There is something gross about the NRL head of football Graham Annesley streaming a half hour breakdown of referees, touch judges and NRL teams every single week on the NRL’s official website.
How many other sporting administrations around the world allow any of their officials to partake in such a self indulgent session that allows them to hold court for…who knows?
Of course Annesley is part of an NRL administration that is intent on changing the game of Rugby League at every single opportunity. Bringing in poorly thought out, poorly planned rule changes that need amendments mid season to interchange rules to compensate for the greater attrition that they have brought to the game.
As the NRL pushes the line that they want less stoppages during games, they bring in rules that allow captains to stop the game and get a video review at random points of the match. Then we have a ridiculous system where every single try is reviewed by the video referee and points are taken off the scoreboard if they see something they don’t like.
Now we are hearing rumours that the NRL is looking to change the game from being played over 2 halves to being played over 4 quarters.
So much for cutting down on stoppages…
While all of this is going on the NRL keeps talking about expanding the competition. Do you realise that in the time the NRL has spent just talking about expanding the competition the “Super” Rugby competition expanded, kicked teams out, disbanded, reformed between just Australia and New Zealand, and haas announced it will expand again next season.
Meanwhile the NRL, every fond of holding a committee meeting, will meet over and over again just to talk about expansion.
Are we bringing back the National Under 20’s competition? Didn’t we set that up and then get rid of it just a few years ago? Maybe we should add a 20/40 kick that no one uses, and a 2 point field gaol no one asked for, then we can have so many six-again calls that Rugby League starts tom look like unlimited tackle from time to time and we can all thank Graham Annesley and Peter V’Landys for all of it.
Or maybe, just maybe, we stop fucking around with the rules of the game every five minutes. Then again, that wouldn’t make for an entertaining Graham Annesley have hour variety show!
Just a thought…
