Colman’s Call: Campbell-Gillard’s ‘kill’ threat not P.C. but it’s what State of Origin is made of
REAGAN Campbell-Gillard is yet to prove whether he is the best player in this year’s State of Origin series, but he’s already claimed the title of the dumbest, writes Mike Colman.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
REAGAN Campbell-Gillard is yet to prove whether he is the best player in this year’s State of Origin series, but he has one title already sewn-up.
He’s the dumbest.
Here we are at a time when the NRL is doing its best to sanitise the game in order to convince the mums and dads of small kids out there that it is a safe, inclusive, cuddly-feely sport for their little boys and girls to play, and the Blues’ latest enforcer is talking about going out and killing people.
Onya Reagan. It’s not just your Freddy Mercury facial hair that is caught in the 1980s, it’s your brain.
It is a little-known fact that Reagan Campbell-Gillard was named in honour of Reg Reagan who led the “Bring Back The Biff” campaign. OK, I made that up, but who says that sort of stuff these days? Apart from Roseanne Barr, I mean.
And it’s not as if RCG shouldn’t be sensitive to the dangers of on-field violence.
His own cousin Korbin Sims is currently nursing a broken jaw courtesy of a blatant flying headbutt … sorry, perfectly legitimate tackle gone wrong, by Maroons’ hardman Dylan Napa.
What happens when Campbell-Gillard and Napa come into contact with each other on Wednesday night is frightening to contemplate.
In fact, maybe the NRL should step in to ensure they are not on the field at the same time.
At the very least, the League should put together a list of acceptable verbs for Origin players to use in the lead-up to matches.
Of course before they do that they would have to explain to the forwards what a verb is, but that shouldn’t take more than half a season or so.
Obviously saying, “I can’t wait to get out there and start killing some people” would be a no-no, but “smashing”, “thumping” and “belting” would be OK.
And I’m pretty sure Jai Arrow’s comment that, “I’ll take on all of them” would pass the political correctness test, although he might have to be careful about saying, “Bring it on”. It could be construed as inciting violence.
Seriously, no-one is saying Campbell-Gillard’s comment wasn’t stupid and insensitive to the families of players who have been seriously injured, or even killed, on a sporting field, but to paint it as more than that is just wrong.
Sure it wasn’t very 2018, but neither is Origin — and that is part of its enduring allure.
As Chris Close said back in 2003, ‘when I think of outstanding moments in Origin they all revolve around aggression’.
Examples he gave included Artie Beetson hitting Mick Cronin in the very first Origin in 1980, Close backhanding an unconscious Eric Grothe the following year, and “the time when Mal Meninga nearly killed Michael O’Connor in a tackle. Mate, that was dead-set scary”.
We don’t see too many incidents like those days. The League has done a good job in cleaning up the game, but Close still makes a good point.
The most watched Origin videos on YouTube aren’t just of Billy Slater or Mark Coyne scoring their miracle tries. They are of Tony Hearn headbutting Spud Carroll, Jamie Goddard punching the stuffing out of Joey Johns, or even the shocking vision of Les Boyd breaking Darryl Brohman’s jaw with his elbow.
Players can’t do that sort of stuff any more. All they can do is talk about it, and talk is cheap.
Fact is, Reagan Campbell-Gillard is a good enough player to make a mark on this Origin series without overstepping the line.
It’s like Freddy Mercury sang in ‘Another One Bites The Dust’: “There are plenty of ways that you can hurt a man, and bring him to the ground.”
Over the next few weeks both Origin teams will be trying to find all of them. Legally.
Originally published as Colman’s Call: Campbell-Gillard’s ‘kill’ threat not P.C. but it’s what State of Origin is made of
Join the conversation
Why the Tigers are right to laugh off Luai contract critics
The Wests Tigers have handed Jarome Luai a massive contract with almost no strings attached, but how else could the perennial cellar dwellers attract the most sought after star in the game, asks BRENT READ.
Read more
Weekend Read: Signs the tide is finally turning for Wests Tigers
The 2025 NRL season will start with plenty of hope at the Wests Tigers thanks to the arrival of some key signings, a soft draw and some new standards, writes BRENT READ.
Read more