This is a really strange one…
The Sydney Daily Telegraph is reporting that Laurie Daley has accused Ray Hadley of trying to get NSW assistant coach Matt Parish sacked because Parish is having a relationship with Ray Hadleys estranged wife.
Ray Hadley has denied he tried to pressure NSWRL types to sack Parish but it appears they did discuss Parish’s relationship and Laurie Daley obviously feels as though he was put in a position where he needed to defend Parish’s position as the Blues assistant coach.
What ever did or did not happen, it sounds really messy, and it’s a real shame that these personal matters have become public because that will help no one at all.
Forget all of the private matters for a moment, I would be shocked if a non football matter that was concerning any third party could be brought to any powerbroker in the game and that that personal matter could then become a factor in any footballing decision at all.
Many people question the decisions the NSWRL make on a yearly basis. These questions mostly revolve around the way they run the State Of Origin team in terms of who the selectors are, who the coaches are, the makeup of the NSW State Of Origin teams and so on.
It has been a long time since anyone has accused the NSWRL of anything of this nature, let alone it be Laurie Daley who is the coach of the NSW Blues!
It makes you really question how things are being run at the NSWRL.
I personally couldn’t give a stuff about anyone else’s personal relationships. It is a concern though if this has all exposed a less than ideal way the NSWRL allegedly goes about it’s business.
When the independent commission was formed and the game cut a lot of it’s old ties with media entities and personalities, those media entities and personalities were not happy at all.
They found themselves out of the loop. They were outsiders. There were no more leaks, they couldn’t get in anyone’s ear and influence them in any way.
That buffer between the new NRL administration and the media has been a good thing. True independence has allowed the game to move forward in leaps and bounds without having to worry about carrying favour with any other organisation or any other individual.
It concerns me that the New South Wales coach himself believes that does not happen at the NSWRL level. It is something that I think the NRL, as the games governing body, should investigate in my opinion.
I really don’t like to see peoples personal lives splashed across the newspapers. I hope everyone involved can find some sort of resolution to these matters behind closed doors.
My concern is solely with the accusation that some influence from ANY outside party was felt within the NSWRL in terms of who it employed in it’s coaching staff at State Of Origin level.
