From The Couch: Round 4
From The Couch: Round 4
Blaming PVL for Blowouts More Gibberish from Non-Believers: The plonkers who seem to spend their time blaming Peter V’Landys for all the ills in the world have taken up arms this week to blame the new rules for for bad teams being incredibly bad. The argument is as boring as it is blinkered. There is no doubt that the new rules are contributing to bigger blowouts when the elite teams play the garbage teams. There should be no problem with this. The NRL should not be catering for mediocrity or trying to pull good organisations back. The new rules are absolutely fabulous when good teams play good teams or even elite teams playing competent teams. While the new rules are not perfect and there is significant room to improve on them, they have made the game a far more entertaining product. Blowouts happen and they are going to happen more if clubs recruit poorly, mismanage their salary caps, hire terrible coaches and continually fail to sustainably plan for the future. The League should not and now is not playing to the lowest common denominator. It is on the League to ensure struggling teams have the opportunities to dig themselves out of a hole but if those teams don’t take those opportunities the NRL should not be dragging well run organisations back to them.
The Clubs Who Need Adam Reynolds Mostly Cannot Get Him: Adam Reynolds will almost definitely leave South Sydney. He is north of 30 and is after a golden handshake and some job security. There is no such word as deserve in Rugby League but Reynolds should get what he can and there will be clubs who will offer him a big deal and there should be clubs who offer him a big deal. Unfortunately most of those who should be firing off big-money deals at him and could use his skillset and experience cannot. Canterbury should be clamouring for Reynolds but got distracted by the shiny light of Kyle Flanagan and combined with some other obscenely bad contracts now cannot make a serious play at him in good conscience. The Tigers are seemingly in the same boat after commiting to Brooks and Doueihi. Manly went and spent up on Kieran Foran and have Daly Cherry-Evans on a huge deal. This is what happens when clubs are unprepared and conservative with no grand plan.
Origin Eligibility Should Not Change: There is absolutely no reason the NRL should consider changing State of Origin eligibility to allow those who are not eligible to play for Australia. This argument comes up every few years. It is utterly moronic. State Of Origin is perfect as it is. It does not need to become an All-Star game. Tinkering with eligibility can only hurt it. The game should be incredibly proud of how many Polynesian and Melenesian players now feature at the highest levels. Rather than try to artificially provide Origin eligibility though is not the answer. The International Rugby League has benefited significantly from the rise of Tonga. The game – and the NRL in particular – needs to invest more significantly in the international game in terms of both finances and scheduling. The NRL should not be falling for this manufactured News debate.
Vale, Andy Kydd: This weekend we tragically lost one of the great men of the wagering industry in both Australia and New Zealand in Andy Kydd. For me, it was the loss of a wonderful friend. After an inspirational eight-year fight with cancer, Andy died peacefully with his beautiful family by his side. Andy worked at Tom Waterhouse, William Hill and TAB NZ, as well as Racing Victoria. The Kydd was also deadly at picking off prices finding angles and launching into rorts. I’ll never forget him busting out the champagne after getting an odds boost futures bet home. The world has lost one of the true champions.