The proposed crackdown on players pulling out of City-Country with phony injuries is about a decade too late – and is misplaced. The Sun-Herald reported that the Country Rugby League wanted players who refused to play in the match at Wagga on Sunday week stood down for one NRL match, after 29 men who pulled out last year were 'fit' to back up for their clubs the following week. For one thing, forcing players to show up for a medical where they are checked out by the representative team doctor would solve the problem – if they don't show up, then they should miss a club game. No exceptions. Secondly, the same rule should apply for the May 2 international double header on the Gold Coast. How embarrassing for the game if we are tougher on withdrawals from a state selection trial than we are for Test matches?
JWH injury raises questions
When Jared Waerea-Hargreaves suffered a pectoral muscle injury in Saturday night's gripping 17-16 loss to Melbourne, it was widely interpreted as "a blow to the Kiwis" before the Anzac Test on May 1. It's certainly a blow to Sydney Roosters - he is out for a month and won't be available to face the Kangaroos. Some people have short memories – Waerea-Hargreaves was controversially omitted from Stephen Kearney's squad for last year's Four Nations, with no reason made public. So it was always going to be intriguing whether the Roosters enforcer was invited back into the fold for next week's international, regardless of injury. "No one's card is marked," Kearney said last year, promising to tell JWH why he was left out.
Losing Roosters still favourites
Can a team lose three games in a row and still be premiership favourites? According to Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy, Sydney Roosters can. "You can see why they are favourites for the competition," 'Bellyache' said after that stunning field goal kicked by Cooper Cronk with 46 seconds left in regulation time on Saturday. "On a normal weekend, both those sides win if they play that kind of footy," said Roosters coach Trent Robinson. "But both of us decided to play that style of football against each other and we missed out again. We're pushing other teams and they are playing their best footy against us. We're not off the mark by far. I feel like we're in some good form but we haven't won those games. That's a big part of footy as well, knowing how to finish it off. I don't feel like we're far away – but we're three from seven … we're not far away from a good run."
Shock departure weakens new guard
With all the focus on NRL head honchos David Smith and John Grant, other rugby league officials seem to be able to come and go as they please. When League Central media boss Sandy Olsen announced a few weeks got she was leaving, it barely registered a ripple. The same goes for the departure of Melbourne CEO Mark Evans. He said in a statement on Friday "the time was right" for a return to the UK – but Evans was seen as part of the new vanguard of administrators in clubland, in almost direct opposition to the old Sydney warlords. He had experience in England that was well beyond what most NRL club bosses can boast about – and cared little about reputations. The 'new guard' has been weakened, the 'old guard' emboldened. When he leaves at the end of June, there will be a subtle shift in the power balance of the game here.
Only themselves to blame
I know it's still 11 days away but this Anzac Test shapes as a rather important one because of Australia's refusal to play anyone at the end of this year. New Zealand are simultaneously running out of excuses for poor mid-year performances and being given greater incentive to get a result. Generally speaking, it's difficult to budge a World Cup holder from the top of the RLIF rankings without them losing an actual World Cup. But the decision to shun any opposition this spring means that if the Kiwis win at Suncorp Stadium and then beat England in the UK at the end of the year, they'll be number one despite the major silverware remaining across the Tasman. A boxer can only refuse to fight for so long without giving up his belt.
Arab ambition
Officials should seriously consider an offer from the United Arab Emirates to host the 2021 World Cup. The bid by South Africa to have the 2017 tournament was somewhat fanciful, considering the sport isn't even recognised by the government there. But Sol Mokdad of the UAERL told The National newspaper: "This is an ideal location for a World Cup. It is exactly between Australia and the UK, there is always talk in the media about the big events being hosted in Dubai. With Expo 2020 being here, with all the infrastructure being created, it will be the perfect time. It would also be the UAE's 50th birthday, so it all aligns – it will just come down to us getting partners who can help us get that bid together." The trick is going to be getting enough Australian fans interested.
