Berkeley_Eagle
Current Status: 24/7 Manly Fan
Beaver an example to all
By Ricky Stuart | August 03,
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,24117584-5016307,00.html
I HAVE played with Steve Menzies and I have played against him.
I have coached him and coached against him, watched him, won with him, lost with him, worried how to beat him and enjoyed every minute.
And now, with him about to head for England, I sat there on Friday night watching him doing what men his age can no longer do in the NRL. I began to think back on his career and what a terrific player he has been and what began to emerge was the way he has handled himself throughout.
Maybe it was brought on by everything that is happening in the game at the moment. Todd Carney urinating on a team-mate's friend in Canberra and Sonny Bill Williams complaining of being underpaid. Every player off contract courting a rugby offer.
Earlier in the year we had a drive-by shooting at Kings Cross after a brawl. There have been other players in scuffles in the Cross. And Mark Gasnier is off to France to play rugby ... and on it goes.
The chorus from many players remains the same: "We want more money''. They say the only way we can compete against the rugby dollar is by raising the salary cap. Where's the third-party money? I'm only in this game for 10 years.
Well, fellas, it's time to keep up your end.
The only answer everybody agrees on when it comes to fixing the problems is that we have to raise the revenue. Everybody has a different answer on how we do it, but they all agree it must be done.
And they all agree the best and easiest way we can do that is by attracting more sponsors to the game and more people who want to invest in our game, right down to the fan who pays his $10 for a beanie.
For that to happen, sponsors and fans are paying for an image. Players earn every cent they get, and I have no problem with guys like Danny Buderus and Michael Crocker heading overseas, like Menzies, to get a payout to end their careers.
They have never been about the payday, and because of that the game has rewarded them beyond what the players driven by money will ever achieve. Players must realise they also have an investment in this game.
Too many players are treating rugby league like it owes them, a cheap grab for more money, and their lack of respect is one of the reasons the game does not attract the corporate support it should.
Then as the backdrop to all this we have a guy like Steve Menzies, a player the corporates have never been afraid of backing.
For more than 16 years he has played against the best.
More than that, he has cared about the game, and respected it with his attitude and behaviour. Selfless, a team player, loyal to the end.
If every man in your team had the character of Steve Menzies you would be doing two things; winning premierships and fighting off the sponsors.
If you are a player and you don't think that's appealing, see ya.
By Ricky Stuart | August 03,
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,24117584-5016307,00.html
I HAVE played with Steve Menzies and I have played against him.
I have coached him and coached against him, watched him, won with him, lost with him, worried how to beat him and enjoyed every minute.
And now, with him about to head for England, I sat there on Friday night watching him doing what men his age can no longer do in the NRL. I began to think back on his career and what a terrific player he has been and what began to emerge was the way he has handled himself throughout.
Maybe it was brought on by everything that is happening in the game at the moment. Todd Carney urinating on a team-mate's friend in Canberra and Sonny Bill Williams complaining of being underpaid. Every player off contract courting a rugby offer.
Earlier in the year we had a drive-by shooting at Kings Cross after a brawl. There have been other players in scuffles in the Cross. And Mark Gasnier is off to France to play rugby ... and on it goes.
The chorus from many players remains the same: "We want more money''. They say the only way we can compete against the rugby dollar is by raising the salary cap. Where's the third-party money? I'm only in this game for 10 years.
Well, fellas, it's time to keep up your end.
The only answer everybody agrees on when it comes to fixing the problems is that we have to raise the revenue. Everybody has a different answer on how we do it, but they all agree it must be done.
And they all agree the best and easiest way we can do that is by attracting more sponsors to the game and more people who want to invest in our game, right down to the fan who pays his $10 for a beanie.
For that to happen, sponsors and fans are paying for an image. Players earn every cent they get, and I have no problem with guys like Danny Buderus and Michael Crocker heading overseas, like Menzies, to get a payout to end their careers.
They have never been about the payday, and because of that the game has rewarded them beyond what the players driven by money will ever achieve. Players must realise they also have an investment in this game.
Too many players are treating rugby league like it owes them, a cheap grab for more money, and their lack of respect is one of the reasons the game does not attract the corporate support it should.
Then as the backdrop to all this we have a guy like Steve Menzies, a player the corporates have never been afraid of backing.
For more than 16 years he has played against the best.
More than that, he has cared about the game, and respected it with his attitude and behaviour. Selfless, a team player, loyal to the end.
If every man in your team had the character of Steve Menzies you would be doing two things; winning premierships and fighting off the sponsors.
If you are a player and you don't think that's appealing, see ya.
