 5 years following his exit to rugby. Paul Kent was particularly angry in his tone towards him.
Here we are two years later and Paul is being a sook as a result of the lack of co operation from the players.


Here is the scoop Kenty.

Number 1)
Players have already been paid and the tv rights deal was big because there is no incentive to go to a game when I can see great vision in HD in my lounge room.

Number 2)Players have been traumatised for far too long by your publication. Own it.

Number 3)The ASADA investigation has led to an even greater mistrust of the NRL in relation to player welfare. Look at the poor scapegoats involved. Why should players play the media game? What is in it for them when it is a TV product and they have contracts already signed.

The NRL and the Tele mirror have a lot to answer for over the years.

I don't read that paper and I never will. It is a mind dulling publication sold to the masses, generating rumour, innuendo and skuttlebutt at the hands of professional sportsmen.

Hypocrisy.

Well said trew.

[Guest]

We need to get rid of unions!

[Salvatori Grubber]

Wha? Um, what? Wtf?

[Guest]

Wha? Um, what? Wtf?

Simple, vote; 1 Pauline Hanson..

[Salvatori Grubber]

Oh right. Angling.

Consider me hooked.

[TheLoneRooster]

Trew, you probably also noticed the use of the dollar sign instead of the S in Sonny's name at the foot of the article.
Kent you scumbag, why didn't you use the dollar sign for that vermin grub sam burgess as well?

[ism22]

Simple, vote; 1 Pauline Hanson..

She'd probably be less of a right-wing fanatic than Gallop/Hadley/Gus TBH (and nobody pays her to do it).

We need somebody who can take the 1 billion in advertising cash, make a profit of waaaay more than 50 million (given what's coming in), invest better AND tell Fox/Nine/Telstra they can all get farked if they expect the NRL to promote their political agenda.

1) No Hadley on the footy show and get te NRL to make a statement saying 'afternoon footy has NOTHING to do with whether or not Mr Rabbit gets elected'.
2) If Gus/Hadley start rambling about how Labor restricting pokies will kill the NRL, don't just take it. Again a political agenda that's not needed...
3) Make it clear that footy is not politics. Footy is not a game for the Tories... it's a working class game played by all. This should be respected.

[stsae]

She'd probably be less of a right-wing fanatic than Gallop/Hadley/Gus TBH (and nobody pays her to do it).

We need somebody who can take the 1 billion in advertising cash, make a profit of waaaay more than 50 million (given what's coming in), invest better AND tell Fox/Nine/Telstra they can all get farked if they expect the NRL to promote their political agenda.

1) No Hadley on the footy show and get te NRL to make a statement saying 'afternoon footy has NOTHING to do with whether or not Mr Rabbit gets elected'.
2) If Gus/Hadley start rambling about how Labor restricting pokies will kill the NRL, don't just take it. Again a political agenda that's not needed...
3) Make it clear that footy is not politics. Footy is not a game for the Tories... it's a working class game played by all. This should be respected.

So we've never made a profit ever in the game, the new IC makes 50 mill profit in its first season of the new 4 year TV deal, and you want them to make more???

BTW it's TV money not advertising money, although they do make money with sponsors etc.

Why mention Gallop, his reign raped the game???

So Fox and Nine pay the billion but we should tell them to get farked???

Gus is more football than we will ever be. Surely you can see his interests lie in the game making as much cash as possible??? So the players and clubs can profit. This is a man who has played and coached and commentated and administered at the highest level of the game.

Seriously Jism if you posted this about NewsRLs reign I'd understand, but this is bizarro, even for your usual rants that make my eyes bleed.

Surely you don't expect the IC to repair all the damage down after 15 years of NewsRLs dead set arse bandit work in a season???

Surely some kudos has to roll as the game has never been healthier???

And logic would follow that each year from now on things should improve???

Mental.


Paul Khunt has always been one and is only interested in sticking up for his NewsRL bosses who raped our game and now they exited ONLY see fit to highlight the negative, most of which they left the game in. Never once will they admitt the simple truth that RL is finally on the way to being what it should be, the number one footy code in Australia.

[trewhella]

Trew, you probably also noticed the use of the dollar sign instead of the S in Sonny's name at the foot of the article.
Kent you scumbag, why didn't you use the dollar sign for that vermin grub sam burgess as well?

great point.

[trewhella]

Trew, you probably also noticed the use of the dollar sign instead of the S in Sonny's name at the foot of the article.
Kent you scumbag, why didn't you use the dollar sign for that vermin grub sam burgess as well?

great point.

[stsae]

great point.

Surely you realise Trew it's just NewsRLs jealousy that within a year of the IC, the profit alone highlights how for 15 years that company butt raped our game???

[novice chook]

Paul Kent may have gone about his article the wrong way but he does have a very valid point - if we want the game to grow the players themselves have to promote it, and both players and clubs have to accept it.

I personally found it very strange that there was little or no promotion done by either the Vermin or the Roosters players in the lead up to Round 1. I am not blaming the players, as I suspect it's the clubs that are responsible for this. They put a protective layer around the team which is just not realistic.

Posting interviews with players on the clubs' websites is not enough - that is not bringing new fans ot the game, that's just preaching to the converted.

I understand that media interviews are something that a lot of players would rather not do and are not comfortable with, but it's a fact of life that most of us have parts of our job that we'd rather not do, and guess what - most of us just suck it up and do it because it's part of the job we are being paid to do! And most of us deal with people we would rather not deal with in our jobs for the same reason.

I don't believe that NRL players should be any different. You want to be paid to be a rugby league player, you need to accept that reasonable access by the media is part of the gig.

David Smith shouldn't have to be forcing the clubs to provide access, the clubs themselves should realise that getting their players out there in the public eye is what puts bums on seats.

Especially when it's so easy for people to stay at home and watch it on TV. The players need to engage with the average person and encourage them to come and watch a game for themselves. Get a connection between players and the fans, which isn't currently happening.

NC

[mightyrooster]

I understand what you are saying NC but I can also see the players point of view. News Ltd's way of 'promoting' the game has been primarily to sensationalise everything. They focus too much on off- field drama, gossip and innuendo. Too many players and clubs have been burnt by their unique way of 'promoting' the game. Ir works both ways and Kent is a total hypocrite in his article. Did anyone see him on NRL 360 last night getting on his high horse about the subject. Robbie Farah and Willie Wanka tried to put their perspective (the players) across and he just drowned them out with his long winded spiel. The media also has a responsibility to promote the game as well but unfortunately certain elements of it - News Ltd to be precise - prefer the gutter journalism route. Generally I don't find Kent as annoying as some of their other 'newsheads' but I really think he is a complete hypocrite on this subject.