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Opinion
“All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
George Orwell, Animal Farm
How can it be possible that Trent Robinson can so badly malign the captain of an opposing NRL club at a post-match media conference, while offering a calibre of substantiation for his assertions that Joe McCarthy would have considered threadbare, and those that run the National Rugby League have done absolutely nothing about it?
This is particularly confounding when you consider just how hard the NRL executives threw the book at a similar action by another coach just two short years ago.
To many of us witnessing this hypocrisy from the NRL, the phrase “some animals are more equal than others” may spring to mind.
George Orwell’s 1945 book about barnyard animals taking over a farm was an allegory of the Russian Revolution, and what followed afterwards. A stark portrayal of the new rulers of the farm becoming as despotic as those they had deposed.
The National Rugby League could be said to have many similarities with Orwell’s book. A competition borne out of conflict, that – initially at least – gave the cattle playing it a far better share of the spoils, but that has effectively become an autocracy with only the thinnest veneer of consultation, and no recourse for appeal short of a new revolution.
Those that run the game are able to pretty much make whatever edicts and decisions they like with the only real risk being the continued erosion each Monday afternoon of whatever credibility the NRL’s head of football Graham Annesley still has left as he fronts up to the media to spin and defend the often indefensible.
Basically, Peter V’landys, the other ARL Commissioners, as well as Andrew Abdo and his team at NRL HQ can run the game as they like with little to no concern of actually being scrutinised in any meaningful way.
This reality came once more into sharp relief last Sunday evening when the Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson engaged in some prime character assassination of Canberra Raiders captain Elliott Whitehead.
Elliott Whitehead. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
And all we’ve heard from the NRL is crickets.
Just two years ago in August 2022 the NRL came down like a ton of bricks on Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart for these comments he made at a post-match press conference about former Panthers opponent Jaeman Salmon in regard to him kicking Raiders hooker Tom Starling in the genitals:
“The James Fisher-Harris and Joe Tapine tackles are accidents and in this coalition game I understand that. But where Salmon kicked Tommy (Starling), it ain’t on.
“I have had history with that kid (Salmon). I know that kid very well. He was a weak -gutted dog as a kid and he hasn’t changed now. He is a weak-gutted dog person now.”
Regardless of Salmon’s actions and whatever the history was between the two, Stuart was absolutely out of line and subsequently apologised.
The NRL smashed Stuart with a complete suspension from his club for a week, along with a $25,000 fine.
Abdo had this to say about the matter: “It is completely unacceptable for any person in the game to use language like the language Ricky took, ah used, on Saturday. A very experienced leader in the game using inappropriate language directed at a player – whether it was directed at anyone – it was inappropriate. We have reached out to Jaeman to ensure his wellbeing.”
Yet last weekend we saw the head coach of the Roosters proclaim publicly that Whitehead deliberately goes out to injure opposition players using hip drop tackles, and that he’s done it his whole career.
Robinson: “He came up and um just wanted to ask how Brandon was and I just sorta said ‘It’s been too many times’. You know, the hip drops been pretty common in his game a long time and I just said ‘it’s too many times, it’s cost us a player’. That was it. He said it was an accident, I just said ‘Look, you’ve done it too many times’. That was it.”
(Reporter): “So Elliott’s done too many hip drops?”
Robinson: “Yep, He’s done it a lot in his career, you know, so – um yeah – it’s been pretty common. If you go and have a look. It’s not, you know, I’ve watched him since he was in Bradford and Catalans and, you know – um, but its been pretty common and that was what I said. I know he opened it up here which is why we’re talking about it, and I usually wouldn’t want to talk to you guys about it, but he opened it up. And its been really common in his game, um, his whole career, so – um, yeah.”
So, to recap, Robinson said repeatedly that –“If you go and have a look”- Whitehead has been performing hip drops his entire career.
Did Robinson then, or subsequently, produce any firm evidence to support that?
No. No he hasn’t.
Trent Robinson with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
But even more appallingly, the NRL seemingly has not even asked him to.
Nor have they taken him to task about the flagrant misuse of his post-match press conference to make such egregious and unsubstantiated claims.
The NRL execs certainly haven’t reached out to Whitehead to ensure his wellbeing either.
Robinson has neither been suspended, nor fined.
As for Robinson’s claims that Whitehead opened the matter up in the press conference, this is what the Raiders captain said on the matter: “Obviously I didn’t mean to do Brandon. I know he’s come up with a bad injury and stuff and I’m sorry to him for that obviously. I was just unhappy the way I went over to ask about Brandon and Trent Robinson had a go at me. Like, I went to apologise and he’s turned on me so the way he’s done that I thought that were out of order.”
There’s no mentions of specifics of the conversation whatsoever. All Whitehead has “opened up” was that Robinson gave him an angry rebuke on the field.
Robinson has then used that as a lever to totally malign Whitehead. This is a player who has played 413 top-grade games, including 31 for his nation. This is the current captain of an NRL club. If he isn’t due some defence and support from the NRL you have to wonder just who is? Jaemon Salmon seems to be on that list.
Stuart was absolutely pilloried by the NRL for his comments in regard to Salmon. Yet head office totally ignored Robinson’s behaviour.
The hypocrisy is disgraceful.
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I guess this kind of behaviour from an organisation so tone deaf that it put Les Boyd in the Hall of Fame shouldn’t really surprise us.
And for those of you who choose to differentiate the two incidents based on the specific calibre of language that were used by each coach – and I’m certain you’re out there – that’s a pathetic argument.
There is no doubt that Stuart used more gutteral words to malign the character of Salmon. Words far more suited to the pub than a press conference. However, the content and effect of Robinson’s words were every bit as harsh.
Robinson’s words directly branded Whitehead a recidivist thug and cheat.
That is every bit as bad as calling someone a weak-gutted dog.
The primary guide for what constitutes “inappropriate language” must be the intent and meaning. At this point Abdo has sanctioned Stuart and not Robinson based only on the relative vulgarity of their words, not their content.
That’s an indefensible position.
Saying that someone has “lost their shit” may sound harsher than saying that they “misplaced their excrement” but they mean exactly the samething.
Telling someone to “fornicate over there” means exactly the same thing as telling them to “f–k off.”
The only difference between Stuart’s and Robinson’s words is in the semantics. And the polarity of reactions from the NRL.
As it presently stands the NRL seemingly has no issue with publicly maligning a player as long as you used “G rated” words to do it.
That the NRL has done absolutely nothing whatsoever in regard to Robinson’s “urine broke” behaviour is as hypocritical as it is pathetic.
But maybe some animals are just more equal than others.