The penultimate weekend of the NRL premiership featured more outstanding football, and, predictably, more stories about players
behaving badly. In what is unquestionably the best season for rugby
league since the Super League War, the headlines have again been shared by yet
another report of players – including one of the game’s most respected – out on
the booze and out of control.

And even more worrying has been the response of the
club Chief Executives to stories
about players being turfed out of clubs, hotels and bars with and without
justification. Of the 13 CEOs who commented on the players drinking
too much and behaving badly in the Sunday Telegraph story yesterday, only two or three
conceded the game has a drinking problem. And even worse, the majority said that although it used to be a
problem, it’s no longer one.

And the award for the most out-of-touch CEO must surely
go to the Roosters’ Brian Canavan: “I don’t see it as a major issue in our game. The irony
is [players] seldom drink nowadays. We don’t have any hard and fast rules but the players
know we won’t tolerate excessive drinking.”

Roosters Chris Walker (again) and Justin Murphy are the
latest to make headlines for all the wrong reasons at the Empire Hotel at
Kings Cross – with a fracas with hotel security staff after drinking until,
wait for it, 7am!

Another incident involved Dragons players on their
week off having yet another of the infamous “bonding” sessions, featuring the
Dragons’ widely respected captain Trent
Barrett. The Dragons will no doubt fine Barrett and other
players, but isn’t it about time the clubs themselves, and the very highly paid
“player managers” accepted some of the responsibility as
well?

The weekend’s football was as unpredictable as ever –
resulting in both the race for the minor premiership (and the coveted top four
spots), and 8th place in the eight team finals, continuing to be wide
open. Three teams – Eels, Dragons and Broncos – can still win
the minor premiership, while it remains possible for the Storm and the Cowboys
to tip the Tigers out of the fourth spot which carries with it a home game in
the first rounds of the semi finals.

The Eels were awesome in the second half demolition of
the Raiders and for my money, must be favoured to wrap up the minor premiership
when they take on the injury ridden, and under performing, Broncos on Friday
night.

The NRL premiership race is open, competitive,
unpredictable. What is much more predictable is that the good news must be shared
with more players – and the undistinguished NSW Opposition Leader – behaving
badly.