Remember the other day when I mentioned that the NRL had finally announced the NRL All Stars team after 4 months and 578 stages of voting?
Well yeah…..scratch that!
Players are now dropping out of both sides with injuries in what is both a worrying sign for the games credibility and a sign of the stupid system that saw these teams selected in the first place.
This All Stars game is a good will fixture, its a charity event and a chance for the game to highlight that no other sport in Australia is more influence by Australia’s Indigenous population.
It is a great idea, but in the modern day world where some players are an injury away from ending up on the scrap heap, clubs and players want NRL glory and nothing else, and most players find it a hassle getting out of bed before 1am for training, let alone playing in a game that is not an earner for them, this is always going to make such a concept a touch sell.
The Charity Shield game between South Sydney and the St George/Illawarra Dragons is is a charity game, but its also a trail mate. Its a chance for both teams to gel, to work on a few things and to get a run.
It barely works.
This All Star game, I really do want it to work, but its going to be an uphill struggle.
The voting on teams for me is a dud. Too many stages of voting and here we are after months of votes and we still don’t know what the sides will look like.
At the end of the day if coaches of these teams are selecting half the squads anyway, why not just go the whole hog and cut out the voting process.
